### Number: 18 From: David Shaw dshaw@nin.skiles.gatech.edu> To: NTIADC40.NTIAHQ40(dns) Date: 7/2/97 10:02am Subject: Internet Domain Naming I think that the naming system should remain as it is today. If it it turned over to an international body it will become increasingly difficult (if not impossible) and prohibitively expensive to register domain names. I have personally set up several domains for clients and it is not a difficult process. If we have control over it, we should maintain that control. -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ David Shaw SGI/HP Platform Manager, Erdas Inc. "Endian Little Hate We" ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ### Number:19 From: Stephen Burley stephenb@uunet.pipex.com> To: NTIADC40.NTIAHQ40(dns) Date: 7/2/97 11:50am Subject: Request for coments The .com as an international domain is a good idea but it does not work in practice. The biggest problem is that there is no one global legal body to enforce the trademark law. What maybe a trademark for one product in one country could be an different product in another. i.e. Durex is a well known brand of condom in this country but in Australia it is a brand of sticky tape. What i would like is to see the .com domain put on hold and as NSI are losing the registration contract that would be an ideal time to do this. I do not mean kill it off just allow the domains to continue and eventually fade it out. If a company wants an international presence then they would register in each country they want to. Trademark laws within the country could then be applied and enforced. This would also have the effect of spreading the name space globally rather than concentrating it in the US. If a international domain was seen to be essential then this could be done by iana, but only if the company matched a list of certain criteria which made them truly international. These are my own personal thoughts. ### Number: 20 From: thoth@purplefrog.com> To: NTIADC40.NTIAHQ40(dns) Date: 7/2/97 12:33pm http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/domainname/dn5notic.htm A.e "conflicts over proprietary rights" Some of the domain-name disputes are over a DNS name that corresponds to a trademark (mcdonalds.com). Someone convinced me that rather than extend trademark law into the internet, there should be a separate layer that maps from a corporate identity into a domain name. B.1 "What are the advantages and disadvantages of current domain name registration systems" Recent experiences with the Internic has convinced me that they are having difficulty telling their ass from a hole in the ground. What I want from a registrar is competence, economy, and stability. If a monopoly registrar can do it, I have no objections. If we need competition to accomplish this, then I hope it doesn't cause more problems than it solves. C.11 "Should additional gTLDs be created?" I seriously doubt it. If you have .inc and .com name spaces, then the CocaCola corporation is going to want both coke.inc and coke.com. I think this will merely increase citizen confusion and the cost of doing business. My straw man above can be burned if you distance corporate identity from the domain name space. Keep reading. D.16. "Should there be threshold requirements for domain name registrars, and what responsibilities should such registrars have? Who will determine these and how?" The "failure" of a registrar would be a devastating event. There should be requirements in place that make this extremely unlikely (bonds? gvmt crisis management teams?) D.19. "Should a gTLD registrar have exclusive control over a particular gTLD? Are there any technical limitations on using shared registries for some or all gTLDs? Can exclusive and non-exclusive gTLDs coexist? " I deplore name-grabbing for profit. It is currently an issue under the .us domain space. If a registrar has monopoly control over a domain, then there is no opportunity for a more efficient registrar to compete. E.21. "What trademark rights (e.g., registered trademarks, common law trademarks, geographic indications, etc.), if any, should be protected on the Internet vis-a-vis domain names? " also see A.e Absolutely none. The mapping from a company identity to a domain name is rarely obvious and different people will try different domain names to find a certain company. There should be a separate and widely deployed mechanism for mapping from corporate/product identity into internet resources (whether web sites or email addresses). E.22. "Should some process of preliminary review of an application for registration of a domain name be required, before allocation, to determine if it conflicts with a trademark, a trade name, a geographic indication, etc.? If so, what standards should be used? Who should conduct the preliminary review? If a conflict is found, what should be done, e.g., domain name applicant and/or trademark owner notified of the conflict? Automatic referral to dispute settlement? " Waste of time and money to solve an unsolveable problem. E.24. "How can conflicts over trademarks best be prevented? What information resources (e.g. databases of registered domain names, registered trademarks, trade names) could help reduce potential conflicts? If there should be a database(s), who should create the database(s)? How should such a database(s) be used? " When you incorporate in a state, you should also provide information about internet resources you provide. The state should administer the database. These registries should be heirarchically grouped under a national registry, and then the national registries should be grouped under an international registry. This registry should not be confused with the domain name registry. This is a corporate identity registry. 