Use of *.ORG extension

[eia1957]

I need a legal opinion to put to rest a question that has just arisen for a website that I'm building for my sister's pediatric clinic. A little history first; the domain name of "abcpeds.org" was chosen because the *.com variant was already taken and, at that time, my sister did not want to use the *.net variant BUT did want to keep the main domain name ("abcpeds"). I have just recently started building the site and have it up and running while I continue to build and tweak the site.

My sister was told by her computer consultant that it was "illegal" for a business to use a *.ORG extension for their web address because those were reserved for nonprofit organizations. In addition, he has claimed that she is exposed to a potential civil suit for the illegal use of the name.

I believe the consultant's opinion to be in error. In the meanwhile, my sister has gone ballistic thinking that she's liable for misuse of a domain name. Since she will only be placated by the opinion (even an informal, nothing-to-be-tied-to opinion) of a legal expert, I need your help and considered thoughts.

If that is not possible, please direct me to where I can find such an opinion or ,better yet, a legal reference. To prove that her brother is not a bloody fool, please reply to my email address at: [email protected]

Thank you in advance for considering my request.

-elliott

Elliott Alvarado
http://www.elliott.alvarado.com
[email protected]

 

[draqon]

im sorry elliot, you are a bloody fool. Federal law allows people who misuse .org domains to be tried and executed as terrorists.

 

[DNQuest.com]

The original intention of .org was for the reason but there is no law (at least none i have heard of) that it can not be used commercially. Check out www.casino.org, I don't think this is a non-profit organization. Tell your sister that it is ok.

 

[bidawinner]

Elliot .. no restrictions for .ORG; it is an "open" extension.

BUT it does give the "impression" that you may be an organization instead of a business if one were simply looking at the address abcpeds.org in a search engine...

If her clinic is also in the US have you considered using http://abcpeds.us ?

the .US use to be restricted for just US gov, schools, states etc.. but it was opened up UNRESTRICTED for US citizens in april..

http://www.nic.us/

 

[Bob]

Originally posted by draqon
im sorry elliot, you are a bloody fool. Federal law allows people who misuse .org domains to be tried and executed as terrorists.

:laugh:

Humor is great.

-Bob

 

[Bob]

Elliot -

There are no restrictions on the .ORG TLD. .ORG was originally intended for non-profit, and that stigma lives on. There are currently absolutely NO restrictions on .ORG.

Best of luck!

-Bob

 

[Anthony Ng]

>eia1957: My sister was told by her computer consultant that it was "illegal" for a business to use a *.ORG extension for their web address because those were reserved for nonprofit organizations.

For this alone, I guess your sister should simply fire her so-called "computer consultant".

 

[William9]

eia1957 inidicated: “My sister was told by her computer consultant that it was "illegal" for a business to use a *.ORG extension for their web address because those were reserved for nonprofit organizations. In addition, he has claimed that she is exposed to a potential civil suit for the illegal use of the name.”

Did you sister’s consultant then offer to sell her an appropriate web address for only $1,000? If so, several board members can sell you a similar name and give you the the December $50 discount even though it was only your first post.

 

[adoptabledomains]

Dot-org is an open global TLD, that can be used by anyone, although it historically was directed toward non-profit or other organizations. because of the historic targeting toward organizations rather than commerce, there is an expectation that they are not commercial sites. With the .org domain being reassigned, there was even a concerted effort to differentiate the domain starting next year as non-commercial as in the criteria set for the new registry operator as quoted below:
(full document at http://www.icann.org/tlds/org/criteria-20may02.htm)

4. Differentiation of the .org TLD.

A key objective is differentiation of the .org TLD from TLDs intended for commercial purposes. Appropriate marketing practices are a primary tool for achieving that objective. Proposals should include detailed planned marketing practices designed to differentiate the .org TLD, promote and attract registrations from the global noncommercial community, and minimize defensive and duplicative registrations.

5. Inclusion of mechanisms for promoting the registry's operation in a manner that is responsive to the needs, concerns, and views of the noncommercial Internet user community.

The successor operator's policies and practices should strive to be responsive to and supportive of the noncommercial Internet user community, and reflect as much of its diversity as possible. Consideration will be given to mechanisms proposed for achieving this responsiveness and supportiveness. A broad variety of mechanisms are possible, such as teaming between for-profit and non-profit organizations and establishment of governing or advisory groups for the operation of the .org registry that include representatives of the noncommercial Internet user community.

