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<TITLE>Re: GNSO working group</TITLE>
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<FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'>Dear Edward and all,<BR>
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‘Gripe/commentary’ sites as abusive is a pattern that has been established and is being promoted as a normative justification via the UDRP. So far it is exemplified mainly via the addition of the negative connotation <.sucks> next to the trademarked term in the SLD space and up to this day UDRP panels consider gripe sites as abusive and thus they transfer the domain name to the trademark owner. See for instance the latest UDRP case on <.sucks>, which clearly illustrates this normative pattern: ( </SPAN></FONT><FONT SIZE="2"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:10pt'><I>Société Air France v. Mark Allaye-Chan, </I>WIPO D2009-0327<I> (“The disputed domain name contains the Complainant’s entire trade mark. However, it also contains the suffix “-suck”. The disputed domain name therefore falls within the category of so-called “sucks” cases (where a trade mark is joined with a negative term). Previous panels who encounter “sucks” cases have found that a domain names can be confusingly similar to the trade mark for various reasons, including because the disputed domain name is highly similar to the trade mark; or because the domain name may not be recognized as negative (for example, for non-English speaking Internet users). This view (that “sucks” domain names are confusingly similar to the trade mark) is the majority view of previous panels, and may even be the consensus view. See e.g.<B>, </B>Sermo, Inc. v. CatalystMD<B> </B>LLC<B>, </B>WIPO Case No. D2008-0647, Footnote 5; Air Austral v. Tian Yi Tong Investment Ltd., WIPO Case No. D2009-0020. It is in any event the Panel’s preferred view in these circumstances, particularly because the Complainant originated in France, and may have a significant number of non-English speaking customers who will not automatically recognize “suck” as a pejorative term.)<BR>
</I></SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'>This is not only contrary to free speech but it is also contrary to trademark and defamation laws. As stated, the US has already allowed gripe sites to co-exist in harmony with trademarks – the same way Nominet, UK has incorporated a specific clause within their own dispute resolution services.<BR>
This should be added as well as issues of RDNH, which nobody seems to give the appropriate attention to.<BR>
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Best <BR>
Konstantinos<BR>
<BR>
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On 18/06/2009 20:20, "Milton L Mueller" <<a href="mueller@SYR.EDU">mueller@SYR.EDU</a>> wrote:<BR>
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</SPAN></FONT><BLOCKQUOTE><FONT COLOR="#000080"><FONT SIZE="2"><FONT FACE="Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:10pt'>Wow. I just noticed that the list of abuses contains “gripe/commentary” sites. In other words, this is an attempt to define free expression and commentary using trademarked names as an abuse – it is just an attempt to stifle criticism. <BR>
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Edward, that has to go. First, it does not represent well-established positions of this constituency; second it is literally ILLEGAL under U.S. law – it is well settled case law now that the use of trademarked names in grip domains is legal and protected by the First Amendment. <BR>
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<FONT SIZE="2"><FONT FACE="Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:10pt'><B>From:</B> Non-Commercial User Constituency [<a href="mailto:NCUC-DISCUSS@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU">mailto:NCUC-DISCUSS@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU</a>] <B>On Behalf Of </B>Edward Nunes<BR>
<B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, June 16, 2009 8:16 PM<BR>
<B>To:</B> <a href="NCUC-DISCUSS@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU">NCUC-DISCUSS@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU</a><BR>
<B>Subject:</B> Re: [NCUC-DISCUSS] GNSO working group<BR>
</SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:12pt'> <BR>
</SPAN></FONT><FONT SIZE="1"><FONT FACE="Helvetica, Verdana, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:9pt'>Hey all,<BR>
</SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'><BR>
</SPAN></FONT><FONT SIZE="1"><FONT FACE="Helvetica, Verdana, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:9pt'>I just wanted to update you all on what's been happening with the Registration Abuse Policy Working Group.<BR>
</SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'><BR>
</SPAN></FONT><FONT SIZE="1"><FONT FACE="Helvetica, Verdana, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:9pt'>Since I joined the GNSO Registration Abuse Policies Working Group the discussion within the group has focused on the definition of registration abuse. During the April 27th meeting we decided on a working definition of abuse:<BR>
</SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'><BR>
</SPAN></FONT><FONT SIZE="1"><FONT FACE="Helvetica, Verdana, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:9pt'> <BR>
</SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'><BR>
</SPAN></FONT><FONT SIZE="1"><FONT FACE="Helvetica, Verdana, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:9pt'>Abuse is an action that:<BR>
</SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'><BR>
</SPAN></FONT><FONT SIZE="1"><FONT FACE="Helvetica, Verdana, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:9pt'>1. Causes actual and substantial harm, or is a material predicate of such harm, and<BR>
</SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'><BR>
</SPAN></FONT><FONT SIZE="1"><FONT FACE="Helvetica, Verdana, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:9pt'>2. Is illegal or illegitimate, or is otherwise considered contrary to the intention and design of a stated legitimate purpose, if such purpose is disclosed.<BR>
</SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'><BR>
</SPAN></FONT><FONT SIZE="1"><FONT FACE="Helvetica, Verdana, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:9pt'>Notes:<BR>
</SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'><BR>
</SPAN></FONT><FONT SIZE="1"><FONT FACE="Helvetica, Verdana, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:9pt'>* This is a working definition as per group consensus on April 27, 2009 and may be re-visited should the WG find it inadequate after examining some specific examples.<BR>
</SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'><BR>
