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

[Milton L Mueller]

Alain
There is no need to apply for a gTLD to "protect" trademarked brand names. The policy allows one to pre-empt/prevent someone else from registering a gTLD based on your trademark. In other words, louisvuitton's refusal to apply for . louisvuitton does NOT mean that anyone else can apply for it.

One should apply for a gTLD only if the benefits of having one outweighs the costs of applying for and operating it.

I also don't understand the idea that so-called "super generic" terms should not be claimed by anyone. The idea that having a generic term as a gTLD is a "license to print money" is factually false, just ask the .jobs people. This whole idea that TLDs constitute automatic riches is a distorted but incredibly persistent holdover from the early days, when .com emerged as the only space for commercial registrations. That experience will not be repeated, yet so many people's views of TLD economics is shaped by that experience. The proliferation of new TLDs radically destroys any such repetition.

--MM


From: Alain Berranger [mailto:alain.berranger at gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, October 12, 2011 10:59 PM
To: Milton L Mueller
Cc: NCSG-DISCUSS at listserv.syr.edu
Subject: Re: [NCSG-Discuss] NCSG input on request for special privileges for Red Cross & International Olympic Committee regarding Internet domains

HI Milton,

Are we mainly concerned with second level domain names? as trademarked and/or notorious gTLD names are dealt with: if you want to protect a valuable resource such as a name - usually trademarked (say Nobel Prize or Honda or Louis Vuitton or Apple or Red Cross) then the trademark holding body must apply for a corresponding gTLD, which will be used for primary purposes say jeanpierre.milan at design.louisvuitton<mailto:jeanpierre.milan at design.louisvuitton>. However, notoriety of a given name may not always match the financial robustness needed to apply for a gTLD, but that will be the exception, no? I'm not sure though. Is gTLD aiming at a single root or a family of similar roots (hence the suggestion to stick to strict international treaties nomenclature which I find interesting but insufficient)? so what happens to related names such as vuitton or vuitton bags or luis vutton... ICANN cannot substitute for INTA, WIPO, etc... it must only respect INTA, WIPO, etc... rules and regulations.

Two hard calls: second level domain names with similar roots and also gTLD that are "super generic" like .ngo. .intl... which really nobody can claim ownership to!... but carry the promise of potentially huge revenues and ICANN inadvertently granting or appearing to grant a monopoly or a license to print money!

However, a reserve name list approach does not seem the way to go if only because of issue of  "where does one draw the line"? Kafkaesque!!!

So in the end, ICANN deals with gTLDs, lawyers with trademarks... the rest is open market philosophy in balance with security issues... maybe?

Is this too simplistic? am I missing something? Your views most appreciated...

Best, Alain
On Wed, Oct 5, 2011 at 9:02 AM, Milton L Mueller <mueller at syr.edu<mailto:mueller at syr.edu>> wrote:
> -----Original Message-----
>
> TLD .olympic, .red-cross, .ngo, .iso, .intl, .iata (variant
> .aita),  .icao (variant .oaci) and .code should be protected.
>

Protected from what?

Since when does someone own .ngo? If so, who?

Why .intl? Who has rights in that? Why?

JFC, I believe that the whole attitude here is wrong. I strongly resist the idea that we can create fiat global property rights in alphanumeric character strings just because someone on an email list thinks it's a good idea to "protect" whatever happens to be his or her pet organization. Lets try to be more systematic and think about long term consequences, clear rules, etc.


--MM



--
Alain Berranger, B.Eng, MBA
Member, Board of Directors, CECI, http://www.ceci.ca<http://www.ceci.ca/en/about-ceci/team/board-of-directors/>
Executive-in-residence, Schulich School of Business, www.schulich.yorku.ca<http://www.schulich.yorku.ca>
Trustee, GKP Foundation, www.globalknowledgepartnership.org<http://www.globalknowledgepartnership.org>
Vice Chair, NPOC, NCSG, ICANN, http://npoc.org/
O:+1 514 484 7824; M:+1 514 704 7824
Skype: alain.berranger

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