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Archive for June, 2010

The ICANN Board has just approved the release of new IDN ccTLD domain names, while at the same time allowing for the creation of the controversial .xxx domain names.

The IDN ccTLD domain names approved by ICANN are:

• CNNIC (China Internet Network Information Center)

• HKIRC (Hong Kong Internet Registration Corporation Limited)

• TWNIC (Taiwan Network Information Center).

Speaking during the ICANN 38 meeting, ICANN CEO Rod Beckstrom announced that:

“One fifth of the world speaks Chinese and that means we just increased the potential online accessibility for roughly a billion people.”

This announcement comes hot on the heels of the recent release of the Russian and Arabic IDN ccTLD, which we announced with great fanfare.

The contraversial .xxx domain was allowed to pass with ICANN saying:

The ICANN board also voted to allow the application for the controversial .XXX top-level domain (TLD) to move forward. The ICM registry applied for the .XXX sponsored top-level domain as a potential community site for the adult entertainment industry. The Board approved a detailed set of next steps for the application, including expedited due diligence, negotiations on a draft registry agreement, and consultation with ICANN’s Governmental Advisory Committee.

The .xxx domain was first mooted in 2000 as a dedicated domain for the Adult industry, but fierce debate from supporters and detractors has raged since then. In 2007 the ICANN Board rejected a proposal to progress the .xxx, but in more recent times members of the ICANN board have expressed support for it, which has resulted in its return as a prominent issue.

Members of the Adult industry had feared that while the .xxx is descriptive of their businesses, that mandatory use of this TLD would isolated Adult websites.

Tags: domain law, domain lawyer, domain name law, domain name lawyer, ICANN, IT Lawyer, technology lawyer
Posted in Domain law and domaining, General, IT Law, Uncategorized | Comments Off

On 4 June 2010 the Government in association with the Internet Industry Association launched the Voluntary Industry Cyber Security Code for ISPs.

The voluntary code is aimed at having ISPs join in contributing to cyber security, whether assisting customers understand risks and looking out for them, or notifying police when they become aware of unlawful activity.

The benefits to ISPs are obvious from a marketing perspective, this is further boosted by eligibility to display the ‘iCode Compliant’ badge on their websites. Many ISPs would argue that they already provide customers with detailed information on keeping their computers safe, and already notify law enforcement when they become aware of unlawful activity.

The Code is expected to come into force on 1 December 2010.

Tags: isp law, ISP lawyer, IT Lawyer, technology lawyer
Posted in General, ISP and Telco Law | Comments Off

Doctor’s Associates Inc, which operate and franchise Subway stores, is red faced after losing a domain name dispute over MySubwayRewards.com.

The recent decision is a set back for the sandwich chain as they may have lost the battle due to their lawyers failing to do their homework. The Panel held that Subway’s lawyers failed to provide enough evidence to prove that the website was confusingly similar to the SUBWAY trade marks. They provided no explanation or argument as to why the phrase “mysubwayrewards” in the domain name may be confused with the mark SUBWAY.

This seems like an easy enough thing to do right? But it appears that the lawyers got lazy and assumed that they already had the cat in the bag by identifying the name as confusing. They omitted to then take the necessary step of proving how and why.

The Panel highlighted that due to the fact that the word SUBWAY was bracketed between other words which could quite conceivably be used in combination to convey a meaning unassociated with the SUBWAY mark, it becomes necessary to sufficiently demonstrate identity or confusing similarity to the trademark at issue.

This is an example which shows why trademark and domain name owners should carefully select lawyers who understand the UDRP and auDRP processes, and who regularly undertake this type of work, like Cooper Mills Lawyers.

Tags: Cooper Mills Lawyers, domain law, domain lawyers, domain name law, domain name lawyers
Posted in Domain law and domaining, General | Comments Off