RE: [ga] Domain names as observed

[Roeland Meyer <rmeyer@mhsc.com>]

> From: Joop Teernstra [mailto:terastra@terabytz.co.nz]
> Sent: Monday, July 30, 2001 12:49 AM
> 
> At 21:19 29/07/2001 -0700, Roeland Meyer wrote:
> > > From: Joop Teernstra [mailto:terastra@terabytz.co.nz]
> > > Sent: Sunday, July 29, 2001 5:27 PM
> >
> > > the function of the DNSO GA
> > > is exactly to help shaping the law, where there is 
> > > currently a barely filled vacuum.
> >
> >I strongly disagree. Trademark law has been extant for over 
> >300 years. It is well developed and fairly substantial.

> I meant to be  talking about new legislation that defines the 
> rights and 
> obligations of Domain Name Holders/Owners in the context of 
> everything they undertake in Cyberspace.
> Vis-a-vis TM holders/owners, vis-a-vis the registrars and registries, 
> creditors , ISP's, IPP's, and everybody they deal with across borders.

This is where I disagree. You are special-casing cyber-space here. This has
been a fallacy from the very start of networking. Whatever we do, in
cyberspace, reflects itself on the real-world<tm>. Cracking a host, in
cyber-space, can get you tossed in a real-world jail. Just ask the guy that
wrote the ILUVU virus. If they ever find the Code Red guy, he's gonna become
a hotel greybar resident too (for a very long time, I hope).

> National Laws can only be enforced locally. Natural Justice does 
> not  accept long-arm statutes that would force a DN owner to 
> defend his rights in a foreign court.

In the US, at least, it is customary to have that venue on the defendent's
home turf. BTW, in very large countries, like the US, traveling to a
courthouse, over 3000 miles away, is equally inconvenient. In fact, it is
easier, for me, to deal with a case in Vancouver, Canada, than Herndon,
Virginia. In both cases, I have to hire a local lawyer. The same holds true
for Encinada, MX. The largest differential expense is logistical, not legal
(considering costs, in the SF Bay Area, legal may actually be cheaper
anywhere else). The point is that, legal contention, between widely
separated parties, is a tough road, regardless of jurisdiction issues, and
there will always be jurisdictional issues between over-arching
Federal/International law and local common law. New International laws won't
change that.



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