Re: Domain name regulation

["Martin B. Schwimmer" <martys@interport.net>]

Prof. Mueller wrote:

Read this carefully, folks. When you talk about treating domain names like
>trademarks and imposing regulatory review processes on the grant of a
domain via
>some international bureaucracy, this is a taste of what's in store.
>
>Dietmar J. Stefitz wrote:
>
>> I just wanted to register a Domain here in Spain for a new formed firm,
>> which includes in the domain the full company-name ( www.xxx-sl.es ) .
>> One week after registration, not accepted, because we have to proof the
>> existance of the company, ok, we send the notarial document of the company
>> formation by fax to the registrars, after one week again a reply, that tisi
>> is not enough, please submoit the papers from the local company registrar!
>> ( It's Holidays here in Spain) So the firm has printed all the leaflets,
>> but cannot include the domain in the stationay etc.etc., because of this
>> lousy bureaucrats at the Spanish DOMAIN Registration Service ( Total
>> Monopoly )
>
>



OK, as long as we're trading anecdotes - a web site completely takes the
code of the Web site of a furniture company, meta-tags and all, so the
abstract in the search engine results actually says "welcome to [furniture
company]" The infringer competes with the furniture company.  A Whois
search of web site reveals for the owner a fictitious name, a fictitoous
address, and the administrative contact telephone number - 999-999-9999,
billing contact number - 999-999-9999. This is bad not only for the
furniture company whose code was stolen but for the customers who would
order furniture from this web site.  

My point is that proving who you are is not, in and of itself, a bad thing.
 It cuts down on name speculation and it cuts down on fly-by-night
operations (which can give the Net a bad name).

For-profit registries will not voluntary impose on themselves rigorous
standards for identity checking.  

It isn't good that the Spanish company needed to wait two weeks to obtain a
monopoly on the use of its preferred domain name.  It's hard to get things
done in a hurry in August in Europe (I hear that Italy is the worst).  I am
not sorry that it had to submit a notarized copy of its corporate documents
(I agree that it sounds silly - complain to the NIC).  However, perhaps the
poster can tell us if there is much of a name speculation industry in Spain
for .es names.