Some Trademark industry views are very amusing ...

["Charles Christopher" <charles@xxxxxxxxx>]

I find it interesting that the trademark community opposes introduction of new 
TLDs. I believe their view conveniently ignores the history of the .COM ?brand? 
and typo squatting, and trademark confusion, that primarily takes place under 
the .COM Brand.

Allowing brands to remove / detach themselves from .COM actually reduces 
trademark problems by reducing and eventually eliminating consumers current 
view that brands are found ?under? .com. In effect a corp obtaining their 
?.Brand? faces some costs to move customers to their own TLDs but at the same 
time, and by many corps doing this, consumers will no longer look to .COM for 
individual brands they will instead try say ?www.Cars.Ford? first.

Once enough brands breakout to their own TLDs consumers will intuitive know 
that unless the TLD is equal to the brand they are not at the trademark holders 
?authorized? site.

That having been said, I do understand how corporations related to paid search 
and ISPs would not like new brand oriented TLDs as doing so cuts into their own 
virtual typo squatting such as Internet Explorer?s redirection of unzoned 
(read: typos) URL entries to their paid search. Also note that ISP are now 
placing bandwidth limits on their services to prevent competing service 
offerings such as third party internet video on demand ..... Just imagine the 
lawsuit of a .NFL finding that Comcast is blocking their video feed due to 
?bandwidth limits?. It?s hard to make such cases with most domains are mixed 
under a single primary TLD, but beak out TLD by brand and the issue of Network 
Neutralty become all too obvious ... Not to mention the lawsuit of Ford going 
after Microsoft for it monitizing .FORD ?error traffic? via Internet Explorer, 
or ISP doing the same with their recent introduction of monitization systems 
within their networks. 

I suggest *SOME* trademark holders lack of support for expasion of TLDs is 
*VERY* self serving .... Espicially those in any way benefit from error traffic 
monitization as well as those who benefit from *NOT* having a Neutral Network.


To be clear I fully support an expansion of TLD subject to equal cost of 
registration and renewal for all registrants of "retial" TLDs to avoid the 
registry from *EXTORTING* businesses, as well as full accountablity of ICANN 
for it's profits of such TLDs. Private / Brand TLD obviously have now such 
registrant cost and such be very carfully issues and *NOT* allowed to ever be 
sold, they should follow full "delete cycle" as if they never existed.

- Charles Christopher