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IP: Anti-Cybersquatting Law Coopted By Verizon ?
From: Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>
Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 15:45:15 -0700
From: Kenneth Latta <Kenneth.Latta () invictus63 com> To: "'farber () central cis upenn edu'" <farber () central cis upenn edu>, "'galler () umich edu'" <galler () umich edu> [Clip from 2600 Magazine] The new name for the company formed by the merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE is Verizon. You may have already started to see ads for Verizon Wireless. Soon, this will be the name of the local phone company for millions of people. We decided it would be a good idea to register verizonsucks.com because, if our experience with past phone companies is any indication, Verizon will in all probability be thought of in this way in the near future. But we didn't move fast enough. Apparently, Verizon realized this was going to happen and they went and had their lawyers register verizonsucks.com themselves! (The logic of owning a site that says your business sucks really escapes us.) We did the next best thing and registered verizonREALLYsucks.com. We kept the domain in reserve for when we might need it. That day has come. On Friday, a certified letter was sent to 2600 by Bell Atlantic demanding that we turn this domain over to them or face the consequences. In an absurd twisting of logic, they claimed that we were violating the new "Anticybersquatting Act" by owning this domain. This corporate abuse makes it quite clear how such laws turn into an open invitation to trample on the rights of individuals. When written, this law was designed to protect companies against those who would register their name and hold it for ransom. But this is a statement, an OPINION, one which in no way would be confused with the actual name of the company. The tactic is clear. Verizon intends to go after anyone who criticizes them on the net, abusing the intent of this law to accomplish their goal. We cannot allow this. We call on INDIVIDUALS around the world to criticize Verizon on as many domain names as possible and to exercise your rights to free speech aggressively since we are in real danger of having them wiped from the net entirely. Just for the fun of it, we've gone and registered VerizonShouldSpendMoreTimeFixingItsNetworkAndLessMoneyOnLawyers.com. We look forward to seeing their legal threat for THAT one. (This domain uses the new 63 character maximum length name - some browsers may complain about this.) We understand that corporate threats can be very intimidating and effective. If you find yourself in a position where your right of expression is being challenged and you don't have the means to defend yourself, you can turn the offending domain name over to us and we will stand up for your rights. We find ourselves facing no fewer than five lawsuits at the moment in what can only be interpreted as a last ditch attempt by corporate America to take us out of the picture once and for all. Please help us by showing your support and spreading the word. We will not and cannot back down on such an important matter. [Clip] Wouldn't they have spent less money on fighting this? Look at how many people with an extra 70 bucks laying around and an axe to grind read 2600 Magazine! They are now going to find themselves fighting to gain names like: ThisAmountsToNothingMoreThanCensorshipOnVerizonsPart.Com and WhoInTheHellDoesVerizonThinkTheyAre.Com I might even register... VerizonSucksForSendingLawsuitLettersOverTheirDumbAssDomainName.Com Unless its taken of course!<g> What about it? Are they completely within their right to pursue this twisted logic? I don't think so. That being the case.... what's the best Verizon Name you can come up with? Maybe I'll register that one instead of HowManyDumbAssWaysCanVerizonBePerverted.Com Jaxx
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- IP: Anti-Cybersquatting Law Coopted By Verizon ? Dave Farber (May 15)