DNSO Archives: [agenda]

Unique domain names are intellectual property

Unique domain names, like brand names and trade marks, are intellectual property and registrars are not free, as they seem to believe, to cancel them at whim.

They can cancel registration, but not the ownership of intellectual property. Each registrar has the right to refuse or cancel the CONNECTION TO THE INTERNET of a particular domain name, but not the domain name itself. If the connection to the Internet is cancelled, the domain name owner should still retain ownership and should be free to seek connection of the "cancelled" domain name to the Internet through another registrar.

At present, many registrars believe that by cancelling the domain name registration they are free to resell the domain name to someone else. That would amount to theft of intellectual property. Domain names are as valuable as other intellectual properties and should be protected in the same fashion.

There should be a global database independent of present registrars (providers of technical services only) similar to databases of trade marks, where RIGHTS (ownership, copyright) to the domain names would be registered in a similar fashion as trade marks. One-time registration should protect ownership (copyright) of the domain name without time limit or, as is the case with copyrights, for a minimum of fifty (50) years.

These changes could eliminate the still prevailing monopoly of VeriSign (Network Solutions). Although there are now more registrars, most of whom are very competitive with VeriSign (Network Solutions) in price and services, it is not clear what would happen if a new registrar ended up in bankruptcy. VeriSign (Network Solutions), which still has 45.92% percent of the global market (Alexa Rankings Sept. 2001), is unlikely to go bankrupt. And even if it faced bankruptcy, some other company would almost certainly take it over, the database would not be liquidated, and owners (registrants) of domain names would not lose their right to use and own the domains. It remains to be seen whether the databases of smaller bankrupt registrars would also be preserved in this way.

If this risk were eliminated, there would develop real competition among registrars, and the majority of domain name owners would not be forced to pay the inflated VeriSign (Network Solutions) prices (presently $70 for two-year registration renewal, without one-year option) and suffer the unbelievably poor customer service.

http://NatNews.com

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