internet news

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

Cybersquatting Law Gets Longer Reach
Expanding the reach of a 1999 federal act meant to curb
cybersquatting, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has
ruled that aggrieved parties can use the act's in rem
provisions not just to stop bad-faith Internet domain name
registration, but also to combat trademark infringement and
dilution.

http://www.law.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/View&c=LawArticle&cid=1030821185175&t=LawArticleIP

Dot-biz arbitration decision challenged 
Domain name registrar Internetters will challenge a US
arbitration decision in the UK High Court in one of the few
cases of its kind.
The UK company objects to a decision by the ICANN-appointed
National Arbitration Forum (NAF) that stripped it of its
domain domainregistry.biz. The US sole panellist found the
company had no rights to the domain name and ordered its
assignment to Pennsylvania-based DomainRegistry.com Inc.

http://www.legalmediagroup.com/mip/default.asp?Page=1&SID=1539

Domain firm sets rules for kids' web zone 
Sex, violence and the "seven dirty words" prohibited by the
U.S. Federal Communications Commission would be banned from
a children's Internet domain, according to preliminary
guidelines released by the domain manager.

http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=1428291
 http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,55032,00.html

http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/4037261.htm
 http://zdnet.com.com/2110-1105-957183.html

http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/internet/09/10/kids.internet.zone.reut/index.html

New Dot-Kids.US Rules Released
NeuStar Inc. - which plans to set up the kid-friendly
.kids.us domain - has released preliminary guidelines on
the administration of the new domain. NeuStar said it would
rely on existing guidelines for television and advertising
to determine what material would be appropriate. Developers
would have to follow FCC rules for radio and television,
which bar profanity and require some educational content,
while advertisements would have to comply with guidelines
set up by a BBB panel. Guidelines at:
 http://www.neustar.us/kids/kidsus_content_policy.pdf

China hijacks Google's domain name  Printer Friendly Format
Try to access Google Inc.'s search engine from inside China
and there's a good chance you'll instead be sent to
Tianwang Search, a search engine operated by China's
prestigious Peking University.
 http://www.itworld.com/Tech/2987/020910chinagoogle/
 http://virus.idg.net/ic_946304_4394_1-1681.html

Domain names to be transferred to iwi
The company that bought a number of newly coined .maori.nz
domain names for various iwi has agreed to transfer the
names to the iwi concerned if they cover the $74 transfer
fee.

http://www.idgnet.co.nz/webhome.nsf/UNID/1CDB9A520B8F554BCC256C2F001A6C7B!opendocument

Domain Name Delays Creating Confusion (2001)
For several years, the Internet community has debated
whether to expand the number of top-level domains available
for registration. While the debate has included some
important issues -- such as how to protect trademark rights
-- the delays have led to great confusion. In this
commentary, GigaLaw.com founder Doug Isenberg discusses the
problems this ongoing debate has created. 
 http://www.gigalaw.com/articles/2001/isenberg-2001-05.html

Ground-Breaking Decision On CO.DK Domain (Baker & McKenzie
Global E-Law Alert - http://www.bmck.com/elaw/default.asp)
DIFO, the body responsible for registering domain names in
Denmark, has lost an important case regarding the sublevel
domain co.dk. The claimant, Digital Marketing Support ApS,
registered the domain name co.dk with DIFO in January 1997.
Such registration makes it possible for the claimant to
sell domain names with the sublevel domain co.dk. Seeking
to control the registration of .dk domains, including co.dk
domains, in 2000 DIFO decided to revoke the claimant's
registration of the co.dk domain. The claimant requested
the City Court of Copenhagen to grant an injunction
prohibiting DIFO from de-registering the co.dk domain. The
city court refused to grant this injunction. This refusal
has been reversed by the Eastern High Court. The High
Court, decided on 30 August 2002 that the registration
should be maintained, as DIFO had no legitimate right to
control the registration of the domain name co.dk. In
coming to its conclusion the High Court found that the
claimant was not bound by the Articles of DIFO and that it
was not proved that the de-registration was in accordance
with ICANNs RFC 1591 and ICP-1. DIFO has applied for
permission to bring the case before the Supreme Court. Such
permission is only given in special circumstances.
 http://www.difo.dk/

Online Maori enter new domain
A new domain has been launched on the worldwide web in what
is believed to be a first for indigenous people.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/scitech/2002/09/item20020909105009_1.htm

'Cyber-squatter' gets jump on Maori names 
A former Tainui executive who has snapped up potentially
valuable names on the new internet suffix .maori.nz denies
he is exacting utu or revenge. 
 http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=2497146

ING reaches out from beyond the grave
Internet Name Group, the Melbourne-based domain name
registrar that was placed in "voluntary administration",
has reached out from beyond the grave to hassle more New
Zealand name holders.

http://www.idg.co.nz/webhome.nsf/UNID/B60E0A977250253ECC256C300013A9E9!opendocument

Hanna Barbara wins Scooby Doo domain name appeal
Hanna Barbara have won their Nominet appeal over the domain
name scoobydoo.co.uk after a three member panel ruled
domains used for fan sites could be construed as "unfair".
 http://www.demys.net/news/02_sep_11_scooby3.htm

auDA issues consumer alert
auDA has issued a consumer alert about a letter sent to
registrants of .com.au domains by "NetRegister". 

