[wg-b] Bio

[Martin Schwimmer <mschwimmer@frosszelnick.com>]

I am a partner in the firm of Fross Zelnick Lehrman & Zissu where I practice international trademark and copyright law.  I have been following the development of the law as it pertains to domain names since 1993, when I participated in my firm's representation of MTV in MTV v. Curry.  I am a member of the INTA Internet litigation committee and represented INTA at the Monterrey meeting of the DNSO.  My thoughts on the DNS process are summarized in my comments to WIPO RFC-2.

My firm has significant experience in cases involving famous marks.  Clients have included CHANEL, BUDWEISER, TIFFANY and REEBOK  I have participated in cases involving famous marks in the highest courts in Singapore and Germany, and in such cases in probably 25 other jurisdictions.

Any comments I make on this list are not those of my firm nor of my clients (I have not been retained by any client to participate in this process).  I have no particular enthusiasm for what has been characterized in this process as an "extra-legal expansion" of trademark rights.  I have also seen various procedures intended to protect famous marks turn into "relief for trademark office bureaucrat acts."  Also, my clients quite often turn up as defendants (of course never the ones mentioned above), and I am therefore not interested in helping to created a stacked system.

Lastly, I will be careful not to mis-state the law, as one of the founders of my firm, Peter Weiss, is on this list, and he will not hesitate to correct me.