new.net

Fri Mar 9 20:56:34 UTC 2001

Somebody pointed out that ".tm" is the CCTLD for Turkmenistan.  I'm
going to act as if it isn't, to simplify the discussion; it can just
as easily be replaced by ".trademark", ".rtm", etc.

I'm also probably obligated to mention that we're not really on-topic
anymore, but I'm enjoying seeing NANOG a bit livelier lately, so I'm
going to carry on anyways.  :)

"Mike Batchelor" <mikebat at tmcs.net> writes:

> > richb at pioneer.ci.net writes:
> >
> > > Corporate entities should be *required* to register in the flat dot-com
> > > namespace, IMHO, and not be *allowed* names in any other namespace.
> >
> > I like the idea of creating a new ".tm" TLD (or something less likely
> > to conflict with a CCTLD), and requiring anybody who wants trademark
> > protection to register there; everything else is a free-for-all, as it
> > pretty much is now.  Let them have their little trademark disputes
> > over there, and let less litigious heads rule in the other TLDs.
> 
> How do you propose to enforce this?

It could simply be enforced by the UDRP, as it is currently.  But UDRP
would not look at trademarks at all outside of the trademarked
namespace.  That would let me register "gifford.com" without worrying
about "Gifford's Huge Company, Inc." suing me for trademark
infringement.

> What authority will be able to intercede in a trademark lawsuit
> involving a domain outside .tm, and put a stop to it?

Nobody; that's the point.  If you want a domain with your trademark,
you should be able to get it in ".tm".

> The namespace is the namespace, and infringment is infringment, whereever it
> occurs.  If infringment occurs, the damaged party should not be prevented
> from seeking relief.

The problem is ambiguous cases, like the one mentioned above, and the
many others previously discussed on this list.  I shouldn't have to
trademark my name to be able to safely use it as a domain, and sites
that want to criticize a trademarked entity should be able to use the
trademarked name as part of their domain name (as Fair Use currently
allows, but the UDRP does not).

I would love a system that stops people from domain squatting, while
allowing people with legitimate domain names that overlap with a
trademark to use them without worrying about them being taken away.
But if such a system isn't possible, I think the above would perhaps
work better than what we have now.

Maybe just making it illegal to sell domains for more than you paid
for them would be a simpler solution.  Laws like this currently exist
to make ticket scalping illegal, at least in Michigan.  But that still
doesn't solve the hypothetical case of Burger King registering
"mcdonalds.com".  Hrm...

-----ScottG.