Opposition to closed generic TLDs

[Sam Johnston <samj@xxxxxxxx>]

Dear Sirs,

I write to express personal opposition to the issuance of closed generic
TLDs, which I consider an affront to common sense (not to mention an open,
competitive market).

While one might be tempted to consider the case of arbitrary trademarks
(which have a common meaning, but the meaning is unrelated to the goods or
services offered for sale under the mark, such as Apple Computer), the
Domain Name System has a single namespace, while the trademark system has
many (in the form of International Classes).

The "protection" of "intellectual property" through the issuance of closed
generic TLDs should not be allowed, and furthermore the regulation of
generics should be such that there is no competitive advantage to be
derived by an incumbent from operating the generic.

It is not simply enough to adopt a FRAND type approach, as what is
"reasonable" for a multinational is not necessarily for an individual or
small business, rather the costs should be comparable to those of the
existing gTLDs (com/net/org).

Kind regards,

Sam Johnston