domain name warehousing, whereby large numbers of domain names are registered, often by registrars, with the intention of subsequently selling them on to third parties. EURid rules state that applications for domains can only be made after a legitimate application has been made to a registrar. The 74,000 applications were made in the name of only three Cyprus registered companies – Ovidio Ltd., Fausto Ltd. and Gabino Ltd. The affected registrars, joined in the action by the affected registrants, obtained a provisional order from the Court of First Instance in Brussels, Belgium on 27 September 2006. The court ordered EURid to release the blocked domain names or else pay a fine of €25,000 per hour for each affected domain name. EURid complied with the court order and changed the status of the domains from on-hold to active and restored EURid registration database access to the affected registrars. The main legal action, that of EURid seeking the registrar agreements between EURid and the registrars in question to be dissolved has still to be heard. See also Internet in Europe References External links EURid – Registry for .eu IANA .eu whois information Domain registration regulations, policies, and terms, and other related documents EURid registration status report, including breakdown of registrations by country PWC Belgium's validation service for Eurid EU to launch its own web domain (BBC) No .eu domain for the Swiss (and Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) (The Register) ADR Decisions Wiki providing texts of Ovidio/Fausto/Gabino court order and details on litigation DECISION OF THE EEA JOINT COMMITTEE – Incorporation into the EEA agreement Country code top-level domains Computer-related introductions in 2005 Internet and the European Union Internet in Europe sv:Toppdomän#E