browse comments: About TradeMark x Domain Names dispute

About TradeMark x Domain Names dispute
Marcel Leal (marcel@london-daily.com)
Wed, 22 Jul 1998 11:14:56 -0300

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1. Some trademark owners failed as a business to give Internet domain
names the importance they deserve, thus leaving their names unregistered
as domain names.
2. Some clever and pioneering entrepeneurs saw the new business
oportunity in registering well-known names as domains to later lease or
sell them. As someone would sell a nice phone number that suits a known
company, like 0800-MyCompany.
3. It was not illegal to do that at the time.
4. These entrepeneurs are not using the domains to broadcast a website
online nor deceiving the public. They're just holding the domain name's
properties.
5. It's an investment as everything else.

Thus:
a. Domain name owners that registered and payed for these domains prior
to the new rules on protecting trademarks should be granted the rights
to these domains.
b. They should be free to lease or sell the domain names but not to use
them to launch a website.
c. They should be allowed to sell or lease these domain names only to
the trademark owners of these names.
In this way the rights to both the domain name holder and the trademark
owner would be guaranteed.

d. After the new rules are published, a trademark owner should be able
to register its name on all top level domains (like .com, .ent, .net,
etc) with a single form and a single discounted payment.
This would decrease the cost and workload of getting a company
trademark to the Internet.
e. Before registering the domains the trademark owner should sent a
proof of ownership to that name's trademark.
f. Payment should be made immediately, online, by credit card.
g. New domain names requested by someone without a trademark proof
should stay in a Request List for 30 days before the right is granted,
so a trademark owner could check to see if anyone is trying to register
its domain.
h. If, after the 30 days, nobody complains about the request with a
trademark proof the person who requested the registry should be granted
the rights to the domain name.
i. Nobody will be allowed to challenge a domain name registry after
that period, even if he has the trademark to that name.
j. The Request List and the Complain Form should be online in a central
Domain List website and be widely advertised. Registrars should
advertise these rules and the Domain List site in their site.

I sincerely think these rules would be fair to everybody, from the
not-well-informed-trademark-owner to the
well-informed-smart-entrepeneur.

Yours,

Marcel Leal
Webmaster

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