IP: HR 3028

[David Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

> X-Sender: weightmands () pop radix net
> Date: Thu, 14 Oct 1999 08:30:29 -0400
> To: Phil Agre <pagre () alpha oac ucla edu>, Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>
> From: Donald Weightman <weightmands () radix net>
> Subject: HR 3028
>
> This may be suitable for RRE or IP. My source is Kathy Kleiman, who has
> worked for the Domain Names Rights Coalition.
>
> Don Weightman
>
>  >ALERT:  The House is about to pass a cybersquatting bill that will erase all
>  >the progress and hard work of the ICANN Uniform Dispute Resolution Process
>  >and ensure that trademark/domain name disputes are decided in favor of
>  >trademark owners.  A trademark attorney I know described it as "a nuclear
>  >weapon to kill a mosquito."
>  >
>  >Please notify your Congressman that you oppose HR3028, the Trademark
>  >Cyberpiracy Prevention Act.  If your Congressman is on the House Commerce
>  >Committee, please urge her/him to have the Commerce Committee also review
>  >this Bill.   The time is now since the vote has been scheduled for early
> next
>  >week!
>  >
>  >---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ---
>  >--------------------------------------------
>  >
>  >        HR 3028 Raises Serious Concerns:
>  >     Internet Users Urge Members to Go Slow
>  >
>  >HR 3028, the Trademark Cyberpiracy Prevention Act, has serious defects
>  >that will hurt normal users of the Internet, including individuals, small
>  >businesses and noncommercial organizations.  It will create bad will with
>  >our international Internet partners by creating jurisdiction in US 
> courts for
>  >all trademark actions -- far beyond cybersquatting.  Its provisions will
>  >drive away massive amounts of international business from US registrars
>  >and the US registry Network Solutions, and end the active and growing
>  >international use of the gTLDs (.com, .org, and .net).
>  >
>  >-    HR 3028 wrongly strips trademarks of their connection to goods
>  >     and services.  It gives rights to trademark owners far beyond any
>  >     given under existing law -- and famous mark status to all
>  >     trademarks far beyond the few that merit it.   Forget the limited
>  >     classes in which the US Patent & Trademark Office registered the
>  >     trademark.  Forget ever having James Plumbing and James Diner
>  >     on the same Internet.
>  >
>  >-    HR 3028 creates draconian statutory penalties up to $100,000 --
>  >     even if no damage are  shown.  This penalty drastically
>  >     overcompensates trademark owners -- who often have many
>  >     domain names -- and at the same time chills the e-commerce
>  >     experimentation of new businesses and the creative outreach
>  >     efforts of noncommercial organizations.
>  >
>  >-    HR 3028 improperly gives US courts jurisdiction over all domain
>  >     name cases, provided there is a trademark cause of action thrown
>  >     in.  The Bill creates "in rem" actions over all foreign and US
>  >     citizens who happen to register a domain name with a US registrar
>  >     or registry.  Thus, the domain name can be revoked even if there is
>  >     no jurisdiction over the defendant and even if the defendant is half
>  >     a world away.  This use of the domain name system to expand one
>  >     nation's control over content and will come back to haunt US
>  >     citizens as other governments follow suit.
>  >
>  >-    HR 3028 reverts to an older system of onerous and illegal private
>  >     contracts and ignores the hard work of ICANN.   The Bill protects
>  >     and immunizes registrars and registries who create biased and
>  >     unfair domain name dispute policies.  This returns us to the days,
>  >     now ending, of the loss and chilling of hundreds of domain names
>  >     of small businesses, individuals and noncommercial organizations
>  >     under the private policy of Network Solutions, Inc.  This Bill must
>  >     tie the immunity of registrars and registries to the adoption of the
>  >     uniform dispute resolution policy now being finalized through the
>  >     ongoing public process of ICANN.
>  >
>  >The Association for Computing Machinery's Internet Governance
>  >Committee urges the House Judiciary Committee to slow down!  ACM-IGC also
>  >urges the House Commerce Committee, with its significant knowledge of
>  >Internet issues and proven interest in the welfare of all Internet users, to
>  >review this Bill.
>  >The current bill shows a strong bias to the largest US businesses
>  >who fear the ability of the Internet to introduce bold new forms of
>  >competition.  The voices of the millions of small Internet users, Internet
>  >entrepreneurs and small businesses and noncommercial organizations have not
>  >been heard and they must be.
>  >
>  >Kathryn A. Kleiman, Esq., Senior Policy Analyst
>  >Association for Computing Machinery
>  >Internet Governance Committee
>  >601 Madison Street, Suite 200
>  >Alexandria, VA 22314
>  >703/518-5184
>  >KathrynKl () aol com
>  >
>  >