27. "Where there are valid, but conflicting trademark rights for a single domain name, are there any technological solutions? When you invalidate the idea of trademark rights for a domain name, the issue becomes moot. -- Bob Forsman thoth@gainesville.fl.us http://www.gainesville.fl.us/~thoth/ ### Number: 21 From: "Shasta Willson" shasta@1soft.com> To: NTIADC40.NTIAHQ40(dns) Date: 7/2/97 12:57pm Subject: DNS comments Please find attached a Word document with the input of Greg Thorne, president of 1Soft Corp., concerning: Billing Code 3510-60 DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE [Docket No. 970613137-7137-01] Request for Comments on the Registration and Administration of Internet Domain Names If you have any difficulties, please contact me directly at: shasta@1soft.com Shasta Willson Web Maven shasta@1soft.com 541.822.6000 ext.103 1Soft Corp. www.1soft.com ---------- A. Appropriate Principles The Government seeks comment on the principles by which it should evaluate proposals for the registration and administration of Internet domain names. Are the following principles appropriate? Are they complete? If not, how should they be revised? How might such principles best be fostered? a. Competition in and expansion of the domain name registration system should be encouraged. Conflicting domains, systems, and registries should not be permitted to jeopardize the interoperation of the Internet, however. The addressing scheme should not prevent any user from connecting to any other site. b. The private sector, with input from governments, should develop stable, consensus-based self-governing mechanisms for domain name registration and management that adequately defines responsibilities and maintains accountability. c. These self-governance mechanisms should recognize the inherently global nature of the Internet and be able to evolve as necessary over time. d. The overall framework for accommodating competition should be open, robust, efficient, and fair. e. The overall policy framework as well as name allocation and management mechanisms should promote prompt, fair, and efficient resolution of conflicts, including conflicts over proprietary rights. f. A framework should be adopted as quickly as prudent consideration of these issues permits. B. General/Organizational Framework Issues 1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of current domain name registration systems? I think it works quite well. Since domain names cost $100, it dissuades persons from hoarding them. I personally am very involved in the InterNet and have reserved approximately 300 domain names at a cost of $30,000 fee to Internic. As I set up web sites on each one, there will be additinal costs, but I hope to do a great deal of business in many different forms on the internet in the coming decades. I see this as an investment. 2. How might current domain name systems be improved? It's really quite good. You might allow a few other companies to administer the reservation of names. If the database were open it would be far easier to search and see what names were available. I would not increase the number of TLDs. More TLDs would only increase confusion. It's perfect the way it is. There are plenty of good .COM names. Witness that a reported 70,000 new domains are being reserved every month. Websites can easily "piggy-back" off other .com names, e.g. www.meyers.store.com or www.pacific-retailers.com/meyers. If there were additional TLDs, where would it end? I think there would be thousands and it would be very confusing. Suppose Meyer's is a fishing tackle store, do you go to meyers.rec, meyers.store, meyers.fishing, meyers.outdoors or meyers.com? If instead there was only .com, you'd know that part. The rest could be up to Meyers to develop in their catchy jingle, slogan or whatever. Then you could just type in "myers fishing tackle". Your browser might even condense the spaces and default to .com 3. By what entity, entities, or types of entities should current domain name systems be administered? What should the makeup of such an entity be? 4. Are there decision-making processes that can serve as models for deciding on domain name registration systems (e.g., network numbering plan, standard-setting processes, spectrum allocation)? Are there private/public sector administered models or regimes that can be used for domain name registration (e.g., network numbering plan, standard setting processes, or spectrum allocation processes)? What is the proper role of national or international governmental/non-governmental organizations, if any, in national and international domain name registration systems? 