[comments-wgb] Intellectual Property Constituency's proposal to ICANN about trade marks and the new gTLDs

["Andrew Margiotta-mills (FCHD)" <andrew.margiotta-mills@freethcartwright.co.uk>]

Dear Sirs

I am a UK Solicitor and European Trade Mark Attorney. I am also an at-large member of ICANN and of the European Communities Trade Mark Association. My firm belongs to the International Trade Mark Owners Association (INTA).

I am writing to you to express my views on behalf of myself and my firm. I am also writing on behalf of my firm's trade mark owner clients. In particular, I am writing on behalf of Experian Limited (www.experian.com), an international company with over 100 trade mark registrations in dozens of countries.

The IPC's "Sunrise Proposal Plus Twenty" makes good commercial sense for trade mark owners whilst not being unduly restrictive. I believe that in the context of the current proposals for new gTLD's this type of proposal is a reasonable compromise between the legitimate interests of the owners of legal rights and the desire need to open up the Internet to more users. 

The present first-come, first-served systems generally in operation for domains have let to many instances of third parties securing domain names ahead of organisations with real legal insterests. This has resulted in a lot of time and expense for legitimate rights owners in securing their rights. The "Sunrise Proposal Plus Twenty" should help reduce the burden on Registrars in dealing with claims from legitimate rights owners as well as increase the scope for those rights owners to pre-empt the registration of domains similar or identical to their trade mark rights.

Accordingly, on behalf of myself, my firm, my trade mark owning clients in general and Experian Limited in particular, I express support for the IPC's "Sunrise Proposal Plus Twenty"

Yours faithfully,

Andrew Margiotta-Mills
Partner & joint Head of Intellectual Property Department
Direct line: +44 (0)115 936 9375
E-mail: andrew.margiotta-mills@freethcartwright.co.uk

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