domain name & governance news - 11 September

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

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Law and Policy for Resolving Domain Name Disputes in
Hong Kong by RICHARD WU (Hong Kong Law Journal)
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=926653

Summary Judgment Denied in a Case of Creative
Typosquatting
http://www.circleid.com/posts/summary_judgment_creative_typosquatting/

VeriSign Digital Branding Bulletin July/August 2006
http://www.verisign.com/Resources/Digital_Brand_Management_Services_Resources/Digital_Branding_Bulletin/page_038931.html

The DNSSEC "Onus of Reality Check" Shifted to gTLD
Administrations by ICANN by Thierry Moreau
http://www.circleid.com/posts/dnssec_to_gtld_administrations_by_icann/

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RESEARCH PAPERS
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Restrictions of Competition in Internet governance by
FILOMENA CHIRICO (Tilburg Law and Economics Center)
Abstract: This paper analyses and discusses the
regulation of the DNS, i.e. the system of Internet
unique identifiers. There is a widespread belief that
this industry needs a regulator, be it a private one
in which all stakeholders could be represented, or
rather a public international one in which all world
governments could be represented. In this power
struggle, an issue was left substantially
underexplored, that is whether a regulator is needed
in the first place and what the object of the
regulation should be. The paper aims at exploring the
possible answer to such questions, on the basis of an
economic analysis of the industry. After having
described the technical characteristics of the DNS,
the paper presents the current structure of the DNS
industry and attempts an economic analysis thereof, in
search of market failures liable to justify a
regulatory intervention. In particular, it questions
the unsubstantiated assumption that the DNS industry
shows the characteristics of a natural monopoly.
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=928575

Commerce vs Commentary: Gripe Sites, Parody and the
First Amendment in Cyberspace by JACQUELINE D. LIPTON
(Case Western Reserve University School of Law)
Abstract: The Global Online Freedom Bill of 2006
emphasizes the importance of freedom of speech on the
Internet as a fundamental human right. However, the
backbone of the World Wide Web, the Internet domain
name system, is a poor example of protecting free
speech, particularly in terms of the balance between
speech and commercial trademark interests. This is
apparent from the manner in which the legislature and
the judiciary deal with cases involving Internet gripe
sites and parody sites. The lack of a clear consensus
on the protection of free speech in these contexts is
troubling, and can be found in a number of recent
cases including: use of the peta.org domain name for a
parody site on the activities of 'People for the
Ethical Treatment of Animals'; use of
'bosleymedical.com' for a gripe site about the
practices of the Bosley Medical Institute; and, use of
a misspelling of the Reverend Jerry Falwell's last
name (fallwell.com) for a website critical of the
Reverend's viewpoints on homosexuality. This article
examines how trademark law has come to trump freedom
of expression under the domain name system, and makes
recommendations for regulatory reform to ensure a
better balance of rights in the future. In particular,
it suggests the development of presumptions against
trademark infringement in cases clearly involving
criticism or parody of a trademark holder in
cyberspace.

Law and Policy for Resolving Domain Name Disputes in
Hong Kong by RICHARD WU (Hong Kong Law Journal)
Abstract: Domain name disputes, a byproduct of the
growth of the Internet and electronic commerce, are
becoming more frequent in Hong Kong. The author
considers how domain name disputes can be dealt with
under Hong Kong law, having regard to legal
developments on domain name dispute resolution in
other jurisdictions. The author also considers the
Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy ('UDRP') adopted in
1999 by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names
and Numbers ('ICANN'), the international corporation
responsible for international domain name policy. The
author concludes that Hong Kong should adopt a
UDRP-like dispute resolution procedure, as best suited
to facilitate electronic commerce in Hong Kong.
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=926653

Domain Names, Trademarks, and the First Amendment:
Searching for Meaningful Boundaries by MARGRETH
BARRETT (Connecticut Law Review)
Abstract: This article argues that domain names for
forum web sites are comparable to the titles of
expressive works, and points out how existing
principles defining and governing the regulation of
non-commercial speech should apply when mark owners
challenge incorporation of their marks into domain
names for gripe sites and other forum sites that
target the mark owner. Unfortunately, courts have
generally ignored the Supreme Court's definition of
noncommercial speech in this context, and the First
Amendment implications of prohibiting the defendants'
use. In particular, courts are equating commercial
speech with the Lanham Act's recently expanded
commercial use requirement. While the commercial use
requirement has served in the past to ensure that
Lanham Act protection is consistent with First
Amendment principles, its recent expansion has
seriously undermined its effectiveness to do so.
The article also examines the interface of First
Amendment protection with the Anticybersquatter
Consumer Protection Act, focusing particularly on how
the courts are construing and applying the forth and
fifth factors that the Act lays out for determining
whether a defendant has the requisite bad faith intent
to profit from the plaintiff's mark. The article notes
several concerns, including a tendency of courts to
undermine the purpose of the fourth factor's safe
harbor for noncommercial fair use by: 1) relying on
recent expansion of the Lanham Act's commercial use
requirement in infringement and dilution cases to find
that the defendant's forum site use was "commercial";
2) focusing on the defendant's intent to harm the
plaintiff, rather than his intent to profit; and 3)
defining "profit" to include non-financial interests,
such as the defendant's personal satisfaction from
airing his criticism of the plaintiff. The article
also points out pitfalls in the courts' construction
of the fifth factor, and suggests alternative
constructions that are more consistent with First
Amendment precedent.
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=928261

