Gavin writes:
>Bruce writes:
>>Also, a nit: it's not a license. Having a domain name or IP address
>>grants no legal rights whatsoever...
>
>Ah! but this is California...
>
>I believe there is a bill in progress here that would extend trademark
>protection to domain names and even email addresses!  Thus, if your
>obscure TLA domain name is a trademark of someone else somewhere in the
>world, California will allow them to sue you to recover the domain name,
 
This has been the case for quite some time, and not just in California.
The NIC domain name registration request form includes a provision in
which the requester certifies that the address isn't anyone elses
trademark. If someone begins legal action against the present registered
owner of a domain name, alleging trademark infringement, NIC will suspend
the operation of that domain name until the action is resolved. So
there's pretty strong incentive already not to choose someone else's
trademark for a domain name.
 
My favorite case happened just recently, when a Washington DC computer
consultant registered "peta.org." PETA is the acronym for "People for the
Ethical Treatment of Animals," an organization that had registered PETA
as a trademark. The consultant named his organization "People Eating
Tasty Animals" and set up a web server at his house. www.peta.org had
lots of meat recipes, as well as links to the pork and beef producers'
organizations and the Florida Taxidermist's Association. (_Science_, 19
January 1996.)
 
-- Bruce
 
 
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