Preserve the Whois System
To Whom It May Concern: On behalf of Sun Microsystems, Inc. and as a member of the International Trademark Association, I recommend that the GNSO take the following actions with respect to the motions before it in connection with the Whois system: ADOPT Motion 2 and
REJECT Motion 1 and 3As a trademark attorney, I have been using the Whois system since 1995. While at Arent Fox in Washington, D.C., I filed one of the first federal court actions to return a domain name to a trademark owner -- we sought the return of the domain bbb.org to the Council of Better Business Bureaus. Since that time, I have used Whois frequently in my practice to protect the brands under my care. The database is invaluable for domain name management, acquisition due diligence, trademark enforcement and protection of a broad range of intellectual property rights. As you know, the core legal principle underlying trademark statutes is protection of the buying public. Motions 1 and 3 would deprive the public of a critical information resource. While many of us have experienced abuse of the current system, I advocate adopting Motion 2 and carrying out a study of the current use of the Whois data before making any policy change. Regards, Tiki Dare
*Sun Microsystems, Inc.* 10 Network Circle, MS UMPK10-146 Menlo Park, CA 94025 US Phone 650-352-5315 Fax 650-786-6118 Email Tiki.Dare@xxxxxxx |