Re: Normal ARIN registration service fees for LRSA entrants after 31 Dec 2023 (was: Fwd: [arin-announce] Availability of the Legacy Fee Cap for New LRSA Entrants Ending as of 31 December 2023)

[bzs () theworld com]

On September 19, 2022 at 10:16 bill () herrin us (William Herrin) wrote:
> On Mon, Sep 19, 2022 at 10:04 AM <niels=nanog () bakker net> wrote:
> > Are IP addresses like houses, though? Aren't they more like other
> > intellectual property such as trademarks or patents? What happens
> > to those when you don't pay the USPTO?
>
> You lose the ability to sue for triple damages. You can only sue for
> injunctions and regular damages.

Put another way in the US, at least, trademarks, at least, do not rely
on USPTO or WIPO for legal force other than those mentioned above.

You don't have to register a trademark with either to claim legal
force.

You just have to be ready to show that your trademark was used in
commerce, not a high barrier, and a use by another party potentially
causes confusion, dilution, reputational &c damage to your use of your
mark, or whatever. That can also include geographic scope (don't make
me type in Trademarks 101 here!)

Trademarks are, at their core, a consumer protection, not a property
right.

Their principle purpose is, for example, so a consumer knows if they
buy a bottle of Coca-Cola beverage it is a product of the Coca-Cola
corporation.

Everything else mostly derives from that principle tho with 200+ years
of practice, legislation, and precedent of course there are other
details.

And vice-versa, use it or lose it, the mark has to represent some
product or service.

Which is why for example the USPTO/WIPO don't allow you to just
register clever names &c and claim rights in those names &c. Well,
they may allow you but it's a legally worthless thing to do.

Compare and contrast to the internet domain system...ahem.

-- 
        -Barry Shein

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