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[ga] The Silence of the Lambs: IP constituency's silence over Sitefinder?

  • To: ga@xxxxxxxx
  • Subject: [ga] The Silence of the Lambs: IP constituency's silence over Sitefinder?
  • From: George Kirikos <gkirikos@xxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Mon, 22 Sep 2003 06:40:47 -0700 (PDT)
  • Cc: metalitz@xxxxxxxx, jane.mutimear@xxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Sender: owner-ga@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hello,

In the Sitefinder debate, the IP constituency of the GNSO has been
conspicuously silent. Verisign's unprecedented typosquatting dilutes
the trademarks and can cause consumer confusion, among other
detrimental effects.

Domains like:

http://www.riaasuckz.com/
http://www.riaaporno.com/
http://www.timewarnerporn.com/
http://sexwalmart.com/
etc.

all now return Verisign websites with advertising. I'm assuming that
this typosquatting will be used as precedents that Respondents in UDRP
cases will point to, to show that they're not doing anything wrong at
all, given a company that pretends to be legitimate like Verisign is
operating domains containing the trademarks of others. Similarly, the
IP constituency's silence will be noted as acquiescence.

As a trademark holder myself, I expected more from the IP constituency
in representing the interests of rights-holders. If I've missed a
statement, please send a link, or advise as to when such a statement
will become available.

Sincerely,

George Kirikos
http://www.kirikos.com/



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