Att.: Rod Beckstrom - New gTLD Programme - Draft Applicants Guidebook - Version 4

[Charlotte Munck <Charlotte.Munck@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Comments on the Draft Applicant Guidebook 4 (DAG 4)

We hereby take the opportunity to send our comments on the DAG 4.

We are a global trademark owner, and our main brand is NILFISK, which is 
registered worldwide.

Initially, we can inform you that we are totally against the introduction of 
new TLDs as long as the current system does not secure effective solutions to 
cyber-squatting and trademark infringements. ICANN still seems to ignore that 
cyber-squatting and all kinds of fraud on the internet is increasing in number, 
having extensive costs with no business value as a consequence.

We note that DAG 4 proposes two rights protections mechanisms which in our 
opinion are not sufficient, viz. the Sunrise and Trademark Claims services. The 
Sunrise service exists in an identical form and the Trademark Claims service 
exists in a form where registrants have to declare that they do not infringe 
upon third party rights when registering a domain name. Neither of these 
mechanisms, in particular the Trademark Claims service, have proven sufficient 
to hinder or even reduce the number of domain names registered in bad faith. 
Both mechanisms are pre-launch, and to be post-launch a procedure is needed.

The "matching" taking place in connection with the Trademark Claims service is 
limited to exact matches which is clearly insufficient as most cyber-squatting 
is not an exact match!

A more thorough examination as to the legitimate rights in the registering of 
the TLD is necessary.

DAG 4 provides for a difference as regards the trademarks which are recognized 
within the Trademark Claims and Sunrise services. The first service recognizes 
registered trademarks while the second service only recognizes trademarks that 
are registered in countries conducting a so-called substantive review or 
examination. There is no explanation for this difference which means that all 
CTMs and most national European trademarks are excluded from the Sunrise 
service. This is not acceptable and can cause many infringements.

The Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS) proposed in DAG 4 is also much weaker than 
the URS proposed in the IRT Report. It doesn't seem to be more rapid or cheaper 
than the ordinary UDRP and the domain name is only blocked for a short period 
of time with the possibility of perpetuating the cyber-squatting. There is no 
loser-pays mechanism which would be essential in a URS of any real value, or 
even a fee for filing a response to a complaint, and the burden of proof is on 
the trademark owner to prove that the registrant has no legitimate interest in 
the domain name. Furthermore, the URS is apparently only available to owners of 
trademarks registered in countries conducting a so-called substantive review or 
examination meaning that all CTMs and most national European trademarks are 
excluded from the URS. Again, not acceptable because it may be impossible to 
enforce European trademark rights.

The proposed Globally Protected Marks List is not part of DAG 4 which is very 
disappointing as it would have been the rights protection mechanism that could 
have provided some relief for trademark owners of such marks.

In our opinion, ICANN has not yet solved the overarching trademark issue. We 
urge ICANN to solve the trademark issue before any new gTLDs are released.


Kind regards,

Charlotte Munck
Solveig Hove-Christensen
Global Web Manager
[cid:image003.png@01CB228A.7AF5EE40]
Nilfisk-Advance A/S
Sognevej 25
DK-2605 Brøndby
Phone: +45 43 23 81 00
Direct: +45 43 23 82 07
Mobile: +45 29 29 18 75
solveig.hove-christensen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:Solveig.hove-christensen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
http://www.nilfisk-advance.com<http://www.nilfisk-advance.com/>&  
www.nilfisk-alto.com



Trademark Manager
[cid:image002.png@01CB2283.456B9650]
Nilfisk-Advance A/S
Sognevej 25
DK-2605 Brøndby
Phone: +45 43 23 81 00
Fax: +45 43 23 81 89
Direct: +45 43 23 81 94
Mobile: +45 40 22 92 32
charlotte.munck@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:charlotte.munck@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
www.nilfisk.com<http://www.nilfisk.com/> & www.nilfisk-alto.com



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