ANA asks for top level block list or it may proceed with legal action.
The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) has proposed that ICANN adopt a “Do Not Sell” list for the new top level domain name application period that opens up later this week.
In a letter to ICANN’s board, ANA says that it is unaware of a single constituency that has organized to defend ICANN’s plan, save for those that will profit from it.
With the application round opening January 12, ANA proposes that ICANN move forward but:
Concurrently, all NGOs, IGOs and commercial stakeholders concerned about protecting their brands will be given the opportunity to have those brands registered, without cost, on a temporary “Do Not Sell” list to be maintained by ICANN during the first application round (any interested party which does not want to have its brands on the Do Not Sell list and would rather apply for a TLD would be free to do so). We will assemble a team from the interested constituencies to work with ICANN leadership during the first application round. If this group achieves consensus with respect to any proposals, those proposals will be voted on by the Board. At the end of the first application round, should the parties continue to disagree, all parties will be free to pursue their legal and equitable rights without prejudice.
I read this as only a restriction on selling a top level domain that matches a brand on the list. Of course, there’s still time for ANA to try to influence the ultimate right to sell domains at the second level.
ANA requests a response to the letter within two days, although the letter posted on ANA’s web site is not dated. The letter warns of possible legal action, noting “Destructive and costly litigation can hopefully be avoided if you accept this proposal.”
jp says
Sounds a bit like how .xxx works. Might not be a bad idea and isn’t shady if it is free. The bow question is then who decides what requests are valid for the list?
Karl Kelman says
Have a moderate application fee for the Do Not Sell List: Real companies won’t mind the fee to protect their valuable brand.
Scammers won’t fork over $100 to try to domain squat and get crushed in court later.
VAG says
Tossers
Mike Rodenbaugh says
Congrats to the ANA. After five years of policy work at ICANN to better protect TM interests in new TLDs, ANA has now conceived the most unworkable and offensive proposal yet, by far. Even if only limited to the top level, it would give unprecedented trademark rights to current TM owners. Apparently to the owner of any trademark anywhere… including all the dictionary words registered as trademarks everywhere… like MUSIC in the U.S. for hearing aids, SEX in Benelux, etc., etc., etc.
They probably do not realize that they self-limited their proposal to the top-level. Expect an amendment soon, proposing the same blocking scheme at the second level, ala .XXX. That has already been circulated by the Chair of ICANN’s Business Constituency, and is currently under discussion in that group.
John Berryhill says
These people have remarkable legal insight:
“Destructive and costly litigation can hopefully be avoided…”
How about “merit”?
Pursuing litigation merely for the purpose of harassment is an improper purpose for which the plaintiff can be sanctioned. It is truly remarkable that the ANA people are so monumentally stupid as to expressly state that they are interested in causing “destructive and costly litigation” rather than to protect any legal right.
The ANA is led by fools, and if this is indicative of their behavior, then they are going to be in the box with RightHaven in the big list of wounded blowhards.