internet news - 3 August

[David Goldstein <goldstein_david@yahoo.com.au>]

Confusing Similarity Under ICANN's Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy
ICANN's UDRP has allowed a fast and efficient system of domain name
dispute resolution, the most common ground for complaint and transfer
being that the domain name in question is confusingly similar to a
registered or common law trademark of the Complainant. Unfortunately,
UDRP Panellists have not been sufficiently rigorous in their
consideration of confusing similarity and the non-distinctiveness of
domain names to justify many such conclusions. Furthermore, in
seeking to avoid trans-jurisdictional conflicts of law, their
application of confusingly similarity may be conveniently general,
but it results in outcomes which would be unacceptable to many common
law jurisdictions.
 http://elj.warwick.ac.uk/jilt/02-2/mcmahon.html

domain action "too little too late"
The Office of Fair Trading in the UK has reported that it has
obtained undertakings from a domain name retailer that effectively
stops it from making misleading claims in its advertising. While the
official release hails this apparent success, the case seems to have
more than meets the eye.
 http://www.demys.net/news/02_aug_30_oft.htm

Misleading Domain Name Ads Stopped
In the first case of its kind the OFT has stopped two companies from
publishing misleading advertisements for website domain names that
are difficult to view on the world wide web. The OFT worked alongside
the US Federal Trade Commission on this case.

http://213.38.88.251/coi/coipress.nsf/7e4cd219f1e58adf802565250034fa39/c81460eae64403ce80256c240039ba17?OpenDocument

http://www.net4nowt.com/newspro/latest.shtml#newsitem1030673222,22071,
 http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/26882.html

auDA New Names Advisory Panel
The New Names Advisory Panel was appointed by the auDA Board in June
2002 to evaluate proposals for new second level domains (2LDs) in the
.au domain, including: 
 http://www.auda.org.au/policy/panel-newname-2002/

ICANN General Counsel's Second Analysis of VGRS's Request for
Amendment to Registry Agreement
 http://www.icann.org/minutes/report-vgrs-wls-22aug02.htm

Name grabbers working domain scam 
Internet name holders are being warned to watch out for a scam which
could see them unsuspectingly switch their domain name registrar. 

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=2351323&thesection=technology&thesubsection=general

Opposition to .bank.nz
Opposition has been swift and almost universal to the Bankers
Association's attempt to have the .bank.nz domain name re-considered
following the success of .maori.nz. 

http://www.idg.co.nz/webhome.nsf/UNID/A743B17ECF565ADCCC256C220018999C!opendocument

InternetNZ to review second level domains this year
InternetNZ, the controller of the .nz name space, is to assess
whether a second level domain name (2LD) for .nz is needed. 

http://www.idg.co.nz/webhome.nsf/UNID/1D26FF6C5AD17673CC256C2300100382!opendocument

Spurned bidders slam ICANN .org redelegation
Ten organizations that were overlooked in an evaluation to decide the
next manager of the $15m-a-year .org internet domain on Friday
criticized the selection process, calling it inconsistent, opaque and
unfair, Kevin Murphy writes. One bidder even hinted at a legal
challenge the process, which was orchestrated by the Internet Corp
for Assigned Names and Numbers.
 http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/26898.html

From http://www.udrplaw.net
NAF Panel Issues Alt-TLD Decision, Condemns Reverse Cybersquatting
Aug. 29, 2002
Yesterday, the National Arbitration Forum released the first decision
involving a non-ICANN approved domain name. The case, brought under
the "Model Dispute Resolution Policy," involved the name Sex.shop.
 http://www.arbforum.com/domains/decisions/114371.htm

Harrods Limited, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Sixty Internet Domain Names;
Published - United States Court Of Appeals For The Fourth Circuit
 http://laws.lp.findlaw.com/4th/002414p.html

Porsche Cars North America, Incorporated; Dr. Ing. H.C.F. Porsche AG,
Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. PORSCHE.NET; PORSCHECLUB.NET;
PORSCHELOANS.COM...
Published United States Court Of Appeals For The Fourth Circuit
 http://laws.lp.findlaw.com/4th/012028p.html

OECD Issues Guidelines for the Security of Information Systems and
Networks: Towards a Culture of Security (FTC news release)
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
formally has released its Guidelines for the Security of Information
Systems and Networks.
 http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2002/08/oecdsecurity.htm

