<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8" class=""><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div class="">> It seems like the whole argument is on the basis of some strawman argument that brand owners </div><div class="">> are using the TMCH to take common words out of circulation. </div><div class=""><span class="" style="float: none; display: inline !important;"><br class=""></span></div><div class=""><span class="" style="float: none; display: inline !important;">As a registry operator, we have some insight into who is using the sunrise period. By and large, the sunrise is used for brands to register names that would not have any use for anyone except the brand owner. In other words, the trademark owner is not taking a registration opportunity away from someone else. Most of these registrations come from the registrars typically used by brands. Call this Group 1.</span></div><div class=""><span class="" style="float: none; display: inline !important;"><br class=""></span></div><div class=""><span class="" style="float: none; display: inline !important;">At the same time, somewhere around 3-5% of the names registered in sunrise have been registered by companies who appear to have registered a mark solely for the purpose of gaining access to the sunrise period. These names are typically registered at registrars other than the ones used by brands. Call this Group 2. </span></div><div class=""><span class="" style="float: none; display: inline !important;"><br class=""></span></div><div class="">So I don’t think anyone is claiming that “brand owners” are taking common words out of circulation, but there are trademark holders in some jurisdictions who appear to have gamed the system. They are not taking the name out of circulation, but they are trying to get first access to a name at registration price which may have a high resale value on the secondary market. </div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">(At our registry, we tried to anticipate this potential abuse by including restrictions on the subsequent sale of sunrise names. See Section III of our policy document here, <a href="http://uniregistry.link/registry-policies/?file=1449" class="">http://uniregistry.link/registry-policies/?file=1449</a>. So, yes, if you are a trademark owner with a trademark registered solely to get into the sunrise, you can use the sunrise, but the name has no resale value.)</div><div class=""><span class="" style="float: none; display: inline !important;"><br class=""></span></div><div class=""><span class="" style="float: none; display: inline !important;">If this group could come up with a way of preserving sunrise for Group 1 while excluding Group 2, that would be worthwhile, in my view. </span></div><div class=""><span class="" style="float: none; display: inline !important;"><br class=""></span></div><div class=""><span class="" style="float: none; display: inline !important;"> Bret </span></div><div class="">
<div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; line-height: normal;" class=""><div class="" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;"><p class="" style="font-family: 'Proxima Nova', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 12px; color: rgb(110, 110, 110);"><span class="txt signature_name-input sig-hide" style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); display: inline;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline">Bret Fausett</span><span class="break address-sep" style="display: inline;"><br class=""></span><span class="txt signature_jobtitle-input sig-hide" style="color: rgb(30, 30, 30); display: inline;">General Counsel</span><br class=""><span class="txt signature_jobtitle-input sig-hide" style="color: rgb(130, 130, 130); display: inline;">____________________________</span></p><p class="" style="font-family: 'Proxima Nova', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 14px;"><a href="http://www.uniregistry.link/" class=""><img src="http://static.uniregistry.net/assets/img/ur-logo@2x.png" alt="Uniregistry" border="0" class="sig-logo" height="40" width="165"></a></p><p class="" style="font-family: 'Proxima Nova', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><span class="txt signature_address-input sig-hide" style="display: inline;">Uniregistry, Inc. </span><span class="break address-sep" style="display: inline;"><br class=""></span><span class="break address-sep" style="display: inline;">2161 San Joaquin Hlils Road<br class=""></span><span class="break website-sep" style="display: inline;">Newport Beach, California 92660<br class=""></span><span class="break address-sep" style="display: inline; line-height: 8px;"><br class=""></span><span class="txt signature_officephone-input sig-hide" style="display: inline;">Mobile +1 310 985 1351 </span><span class="break address-sep" style="display: inline;"><br class=""></span><span class="txt signature_officephone-input sig-hide" style="display: inline;">Office +1 949 706 2300 x4201</span><span class="break address-sep" style="display: inline;"><br class=""></span></p></div></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; line-height: normal;" class=""><br class=""></div></div><div class=""><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; line-height: normal;" class=""><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div>
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<div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; line-height: normal;" class=""><div class="" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;"><p class="" style="font-family: 'Proxima Nova', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 12px; color: rgb(110, 110, 110);"><span class="txt signature_name-input sig-hide" style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); display: inline;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline">Bret Fausett</span><span class="break address-sep" style="display: inline;"><br class=""></span><span class="txt signature_jobtitle-input sig-hide" style="color: rgb(30, 30, 30); display: inline;">General Counsel</span><br class=""><span class="txt signature_jobtitle-input sig-hide" style="color: rgb(130, 130, 130); display: inline;">____________________________</span></p><p class="" style="font-family: 'Proxima Nova', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 14px;"><a href="http://www.uniregistry.link/" class=""><img src="http://static.uniregistry.net/assets/img/ur-logo@2x.png" alt="Uniregistry" border="0" class="sig-logo" height="40" width="165"></a></p><p class="" style="font-family: 'Proxima Nova', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><span class="txt signature_address-input sig-hide" style="display: inline;">Uniregistry, Inc. </span><span class="break address-sep" style="display: inline;"><br class=""></span><span class="break address-sep" style="display: inline;">2161 San Joaquin Hlils Road<br class=""></span><span class="break website-sep" style="display: inline;">Newport Beach, California 92660<br class=""></span><span class="break address-sep" style="display: inline; line-height: 8px;"><br class=""></span><span class="txt signature_officephone-input sig-hide" style="display: inline;">Mobile +1 310 985 1351 </span><span class="break address-sep" style="display: inline;"><br class=""></span><span class="txt signature_officephone-input sig-hide" style="display: inline;">Office +1 949 706 2300 x4201</span><span class="break address-sep" style="display: inline;"><br class=""></span><font color="#008443" class=""><a href="mailto:bret@uniregistry.com" class="">bret@uniregistry.com</a></font></p></div></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; line-height: normal;" class=""><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" class=""><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div>
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