In a .cl domain dispute, timing decides the standard of proof. For 30 calendar days after NIC Chile publishes a new registration, anyone can ask for its revocation by invoking a “preferential interest”, a better right to the name, without having to prove bad faith. After that window closes, the claimant must prove an abusive registration, and the case is decided by an arbitrator whose ruling cannot be appealed. For European and Latin American brands entering Chile, early monitoring is the difference between an easy case and a hard one.<\/p>\n
The rules are in NIC Chile’s Regulation for the .CL domain name registry<\/a>, dated 14 July 2020, and in the .CL Dispute Resolution Policy<\/a>, approved in 2014. NIC Chile, part of the University of Chile, runs the registry; its Dispute Resolution Centre administers the arbitration platform but does not decide cases.<\/p>\n Any natural or legal person, Chilean or foreign, can hold a .cl name (paragraph 7 of the Regulation), and any person who considers that a registration affects its rights can ask for revocation (paragraph 18). The request is filed online with NIC Chile and is effective once the fee is paid. From then on the domain is locked: the holder cannot transfer or delete it while the dispute is pending, although it can still update its technical data. All deadlines in the Regulation are calendar days (paragraph 15).<\/p>\n When a .cl name is registered, NIC Chile publishes it on a list of registered domains for 30 calendar days (paragraph 11). Paragraph 19 provides that a revocation request filed within that period may invoke a preferential interest<\/strong>. Other claimants can file against the same name during the same 30 days, and all their requests are then decided together.<\/p>\n The Regulation does not define preferential interest or require proof of bad faith in this window. The question for the arbitrator is, in substance, who has the better right to the name. In our view, the evidence that carries most weight is a trademark registered in Chile, a trade name or company name, and documented use of the sign in the Chilean market.<\/p>\n Once the publication period has expired, paragraph 20 of the Regulation requires the claimant to prove an abusive registration, which exists when all three of these conditions are met:<\/p>\n The Regulation lists non-exhaustive indications of bad faith: registering mainly to sell or rent the name to the claimant or a competitor for more than the registration costs; registering to prevent the trademark owner from reflecting its mark, where the holder has a pattern of such conduct; registering or using the name mainly to disrupt a competitor; and using it to attract users for profit by creating confusion with the claimant’s mark. It also lists indications of good faith: genuine use or preparations to offer goods or services under the name, being commonly known by it even without a registered mark, and legitimate non-commercial fair use.<\/p>\nWhat is the 30-day window and the preferential interest?<\/h2>\n
What must you prove after the 30 days?<\/h2>\n
\n
How does the .cl procedure compare with the UDRP?<\/h2>\n