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/09/10/1031608236608.html
 http://www.auda.org.au/about/news/2002090902.html

Logging On, Way, Way Down Under 
Always-on high-speed connectivity is practically a must for
all scientists these days, those working at the South Pole
included. An ambitious plan to lay fiber-optic cable will
do that ... but not until 2009.
 http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,54899,00.html

Germany one of the leading nations for high-speed internet
access
The study also found that in Switzerland, 43 per cent of
internet households subscribe to high-speed services, while
in Holland, 41 per cent of Dutch households subscribe to
broadband service.
 http://www.europemedia.net/shownews.asp?ArticleID=12493

We can provide for you 
As the number of European internet users outstrips those in
the US, Bobbie Johnson looks at the companies fighting to
be the continent's top ISP.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/internetnews/story/0,7369,788335,00.html
  http://www.europemedia.net/shownews.asp?ArticleID=12448

Britain lags behind in broadband take-up
Fewer British households use broadband than any other
country in Europe.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/internetnews/story/0,7369,788861,00.html
 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/2246851.stm

http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=1426400
 http://www.europemedia.net/shownews.asp?ArticleID=12464

Year After 9/11, Cyberspace Door Is Still Ajar
Despite heightened fears of online security that followed
Sept. 11, few have responded with new measures to safeguard
their computing systems.
 http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/09/technology/09SECU.html

Balancing Linux and Microsoft
The case of Bruce Perens, who until recently was a
strategist for Linux software at Hewlett-Packard,
illustrates the balance that companies must achieve as they
promote Linux but continue doing business with Microsoft.
 http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/09/technology/09SOFT.html
 http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2121954,00.html

The future of enterprise Linux
Gartner thinks that by 2007, Linux will become mainstream
in replicated and distributed deployments on commodity
Intel architectures, but will lack proven ROI in high-end
applications for replacements of Unix and Windows
platforms.

http://techupdate.zdnet.com/techupdate/stories/main/0,14179,2879104,00.html

Corporate Paws Grab for Desktop 
More and more, big media companies control what consumers
do with digital content on their PCs. But open-source
developers are programming like mad to swing the balance of
power back to the public.
 http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,54941,00.html

South Africa: Govt Advisory Body Recommends Open Source 
Government is beefing up its investigations into open
source software (OSS) with the release of a policy
framework document by a high-level government advisory
body.
 http://allafrica.com/stories/200209090330.html

Mozilla rising
Netscape won't dislodge Internet Explorer from its hegemony
over browser space. But its open-source sibling is aiming
at even bigger game: Windows.

http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2002/09/10/browser_wars/index.html

Microsoft's Next Must-Have Operating System 
Its code name is "Longhorn," and for many
industry-watchers, Microsoft's next major operating system
release promises some dramatic changes in the way
information is organized, retrieved and displayed.
 http://www.ecommercetimes.com/perl/story/19338.html

Gartner slams Pocket PC security
Analyst Gartner has slammed Microsoft's Pocket PC 2002
handheld operating system (OS) as unsuitable for enterprise
computing, warning that it lacks even basic security
features.
 http://www.vnunet.com/News/1134871

H-P Researchers Make Tiny Memory from Molecules 
Researchers at U.S. computer company Hewlett-Packard said
on Monday they had created a computer memory chip using new
molecular technology that takes miniaturization further
than ever before.

http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=technologynews&StoryID=1425621
 http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/3/27025.html

Making the Internet Visible for the Blind 
Researchers at Germany's Fraunhofer Institute are providing
companies and government agencies with fast and free tips
to make their Web pages more accessible to those who are
blind or live with other disabilities. 

http://dw-world.de/english/0,3367,1447_A_622037_1_A,00.html

http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=technologynews&StoryID=1426597

Egypt boasts free Internet service
By now, subscription-free Internet service has pretty much
proven itself an unprofitable anachronism. Except in Egypt.

http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/4031269.htm

http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/528621p-4185881c.html

China casts censor net wider
A HARVARD University student whose computer program
detected China's blocking of internet access to search
engines Google and AltaVista says hundreds more websites
have been cut off.

