Intellectual Property

News

Group Associated with U.N. seeks control of Internet
In preparation for a world summit to be held from December 10-12 in Geneva, the governments of China, Brazil, India, Russia, and Saudi Arabia are seeking to place the Internet under the control of the U.N. or its member governments. In a threat to ICANN's (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) current control of the Internet, many developing countries are seeking to hand over authority to a U.N. group such as the International Telecommunications Union. However, the U.S. and other developed countries argue that government interference would stifle development of the Internet. See full article at http://washingtontimes.com/world/20031117-113002-7678r.htm.

"Cyberprotestor" Cybersquatting to Make His Point
A self-proclaimed "cyberprotestor" from the Bronx, NY has registered domain names containing famous celebrity or brand names and linked them to an anti-abortion site containing very graphic pictures. These domain names are being registered and then linked to objectionable sites in order to extort money from the web site owner. See full article at http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/7287287.htm.

ICANN Addresses New gTLDs
ICANN resolved at its October meeting in Carthage, Tunisia to develop an appropriate process and policy for the creation of new general top-level domains (gTLDs). ICANN will be seeking input from experts on competition in the market, intellectual property issues, ICANN's Security and Stability committee and the Internet Architecture Board on streamlining the process for new gTLD introduction with a goal of implementation by December 2004.

U.S. House of Representatives Approves Anti-Spam Law
The U.S. House of Representatives recently approved anti-spam legislation that aims to curb unwanted e-mail advertisements. Among the provisions of the bill entitled "Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act" or "CAN-SPAM" is a prohibition against sending commercial e-mail with "sexually oriented material" unless it includes a label still to be devised by the FTC. Violators can be punished by up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. President Bush has indicated that he will sign the bill into law.

If the measure becomes law, certain forms of spam will be legalized. The final bill allows spammers to send as many “commercial messages” as they like – as long as the messages are obviously advertisements with a valid U.S. postal address or P.O. box and an unsubscribe link at the bottom. Junk e-mail would be treated like junk postal mail, with nonfraudulent e-mail legalized until the recipient chooses to unsubscribe.

See full article at http://news.com.com/2100-1024_3-5110622.html.

Registration Developments

Corporation Service Company® (CSC) to Offer .TW
During the last ICANN Meeting in Tunisia from October 27th through October 31st 2003, the creation of an official registry for the ccTLD of Taiwan (www.NeuLevel.com.tw) was announced.

Currently, only Third-Level-Domains .COM.TW, .ORG.TW and .IDV.TW are being introduced. The launch of these Third-Level-Domains is planned for December 2003 or January 2004. The assignment of the domains will be first-come-first-served.

Please contact your CSC^SM Account Manager, call 888-386-2153, or e-mail us at corporatedomains@cscinfo.com for more information.

New Internet Radio Choice Announced - .FM
The Registry for .FM domain names recently announced that consumers may now tune in to .FM stations online, including jazz on eJazz.fm, chess on Chess.fm and Christmas music on Ricks.fm. Please contact your CSC Account Manager, call 888-386-2153, or e-mail us at corporatedomains@cscinfo.com for more information.

Recent Case Decisions

Student Prevails in Dispute Over Criticism Website
A renowned Florida film and recording arts school sued a student in federal court and initiated a Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) proceeding over www.FULLSAILSUCKS.COM, a website critical of the school. The student won the domain name dispute and the lawsuit was dismissed. The WIPO arbitrator determined that the website appeared to be a legitimate protest site, used to inform current and potential students about the complainant's school. The website primarily contained negative and positive reviews and opinions about the school, ostensibly from current or former students. Furthermore, the site did not appear to be commercial in nature since it did not offer or propose the sale of any goods or services to visitors of the site. See http://arbiter.wipo.int/domains/decisions/html/2003/d2003-0502.html for full decision.

ICANN Wins Initial Ruling in Dotster Litigation
The U.S. Federal District Court, Central District of California, recently rejected Dotster's request for a preliminary injunction in Dotster, et. al. v. ICANN, Case No. 03-5045. Dotster and two other registrars had asked the court for an order prohibiting ICANN from finalizing approval of the proposed Wait Listing Service from Verisign. Wait Listing Service allows potential domain customers to “wait” on a list for a registered domain name should it become available for any reason. Dotster claimed that the service was "anti-competitive" and that ICANN had breached its obligations under the Registration Agreement when it granted preliminary approval last year. The court rejected petitioner's argument that ICANN is required to obtain registrar consensus before it can enter into any agreement with a third party that might affect domain name allocation and determined that Dotster failed to demonstrate a likelihood of success on the merits of the claim. See press release at
http://www.icann.org/announcements/advisory-13nov03.htm

Scam Alerts

Beware of Fake Airline Sites
Air France prevailed in a recent WIPO (World Internet Property Organization) decision where the domain name airfranceairlines.com was found to be registered with the clear intention of misleadingly diverting Internet users to a website that competes with Air France's services for personal gain, also known as cybersquatting. Travelers searching for the well-known Air France brand were instead led by airfranceairlines.com to a site operated by Cheap Travel network where they can compare prices from a range of service providers. Those owning the diversion site have also been accused of diverting Internet users from well-known travel companies through use of infringing domain names including holidayinnhotels.org, lufthansa-airlines.net, and qantas-airlines.com. See full decision at http://arbiter.wipo.int/domains/decisions/html/2003/d2003-0628.html.

Contact your CSC Account Manager, call 888-386-2153, or e-mail us at corporate domains@cscinfo.com for more information. All new domain name clients will receive a complimentary Domain Analysis Report.