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ICANN Wants To Change Rules For GTLDs

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the don't-they-always dept.

An anonymous reader writes "The May 10th deadline for comments on the .net registry agreement renewal has arrived with new domain name dispute changes that aid corporations. Instead of UDRP, the new agreement proposes adding the Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS) process to the .net TLD. The URS is a quick $200 process for a trademark holder to disable and take ownership of a domain. URS also reduces the panel size from 1-3 people to a single person. You can still comment on the proposal by sending an email to ICANN (net-agreement-renewal@)."

8 of 127 comments (clear)

  1. Wow... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So it only takes $200 and a single bribe to take someone's domain. Thats efficiency!

    1. Re:Wow... by bsDaemon · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I think he means, say we have an American company and an Albanian company. They both own trademarks on "ACME" in their respective countries. The Albanian company gets acme.net first. The American company then comes along and gets the domain hijacked from a perfectly legitimate claim holder and it costs them so little its barely an item in the ledger.

      Also, vice versa, the Albanian company could pull that same maneuver on the American company. Also, what if someone registers a trademark in a foreign country where it's easy to get one. They could then, as a "trademark holder" hijack a domain name that they have their eyes on for whatever purpose.

      Whether that'll actually happen or not, I have no way of knowing. But this whole plan wreaks. I suspect the public comment period is just for show anyway. Not that it matters, as there appear to be so few public comments that they'll have no reason not to proceed.

  2. Awesome by Catnaps · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So now people like Sony can just slap this on, for example, the domain Geohotz was using and it's done- no more website for you. Anti-Sony forum? Bam, shut down. You get my drift. Thanks guys, that's a well thought-out and simply great idea. *facepalm*

    1. Re:Awesome by mldi · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Exactly. Welcome to the new age of creating dummy corporations just to trademark them and seize a certain domain, just because they can or because it'd be vastly cheaper than buying the domain from the owner.

      Thanks guys. Now I can't register shit on .net without running the risk of being taken over by someone claiming a trademark. Makes for solid reliability.

      --
      If you aren't suspicious of your government's actions, you aren't doing your job as a responsible citizen.
    2. Re:Awesome by hoggoth · · Score: 4, Insightful

      > However, this would not prevent something like Geohotz.net from being anti-Sony.

      Sure it would. Behind some closed doors SONY incorporates a new company, say GEO HOT Z vacuum cleaners. Then it pays the $200 fee and takes down Geohotz.net . Done. No warning, no judicial review. Geohotz is gone. Sure they can fight it. Lawyer up buddy!

      --
      - For the complete works of Shakespeare: cat /dev/random (may take some time)
  3. Re:Why so many .de domains? by NevarMore · · Score: 4, Funny

    Why? Germany has a lot of websites for some reason?

    Kinky porn and David Hasselhoff.

  4. Re:Thinking of Contacting ICANN? Don't Bother... by winkydink · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ICANN Stopped being about the common good many years ago.

    The only goal that ICANN has is to make money for ICANN and the registrars that support it.

    --

    "I'd rather be a lightning rod than a seismometer." -Ken Kesey

  5. Re:Why so many .de domains? by Zephyn · · Score: 5, Funny

    it puts the cheeseburger in its mouth

    ICANN has cheeseburger?