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Username: jandl
Date/Time: Sat, April 15, 2000 at 8:29 PM GMT
Browser: Microsoft Internet Explorer V5.0 using Windows 98
Score: 5
Subject: Well Said - we don't need more police

Message:
 

 
        THANK you!  The last thing we need is to have ICANN or any other body police domain names.  It's tough enough to come up with a good name as it is.  With cybersquatting laws, the mega corps have protection.  Why does ICANN think we need more police??? 

        I agree that companies should have *reasonable* protection for their famous marks. They have spent millions and possibly billions to achieve the recognition. However I feel that the Universal Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) and the courts should be the ones who are deciding whether infringement has taken place -- NOT ICANN!

If you were to ask a trademark lawyer - they would have you believe that every word in the dictionary is a "famous mark" to someone somewhere. We should not clog up the DNS or prevent the addition of gTLDS because company "xyz" in Nowhereville, Montana has claimed the name "net" as their trademark. This is ludicrous!

I think that if we were to put together a list of "famous marks" there would be 3,000 - 5,000 names on it (including McDonalds, and Coca- Cola!). But, just because you have a small business and claim some common word that is in the vernacular - does NOT give you the right to stop someone from buying a domain name. I don't think that ICANN or the registars should be the ones who responsible for the policing of the namespace. And, common words CANNOT be trademarked!

Network Solutions has always had it good because they:

1) Never got into the game of pre-determining which names you can or cannot buy. All names are for sale - and if there is a dispute you take it to court and settle it amongst yourselves.

2) Was not held legally responsible for selling a domain name. (Even if it was proven to infringe on someone's trademark).

If we open up the can-of-worms where the registrars are directly responsible for determining ahead of time if the name is famous or not (and for sale or not) then we will never get anywhere. The whole system will be mired in litigation and gridlock. ICANN should NOT be the Domain Name Police. There are several examples where NSI has abused their position of power and opted to side with the mega-corporation instead of the small artist. (Even though the small artist can prove to everyone that they owned their domain name 2 years before the corporation attempted to use it for e-commerce!)

The businesses who own these names want the best of both worlds: the freedom to use new domain names for their own marketing purposes and the barbed-wire fence of protection which keeps everyone else out.

The common user of the Internet (aka - "the little guy") should not suffer or have their names taken because the businesses want to make it easy and less costly for themselves to police their famous marks. When in doubt - get out the UDRP and take it to court!!!

** No special favors for corporations and businesses online! **

The Net was here first! Before there was "e-commerce" or "virtual malls" or Internet commerce - there was the common man. The people who built and used the Internet on a daily basis. And, amazingly enough: we did it all without the need to buy something online...
     

 


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