Protect Your Domain Rights!

[SedoCoUk]

Hello Everyone,

Please read on below for information regarding the controversial Snowe Bill, which could threaten the value and benefits of direct navigation traffic in the domain name industry. Your honest opinions are always welcome in this thread and your actions to counter the bill are greatly appreciated! Please see www.internetcommerce.org for more information.

Thanks,

Monica

March 11, 2008

As a founding member of the Internet Commerce Association, Sedo believes that it is important to invest our resources in ensuring the long term health and viability of the domain name market and the business of traffic monetization. Whether you buy and sell domains for your business, maintain a portfolio of domain properties, or simply enjoy the use of domain names for personal websites or blogs, a threat has emerged to domain ownership and it is time for interested individuals and businesses to protect our rights.

As you may have already read in the news or on a forum, a bill was recently introduced in the United States Senate by Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) that aims to drastically and needlessly expand the scope of rights associated with a trademark outside the realm of traditional trademark law. The Anti-Phishing Consumer Protection Act of 2008, or the Snowe bill as it is referred to, appears on its face to be directed to fighting the practice of “phishing”, which is a worthwhile cause, but contains many elements completely unrelated to this purpose, such as creating a cause of action for displaying advertising on a generic or descriptive domain name simply because another company has registered rights to a similar word or phrase.

If this bill is passed by Congress and signed by the President, it would immediately arm large businesses and government agencies with the ability to claim countless valuable and legitimate domains from their current owners. Supported by the Coalition Against Domain Name Abuse (CADNA), a coalition of companies that include Verizon, AIG, Dell, and several large hotel chains, the Snowe bill is attempting to confuse the issue of malicious phishing scams with the lawful and legitimate business of buying, selling and monetizing domain names.

By removing many of the intended checks and balances of traditional trademark law, designed to ensure that trademark rights are limited by geography and class of goods and services, the Snowe bill is attempting to eliminate many of the roadblocks large companies have faced in their attempt to gain de facto monopoly rights on words that rightfully belong to the public domain. Furthermore, the absence of due process principles make it likely that valuable domain properties could be taken from their rightful owner due only to a vague resemblance to another’s mark.

I encourage all Sedo users and domain owners anywhere to help fight the Snowe bill by joining the Internet Commerce Association, a non-profit industry organization founded to help represent domain name investors and developers and the direct search industry. The Internet Commerce Association is comprised of responsible businesses and individuals who have joined together to improve public confidence in internet commerce. Based in Washington D.C., their mission is to promote and share best practices among participants in the domain name industry and to educate consumers, policy makers, law makers and the media about the value and benefits of direct navigation traffic and the domain name industry.

Please visit www.internetcommerce.org to learn more about the Snowe bill and how you can support the ICA in our effort to fight its passage.

[draggar]

Thank you Monica & Sedo.

We, as individuals, have very little power with the US government. Things only get done if it is something huge, like Meghan's Law, or huge corporations back it, like the Snowe Bill.

It's good to see corporations like Sedo stepping up to fight falsely named legislation (yeah, it's really an "Anti-Phishing Consumer Protection Act" ). Hopefully other companies who have a lot to lose from this will also step up (Registrars, advertising agencies like Google and Yahoo) and help defend the rights of the muted "little" guy.

People also need to realize that this bill is a redundant bill, the main points are already illegal. Phishing is illegal, so why make it illegal again and cyber / typo squatting are already against ICANN and WIPO policies and is currently enforced. This is just a ticket to legalize cyberqsuatting for large corporations.

[DotComGod]

Originally Posted by SedoCoUk

Hello Everyone,

Please read on below for information regarding the controversial Snowe Bill, which could threaten the value and benefits of direct navigation traffic in the domain name industry. Your honest opinions are always welcome in this thread and your actions to counter the bill are greatly appreciated! Please see www.internetcommerce.org for more information.

Thanks,

Monica

March 11, 2008

As a founding member of the Internet Commerce Association, Sedo believes that it is important to invest our resources in ensuring the long term health and viability of the domain name market and the business of traffic monetization. Whether you buy and sell domains for your business, maintain a portfolio of domain properties, or simply enjoy the use of domain names for personal websites or blogs, a threat has emerged to domain ownership and it is time for interested individuals and businesses to protect our rights.