</SPAN></FONT><FONT SIZE="1"><FONT FACE="Helvetica, Verdana, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:9pt'>* The party or parties harmed, and the substance or severity of the abuse, should be identified and discussed in relation to a specific proposed abuse.<BR>
</SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'><BR>
</SPAN></FONT><FONT SIZE="1"><FONT FACE="Helvetica, Verdana, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:9pt'>* The term "harm" is not intended to shield a party from fair market competition.<BR>
</SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'><BR>
</SPAN></FONT><FONT SIZE="2"><FONT FACE="Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:10pt'>* The above definition of abuse is indebted to the definition of "misuse" in the document "Working Definitions for Key Terms that May be Used in Future WHOIS Studies" prepared by the GNSO Drafting Team [18 February 2009, at <a href="http://gnso.icann.org/issues/whois/whois-working-definitions-study-terms-18feb09.pdf">http://gnso.icann.org/issues/whois/whois-working-definitions-study-terms-18feb09.pdf</a>].<BR>
</SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'><BR>
</SPAN></FONT><FONT SIZE="1"><FONT FACE="Helvetica, Verdana, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:9pt'>While this is the definition we are sticking with for now, there has been numerous issued raised about this definition both in and outside the working group. Issues raised included:<BR>
</SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'><BR>
</SPAN></FONT><FONT SIZE="2"><FONT FACE="Symbol"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:10pt'>·</SPAN></FONT><SPAN STYLE='font-size:10pt'><FONT FACE="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN></FONT><FONT SIZE="1"><FONT FACE="Helvetica, Verdana, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:9pt'>The use of “stated” and “disclosed in clause 2 is redundant.<BR>
</SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'><BR>
</SPAN></FONT><FONT SIZE="2"><FONT FACE="Symbol"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:10pt'>·</SPAN></FONT><SPAN STYLE='font-size:10pt'><FONT FACE="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN></FONT><FONT SIZE="1"><FONT FACE="Helvetica, Verdana, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:9pt'>The use of “illegal” and “illegitimate” in clause 2 is redundant.<BR>
</SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'><BR>
</SPAN></FONT><FONT SIZE="2"><FONT FACE="Symbol"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:10pt'>·</SPAN></FONT><SPAN STYLE='font-size:10pt'><FONT FACE="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN></FONT><FONT SIZE="1"><FONT FACE="Helvetica, Verdana, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:9pt'>There should be an intent requirement for violators, so as to limit abuse to malicious abusers.<BR>
</SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'><BR>
</SPAN></FONT><FONT SIZE="2"><FONT FACE="Symbol"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:10pt'>·</SPAN></FONT><SPAN STYLE='font-size:10pt'><FONT FACE="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN></FONT><FONT SIZE="1"><FONT FACE="Helvetica, Verdana, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:9pt'>“Illegal” is too vague of a term, as the law varies among the jurisdictions of the world.<BR>
</SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'><BR>
</SPAN></FONT><FONT SIZE="2"><FONT FACE="Symbol"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:10pt'>·</SPAN></FONT><SPAN STYLE='font-size:10pt'><FONT FACE="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN></FONT><FONT SIZE="1"><FONT FACE="Helvetica, Verdana, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:9pt'>“Harm” is too broad of a term.<BR>
</SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'><BR>
</SPAN></FONT><FONT SIZE="2"><FONT FACE="Symbol"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:10pt'>·</SPAN></FONT><SPAN STYLE='font-size:10pt'><FONT FACE="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN></FONT><FONT SIZE="1"><FONT FACE="Helvetica, Verdana, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:9pt'>The section “material predicate of such harm” creates an overly broad definition of abuse.<BR>
</SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'><BR>
</SPAN></FONT><FONT SIZE="2"><FONT FACE="Symbol"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:10pt'>·</SPAN></FONT><SPAN STYLE='font-size:10pt'><FONT FACE="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN></FONT><FONT SIZE="1"><FONT FACE="Helvetica, Verdana, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:9pt'>“Illegitimate” is too vague of a term.<BR>
</SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'><BR>
</SPAN></FONT><FONT SIZE="2"><FONT FACE="Symbol"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:10pt'>·</SPAN></FONT><SPAN STYLE='font-size:10pt'><FONT FACE="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN></FONT><FONT SIZE="1"><FONT FACE="Helvetica, Verdana, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:9pt'>“Illegal” is a legal conclusion derived from a court proceeding.<BR>
</SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'><BR>
</SPAN><FONT SIZE="2"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:10pt'>o</SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT SIZE="2"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:10pt'><FONT FACE="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN></FONT><FONT SIZE="1"><FONT FACE="Helvetica, Verdana, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:9pt'>There has been some preliminary talk about the process to determine if whether something constitutes registration abuse, but no decisions have been made on this subject.<BR>
</SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'><BR>
</SPAN></FONT><FONT SIZE="1"><FONT FACE="Helvetica, Verdana, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:9pt'>While we are sticking with this definition for now, we understand there are issues with it and expect to revisit it at a later time.<BR>
In the May 11th meeting we focused on defining “registration”, and how this definition will effect th<BR>
</SPAN></FONT></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE><FONT SIZE="1"><FONT FACE="Helvetica, Verdana, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:9pt'><BR>
</SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'>-- <BR>
Dr. Konstantinos Komaitis,<BR>
Lecturer in Law,<BR>
GigaNet Membership Chair,<BR>
University of Strathclyde,<BR>
The Lord Hope Building,<BR>
141 St. James Road,<BR>
Glasgow, G4 0LT,<BR>
UK<BR>
tel: +44 (0)141 548 4306<BR>
email: <a href="k.komaitis@strath.ac.uk">k.komaitis@strath.ac.uk</a> <BR>
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