http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,5060811%5e16123%5e%5enbv%5e,00.html

Stop your searching
CHINA'S industrious Internet censors have hit on a new
tactic. Until last week, they had focused on blocking
access to websites containing material deemed inimical to
the Chinese Communist Party. Now they are targeting
search-engines that might lead users to such material. Two
Californian search-engines—Google and AltaVista—can no
longer be accessed through Chinese internet providers.
 http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?story_id=1318573
(reg req'd)

http://www.abc.net.au/news/scitech/2002/09/item20020910150707_1.htm
 http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2121993,00.html

AltaVista searches banned in China
The move comes just days after the government blocked
access to Google as part of its campaign to prevent
citizens from accessing material deemed unsuitable.
 http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-957154.html
 http://news.com.com/2100-1023-957154.html
 http://www.ecommercetimes.com/perl/story/19340.html
 http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/27062.html

Blocked China Internet Users Given Detour
Chinese Internet users trying to access the blocked search
engine Google are being routed to an array of similar sites
in China, the latest sign of an escalating media clampdown
ahead of November's Communist Party congress.

http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=internetnews&StoryID=1429560

http://breakingnews.scmp.com/Reuters/Technology/fulltext.asp?ArticleID=Asia-124295

http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/internet/09/10/china.google.reut/index.html
 http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,55030,00.html

Online content screening panel sitting idle 
Korea`s online and communications content monitoring agency
designed to filter out "harmful" information has suspended
its operations, prompting concerns from conservatives.  

http://www.mic.go.kr/eng/jsp/etc/etc_100_02.jsp?menu_code=z400_0001_1&m_code=z400_1957_1&curpage=2

http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2002/09/02/200209020016.asp

Internet freedom another victim
INTERNET freedom has taken "collateral damage" in the war
on terror, according to civil liberties groups.
...
In Australia, the Federal Government has passed a package
of anti-terrorism laws, although legislation extending the
powers of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation
(ASIO) is stuck in Parliament. 

http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,5064123%5e16123%5e%5enbv%5e,00.html

Words to the wise on the Web
Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart once quipped that
though he couldn't define pornography, he knew it when he
saw it. Will filtering software ever have it that easy?
 http://news.com.com/2008-1082-957333.html

Conflict against Iraq begins online
The number of attacks from pro-Islamic hackers is rising as
the US war on Iraq looms.
 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2250993.stm

US citizens back web controls
More than two-thirds of Americans are not concerned that
the US Government censored websites as part of the war on
terrorism.
 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2246344.stm

Court allows Greek gamers to play on
A court in Greece rules that a law banning computer games
is unconstitutional as it throws out a case against two
internet cafe owners.
 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2249656.stm
 http://www.vnunet.com/News/1134939

PC rooms give kids access to gory games 
Opponents contend that the PC rooms are the equivalent of
movie theaters that admit schoolchildren to R-rated movies
on an unchecked basis.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54670-2002Sep8.htm

Windows plays fair with rivals
Microsoft is upgrading its Windows XP operating system to
make it compliant with US Government rulings on fair
competition.
 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2245945.stm

Office subscription trial dumped
MICROSOFT has dropped plans to offer Office XP on a
subscription licence after trials in Australia, New Zealand
and France showed customers found the model confusing.

http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,5076213%5E15306%5E%5Enbv%5E,00.html

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/09/11/1031608263475.html

First look at legislation online
The first fruits of the $5.6 million public access to
legislation project go on show today with the launch of an
interim website giving free access to Acts and Statutory
Regulations. The site, built for the Parliamentary Counsel
Office by law publisher Brookers, offers a searchable
database of New Zealand legislation.
 http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=2597080

PERSONAL USE OF INTERNET AT WORK (Baker & McKenzie Global
E-Law Alert - http://www.bmck.com/elaw/default.asp)
In a decision published recently, the Paris Court of Appeal
decided that an employer may not legitimately fire an
employee for having used the Internet for personal
purposes, since the employer had been aware of this
behaviour for several months and had not provided for any
kind of warning nor reminded the employee that the
communications means provided by the company were not meant
to be used for personal purposes.
 http://www.juritel.com/juri2000/ldjpage.asp?index=534
(French)

ISPA CODE OF CONDUCT (Baker & McKenzie Global E-Law Alert -
http://www.bmck.com/elaw/default.asp)
The South African Internet Service Providers Association
intends to gain recognition as the sector representative
Service Provider Representative Body as provided by for in
section 71 of the Electronic Communications and
Transactions Act, the aim of which is to reduce the
liability of Internet Service Providers with regard to
third party content carried on their networks.
 http://www.ispa.org.za/code

