RE: [gtld-council] Regarding non-commercial interests in the gTLD market

["Gomes, Chuck" <cgomes@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I personally think I am okay with the NCUC recommendation in this regard 
although I wonder whether it would be better to shorten the recommendation as 
follows: "...The process for introducing new gTLDs must make proper allowance 
for third party rights."  Why limit ourselves to just two categories of rights?

Chuck Gomes
 
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> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-gtld-council@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
> [mailto:owner-gtld-council@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Mawaki Chango
> Sent: Wednesday, June 06, 2007 3:32 PM
> To: gtld-council@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: [gtld-council] Regarding non-commercial 
> interests in the gTLD market
> 
> Hello,
> 
> --- Bruce Tonkin <Bruce.Tonkin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> 
> [snip]
> > 
> > On the freedom of speech argument - there is no direct correlation 
> > between non-commercial organisations and freedom of speech they are 
> > different concepts.  Commercial organisations that support 
> freedom of 
> > speech may outnumber non-commercial :-)
> 
> Then it makes perfect sense to agree to NCUC's proposed 
> amendment to Recom.3, doesn't it?
> 
> NCUC proposed version" "...The process for introducing new 
> gTLDs must make proper allowance for third party rights, 
> including trademark and freedom of expression rights..."
> 
> After all, as Robin rightly questions on behalf of NCUC, why 
> be concerned of only a specific set of rights here? 
> Provisions like this seem to "annex" the Internet name policy 
> to a particular group of stakeholders. Trademark rights are 
> not universal, or how would you say that, across borders. The 
> court cases that Robin cited seem to me to match what I know 
> from the French system to be the notion of "class" for 
> trademarks. E.g., "Bordelais" is or may be a trademark (I 
> haven't checked the records but the name is famous enough as 
> AOC "appelation d'origine controllée") in the world of wines 
> & "spiritueux"
> (class). But the world can still be used in another category (or
> class) or activities, for other purposes than qualifyng a 
> certain quality of alcohol. So it is a concept that limit 
> trademark rights to specific domains, making the name 
> available for other purposes, including controversial 
> speeches about the trademark as the US court cases show. 
> 
> In other words, by just singling out the need the need to 
> protect trademarks against corresponding domain name 
> registration, we are taking the risk to collapse the Internet 
> domain name space ad the trademark domains of rights, 
> ultimately equating the value of a domain name to that of a trademark.
> 
> That is a possibility (and I'm aware it's a historical shift 
> that has been happening in the governance of the Internet), 
> but it certainly not a neutral choice - as neutral as one 
> could expect.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Mawaki
>  
> 
>