A message to ICANN.Your rules have promoted the mass registration of names by
individuals.
What appears to you as speculation and cybersquatting, is often
just
an individual responding to the rules you've imposed.
Take the case of
someone who doen't already own a going business.
They are at that point in their
career where they can take a good
generic name (with its inherent free advertising
value) and build a
website around it.
The individual would like to apply for
a small number of names that
have good profit potential. Or a small number
of names that
correspond with their interests and hobbies (golf, painting,
whatever).
ICANN/REGISTRY
IMPOSES A LOTTERY SYSTEM.
A lottery system forces that individual to apply for
extra names. If
the individual applies for a limited number of names;
especially, the
best names, there is a good chance the person will wind up with
zero
names.
So an individual is forced to apply for many names, in the hopes
of
winning a few. Since there will be many applicants for the best
names,
the individual is forced to also apply for what he considers
"secondary" names.
Lo
and behold
ICANN RULES THAT TRADEMARK HOLDERS GET FIRST CRACK
AT THE DOMAIN
NAMES.
Well, there is a good chance a trademark holder will want to
apply for
a name corresponding to his trademark. One has to assume
that a trademarked
name will be taken.
Many of the names on the applicant's original list are no
longer
available.
The applicant is forced to apply for still more "secondary" names.
He
keeps his original applications in the hopes that a few trademark
holders will
not apply for their names, and one or two names will
slip thru. Or in the
hope that ICANN will change its policy.
ICANN RULES THAT TWO CHARACTER NAMES
ARE UNAVAILABLE.
The individual keeps his 2-character names in the hopes
that
ICANN will change its policy. Applies for still
more names.
ICANN RESERVES
COUNTRY NAMES.
There is talk that WIPO would like to take away geographic names.
Since
a lot of geographic/city names aren't trademarked, and a
number of rulings have
gone against cities, and there may never
be a chance to obtain a geographic/city
name again. And since all the
other names applicant was applying for have
vanished. Applicant
applies for geographic/city names.
Now the applicant
has an extremely long list of names.
Many of which aren't available due to ICANN
restrictions
or Sunrise registrations.
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The
fact that the names are unavailable doesn't matter to
a number of registrars
who put payment authorizations on
unavailable names. 2-character names,
country names,
names taken in Sunrise, etc.
Now, other registrars don't have
access to credit that
should have been available.
The registrars who played
the game legally have suffered
many times over.
Lost registrations due to trademark
fraud. Lost registrations
whan a name isn't submitted due to insufficient
credit.
Credit that actually exists!. -- etc.
"for those that follow",
Steve
Feibish