Weeks ago, I wrote at DomeBase.com about the crazy "Musical
Chairs Lottery" which would happen if the DomeBase Proposal (or something like it)
was not adopted. As best I can tell (sometimes folks change rules, it seems),
this is exactly what is unfolding. Please find below what the WIPO site says
about this and what DomeBase.com says. I think they say the same thing.
If I am wrong about this, please let me know. This could all have been avoided.
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FROM WIPO
Site:
"9) What remedies are available to a Sunrise Challenger? The remedies available
to a Challenger are limited to requiring the cancellation of the domain name registration
or the transfer of the domain name registration to the Challenger. A successful Challenger
who has requested transfer of the domain name will be given an opportunity to register
the domain name in its name within 10 days of the notification of the authorization
code (see E 5, and Paragraph 11(b) of the Rules). The Challenger, in its turn, will
have to assert in its registration agreement that it complies with the sunrise registration
conditions, i.e., that it has a qualified trademark which would have qualified as
a basis for registration during the original sunrise period (Paragraph 4(j) of the
Policy). Such a subsequent registration can itself be challenged by others under
the Sunrise Policy and Rules."
FROM MY SITE (DomeBase.com) WRITTEN MANY WEEKS AGO:
"Please
consider an analogy -- a game. A circle of chairs is put in the middle of a
room. Each chair has a name and a pot of gold under it. For $100, anyone can
go and sit on a chair when the music begins. Whoever is sitting on a chair
when the music stops gets the pot of gold under chair. However, anyone can
also buy a ticket for $295 to try to knock someone off a chair. If the name
on the chair matches the name of the person on the chair, then the challenge fails
and the person remains on the chair. If the name on the chair does not
match
the name of the person on the chair, then the challenge succeeds and the
challenger sits on the chair. Some chairs have names that do not match anyone's
in the room -- called "unmatched chairs." For unmatched chairs, one person
after another can successfully challenge and sit on the chair... until the music
stops and the last person on the chair gets the pot of gold. This game is the
"Musical Chairs Lottery." The contest for unmatched chairs qualifies as a lottery
because it involves the three elements of a lottery: (1) prize, (2) consideration,
and (3) chance. The prize is the pot of gold. The consideration is the
$295 ticket to try to knock someone off a chair. The chance is the uncertainty
about who else will
try to knock you off the chair and when the music will stop.
What does the "Musical Chairs Lottery" have to do with Sunrise Registration issues?
If action is not taken and the Sunrise Challenge process operates as currently designed,
then anyone will be free to challenge bogus Sunrise Registrations for a non-trademarked
name for $295. However, since the name is not trademarked, the successful challenger
may in turn be challenged, and so forth and so forth, until the music stops (the
challenge period ends?). Thus, the "Musical Chair Lottery" unfolds in real
life. I believe that it would be best for all parties -- the registry, the
registrars, and the registrants -- if constructive action is taken and the "Musical
Chairs Lottery" is avoided."