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DOMAIN NAMES
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Summary Judgment Denied in a Case of Creative
Typosquatting
In the case of Lands? End, Inc. v. Remy, the defendant
website owners were accused of crafting a clever
scheme to get some extra commissions from their
affiliate relationship with landsend.com. It looks
like the scheme has backfired, however, as Lands?
End?s claim against the defendants under the
Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, [15 U.S.C.
§1125(d)] ("ACPA") has survived a summary judgment
motion and the case is heading for trial.
http://www.circleid.com/posts/summary_judgment_creative_typosquatting/

VeriSign Digital Branding Bulletin July/August 2006
Spotlight: In this month?s domain name news, both the
Indian and New Zealand registries have introduced new
dispute resolution policies. The Vietnamese registry
announced it is delaying the launch of second-level
domain names yet again, while Korea announced plans to
launch second-level domain names in September.
Meanwhile, EURid has suspended more than 74,000 .EU
domain names due to concerns about how they were
registered, and the .MOBI registry extended the
deadline for Sunrise applications to allow companies
more time to register trademarks. The future of
Internet governance and threats to U.S. dominance
continue to make the news as ICANN?s contract expires
in September and China moves forward with plans for
launching its Next Generation Internet at the 2008
Olympics.
http://www.verisign.com/Resources/Digital_Brand_Management_Services_Resources/Digital_Branding_Bulletin/page_038931.html

Will Vista stall Net traffic?
Thanks to new directory software, Windows Vista could
put a greater load on Internet servers. But experts
disagree over whether we're headed for a prime-time
traffic jam or insignificant slowdown. Microsoft's
launch of Windows Vista could slow down or stall
traffic on the Net, said Paul Mockapetris, who is
widely credited with inventing the Internet's Domain
Name System (DNS). Mockapetris believes Vista's
introduction will cause a surge in DNS traffic because
the operating system supports two versions of the
Internet Protocol, a technology standard used to send
information over computer networks.
http://news.com.com/2100-1016_3-6112338.html

The DNSSEC "Onus of Reality Check" Shifted to gTLD
Administrations by ICANN by Thierry Moreau
Last month, there was an exchange of letters between a
gTLD administration and ICANN about DNSSEC deployment.
This gTLD administration is PIR or Public Interest
Registry, the gTLD administration for the .org TLD.
Interestingly, PIR is a non-profit organization that
makes significant contributions to ISOC (Internet
Society) initiatives: thus, both ICANN and PIR are
organizations dedicated to the well-being of the
Internet.
http://www.circleid.com/posts/dnssec_to_gtld_administrations_by_icann/

EarthLink Criticized for DNS Redirects
Internet service provider EarthLink is drawing fire
from customers after launching a test program in which
it redirects nonexistent domains to a company-provided
error page containing suggestions, a search box and
advertisements.
http://www.betanews.com/article/EarthLink_Criticized_for_DNS_Redirects/1157575614

RIPE NCC Member Update
The RIPE NCC Member Update is published a month prior
to each RIPE Meeting. The latest edition includes:
Daniel Karrenberg Elected as Chair of ISOC?s Board of
Trustees; Certification of IP Resources; RIPE Policy
Development in 2006; The Internet Governance Forum,
Athens 2006.
http://ripe.net/membership/newsletter/index.html

ICANN Formalizes Relationship with ccTLD Manager for
Guatemala
ICANN has announced today that it has signed an
accountability framework with the ccTLD manager for
.gt--Guatemala, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala.
http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-07sep06.htm

ICANN Strategic Planning Process for the July 2007 -
June 2010 Strategic Plan
The ICANN Strategic Plan is a three year plan that is
reviewed and updated annually. The ICANN planning
calendar is divided into separate, two month segments.
Strategic planning occurs during the first six months
of the fiscal year and operating planning and
budgeting occurs during the second six months. The
present strategic and operating plans can be found at
http://www.icann.org/announcements/strategic-plan-22jun06.htm
and
http://www.icann.org/announcements/operating-plan-22jun06.htm
, respectively.
http://icann.org/announcements/issues-paper-08sep06.htm

JPRS Updated the List of Japanese JP Domain Names for
Government and Started Registration for Relevant
Government Organizations (news release)
JPRS today published the updated list of Japanese JP
domain names reserved for the Japanese government, and
started accepting application for registration of the
listed domain names by the relevant government
organizations.
http://jprs.co.jp/en/topics/060905.html