As you may have already read in the news or on a forum, a bill was recently introduced in the United States Senate by Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) that aims to drastically and needlessly expand the scope of rights associated with a trademark outside the realm of traditional trademark law. The Anti-Phishing Consumer Protection Act of 2008, or the Snowe bill as it is referred to, appears on its face to be directed to fighting the practice of “phishing”, which is a worthwhile cause, but contains many elements completely unrelated to this purpose, such as creating a cause of action for displaying advertising on a generic or descriptive domain name simply because another company has registered rights to a similar word or phrase.

If this bill is passed by Congress and signed by the President, it would immediately arm large businesses and government agencies with the ability to claim countless valuable and legitimate domains from their current owners. Supported by the Coalition Against Domain Name Abuse (CADNA), a coalition of companies that include Verizon, AIG, Dell, and several large hotel chains, the Snowe bill is attempting to confuse the issue of malicious phishing scams with the lawful and legitimate business of buying, selling and monetizing domain names.

By removing many of the intended checks and balances of traditional trademark law, designed to ensure that trademark rights are limited by geography and class of goods and services, the Snowe bill is attempting to eliminate many of the roadblocks large companies have faced in their attempt to gain de facto monopoly rights on words that rightfully belong to the public domain. Furthermore, the absence of due process principles make it likely that valuable domain properties could be taken from their rightful owner due only to a vague resemblance to another’s mark.

I encourage all Sedo users and domain owners anywhere to help fight the Snowe bill by joining the Internet Commerce Association, a non-profit industry organization founded to help represent domain name investors and developers and the direct search industry. The Internet Commerce Association is comprised of responsible businesses and individuals who have joined together to improve public confidence in internet commerce. Based in Washington D.C., their mission is to promote and share best practices among participants in the domain name industry and to educate consumers, policy makers, law makers and the media about the value and benefits of direct navigation traffic and the domain name industry.

Please visit www.internetcommerce.org to learn more about the Snowe bill and how you can support the ICA in our effort to fight its passage.

Is their any progress report on how the ICA is planning to handle this?

Does the ICA feel they have a chance to defeat this Snowe Bill?

Maybe the ICA would raise more money if there were more representtives from the ICA here on dnforum.com to answer user questions and concerns.

-=DCG=-

[SedoCoUk]

Hi DotComGod,

Interesting points you make there. Definitely check out internetcommerce.org to keep track of the ICA's plans.

According to their website, "Philip Corwin, Counsel to ICA, has met with Senators’ staff and spoken with Capitol Hill reporters and other companies and associations who have a lobbying presence in Washington. He has been informing them of the damage this bill will cause to our industry and soliciting opposition to the bill and his work is starting to pay off."

It's definitely not only the ICA's job to step up and counter the bill. Companies like Sedo and domainers themselves should be taking a stand. Let's hope our voice is heard!

Monica

[south]

I would also hope / think even bigger players would get involved.

Who stands to lose the most money from this? The domainers? I don't think so. It goes right up the ladder. PPC companies, affilate programs, search engines, etc. Why would anyone pay for google/yahoo/msn/aol/etc ads when they can take over all the domains, even generics? At the very least, it would almost certainly reduce how much people would be willing to pay for such advertising. This could change the way a great deal of commerce is done on the internet, as well as entire business models of large search engines.

[Keyword Factory]

One of the problems is that the PPC providers are displaying infringing keywords and links that go to a different place than the user thinks. This issue was brought out in the myspace.co.uk. It is also discussed in an article in Modern Domainer how the Verizon attorney pegged ICA for not enforcing their code of conduct. (it was brought out that Verizon does the same think with their Internet customers).

In any case, SEDO is part of the problem by displaying infringing keywords (of course Google and Yahoo are doing it as well). What is SEDO going to do about that?

[Johnn]

Some one should take the lead and make it happen.

It looks like everyone is waiting to see what will happen. NOTHING.

All of the domain related businesses should form an alliance (Registrars, Parking companies, etc...) and work with ICA to knock down this Bill.

Some one from Sedo, Moniker, Godaddy, NS, Enom, etc... should stand up, make the connection and start the process.

Start it now...........