WHOIS Users Facing Serious Challenges Caused by Post-GDPR Fragmentation
On May 25, 2018, the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into effect, meaning that European data protection authorities (DPAs) can begin enforcing the regulation against...
View ArticleACLU Released Guide for Developers on How to Respond to Government Demands...
It is not uncommon for government agents to force technology companies to create or install malicious software in products in order to help them with surveillance. The American Civil Liberties Union...
View ArticleDomain Registrars Fined Over $2M for Scamming Australians
The Federal Court has penalized two related companies, Domain Corp Pty Ltd and Domain Name Agency Pty Ltd, for tricking Australians out of a total of $2.3 million. Dan Pearce reporting in Lexology...
View ArticleShould Domain Names be Considered 'Contracts for Service' or 'Property Rights'?
The legal status of domain names is one of the most hotly debated topics with regards to evolving property rights and how they should be applied to technological and intellectual property 'innovations'...
View ArticleComcast Sneaks in Another Billing Line Item and "Earns" an Additional $1 Billion
My Comcast bill arrived today with a sneaky new $2.68 charge, $2.50 for leasing one (and only one) set-top box and $0.18 for the remote. This new billing line item, like the many others Comcast has...
View ArticleCombinations of Dictionary Words in Domain Names: Common vs. Distinctive Phrases
The lexicon of domain names consists of letters, words, numbers, dots, and dashes. When the characters correspond in whole (identical) or in part (confusingly similar) to trademarks or service marks...
View ArticleDomainTools Sued for Misusing New Zealand's .NZ Domain Name Registration...
Domain Name Commission Limited ("DNCL"), New Zealand's overseer for the country's .NZ domain, has filed a lawsuit against the domain name service company DomainTools. According to the filing, DNCL...
View ArticleICANN at a Crossroads: GDPR and Human Rights
The European Data Protection Board certainly has been keeping its records straight. Its 27 May statement starts with the following: "WP29 has been offering guidance to ICANN on how to bring WHOIS in...
View ArticleBlockchain, Cryptocurrency Channels Considered by European Interests to...
Bitcoin's unreal hype has obscured that it is mostly used to facilitate drug deals, ransomware, tax evasion, and even the occasional murder for hire. After the 60% price drop, demand for bitcoin mining...
View ArticleITU’s Critical Cybersecurity Role and the 2018 Plenipotentiary
In the rather unique world of public international law for cybersecurity, the treaty provisions of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) stand alone. They form the multilateral basis for the...
View ArticleShort Strings of Alphabet Letters in Domain Names: Random to Some,...
What is the intrinsic (as opposed to trademark) value of short string domain names? It depends, of course. Rights holders have been willing to challenge domain name registrants even if they have no...
View ArticleWhat's Abusive in Registering Domain Names, and the Reverse?
The two major providers of arbitration services for adjudicating cybersquatting complaints under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), the World Intellectual Property Organization...
View ArticleChallenging UDRP Awards in Federal Court: Recent Outcomes
Challenging UDRP awards in actions under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) is infrequent though steady. There are currently a number of court filings in U.S. district courts that...
View ArticleSpecial Interests Circulating Draft Legislation to Cut Short ICANN's Whois...
Special interests who oppose privacy are circulating draft legislation to cut short ICANN's Whois policy process, warns Milton Mueller in a post published today in Internet Governance Project. He...
View ArticleWhat Do UDRP Panels Look for in Assessing Parties' Rights to Disputed Domain...
Panels appointed to adjudicate domain name disputes under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) have written in the region of 50,000 decisions involving over 75,000 domain names...
View ArticleRespondent Had Rights or Legitimate Interests in Domain Name by Using It to...
In the case of Avon Products, Inc. v. Jenika Mukoro, Heirs Holdings, a 3-member WIPO Panel denied the Complainant's efforts to have the domain name <avonhealthcare.com> transferred because the...
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EU Authorities to Give Internet Companies 1 Hour to Take Down Extremist...
12 SEPTEMBER 2018, on the occasion of his State of the Union Address, President Jean-Claude Juncker European authorities proposed new laws today subjecting internet companies like Google, Twitter and...
View ArticleNew Zealand's Domain Name Commission Wins Injunction in a Lawsuit Against...
New Zealand's Domain Name Commission today won a motion for preliminary injunction in a US lawsuit against the company DomainTools. Plaintiff argued that DomainTools breached the Commission's terms of...
View Article"Seven Dirty Words" Restriction Policy Lifted from .US Domain Name Registrations
Neustar, the registry operator of the .US domain and NTIA have reversed course, allowing the inclusion of previously restricted "seven dirty words" from future .US domain name registrations. The...
View ArticleThe Emergence and Consolidation of a Jurisprudence of Domain Names
I. Introduction: Claims in Search of a Remedy One of the fallouts of disruptive inventions is the need for new laws to counter their unexpected consequences. As it concerned the Internet, these...
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