Where representative governing or advisory groups are proposed, the proposal should ensure a mechanism for providing all .org registrants with the opportunity to participate in that mechanism, either through the selection of members, or through some other means. The bylaws or other documents establishing the groups should provide explicitly for an open, transparent, and participatory process by which .org operating policies are initiated, reviewed, and revised in a manner that reflects the interests of .org domain name holders and is consistent with the terms of its registry agreement with ICANN.

The consensus is that there will be no restictions, but you may be developing into a place people won't look for you commercially. Kind of like buying putting a McDonalds in a cul-de-sac at the back of a subdivision. Not inaccessible, but not where people would expect to look for you, and not likely to get much traffic from those who don't know you already.

 

[DomainPairs]

I would consider getting another name and aliasing your existing one to it. Not for the reason stated by your "computer consultant" (who I believe should stick to servicing TRS80s), but for the reasons put forward by Mark, and another important consideration. "peds" has come to be associated with paedophiles and you may want to distance yourself from this.

 

[DNQuest.com]

Originally posted by nameslave
>eia1957: My sister was told by her computer consultant that it was "illegal" for a business to use a *.ORG extension for their web address because those were reserved for nonprofit organizations.

For this alone, I guess your sister should simply fire her so-called "computer consultant".

I'm available for hire

 

[think]

Hopefully your sister's computer consultant is skilled in areas other than laws regarding domain names. He's definately uninformed or not up to speed on domain regulations as there are no restrictions to commercial use on the dot org extension.

Personally I think .org is an acceptable ending for a medical website even if it is commercial in nature. Dot Biz and dot us could also be used but the .org is more familiar to the public and I think is trusted and respected by the public as well.

From the point of view of traffic dot com is king and most associated with commerce. However, for a local business as I'm guessing your sister's is, it's not imperitive that her website address ends in dot com.

If she intends to use ABC Peds as part of or in full for her business name she might want to trademark the name. This is fairly important considering the dot com is already owned by another party and although there is no site at this address it does appear by checking the whois data that it is owned by another doctor with a business by the same or similar name. Doing a preliminary check at www.uspto.gov it does not appear that the other party has a trademark. I am not a legal expert but many people file their own trademarks nowadays, however if one is unsure he or she can definately find an attorney to help.

Best of luck,
Think

 

[jberryhill]

"My sister was told by her computer consultant that it was "illegal" for a business to use a *.ORG extension for their web address because those were reserved for nonprofit organizations. "

That computer consultant would do better to change his medication.

As of now, .org is a generic TLD in which anyone can use a domain name for any purpose. Management of the .org TLD is to be transitioned to a non-profit company sometime in the future, but there are no plans to move previously-registered .org's out of the TLD because they are profit-making organizations.

The computer consultant is wrong.

 

[dtobias]

The way I like to think of it is that .com, .org, and .net have intended purposes as defined by RFC 1591 (.com for commercial entities, .net for network infrastructure, and .org for miscellaneous entities not covered by other TLDs, which implies noncommerciality because commercial entities are covered by .com). These purposes are just not actually enforced, putting users on the "honor system" to use the TLDs correctly. It's just that Internet users and marketers these days aren't particularly honorable.

.info is the only TLD that's explicitly chartered as being unrestricted as to what sorts of entities and uses it's intended for.

 

[Anthony Ng]

There were surely some intended purposes; if not, why would there be 3 different gTLDs instead of just 1? However, intended purposes are NOT restrictions; therefore, they are not enforceable. But then the original design is not for housing tens of millions of domain names, and that's why we finally have .info, .biz, etc.

 

[think]

One more note:
It would be wise to register the singular version of this domain ie. ABCPed.org or whatever extension you choose as some people might not remember if it's singular or plural. If someone else then registers the singular version they might end up stealing some of your traffic. It's doubtful that it would happen in this case but one never knows.

As for the commercialization of .org I figure when the gloves came off and Netsol sought to capitalize on the sale of these names then the interpretation of of what is considered an organization changed also. I feel as long as the website is informitive and helpful to the public it does not matter if it is commcial or noncommercial in nature. I've seen many dot org sites that are blatently commercial and it is still perfectly legal. It's just a matter of taste and protocal.