Re: AW: [ICANN-EU] AMM's "government statement"

[Marc Schneiders <marc@schneiders.org>]

On Wed, 18 Oct 2000, Andreas Fügner wrote:

[AMM wrote:]
> >I strongly support protected areas for tm holders´, but not the whole
> >name space as a protected area for the name space holders.
> 
> That would be a violation by itself.
> A theoretical solution would be to create a TM free zone.
> Pretty much like the news groups for flame and hate language.
> Unfortunately TM laws do not allow such a thing. A TM holder
> is by law required to fight ALL violations in order to keep his right.

That may be true, if you sell shoes, and I also sell shoes using the
same name. If I sell cars, you do not have to sue me, if I use the
same name, and you would not win, if you did. On the level of domain
names, things go much further, thanks to the UDRP. Can Madonna, the
Singer, porn-star and 'actress', claim the TM Madonna for every
product and service? No, not under TM law. She can claim the domain
Madonna.com, and she gets it. Is this *necessary* to defend her TM? Of
course not. She doesn't sue a hospital that is called Madonna, and she
doesn't have to to keep her TM. I think the idea that TM owners are
forced to go after domain names, is invented, like so many other
things, by TM lawyers. Yes, I am so paranoid.

-- 
Marc Schneiders
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"ICANN is a two edged sword 
and the trademark interests 
have been swinging
their edge recently. 
But beware of the backstroke."
(Karl Auerbach)
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