NCSG input on request for special privileges for Red Cross & International Olympic Committee regarding Internet domains

[Milton L Mueller]

Avri: 
Yes, indeed, the geographic indicators is an excellent example of how the ICANN process is being abused to create new, extra-legal rights claims. If you look carefully at common law and even administrative law and international treaties, you find that the reservation claims now being made by governments with respect to geographic / regional names have utterly no basis. They are like 16th century colonial powers carving up the world by drawing lines on their little maps. The problem is that centralized control of the domain name system allows them to enforce these outrageous claims by fiat. 

> -----Original Message-----
> In fact I think the push should be to remove names from the reserved list.
> Recently all sort of geographical and other names have been added to
> protected status of one sort or another.
> In fact other than perhaps, test and example, I see no reason for most of the
> names on the reserved list to be there. i think other mechanisms could be
> used to block them from being (mis)used.
>