[wg-c] Re: Fwd: Call Congress - Stop H.R. 3028 ...

[Eric Brunner <brunner@world.std.com>]

Ms. Barry,

Randy Bush could have sent the Simons letter as a co-signer, as could
Dave Farber, or Diane Cabell, Michael Froomkin or Jonathan Zittrain,
also co-signers and as involved in the issue as you, or I. Instead all
(thus far) chose _not_ to lobby Working Group C, or at least use its
list for the purpose you've chosen to use it.

While I respect, and sympathize with the position advocated by Michael
and others (and visa versa) on the issue of "IP" in the DNS, and the
evenetual issue of "IP" in content, the Mataatua Declaration and the
sense of Article 8(j) of the Convention on Biodiversity (not ratified
by the US) are emphatic on the issue of indigenous control of indigenous
knowledge (tangible and intangible) and culture. This position has been
formally rejected by the current ICANN VI-B(3)(b)(7) Constituency, as
well as the WIPO drafters of the Final Report. However, their debatable
acts do not vacate the utility, desirability, or other foundations for
custodial interests seeking to establish the basis for the fair and
equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of
knowledge resources within the Internet. As difficult as it is, I also
respect, and deeply sympathize with the current ICANN VI-B(3)(b)(7)
Constituency, who are forced to both make an all or nothing arguement,
and argue the non-existance of rights absent in 19th century European
or Europeanized legal cultures.

All this is a long way of beating around a bush to suggest that the
use of this list is for the internal activities of its participants.
What the US does applies to .US, and to registries within the physical
jurisdiction of the United States, and with the exception of DOT, and
the traditionally maligned NSI, none of the registry discussion in
WG-C has as a precondition the physical jurisdiction of the United
States over registries, nor the transitive application of US law on
registries delegated by the DOT's editors.

Could we, just once in WG-C, give it a rest? Putting the tm faction up
against a wall, or handing them the keys to the city isn't our task,
and our task is hard enough as it is.

Cheers,
Eric