Posted 03/19/09 at 11:00:00 AM by Paul Lilly

Cybersquatting, which describes trying to profit by registering a domain name that uses a trademarked name or word to either attract visitors to the website and/or sell the site to the trademark owner, has been illegal for a decade now, but that doesn't mean the practice is slowing up. On the contrary, more complaints and legal action were filed in 2008 than ever before.

And it's not just businesses that are being targeted, either. In addition to the likes of Google, Nestle, and Ebay, complaints resonated from the likes of actress Scarlett Johansson. Going forward, some feel the problem will only worsen once ICANN launches new generic top-level domains (gTLDs).

"The creation of an unknowable and potentially vast number of new gTLDs raises significant issues for rights holders, as well as internet users generally," World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) director-general Francis Gurry said in a statement.

Gurry went on to say that his U.N. agency was working with ICANN on "pre- and post-delegation procedures" to look over proposed suffixes and prevent disputes.

Read More

Posted 02/26/09 at 02:08:11 PM by Paul Lilly

It's been eight months almost to the day since ICANN members voted to allow the freeing up of top level domains (gTLD), and it could be eight more months (or longer) before you can actually register one. Why the hold up, you ask?

ICANN's first-draft guidelines sparked a flurry of critical comments, including the exact opposite of a ringing endorsement from the U.S. government, and now a second draft has been released. Also accompanying the revised draft is a 154-page analysis of the comments already received, and ICANN expects to delay implementing the plan to at least September to give itself time to review all the feedback.

One of the primary concerns is that gTLDs could lead to confusion, and some companies fear they may be forced to invest in several new domain names. With an application fee of $180,000 and annual maintenance charges of $25,000 per gTLD (recently reduced for $75,000), that could turn into a costly affair. One solution is to place a hold on protected terms, but that raises the question of whether or not it would extend trademark holders' rights beyond what trademark law allows.

Comments on the revised proposal will be heard through April 13, 2009.

Read More