Cyber law lacks safeguards _ legal expert 
The final draft of the Data Protection Law lacks key
safeguards for the re-use of data by third parties that
could affect individual privacy, a legal expert has warned.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/040902_Database/04Sep2002_data09.html

Giving up on the web
Bertelsmann, a big European media group, is scaling back
its Internet ambitions. Napster has also closed. Other
companies are struggling to make money on the web. Yet
e-commerce thrives for those who have got it right 

http://www.economist.com/agenda/displayStory.cfm?story_id=1313416

ISPs, record labels on a collision course
A delicate detente is breaking down under pressure from
peer-to-peer networks, placing two industries on a
collision course that could reshape the legal landscape for
online file-swapping.
 http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-957023.html

Justice Official Deems Internet Bets Illegal
The Justice Department opinion effectively bans all
Internet wagering that crosses state lines and restricts
Nevada's Internet casino business. 
 http://www.ecommercetimes.com/perl/story/19328.html

http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/2002/Sep-04-Wed-2002/business/19556668.html

Capita punishment
Why is the Government so devoted to a digital future when
it plainly doesn't work?
As with every other stock-market mania, the dotcom bubble
was inflated by the hot breath of hucksters. The frenzied
buying on Wall Street before the Crash of 1929 was
encouraged by professors who shouted that America was in a
'new era' of 'scientific management' and Ford production
lines. In the 1990s, the 'new era' was replaced by the 'new
economy'. This was a cosmetic alteration: the propaganda
for and from the credulous was the same.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/internetnews/story/0,7369,788195,00.html

Internet industry body releases Web accessibility plan
The Internet Industry Association has released its
Accessible Web Action Plan which encourages Web
accessibility awareness and helps members develop and
maintain accessible websites, a media release says. 

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/09/06/1031115932620.html
 http://www.iia.net.au/awap.html (plan)

Internet numbers rise sharply in Portugal 
The number of subscribers to Portuguese Internet service
providers rose to 4.4 million at the end of the first
semester of 2002, a 48 per cent increase from the same
period last year, according to Portugal's telecoms
regulator ANACOM.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/scitech/2002/09/item20020911161143_1.htm

Plagiarism at 8 per cent
More than eight per cent of students have been found to
pilfer large amounts of text from the web in what is
believed to be the first comprehensive survey to detect the
level of plagiarism in Australian universities. The report
seems certain to lead to sweeping changes in student
assessment as early as first semester next year.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,5071391%255E12333,00.html

Can Google Do Big Business? 
Founded in September 1998, Google is at least three years
younger than most of its search engine competitors, but it
already has surpassed its rivals in terms of popularity.
However, as scores of failed dot-coms can attest, big
crowds do not always mean big money. Will Google's heavy
traffic translate into long-term business success? "The
business model evolved as we became really good at figuring
[out] how to make money on search through keywords and
targeted ads," Omid Kordestani, senior vice president of
worldwide sales and field operations at Google, told the
E-Commerce Times.
 http://www.ecommercetimes.com/perl/story/19366.html

Is roaming coming to Wi-Fi?
Networking groups are attempting to jump-start
international standards for allowing users to jump from one
Wi-Fi network to another, but the going is tough.
 http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2122079,00.html

Faster Wi-Fi standard gets nod
A wireless standard five times faster than Wi-Fi passes the
first of several votes needed for approval from the
Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers.
 http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-957229.html

Intel lives in world without wires 
Outlining plans for future PCs and other devices, Intel
hops on the wireless wagon, pushing the "killer app" many
hope will revive the PC market.
 http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-957339.html

Be wary of Washington's spam solution
About three dozen high-level lobbyists met quietly last
Friday afternoon at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to concoct
a way to drastically reduce the deluge of unsolicited
e-mail.  
 http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1107-957066.html

Handhelds' New Role Includes Global Outreach
Even with IT budgets stagnant and little investment in
hardware, handheld computers are flying off shelves. And
buyers are doing more than keeping digital calendars.
 http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20020905S0008

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Check out http://www.auda.org.au/about/news for the latest
domain news, or
http://greta.electric.gen.nz/mailman/listinfo/internet-news
or http://www.alfa-redi.org/noticia for an archive or to
subscribe to the general news.

The domain name news is supported by auDA.

=====
David Goldstein
 email: Goldstein_David@yahoo.com.au
 phone: +61 418 228 605 - mobile; +61 2 9665 0015 - home

http://mobile.yahoo.com.au - Yahoo! Messenger for SMS
- Now send & receive IMs on your mobile via SMS
* APPLe: To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe" to apple-request@apnic.net *