[Gnso-newgtld-wg-wt5] Conference call: city names

[Jorge.Cancio at bakom.admin.ch]

Dear David

ICANN has to act in conformity with applicable local law according to its Bylaws.

Brand rights are also basically local, but of a limited nature - to products/services in a specific category with the goal to avoid consumer confusion. There might eg exist hundreds of „lucerne foods“ in each country... in Switzerland there may be many such names with „lucerne“ as a part of their name.

But political communities with that exact name are more rare. And their rights on the name „as such“ are (in Switzerland and other countries) of a broad nature under civil right, as I have explained before. They are not limited to one specific category etc., not limited to commerce, not limited to avoid consumer confusion. Which is all logical as here what is at stake is not a commercial identifier but the identification of a political entity, with historic, social, economic, cultural aspects.

The DNS is global (and we want to keep it so). If one TLD is called „lucerne“ the laws on that name in Switzerland would apply...

Hope that these repeated explanations are clear to everyone by now.

best

Jorge



________________________________

Von: David Cake <dave at davecake.net>
Datum: 8. Mai 2018 um 04:57:15 MESZ
An: Cancio Jorge BAKOM <Jorge.Cancio at bakom.admin.ch>
Cc: gregshatanipc at gmail.com <gregshatanipc at gmail.com>, gnso-newgtld-wg-wt5 at icann.org <gnso-newgtld-wg-wt5 at icann.org>
Betreff: Re: [Gnso-newgtld-wg-wt5] Conference call: city names



On 4 May 2018, at 2:12 pm, Jorge.Cancio at bakom.admin.ch<mailto:Jorge.Cancio at bakom.admin.ch> wrote:

Dear Greg

They may have rights in a specific jurisdiction, regarding specific goods and services. They have no right on the name as such. Much less globally.


Jorge, isn’t your argument that rights in a specific jurisdiction, such as a municipality in Switzerland in Swiss law, do give them some global rights? I think that claim is weaker than trademark law, which has at least strong international agreements about trademark recognition.

David