Re: [wg-b] RE: opportunity to pre-empt, or license to infringe?

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

Steve Hartman wrote:

>In my judgment speculation in the trademarks of others unnecessarily drives
>up the cost of doing business on the Internet and reduces the efficiency of
>the Internet, with no countervailing benefits.
>
>A sunrise provision has the potential of appreciably reducing the number of
>cybersquatting opportunities and, in so doing, reducing the amount of
>cybersquatter-related litigation.

A sunrise provision for trademarks plus 20 variations turns the trademark
owners into cybersquatters.

Why should trademark owners, who are only one class of users on the
Internet, be given such preferential treatment.  How about people who want
their given names as domain names.  Would you favor giving every  person a
sunrise provision that he and she get theirfirst+last names before anyone
else gets them during a 30 day sunrise provision.  Does that sound fair?
If not, why is it any different.

On balance, the benefits of the trademark sunrise provision outweigh all
other uses of the Internet and treat it as solely a commercial one.  ..COM
means communication, not just commerce.


>
>On balance, this benefits of the sunrise provision outweigh free speech and
>hoarding concerns.
>
>Steve Hartman
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From:	Judith Oppenheimer [SMTP:joppenheimer@icbtollfree.com]
>> Sent:	Thursday, April 20, 2000 1:50 PM
>> To:	Hartman, Steve; 'John Berryhill Ph.D. J.D.'; wg-b@dnso.org
>> Subject:	opportunity to pre-empt, or license to infringe?
>> Importance:	High
>>
>> Steve Hartman, Nabisco, says,
>>
>>
>> "[The Sunrise Proposal] simply allows trademark owners the opportunity to
>> pre-empty speculators and cybersquatters."
>>
>> Cybersquatting involves infringement of trademark rights and is
>> actionable.
>>
>> Speculating is legal and legitimate activity.  Trademark owners have no
>> legal right to infringe on speculators' activity.
>>
>>
>> Judith Oppenheimer


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Ellen Rony                    //          http://www.domainhandbook.com
Co-author                  *="  ____ /            erony@marin.k12.ca.us
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