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Limitations of a Whois Search

by Charles Runyan, Ph.D., J.D. Domain Name Law Attorney

If you do a WHOIS search for information about a domain name, the search may produce the desired information or it may only give you the name of the registrar for the domain name.  If your WHOIS search displays the name of a registrar, but no other information, you must do a WHOIS search on the web site of the registrar of the domain name.

All of the 100+ domain name registrars maintain a WHOIS server that contains nameserver and contact information for all of the domains registered by them.  Individual registrars, however, do not maintain or have access to WHOIS information of the other registrars. 

InterNic's Central WHOIS Registry

Only InterNic maintains a central Registry WHOIS server that contains registrar and nameserver information for all of the .com, .org, .net, and .edu domains.  The output of InterNic's WHOIS search displays the domain name, registrar, WHOIS server address and referral URL for the domain name. 

Search Results from the WHOIS Server of a Domain Name's Registrar

You must do a WHOIS search at the domain name's registrar to determine all contact information for the a domain name.  To obtain accurate information about a domain name, you must perform a WHOIS search on the server of  the registrar of the domain name of record.  Some registrars WHOIS servers perform an InterNic registry lookup to display other registrars' domain names.  Some registrars perform a search on another registrar's WHOIS server. 

CAUTION:  The only way to obtain accurate domain name information such as its availability or contact or expiration information is to perform a WHOIS search on the WHOIS server maintained by the registrar of the domain name.  Many registrars' WHOIS databases are not updated in real time, which means that changes to a domain name may not appear in the WHOIS search results until the day after a change.

About Charles Runyan

Chuck Runyan, Ph.D., J.D., has been practicing intellectual property law since 1997.  Chuck advises trademark holders about domain names that infringe on a trademark and if the trademark holder has a claim to a domain name under ICANN's Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy and the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act.  He has a Ph.D. in chemistry and has been a patent attorney since 1998 whose practice includes patent preparation, prosecution, portfolio management, and opinion work.  Chuck represents individuals and businesses, start-ups through large, multi-national pharmaceutical companies, in their pursuit and enforcement of patent rights throughout the United States and worldwide.  Charles Runyan is licensed to practice law in Arizona, California and Texas.  Call Chuck at 480-205-9365, email at cer@keytlaw.com and fax at 602-297-6890.  Communicating with Charles Runyan via email, telephone or otherwise does not cause you to become a client of Chuck Runyan or KEYTLaw, LLC, or cause your communications to be confidential or subject to the attorney client privilege.  Charles Runyan is of counsel to KEYTLaw, LLC.

Domain Name Law Consultations

Domain name lawyer & trademark lawyer Charles Runyan, Ph.D., offers phone consultations on domain name law and cybersquatting issues for $499 (1 hour) and $299 (1/2 hour).  Call Chuck at 480-205-9365 or send an email to cer@keytlaw.com.

This page was last modified on October 21, 2008.

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