Netcraft September 2006 Web Server Survey
In the September 2006 survey we received responses
from 96,854,877 sites, an increase of 4.2 million
(4.3%) from last month's survey. This continues the
accelerated pace of Internet growth in recent months,
as the survey has gained 15.5 million sites since
June.
http://news.netcraft.com/archives/2006/09/05/september_2006_web_server_survey.html

iMonetize.com Creates an All in One Solution for
Domain Name Investors Active in Search Marketing (news
release)
iMonetize.com utilizes a unique and exclusive
technology to find and generate the most profits for
domain name speculators (AKA - Domainers). With an
ever-growing list of features, iMonetize.com is a one
of a kind all in one domain monetization solution.
http://prweb.com/releases/2006/9/prweb434225.htm

Why the internet is at risk of splitting (reprinted
from The Guardian)
The internet is a global revolution in communication -
as long as you speak English. ACCORDING to Kaled
Fattal, "People say the net works, but it only works
for those communities whose native language is
Latin-based. The rest of the world is totally
isolated." Fattal speaks perfect English but, as
chairman and chief executive of the Multilingual
Internet Names Consortium (MINC), and an Arab, he
knows most of the world's population does not.
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2006/09/06/1157222139446.html
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/09/06/1157222139446.html

Freeloader und Netizens
Obwohl die erste Piratenpartei aus dem in der Grauzone
des Gesetzes angesiedelten Konflikt um den
Torrent-Tracker "Piratebay" hervorgegangen ist und in
etlichen Kommentaren auf den Partei-Sites mitunter
eine naive Freeloader-Mentalität aufscheint, finden
sich unter den Diskutanten mehr als genügend Netizens,
die die ehrliche Sorge um ihr Medium und ihre
Bürgerrechte umtreibt. Dass sich die Piratenparteien
rasant in verschiedenen Ländern replizieren und ihre
Stimmen erheben, dürfte der interessanteste
netzpolitische Vorgang seit den ICANN-Wahlen im Jahr
2000 sein.
http://futurezone.orf.at/it/stories/135247/

Brice de Nice se fait casser par le TGI de Paris
Attaqués devant le TGI de Paris, les producteurs de
Brice de Nice ont été condamnés pour contrefaçon. Ils
conservent toutefois leur nom de domaine
http://domainesinfo.fr/actualite/999/brice-de-nice-se-fait-casser-par-le-tgi-de-paris.php

La trilogie de l'identité de l'entreprise
Certes, la raison sociale, la marque et le nom de
domaine répondent à des problématiques différentes
mais il n'en est pas moins vrai que ces trois
composantes de l?identité de l'entreprise sont
étroitement complémentaires. Toutes trois représentent
des enjeux forts, aussi bien sur les plans marketing
que juridiques. A ce titre, elles font partie du
patrimoine de l?entreprise, et méritent que l'on s'y
intéresse de près. 
http://domainesinfo.fr/actualite/1001/la-trilogie-de-l-identite-de-l-entreprise.php

Les sites mobiles déjà prêts pour les exigences du
".mobi"
La nouvelle extension spécifique aux sites accessibles
sur les appareils mobiles impose trois principaux
critères techniques. Les sites actuels, Wap ou iMode,
auront peu de modifications à opérer.
http://solutions.journaldunet.com/0609/060906-analyse-mobi.shtml

ICANN formaliza relación con el ccTLD .gt de Guatemala
ICANN ha anunciado el día de hoy la firma de un "Marco
de Responsabilidad" ("Accountability Framework") con
el administrador del registro del código de país
(ccTLD) .gt ? Guatemala, la Universidad del Valle de
Guatemala.
http://www.latinoamericann.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1351

Entidade que controla a Internet fará reunião em SP
A organização que controla a Internet no mundo, a
americana Icann, fará sua última reunião do ano em São
Paulo. A entidade tenta mostrar que não é apenas uma
organização americana e que está aberta a outros
países. Mas o governo brasileiro promete aproveitar o
evento para questionar o monopólio da Icann sobre a
rede mundial de computadores.
http://ultimosegundo.ig.com.br/materias/economia/2514501-2515000/2514822/2514822_1.xml
http://www.estadao.com.br/tecnologia/internet/noticias/2006/set/07/120.htm
http://www.link.estadao.com.br/index.cfm?id_conteudo=8604

Organização que controla a web fará reunião no Brasil
Para tentar mostrar seu caráter global, a Icann,
organização americana que controla a internet, marcou
a última reunião do ano para São Paulo. O governo
brasileiro vai usar o evento para trazer a discussão
sobre o monopólio da rede pela entidade. Leia a
reportagem completa no caderno Economia & Negócios
desta sexta-feira no Estado.
http://www.link.estadao.com.br/index.cfm?id_conteudo=8603

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Sources include Quicklinks <http://qlinks.net/> and
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(c) David Goldstein 2006

David Goldstein
 address: 4/3 Abbott Street
           COOGEE NSW 2034
           AUSTRALIA
 email: Goldstein_David @yahoo.com.au
 phone: +61 418 228 605 (mobile); +61 2 9665 5773 (home)

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