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Username: jjnlaw72
Date/Time: Tue, October 17, 2000 at 3:03 PM GMT
Browser: Netscape Communicator V4.61 using Windows 95
Score: 5
Subject: IOD Hypocracy

Message: 		 

 
       
      It is interesting to note that all of the people claiming bribery happen to be supporters of the IOD.  It is also interesting to note that under the guise of protecting intellectual property rights (i.e., claiming IOD was the first to USE .Web), IOD has provided an incredible safe heaven for for cybersquatters.  For example, let me quote some of the domain names that have already been preregistered with IOD by cybersquatters....AOL.WEB, ATT.WEB, BESTBUY.WEB, BMW.WEB, COCACOLA.WEB, COMPAQ.WEB.....need I go on....OK...CRAYOLA.WEB, DISNEY.WEB, ETRADE.WEB, FUJI.WEB, GENERALMOTORS.WEB, TOYOTA.WEB, SEARS.WEB,.  Point is that if IOD gets the .WEB TLD, they are just asking for an intellectual property bloodbath.  ICANN cannot allow IOD to be accepted because of their ignorance of intellectual property rights.  Having a sixty day (or whatever time period) to challenge the preregistrations in a proceeding is not only laughable, but completely inefficient in solving the cybersquatting problems caused by IOD's preregistrations.

Second, everyone is claiming that IOD has prior rights to the .WEB TLD.  Well, maybe you all should read the latest court cases where it has been found specifically that IOD does not have prior use of, or even a right to use the mark .WEB.  Preregistrations, in the eyes of the court, does not amount to actual use.  In addition, the courts have held that .WEB or "dot anything" is not protectable as a trademark in conection with providing registry services because it is generic in that it merely describes an address or a place to find the person who owns the SLD portion of the name.  Before claiming any trademark rights IOD, read the case law.  Read how IOD lost its challenge to CORE.

There will be lawsuits regarding any new TLD that is picked.  In fact, Intent to use trademark applications have been filed on .nom, .per, .biz, etc.  Just because people have filed trademark applications around the world for these three-letter strings does not give them the right to use or even to own the mark.  You need to be using it in commerce.  Use in commerce implicitly means that you have a RIGHT TO USE the string in commerce.  IOD does not have and should not have such a right.  Without the authority to use a mark, you cannot protect the mark as a trademark.

Finally, the fact that Neustar has chosen to indemnify ICANN does not amount to any bribery in my opinion.  The fact that they are indemnifying ICANN merely states that in the event IOD makes a frivilous challenge (which no doubt it would be), ICANN will not have to foot the bill.  ICANN does not have the resources to defend such a lawsuit...Neustar may.

So, lets do everyone a favor and read the proposals and make some legitimate comments on the proposal.
     
 

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