Business Constituency comment on ICANN's proposed rules for TM Matching

[Steve DelBianco <sdelbianco@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

The Business Constituency offers this suggestion on ICANN's proposed matching 
rules for names entered in the Trademark Clearinghouse.

Upon review of the possible methods for translating “@” and “&” as described in 
the “Explanatory Memorandum: Implementing the Matching Rules”, the Business 
Constituency requests that the languages for translations of “@” and “&” be 
chosen on a per-record basis by the trademark owner.

The memorandum suggests that the language of translations should be based upon 
the official language(s) of the trademark registry.

Restricting translations to the official language of the trademark registry is 
problematic, particularly for global brands or for trademarks registered in 
countries where there is no official language.

Furthermore, requiring that translations of “@” and “&” match the official 
language of the trademark registry would likely result in additional costs to 
brand owners for additional submissions of the same mark to the Trademark 
Clearinghouse.

Elisa Cooper served as Rapportuer for these comments, which were approved in 
accordance with the BC Charter.

Steve DelBianco
Vice chair for policy coordination
Business Constituency