Whois system comments

["Cohen, David A. (MTO LAW)" <David.Cohen2@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

My name is David Cohen, and I am the Chief Trademark Counsel for
Honeywell International Inc. in New Jersey.  I understand that on
October 31, 2007, ICANN's policy advisory body will vote on three
motions that will determine the future structure of the domain name and
Whois system.  I am writing in support of "Motion 2" and in opposition
to Motions 1 and 3 and any motion/rule that would limit or eliminate
free and easy access to all authentic ownership data regarding domain
names.

 

With respect to Motion 2, I understand that it is a proposal for ICANN
to conduct an objective and comprehensive study on the legitimate abuses
and uses of Whois data, before making policy changes that may
permanently alter the structure of the domain name and Whois system.  I
am in favor of this motion.  Extreme care should be given prior to the
enactment of any rule changes that would alter these important databases
of information.

 

I am also opposed to any motion that will hide or eliminate free and
easy access to Whois information and, more specifically, ownership
information regarding specific domain names.  It will come as no
surprise to anyone associated with domain names that the system is
susceptible to fraud and improper and illegal activity.  While some of
this activity may be conducted by isolated individuals, other activity
can perhaps be described as institutional and is propagated by domain
name registration and service companies who presumably have associations
with accredited registrars or ICANN itself.  Specifically, over the last
few years, our company (and many others) have been continually bombarded
with e-mails from companies out of the UK, China, Germany and elsewhere
purporting to be contacting us in order to give us the chance to
register domain names associated with our company's trademarks which
purportedly have been requested by a third party.  In truth, the third
party does not exist, and the company is fraudulently trolling for
business.  Our company receives, on average, such solicitations on a
weekly basis somewhere around the world.  It is unconscionable that such
activity is allowed to continue without sanction.  In a company as large
as Honeywell, we have had employees all over the world receiving these
solicitations, and only our own internal procedures for domain name
registration have prevented many of our employees from falling prey to
these activities and spending money on registering domain names under a
false pretense.

 

Turning to the Whois system, if ownership and contact information were
no longer provided, it would then become impossible for companies such
as Honeywell to check into the names given to us through these
solicitations to see if they actually are cybersquatters or merely
fictional.  As it stands, most Whois databases do not provide for easy
searching by owner.  This, I believe, is a policy which should be
changed.  Back when the Whois system was still new, most registrars
provided for searching by owner to see which and how many domain names
were owned by any specific individual or company.  At the time, this was
an invaluable tool in the prevention of domain name theft and
cybersquatting.  At some point, these ownership searches no longer
became possible on free databases, which frankly was a huge loss for
legitimate companies who police their rights.  This, in fact, is a rule
change that ICANN should consider and change, not the opposite.  Simply
put, I cannot fathom the rational for any legitimate business that such
anonymity is required.  In an analogous situation of worldwide
trademarks offices, all such ownership data is open to the public and in
many cases freely available for searching via the Internet.  The Whois
system and data should be no different.

 

As it stands, the Whois system is an extremely important tool for our
company in enforcing our trademark rights and preventing
anti-counterfeiting on a worldwide basis by allowing us to locate domain
names that have been registered and/or are in use by companies who are
not legitimately using our trademarks.  If such information was no
longer available, it would severely hamper our ability to ensure
protection of our valuable rights.  

 

Therefore, I implore the Generic Names Supporting Organization Council
to adopt Motion 2 and reject Motions 1 and 3 and any other motion that
would restrict access to Whois information by the public in a free and
easy manner.  In my mind, I simply see no justification for a legitimate
company to hide such information.  By the same token, adopting Motions 1
and 3, or any other motion that would restrict access to Whois
information, would assuredly make the system of domain name registration
an even more fertile ground for improper and illegal activity, to the
detriment of legitimate business.

 

I would be happy to discuss my opinions on this subject in further
detail at any point.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

David A. Cohen

Assistant General Counsel & Chief Trademark Counsel      

Honeywell International Inc.

101 Columbia Road

Morristown, NJ 07962

Tel: (973) 455-5686

Fax: (973) 455-5904

david.cohen2@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:david.cohen2@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>