At 08:18 AM 06/20/96 -0500, E. Gregory Higgins wrote:
Let me see if I understand the current intrepretation of paragraphs 6(c)(3) and 6(c)(4) of the NSI Domain Name Dispute Policy Statement:
I can be using a domain name for years, but as long as someone somewhere in the world receives a trademark registration which claims a first use date prior to the day I first started using my domain, InterNIC will give them preference for my domain name and will forceably interrupt service to my self and others dependent upon the existance of my domain.
Is this essentially correct?
Yes, that's essentially right. See http://www.patents.com/nylj6.sht and http://www.patents.com/pubs/nw1.sht . And indeed even if you were able to prove to NSI that you weren't infringing that trademark, it would be no defense. Your domain name gets cut off in 30 days. But then read the policy even more closely, and you will see that actually the dates don't matter. Even if the trademark (from anywhere in the world) is *newer* than your domain name, you still lose the domain name. Interestingly, the time period is shorter: 14 days. Here's how it works, according to the NSI policy. The trademark owner (TMO) sends the trademark certificate to NSI. Then NSI sends you an "indemnification agreement" (see <http://www.patents.com/fogbelt/ia.sht>) to sign, stating that if you don't sign it within 14 days NSI will cut off your domain name. You show it to your lawyer, your lawyer says "you can't sign this!". 14 days later, your service (and that of others dependent on the domain name) is forceably interrupted. --- Carl Oppedahl, oppedahl@patents.com Oppedahl & Larson, patent law firm http://www.patents.com/ is a web server with frequently asked questions and answers on patent law and other intellectual property subjects