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<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">George, with respect, your conclusion is unhelpfully dismissive, and moreover, it is highly inaccurate.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">It was registration interests, not brand owners, who were clamoring for new gTLDs. Merely as one illustrative example of this, in July 2009, INTA wrote to ICANN suggesting
that work remained to be done in order to minimize trademark abuse and consumer confusion in an expanding gTLD space:
<a href="https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/files/drewsen-to-beckstrom-24jul09-en.pdf">
https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/files/drewsen-to-beckstrom-24jul09-en.pdf</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In this same regard, you may also recall that even an ICANN‑commissioned study (<a href="https://archive.icann.org/en/topics/new-gtlds/economic-analysis-of-new-gtlds-16jun10-en.pdf">https://archive.icann.org/en/topics/new-gtlds/economic-analysis-of-new-gtlds-16jun10-en.pdf</a>)
suggested that any introduction of new gTLDs proceed cautiously, namely: "<i>it may be wise to continue ICANN’s practice of introducing new gTLDs in discrete, limited rounds. It is impossible to predict the costs and benefits of new gTLDs accurately. By proceeding
with multiple rounds, the biggest likely costs—consumer confusion and trademark protection—can be evaluated</i>".<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">ICANN opted however to proceed in a more unlimited manner, and we are where we are.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In any event, it is simply unsupportable to suggest that the present rights protection discussions are somehow a "problem" created by trademark owners. Nor are these issues
exclusive to brand owners using dictionary terms in an arbitrary sense (e.g., "apple"). To protect their brand/reputation and indeed the consumers relying on them, even brand owners with fanciful (coined/unique) trademarks such as XEROX, EXXON, and KODAK
have had occasion to engage in enforcement actions such as UDRP cases.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Finally, even the
<i>Toyota v. Tabari</i> case cited in your later email seems to support the principal/availability of sunrise protection; there the court states: “Of course a domain name containing a mark cannot be nominative fair use if it suggests sponsorship or endorsement
by the trademark holder. We've already explained why trademark.com domains have that effect.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Best regards, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Brian<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">-----Original Message-----<br>
From: gnso-rpm-wg-bounces@icann.org [mailto:gnso-rpm-wg-bounces@icann.org] On Behalf Of George Kirikos<br>
Sent: Thursday, April 06, 2017 2:00 PM<br>
To: gnso-rpm-wg@icann.org<br>
Subject: Re: [gnso-rpm-wg] Action Items, Slides and Notes from the Working Group call held earlier today</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Hi folks,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">On Thu, Apr 6, 2017 at 4:19 AM, Beckham, Brian <<a href="mailto:brian.beckham@wipo.int"><span style="color:windowtext;text-decoration:none">brian.beckham@wipo.int</span></a>> wrote:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">> Finally, since the chart references the EFF letter, it is worth
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">> mentioning here that the fact that a trademark owner may pay
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">> (sometimes extremely high<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">> amounts) to defensively register a domain name exactly matching its
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">> trademark in a Sunrise process (and thereby taking it “off the
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">> market”) does not prevent free expression, which may be undertaken in
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">> countless other ways. The number of terms that may be appended to a
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">> trademark (not to mention typos) to engage in all manner of speech –
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">> fair or otherwise – is, practically-speaking, all but limitless.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">By that "logic", the number of terms that may be appended to a common dictionary word (not to mention typos) to create a trademarkable brand is, practically-speaking, all but limitless. :-)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">In other words, those creating a new brand/trademark certainly had the opportunity to create a longer (and thus inferior) alternative to a commonly used dictionary word or other common term. The fact that they decided instead to choose
a common term that is widely used by the public shouldn't give them any priority access in a launch of a new gTLD.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">"I created a problem for myself, and I want ICANN to fix it" is the essence of the sunrise argument for commonly used terms, like dictionary words and short acronyms.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Sincerely,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">George Kirikos<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">416-588-0269<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><a href="http://www.leap.com/"><span style="color:windowtext;text-decoration:none">http://www.leap.com/</span></a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">_______________________________________________<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">gnso-rpm-wg mailing list<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><a href="mailto:gnso-rpm-wg@icann.org"><span style="color:windowtext;text-decoration:none">gnso-rpm-wg@icann.org</span></a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><a href="https://mm.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/gnso-rpm-wg"><span style="color:windowtext;text-decoration:none">https://mm.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/gnso-rpm-wg</span></a><o:p></o:p></p>
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mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">World Intellectual Property Organization Disclaimer: This electronic message may contain privileged, confidential and copyright protected
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