Re: [ICANN-EU] Re: First Domain "Sunrise" Period Launched at .ws

[Jefsey Morfin <jefsey@wanadoo.fr>]

Jeff,
I strongly disagree with your point of view - and I am sure you
will want to poll your Member again about this as only dumb
people do not change their mind - because the only solution to
the Trade Mark issues lies there as I explained when discussing
the position of the ".SYS" consortium whch seems to have been
copied by many others with the same 90 days period.

The solution is to say:

- WIPO says "a DN is a label, TM are a label, so DNs are
   subject to TM laws" which is a stupid proposition.
-  we say "a TM may be an internet address, a DN is an internet
    address, TM on internet are subject to DN laws" which seems
    a sensible proposition.

For this to be acceptable we must have a DN law which makes
sense for every one including TM owners, so to have a TM law
which makes sense to DN owners: eventually the best will be -
as in Andorra - that the TM authority is the/a registrar (I prefer
itto only be one of them to keep competition and low rates).

The way to reach that situation is to say:

-  to the TM owners: we give you a three months period to
    register your TM. Declining that opportunity is for ever.

-  to TM registrants : if you also want to protect your new
    TM on the net you must do it within 30 days, ie it is like
    subscribing to one or several additional classes (TLDs).

-  to DN registrants : if you register a DN you did not trade
    marked before you risk to have an UDRP during your first
    30 days.

The unbalance comes from the fact that Internet provides
free whois and TMs do not. This should be a temporary
situation with the WIPO to removing themselves from
UDRP as they represent one of the parties and selling
IP authority a real solution, ie registering DNs on their
behalf (much more money to make).

This is very easy to implement:

-  WIPO becomes a registrar (or makes a deal with an
    existing registrar) for every participating TLD in UDRP
    and accepts dates from other Registries.
-  you register your intended TM in the number of TLD
    you want.
-  the DN registration date is accepted by IP participating
    agencies as the TM registration date.
-  any new TLD contacts the WIPO when being set up
    (as part onf the a-root/alt.root procedure) to offer a
    90 days sunrise period.

Jefsey



At 08:19 10/10/00, you wrote:
>Michael and all,
>
>   Thanks for this interesting article.  Much appreciated.
>
>   I got a Letter from the .WS registry last week regarding
>registering company names that I am associated with and
>asking me to sign a petition to "Stamp Out Cybersquating"
>I replied that I and none of my associates were remotely
>interested and disagreed strongly with their policy in this
>regard.
>
>Michael Sondow wrote:
>
> > COMPUTERGRAM INTERNATIONAL: OCTOBER 09 2000
> >
> > + First Domain "Sunrise" Period Launched at .ws
> >
> > As a taster of what we can expect when ICANN introduces new
> > top- level domains into the domain name system early next year,
> > country-code TLD registry WebSite.ws (Global Domains
> > International Inc) is offering companies 90 days to beat the
> > cybersquatters.
> >
> > WebSite.ws has been accepting registrations in the .ws
> > namespace since March, under a deal with the Samoan government,
> > which owns the rights to the .ws ccTLD. But this week, possibly
> > in a move to capitalize on the renewed interest in domain name
> > issues and to ramp up its visibility ahead of new competitive
> > gTLDs, the company announced it will give companies 90 days to
> > register their .ws names before opening them up to the public.
> >
> > The company has reserved the names of the Fortune 500 public
> > companies, Fortune 500 private companies, top 200 internet
> > companies and all major sports teams, and is aggressively
> > telemarketing these firms. Whichever domains have not been
> > registered, at the cost of $35 a year, by the end of the year
> > will be released into the public, to be potentially snapped up
> > by cybersquatters.
> >
> > "If you want to register your name, great. If you don't we
> > would like to make it available to someone else," explained
> > director of corporate communications Robert Blodgett. CEO Alan
> > Ezeir added in a statement: "In September we contacted [retail
> > chain] Nordstrom Inc to offer 'nordstrom.ws', but they
> > declined. I fully expect there is a Mr and Mrs Nordstrom out
> > there who would love to attain this web site for personal use,
> > without any intent to threaten or blackmail Nordstrom's
> > corporation."
> >
> > Although the move is billed as a "war against cybersquatting",
> > it isn't entirely altruistic. WebSite.ws is charging for the
> > registrations - and the reserved names could bring in about
> > $50,000 a year. When New York-based alternative DNS operator
> > Name.Space Inc tried a similar trick earlier this year,
> > registering certain trademarks in the .news and .sports spaces
> > "on behalf of" the holders, it was promptly delivered cease and
> > desist letters. But Blodgett points out that .ws has been
> > accepted by ICANN into the root of the authoritative DNS, so
> > the situation is somewhat different.
> >
> > This first "sunrise period" sets the stage for the introduction
> > of new gTLDs next year. Many of the applicants to operate the
> > new registries specify such periods in their plans, to avoid a
> > mad dash by cybersquatters to lay claim to trademarked domains.
> >
> > Companies are going to increasingly find the cost of web "land"
> > going up. It is estimated that it currently costs about $10,000
> > per year to register one name in every gTLD and ccTLD and sub-
> > domain. The more TLDs that are introduced, the higher the total
> > cost. Some registries, like .tv, have staggered registration
> > prices based on how valuable dotTV Inc thinks they are, with
> > china.tv going for $100,000 for example.
>
>Regards,
>
>--
>Jeffrey A. Williams
>Spokesman INEGroup (Over 112k members strong!)
>CEO/DIR. Internet Network Eng/SR. Java/CORBA Development Eng.
>Information Network Eng. Group. INEG. INC.
>E-Mail jwkckid1@ix.netcom.com
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