comments on Section 2.2.1.1.3 of the new guidebook

["Shahram Soboutipour" <soboutipour@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dear Sirs

 

The following is our comments on Section 2.2.1.1.3 of the new guidebook
which declares: 

"An application that passes the String Similarity review is still subject to
objection by an existing TLD operator or by another gTLD applicant in the
current application round. That process requires that a string confusion
objection be filed by an objector having the standing to make such an
objection. Such category of objection is not limited to visual similarity.
Rather, confusion based on any type of similarity (including visual, aural,
or similarity of meaning) may be claimed by an objector. "

 

As a spokesman of the main professional Association of the ICT private
sector of a non-English language country (with more than 6000 members), we
feel this harmful for the business benefits of our members, since "Meaning
Similarity" can ban every IDN TLDs that will come to the field in the
future.

We believe there are 3 problems with the phrase "Meaning Similarity":

 

1.  Meaning does not include a fixed data. It is very un-evaluative, since
everybody can have his/her own sense for a word. There would be no specific
criteria of finding these similarities. 

a.  Are we going to refer to a specific dictionary (like Webster's or Oxford
Dictionary) to find out whether there is a similarity or not?! A word can
have many meanings, does it mean that every meaning (even close or far) is
going to be banned?

b.  Most of current TLDs are abbreviations. What is the meaning of .com or
.biz? and how much wide do they cover the words? 

c.  And finally, what does "Similarity" itself mean in this phrase "Meaning
Similarity" ?

2.  IDNs are important for non-English speaking communities. Does it mean
that no regional company in these countries can apply for the IDN version of
an existing TLD? Are we going to provide a monopoly for the current TLD
holders or those who come in the next months (which we estimate them about
500) against those who may come in the future?

Visual and aural similarities are acceptable because they can cause
confusions in internet users, but a user will not be confused about the
meanings.

3.  Most of the words has more than 1 meaning. Maybe 5 or more meanings.
Another confusion would be for these IDNs which will ban these alternative
meanings for just 1 meaning of a word.

 

 

Best Regards,

Shahram Soboutipour | Iranian ICT Guild Organization (IIG)

Member of the Board of Directors, 

Director of International Affairs Commision

tel: +98 21 8873 4499 | cell: +98 913 141 6626

email:  <mailto:soboutipour@xxxxxxxxxxx> soboutipour@xxxxxxxxxxx |
<mailto:shahram@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> shahram@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 <skype:shahramsp?chat> Skype |
<msnim:chat?contact=shahram@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> MSN |
<ymsgr:sendim?soboutipour@xxxxxxxxx> Yahoo! |
<gtalk:chat?jid=soboutipour@xxxxxxxxx> GoogleTalk |
<http://www.facebook.com/soboutipour> facebook |
<http://ir.linkedin.com/in/soboutipour> LinkedIn |
<https://www.xing.com/profile/Shahram_Soboutipour> xing |
<http://www.twitter.com/soboutipour> twitter