Re: [ga] More UDRP Proceedings

[Ellen Rony <erony@marin.k12.ca.us>]

Ok, let's explore this notion of unchallenged use.  If I get a driver's
license, am I required to drive?  If I buy a book, can it sit on my
bookshelf for years unread?  If I register for a fictitious business name
in my state, must I actually employ the use of the name?  Must an attorney
who passes the bar actually go out and get clients within a prescribed
period?

What presumptions would support rights in long, continuous, unchallenged
use over simply holding on to the name registration?  If someone has the
concept for a new business, the domain name may be registered well before
the business is implemented online.  I am certain your notion is presented
with regard to cyberhoarders who stockpile domain names for future sale,
but it would hurt those who have purposeful, but unfullfilled business
plans.

And this gets to the notion of the domain name as property.  If I register
the name, set up the servers and pay my renewal fees in a timely matter,
what legal justification obligates me to activate the name in a website or
email account within a set period of time?

I hope the public record will show us exactly why a UDRP proceeding have
been launched against a five-year-old domain name registration.




"Bret A. Fausett wrote:
>
>You raise an interesting point. As you probably know, under U.S. law, some
>trademark registrations become incontestable after a period of time. Given
>the amount of money now going to build an online presence (according to one
>recent study the *average* cost for a new e-commerce site exceeds U.S.
>$1,000,000), protecting a domain name after a similar period of continuous
>and unchallenged use might make sense.

>While Harald is probably right that, as a practical matter, a long period of
>use makes the challenger's task in a UDRP proceeding daunting, shouldn't a
>domain name owner have some certainty after a long period of use that their
>name will not be taken away?
>
>We talk a lot about stability of the Internet. I would think this goal would
>be furthered by giving domain name owners an incontestable right in their
>name after a period of long, continuous, unchallenged use.
>
>        -- Bret


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