5. Should generic top level domains (gTLDs), (e.g., .com), be retired from circulation? Should geographic or country codes (e.g., .US) be required? If so, what should happen to the .com registry? Are gTLD management issues separable from questions about International Standards Organization (ISO) country code domains? I think geographically coded TLDs should be retired. Three letter TLDs should be used for governments however., e.g. .USA, .FRA, .GER 6. Are there any technological solutions to current domain name registration issues? Are there any issues concerning the relationship of registrars and gTLDs with root servers? 7. How can we ensure the scalability of the domain name system name and address spaces as well as ensure that root servers continue to interoperate and coordinate? 8. How should the transition to any new systems be accomplished? 9. Are there any other issues that should be addressed in this area? C. Creation of New gTLDs 10. Are there technical, practical, and/or policy considerations that constrain the total number of different gTLDs that can be created? 11. Should additional gTLDs be created? No, except very sparingly. 12. Are there technical, business, and/or policy issues about guaranteeing the scalability of the name space associated with increasing the number of gTLDs? 13. Are gTLD management issues separable from questions about ISO country code domains? 14. Are there any other issues that should be addressed in this area? D. Policies for Registries 15. Should a gTLD registrar have exclusive control over a particular gTLD? Are there any technical limitations on using shared registries for some or all gTLDs? Can exclusive and non-exclusive gTLDs coexist? 16. Should there be threshold requirements for domain name registrars, and what responsibilities should such registrars have? Who will determine these and how? 17. Are there technical limitations on the possible number of domain name registrars? 18. Are there technical, business and/or policy issues about the name space raised by increasing the number of domain name registrars? 19. Should there be a limit on the number of different gTLDs a given registrar can administer? Does this depend on whether the registrar has exclusive or non-exclusive rights to the gTLD? 20. Are there any other issues that should be addressed in this area? E. Trademark Issues 21. What trademark rights (e.g., registered trademarks, common law trademarks, geographic indications, etc.), if any, should be protected on the Internet vis-a-vis domain names? Trademarks and TLDs are different things. This whole concept of a TLD infringin on a trademark was something that started with big business (McDonalds, e.g.). There was someone with the last name of McDonald. It seems to me they had the perfect right to reserve mcdonald.com and set up a family web site. If McDonalds really wants a web site with their name, they should pay for it. I'm sure they can negotiate a price to buy it from the holder. Anyone with a trademark who wants to be on the web, ought to have reserved their name yesterday, not be whining about it later. First come, first serve. Let the free market place moderate. Good names should be traded freely. A holder of a TLD does not own a trademark and a trademark owner does not automatically hold rights to a permutation into a TLD. TLD owners are protected by having reserved their TLD. Trademark holders overlap by industry. It is not possible to arbitrate. And there's no need. It should be first come first serve. If I hold a trademark for "apple" records, and Apple computer has reserved www.apple.com, then I should have to come up with something different, e.g. www.apple-records.com. If I invent a new word, e.g. ChiZen, and I reserve a site www.CHIZEN.com then I have been protected. I may not even need to bother registering a trademark, easing the burden on the PTO and everyone else worldwide. 22. Should some process of preliminary review of an application for registration of a domain name be required, before allocation, to determine if it conflicts with a trademark, a trade name, a geographic indication, etc.? If so, what standards should be used? Who should conduct the preliminary review? If a conflict is found, what should be done, e.g., domain name applicant and/or trademark owner notified of the conflict? Automatic referral to dispute settlement? No. 23. Aside from a preliminary review process, how should trademark rights be protected on the Internet vis-a-vis domain names? What entity(ies), if any, should resolve disputes? Are national courts the only appropriate forum for such disputes? Specifically, is there a role for national/international governmental/nongovernmental organizations? Domain names may include trademarked words surrounded by other words, e.g. www.apple.com, www.apple-walnut.com The holder of the trademark "apple" has the option of buying the domain name, but should not automatically be given a right to it. Afterall, the word apple is not itself a trademark. Use of the word only infringes on registered trademarks if it used in a confusing way, e.g. if the site were to sell "Apple" computers. That would be an infringement. Selling Washington apples on the site would not be an infringement. If I think Photogenics would be a great name for a modeling agency and I create a website called www.photogenics.com, it wouldn't be fair for someone in Georgia who owns a 24 hour photo processing store called Photogenics with a registered trademark to have rights to the site (www.photogenics.com) if I have already paid for it. 24. How can conflicts over trademarks best be prevented? What information resources (e.g. databases of registered domain names, registered trademarks, trade names) could help reduce potential conflicts? If there should be a database(s), who should create the database(s)? How should such a database(s) be used? There should be no conflicts. Ignore any bogus claims. These are imaginary. A domain names is not a trademark. It's a domain name. 25. Should domain name applicants be required to demonstrate that they have a basis for requesting a particular domain name? If so, what information should be supplied? Who should evaluate the information? On the basis of what criteria? No. 26. How would the number of different gTLDs and the number of registrars affect the number and cost of resolving trademark disputes? 