We represent foreign companies and trademark owners in .rs and .срб domain name disputes before the Commission at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia, and in related court proceedings. Below we explain how the domain name system works, how .rs disputes are resolved and how we can help.
INTERNET DOMAINS AND INTERNET GOVERNANCE
Although many internet users believe that the internet runs on its own and that the whole system is based on self-regulation, the truth is different. Internet governance involves technical coordination, public policy and cooperation between governments, the private sector, civil society and the technical community, at both national and international levels.
The most important international organisation in this field is ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), which coordinates the global system of domain names and IP addresses. ICANN does not, however, regulate the content published on the internet.
The Tunis Agenda, adopted at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), defines internet governance as “the development and application by Governments, the private sector and civil society, in their respective roles, of shared principles, norms, rules, decision-making procedures, and programmes that shape the evolution and use of the Internet”.
Internet governance is a complex, multidisciplinary field. It covers infrastructure and technical standards such as the DNS, intellectual property, cybercrime, jurisdiction and applicable law, economic issues and the equal development of the internet worldwide, as well as privacy, personal data protection, education and human rights.
HOW THE DOMAIN NAME SYSTEM WORKS
One of the most important aspects of internet governance is the organisation of internet addresses. An internet address can be expressed in numbers (the Internet Protocol or IP address), but also in letters and numbers that usually carry a specific meaning. Devices communicate within the network using IP addresses, and since numbers are hard for users to remember, a translation system has been put in place to make the network easier to use. This system, which translates names into IP addresses and vice versa, is called the Domain Name System (DNS). A DNS server is a device that provides the IP address associated with a given domain name, which is needed for communication and data exchange over the network.
Internet addresses in everyday use are therefore expressed as domain names. A domain name is a textual identifier registered by the registrant for its own use, in order to be visible on the network, and in compliance with certain administrative and technical requirements. Once registered, the domain name is entered in the central database of the registry responsible for that domain. Domain names were originally limited to the characters of the English alphabet (ASCII), but the development of the IDN standard (Internationalized Domain Names) made it possible to use characters of other languages and scripts. The part of a .rs domain name that is registered, without the .rs extension, may contain letters, digits and hyphens, must not begin or end with a hyphen, and must be between 2 and 63 characters long.
DOMAIN NAME LEVELS AND TYPES
Every domain name has its own structure. The most important part is the top-level domain (TLD), located at the far right of the name. Examples are .com and .net, but also .rs (Serbia) or .me (Montenegro). The second-level domain (SLD) is located immediately to the left of the top-level domain, for example “google” in google.com. Depending on the registry’s rules, users may register domain names directly under a top-level domain, such as example.rs, or under a designated second-level domain, such as example.co.rs.
Top-level domains may be generic (gTLDs), such as .com, .info or .net, or country code domains (ccTLDs), such as the Serbian .rs and .срб. Within some national domains there are also second-level national domains (ccSLDs), such as co.rs, org.rs, edu.rs and in.rs.
Generic domains operate under agreements with ICANN, which also accredits the registrars through which they are registered. National domains are managed by national registries under their own rules. In Serbia, the .rs and .срб domains are managed by the Serbian National Internet Domain Registry Foundation (RNIDS), and domain names are registered through accredited registrars.
.RS DOMAIN NAME DISPUTES AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
From an intellectual property perspective, disputes commonly concern the part of a domain name chosen by the registrant, particularly where it reproduces or resembles another party’s trademark or other protected designation. A typical example is cybersquatting, where a domain name containing someone else’s trademark is registered in order to be sold to the trademark owner, to divert its customers or to take advantage of its reputation. Such disputes may be resolved before the competent court, but they are also commonly resolved through alternative dispute resolution, which allows the parties to protect their rights much more quickly and efficiently.
Disputes concerning the registration of .rs and .срб domain names fall within the competence of the Commission for Resolving Disputes Related to the Registration of National Internet Domain Names at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia. Since 4 June 2026, the procedure has been governed by new Rules (Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, No. 30/2026), which treat it as a form of alternative dispute resolution. Disputes are decided by a single expert or, at a party’s request, by a panel of experts from the Commission’s list. The procedure is available to trademark holders and, under the new Rules, also to holders of rights in designations of geographical origin, who may request the transfer of the disputed domain name or the termination of its registration. To obtain the transfer or termination of a registration, the complainant must prove all three conditions: that the domain name is identical or confusingly similar to its trademark or protected designation of geographical origin, that the registrant has no right or legitimate interest in the name, and that the name was registered or is being used in bad faith. Accepting the Commission’s competence does not mean waiving the right to court protection.
A trademark does not automatically entitle its holder to every domain name that contains it. The rights of both parties, the registrant’s legitimate interest, the history of the registration, the way the domain name is used and the available evidence all have to be assessed in each case.
LEGAL ASSISTANCE FOR FOREIGN COMPANIES IN .RS DOMAIN DISPUTES
If someone else has registered a .rs or .срб domain name that contains your trademark, we can help you initiate and conduct proceedings before the Commission in Belgrade. We work with foreign companies and trademark owners, communicate with clients in English and handle all communication with the Commission, the registry and registrars in Serbian. Our services include:
- assessing whether your rights and the circumstances of the registration support a claim,
- collecting evidence on the registration and use of the disputed domain name,
- communication and negotiation with the registrant before the proceedings,
- preparing the complaint and representing you before the Commission,
- assistance with the transfer of the domain name after the decision,
- court proceedings, where necessary.
We also defend registrants against unfounded requests for the transfer of their domain names, and provide legal support in the registration and transfer of domain names, including the assessment of rights in the chosen name and contracts for the use and transfer of domain names, as well as trademark registration and protection in Serbia.
OUR EXPERIENCE IN DOMAIN NAME DISPUTES
Dragan Milić, the founder of our firm, has been a member of the Presidency of the Commission for Resolving Disputes Related to the Registration of National Internet Domain Names, since June 2026. He has been on the Commission’s lists since 2011, first as an arbitrator and, under the new Rules, as an expert on the Commission’s list, and has taken part in deciding on requests for the transfer or termination of .rs domain registrations as chair or member of panels. This experience gives us practical insight into the procedure and the standards applied in .rs domain disputes.
He also takes part in the international domain community. He has attended several ICANN meetings. Delivered the training “GDPR for ccTLDs” at the 84th Asia Pacific Top Level Domain Association Conference (APTLD84) in Seoul (2023) and spoke on a panel at Domain Days Dubai (2025). He co-authored a paper on identifying domain name registrants in light of personal data protection rules, presented at the Kopaonik School of Natural Law (2022), and writes for the DOMEN RS portal.
If you need to protect your trademark in the .rs domain or assess a domain name dispute in Serbia, contact us.