Development of information technologies in the end of XX century led to occurrence of new forms and ways of conducting economic activities, which are based on employment of Internet capabilities. Relative density of Internet trade in the world economy, including the countries of the CIS, has a tendency to increase yearly. By the way, whereas total value of electronic commerce made 214 billion euro in 2000, it increased up to 7,64 trillion euro in 2004. Such an onrush of electronic commerce and advertising creates serious problems in legal regulation, which are faced by legislators from almost all countries in the world. Globalization and “democratization” of trade cause the necessity of generating fundamentally new approaches to ways and mechanisms defending intellectual property objects in the Internet.

The issue of domain name legal status has recently gained special currency. Given object has a defining value for the Internet functioning. Nowadays it is impossible to imagine accessing network information resources without using domain names. Domain name issue is new to domestic juridical science and law-enforcement practice, which explains present lack of outstanding scientific research in this sphere. Nowadays the legislation of the Republic of Belarus almost doesn’t have normative legal acts regulating relations arising due to commercial usage and turnover of domain names. Utilization and registration of domain names is viewed by Belarusian legislation exceptionally in terms of licensing requirements for implementing retail trade in the Internet. Meanwhile, the legislation doesn’t specifically attribute domain names to either existing objects of civil law or technical communication facilities.

Council of Ministers Regulation #1161 “About certain issues of implementing retail trade per sample using the Internet” (hereinafter referred as – Regulation #1161) issued on 08 September 2006 legislatively assigned the right of legal entities and sole traders of the Republic of Belarus to implement retail trade per sample through Internet shops using the Internet. Realization of retail trade by a subject of management of the Republic of Belarus on the territory of the Republic of Belarus by means of the Internet in accordance with the Regulation #1161 is impossible without filing of information about a domain name in the license; domain name’s registration is proved by a document, given in accordance with the established procedure by the State Center for Information Safety under the President of the Republic of Belarus (hereinafter referred to as - SCIS).

In accordance with the paragraph 12 of the Regulation #1161 and its separate subdivision (branch) of the legislation about licensing or requirements and conditions established for implementing licensable activities, using a domain name, not specified in the license is attributed to gross violations made by the licensee (that is implementing retail trade through an internet-shop).

Consequently, this normative legal act brackets information about presence of a domain name with information about applicant’s for a license trade objects, assortment list of products, trade form, etc. One can make a conclusion, that a domain name in the light of the Regulation #1161 is recognized as information about technological and industrial characteristics of doing business by the licensee, one of the formal requirements, essential for implementing retail trade through the Internet.