Real-Time Testing of Internet Filtering in China - Documentation of
Internet Filtering Worldwide
Jonathan Zittrain and Benjamin Edelman, Berkman Center for Internet &
Society, Harvard Law School
The authors are studying Internet filtering in countries worldwide,
including restrictions on Web access in China. There is no master
list of blocked sites that we (or, from what we can tell, anyone
else) can access. Rather, we test "twenty questions" style, asking
about individual URLs, whether based upon a domain name or an IP
address. 
 http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/filtering/china/test

Internet Law and Regulation - book review
There are many books on Internet law on the market - but few, if any,
could compete with Graham Smith's 'Internet Law and Regulation'
which, in terms of comprehensiveness of subject-matter covered and
detail, is a hard act to follow. Indeed, it justifies taking the risk
of praising too much and raising too high expectations, by saying
that this book reads and feels like the Bible on Internet law and is
very well worth the high price tag of £145. This, of course, holds
true only for someone who wants or needs a bible on Internet law, and
there may be room for speculating that, with the Internet and
Internet law growing out of its infancy, the possibility of any
lawyer being (or aspiring to become) an expert in Internet law as a
whole, rather than an expert, let's say, on issues of domain names or
digital cash, is becoming increasingly slim. 
 http://elj.warwick.ac.uk/jilt/02-1/kohl.html

As Net cafes blossom, Vietnam tries to nip `bad' sites in the bud
As teenagers crowd the Internet cafes that have sprung up across
Vietnam, the government is growing increasingly worried about the
dark and subversive materials they might find there. Pornography.
Crime. Pro-democracy tracts.
 http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/3985631.htm

Boys jailed for deadly fire at illegal internet cafe
A Beijing court has sentenced two boys to life in prison for starting
a fire in an underground internet cafe in the Chinese capital that
killed 25 people.
 http://www.guardian.co.uk/internetnews/story/0,7369,783741,00.html

China 'blocking Google'
China appears to have blocked access to the popular search engine,
Google.
 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2231101.stm

http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=internetnews&StoryID=1398580
 http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2121633,00.html

Web standards group outlines core principles
After nine months of public analysis and debate, the Web's leading
standards organisation has outlined the core principles and practices
behind the Web's technologies.
The World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) Technical Architecture Group
(TAG) on Friday published its first working draft, a back-to-basics
document titled Architectural Principles of the World Wide Web.
 http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2121617,00.html

AOL Reaches to Create Its Own Big Music Scene on the Internet
With radio controlled by a few chains and MTV playing videos less and
less, the vanguard of music promotion has rapidly moved to the
Internet.
 http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/02/technology/02MUSI.html

We're all stuck with Spider-Man 
How can parents protect the kids from the menace of Spider-Man, not
to mention his wicked bank-balance-busting allies of State-of-the-Art
Merchandising and Pristine Collectables?
 http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,783830,00.html

Uncovering a computer's secrets
As the list of corporate scandal grows, so too does the mass of
digital data investigators have to wade through. 
This is where computer forensics experts come in. Their task is to
help retrieve information regardless of how well it is hidden. 
 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2226182.stm

Information Technology and Sustainable Development 
Information and communication technology (ICT) was a revolutionary
force in sustainable development and could significantly boost
economic growth, Mark Malloch Brown, Administrator of the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP), said at the World Summit on
Sustainable Development today.
 http://allafrica.com/stories/200209020027.html

WEBSITE IDENTIFICATION
The Higher Regional Court of Karlsruhe held that under the German
rules on Distance Selling, a company making sales over the Internet
is obliged to identify itself on its website clearly and
unequivocally. A link marked with the term "Kontakt" ("contact")
which leads to the companies' name and address under the heading
"Impressum" ("imprint") was held not to meet the statutory
requirements (OLG Karlsruhe, decision of March 27, 2002).
 http://www.bmck.com/elaw/default.asp

Electronic evidence anchors porn case
A Rochester, N.Y., federal judge on Thursday sentenced a former Xerox
engineer accused of trafficking in child pornography to nearly four
years in prison.
  http://news.com.com/2100-1023-955961.html



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David Goldstein
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