27. Where there are valid, but conflicting trademark rights for a single domain name, are there any technological solutions? First come first serve. 28. Are there any other issues that should be addressed in this area? ____ ### Number: 22 From: Total Web Solutions support@totalweb.co.uk> To: NTIADC40.NTIAHQ40(dns) Date: 7/2/97 2:14pm Subject: DOMAIN NAMES To whom it may concern:- First of all let me introduce myself. I am the Sales Director for Total Web Solutions in the United Kingdom. I along with my colleagues set up this organisation two years ago with a reasonable understanding of what the internet was and how it operated due to our techincal backgrounds (software engineers). It has become aparent though that the Internet and its resourcs are expanding at an ever increasing rate, thus meaning that it is incredibly difficult to stay on top of the latest fad or technologies with limited resources. Customers often ring up and ask for certain tools, or do you support this or can you do that. It is very customer driven. It is with this in mind that i say why not let the Internet decide, not some company such as my own or organisation too big to realise what the people of the planet really want. What I propose is to have a web site hosted say by Internic which allowed internet users to register there thoughts on which top level domains should be introduced and whom shall have authority, giving the user some pointers of course. This site shall be the recognised place for registering your views as an individual. There are far to many sites relating to this issue and to be frank its a huge pool of bullshit. People also need to be made aware of this web site by banner advertising and newsgroup postings along with anything else that might attract the users attention. The internet is for the people and not the pot bellied money lovers who see it as a license to print money at the tax payers expense. So, back to the web site. The web site might exist for several months but it will be a central point to register your beliefs. It should not be a discussion forum because in my experience these forums end up going no where fast. It needs to be a concise and easy to navigate site with not an information overload but with a taster of what is expected of their response. The phrase "keep it simple, stupid" springs to mind. Once several months worth of information is gathered and collated then and only then can this problem be resolved once and for all. Because at this moment in time I get around 3-5 calls a day asking about these domains and I cannot supply any of these enquirers with a definitive answer. Hope you read this, if not I have cleared one thing up for myself and that is I hate long e-mails. regards, Miesha Vukasinovic. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales: +44 (0)161 485 5586 Freephone Sales: (UK) 0800 435715 Tech Support: +44 (0)161 485 5548 Total Web Solutions Fascimile : +44 (0)161 485 2226 Providing the UK's best Web space http://www.totalweb.co.uk e-mail: enquiry@totalweb.co.uk ### Number: 23 From: Robert Friedman friedman@iname.com> To: NTIADC40.NTIAHQ40(dns) Date: 7/2/97 8:15pm Subject: Internet Domain Name Allocation... Dear NTIA-- 1) The current domain name allocation system doesn't work: Too many people are holding domain names with the sole intent of selling "their" domain names. There needs to be fewer "entry bariers" to getting names (e.g. lower costs) BUT more stringent requirements for i) maintaining domain access and ii) maintaining content that pertains to a particular domain name. Anything less is insufficient relative to domain registration costs and the revenues collected by INTERNIC. 2) .COM, .GOV, .NET, etc. should not be proprietarily owned: There is no excuse for maintenance and allocation of these domains to be given to a single company (INTERNIC). That is what one calls a MONOPOLY, and the system should be opened to the free market. 3) the system should be internationally maintained: We are not living in a vacuum. The U.S. may have originated the Internet, but it certainly doesn't OWN the Internet. It would be an intelligent act of diplomacy (a la Tax Free Web Commerce as proposed by President Clinton) to allow an international organization to maintain fairness and assign domains on the Web. -- Robert Friedman Princeton University '97 ______________________________________________________________________ Robert Friedman friedman@postguard.com Post Communications (415) 551-9994 1550 Bryant Street, Suite 500 fax: (415) 431-3007 San Francisco, CA 94103 ### 07-02-97