ICANN Tries to Put An End to Domain Tasting and Opens the Door to New gTLDs

It is an exciting time for the development of the Internet, and it has gone almost unnoticed.  A number of developments in the domain name world have occurred today.  ICANN has paved the way to outlaw domain tasting at its Paris meeting this afternoon.  In April 2007, a supermajority of the GNSO (Generic Names Supporting Organization) council voted to discourage domain purchase grace periods in which refunds are given for the purchase of a domain within a set number of days, typically five.  In May 2007, ICANN's at-large advisory committee again asked the GNSO to look at the domain tasting issue, and they came up with five problem areas to address in regards to domain tasting.  Today, ICANN enacted a proposal that will prohibit those registrars that offer the grace periods from offering a refund for domain names that exceed 10% of the registrar's net registrations for the month or, alternatively, 50 domain names, whichever is greater. 

Additionally, the ICANN board voted to approve a massive expansion to the available domain names.  This new expansion, which must still be ratified by the ICANN board (expected in 2009), will allow applicants to the gTLD process to select their own suffixes.  This recommendation paves the way to allow trademark holders to select more marketable suffixes, e.g. diet.pepsi or pumps.reebok, and it allows cities to apply for suffixes (e.g. .newyork & .chicago).  It will be interesting to see how this affects trademark holders, and how it will affect the value of the current premium TLDs such as .com. 

Protecting Your Trademark In Light of ICANN's New Generic Top-Level Domain Names

Domain names have become an important part of our commercial lives.  They act as designators of products and services and serve as shortcuts to reduce consumer search costs.  That is why trademark owners must be vigilant in protecting their trademark rights on the Internet.  On June 24, ICANN gathered to discuss adding new generic top-level domain names, or gTLDs, to the spectrum of available domain name suffixes.  When ICANN adds gTLDs, you can be sure that cybersquatters and typosquatters are watching because it presents them with a new opportunity to register the trademark of another to profit off of the goodwill and Internet traffic associated with the mark.  Domain name disputes inevitably follow the addition of TLDs, so it is important to hire an attorney that is proactive in monitoring the use of your trademarks on the Internet.

New Domain Search Tool Claims To Ensure Upstream Privacy For Domain Availability Search

The Over-the-Rhine-based advertising firm metaphor went to buy an
Internet domain name last winter after a preliminary search found it to
be available, but before they could buy it, the name was snatched away
by an outfit based in the Bahamas with links to China.

• Check out LiberateDomains.com

Metaphor has created a new software application which it claims is a safer way to quietly check on the availability of domain names - of growing importance for both commercial and personal use as the Internet expands.

Battling domain idea theft | Cincinnati Enquirer | Cincinnati.Com

Davis says metaphor's new program - which is being launched on the 25th anniversary of the program that changed the Internet from a number-based to a word-based system - is open-sourced and verifiable, making searches for possible names more secure.

"We're not going to hide how it operates, and we're taking every reasonable effort we can to prevent ourselves or others from snooping on the process," Davis said.

Originally intended as purely an in-house tool, the first version was "originally just hacked together" by Davis and his team. But metaphor chief executive Ran Mullins immediately saw the potential of a commercial launch.

You can also download editspot's white paper on cybersquatting and front running here.

Protect Your Domain Name Real Estate

It is an exciting time to be alive.  Similar to the land rush of the 19th century, the domain rush has made millionaires, and even billionaires, out of those who had the insight to be the first to register.  And the rush is far from over.  New domains are being registered every day, and new innovations and fortunes are still being made.  But domain names are not property in the strict sense of the word.  That is why it is important for individuals and business owners to register their personal names, business names, trademarks, and service marks, and why it is even more important to protect those domain names from cybersquatters, pirates, and thieves.

WIPO Domain Dispute Decisions under the Cybersquatting Provisions of the UDRP for the week ending June 6, 2008.

The following Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) decisions were entered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). There are 31 panel decisions, and of those decisions, 26 domains were transferred after finding of cybersquatting and 5 UDRP complaints were denied.

NAF Domain Dispute Decisions under the Cybersquatting Provisions of the UDRP for the week ending June 6, 2008

Managing Partner Enrico Schaefer: "Traverse Legal's attorneys know trademark and cybersquatting law and pride themselves on advanced litigation techniques which are both cost-effective and budget oriented.  Because we are a boutique litigation law firm, we know how to strategically and efficiently accomplish our client's goals. "

If you have a trademark or cybersquatting issue you may contact one of our trademark and domain dispute attorneys for a free evaluation or call 866.936.7447 (International Toll Free).

The following Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) decisions were entered by the National Arbitration Forum (NAF). There are 31 panel decisions, and of those decisions, 25 domains were transferred after finding of cybersquatting, 1 UDRP complaint was denied and 5 complaints withdrawn.

Do a Trademark Availability Search Before Picking Your Company or Product Name.

I would estimate that 95% of companies which select a name for their product or as their company name fail to do a comprehensive trademark search prior to selecting a word or combination of words as a brand.  Too many companies see that a domain is available for registration and assume that their registration of that domain entitles them to use. 

Hiring an attorney to do a trademark availability search is relatively inexpensive compared to the investment which your company will make in its marketing and branding efforts.  Having to select a new company name or product name after receipt of a trademark infringement threat letter, will cost you money, time and customers.  When it comes to trademark issues, an ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure. 

WIPO Domain Dispute Decisions under the Cybersquatting Provisions of the UDRP for the week ending May 30, 2008.

The following Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) decisions were entered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). There are 45 panel decisions, and of those decisions, 30 domains were transferred after findings of cybersquatting, 6 UDRP complaints were denied, 1 denied in part, and 9 resulted in a cancellation.

NAF Domain Dispute Decisions under the Cybersquatting Provisions of the UDRP for the week ending May 30, 2008

The following Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) decisions were entered by the National Arbitration Forum (NAF). There are 26 panel decisions, and of those decisions, 25 domains were transferred after findings of cybersquatting, 1 UDRP complaint was withdrawn.

Cybersquatting Should Be Curtailed at the Registar Level: A Proposal by Mairead Moore

Cybersquatting: Prevention better than cure? by Mairead Moore - Research

Abstract: Since the early Commercialisation of the World Wide Web, cybersquatting as a phenomenon has been in existence and has been consistently rising; with recent 2006 figures showing a 25% increase up from the previous year.

This paper examines the various legal mechanisms that have been employed to deal with cybersquatting by examining firstly, the reaction of the Courts and secondly, the reaction of the registering authorities. Finally the paper looks at some of the more recent attempts to curb cybersquatting at the registration level by the employment of phased registration periods and additionally some radical solutions suggested in some circles will also be examined.

The paper concludes that while the reactive strategies developed by the Courts and the registering authorities are effective once cybersquatting is committed, the real solution must surely lie in preventative action at the registration stage if the battle to curb cybersquatting is finally to be won.
http://ijlit.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/ean005

While new proposals for curbing cybersquatting are always interesting, the reality is that there is almost no reasonable expectation that the dispute resolution policies will change anytime soon. And it is unlikely that ICANN will place any more responsibility on registrars, many of whom charge low fees to register domains because they have little overhead for customer support, let alone policing trademarks. Technorati Tags: cybersquatting, trademark, domain name, icann