[governance] new gTLDs

[Louis Pouzin (well)]

Parminder,

When a problem is stated so that it has no solution, it needs restating.

The ICANN screw up has been obvious for at least a decade. A major
difference with a typical gangster organization is that they don't murder
people. Actually it's more akin to one of those religious sects that
exploit their members, but on a much larger scale.

The domain name monopoly, very well engineered by the ICANN direction, and
protected by the USG, is at the root of a worldwide scam. Without monopoly
there would be no objection for ICANN to rent baby, book, god, hot, or
whatever. The TLD list is no more than a particular Who's Who requiring
name uniqueness. As long as many other Who's Who become available, with
possibly different requirements, people, organizations and governments
could choose using the one(s) containing no undesirable name, or creating
another one of their liking.

Cheers, Louis
- - -

On Fri, Aug 17, 2012 at 5:11 PM, parminder <parminder at itforchange.net>wrote:

>
> I am honoured to agree with the US Congressional judicial committee that
> ICANN is sitting on the top of a major screw up. Those - and I am surprised
> that most civil society members here are rather unconcerned - who dont yet
> see that this is going to be a major screw up will soon know better...
>
> I especially agree that ICANN has done practically nothing to get
> *informed* comments from outside the largely compliant ICANN community on
> an issue that implicates just everyone, who deals with language and ideas
> that is.
>
> However, while the US gov has come on the side of ensuring 'a secure
> stable marketplace' basically to defend the rights of trademark owner which
> we know are rich people, I do hope some governments - since the involved civil
> society seems not willing - comes on the side of ensuring 'a secure
> stable public-place'. By it I mean a public-place from where our commonly
> owned words (with all the cultural significances they hold) like love, kid,
> book, school etc  cannot be plucked out and handed over to some business
> houses as private property.
>
> When 'trademarks' allow exclusive rights over some words to some private
> parties in very clearly limited contexts, and with so many pre-conditions,
> caveats etc, how can a private body simply hand over the *globally*
> exclusive use of generic words, with no trademark claim to them either, to
> private parties just on the highest bid !!? Interestingly, while no legal
> basis for such exclusivity is employed, a very privileged exclusivity is
> provided through control over the architecture that ICANN has. A very good
> instantiation of the maxim 'in the digital space, architecture if policy'.
> Such control was given to ICANN on public trusteeship. It has violated that
> trusteeship. This is unacceptable. This is loot of public property,
> facilitated by the employed trustee.
>
> Just think of the scenario when Amazon owns .book, and mind you, it is to
> be fully private. Unlike existing registries like .com etc amazon will not
> even be obliged to sell second level domain names under .book in the public
> market (protecting the marketplace, huh!). Quite soon, amazon may change
> its name, or at least its book division's name to .book... It will have a
> right to, since it owns that particular symbol in a very special way.....
> Remember, normal trademark etc law wont allow it to run its business under
> the name 'book', because it will be considered too generic a name, meaning
> it is pubic property (those good old times when laws were made to protect
> the public!). But with an expedient routed through the ICANN- that
> benefactor of the powerful, Amazon can run its business under .book, the
> ownership of which is 'established, or would certainly get established over
> due course of use as everyone will know, of course .book is amazon (and
> vice versa), are you kidding or what!
>
> I am sure with some proven use and exclusivity, trademark authorities will
> also be compliant... As the world, especially in the use of language, goes
> mostly digital, we hand over our common property, the idea and the word,
> 'book', to a private company.... and then it is the turn of 'kid', 'love',
> 'cloud', .baby, .book, .eat, .family, .film, .home,  .movie, .music,
> .search, .beauty, .school................ one never knows were it will end,
> or why should it end at all!
>
> I am completely lost as to what public interest does all this serve? Isnt
> ICANN there to serve public interest! Why couldnt we stick to relatively
> meaningless three alphabet gtlds like .com, .org and such, and, being most
> important, making it incumbent upon the registries to sell second level
> domains in the open market on a non discriminatory basis?? Why has ICANN
> taken upon itself to further privatise anything and everything that
> conceivably can be privatised and perpetual rents extracted for the benefit
> of the most powerful, in the true spirit of the resplendent neoliberal
> march.
>
> I really hope those outside the wunderworld of ICANN would take this issue
> up in the right earnest.. I suspect, the storm would start brewing soon. I
> cant see how ICANN, and its compliant ICANN community, will be allowed to
> get away with this absolute loot of our common cultural heritage. I think
> this time ICANN has bitten off too much.....
>
>
> parminder
>
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