IRT report comment from a Federal Trademark owner
"The Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS) proposal would effectively displace the UDRP at all new gTLDs and substantially diminish registrants? procedural and substantive due process rights. The extreme low cost of filing complaints (as little as $1.50 per domain in mass filings) and the lack of effective sanctions (abusive complainants barred from the URS for one year, and then only after three separate incidents of abuse, with no monetary sanctions or indemnification requirements) would encourage abusive complaint filings. There is also a lack of effective or affordable substantive appeals procedures for registrants who believe that their domains have been unfairly suspended. Further, trademark interests have already voiced the goal of imposing the URS on incumbent gTLDs, including .com, soon after its adoption for new gTLDs." ICA Our company holds several Federal trademarks. We certainly understand the need to protect legitimate trademark rights from those seeking to profit off years of built up mark equity and investment. We have even gone so far as to file legal proceedings in Federal court to protect our rights. Yet this URS proposal, as we have read it, would only further weaken the entire system for both sides. There is already a UDRP system in place which itself has been abused over the years. Having a watered down version like the URS would only make it easier for greedy infringes on both sides of the fence. A strengthening of the current UDRP system is what needs to happen. Make the penalties for infringing individuals, companies and hijackers (reverse) stiffer. Force registrars to live up to their contract obligations with ICANN. Draw a clear line in the sand and not let lawyers or special interest groups rewrite the rules, which is what has happened with the UDRP and the current URS proposal. Sincerely, Kenneth Lima II Chief Technology Officer Nation Press, LLC (407) 285-5039 *** IMPORTANT NOTICE: Privileged and/or confidential information may be contained in this message. This message is intended solely for the individual to whom it is directed. Any dissemination, distribution, sharing or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited without written consent of the original author. No confidentiality or privilege is waived or lost by any misdirection of this message. If you received this message in error, please immediately delete it and all copies of it from your system, destroy any hard copies of it and notify the sender by return e-mail. *** |