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Could litigation delay ICANN’s new TLDs?

Kevin Murphy, May 27, 2010, 16:12:04 (UTC), Domain Registries

Intellectual property lawyers are wondering aloud about the possibility of ICANN being sued in order to delay the launch of new top-level domains.
The idea was raised during a panel at the annual meeting of INTA, the International Trademark Association, in Boston yesterday, according to its daily newsletter (pdf).
Kristina Rosette of the law firm Covington & Burling reportedly “suggested litigation is a possibility to slow down the application launch. One source of litigation could be trademark owners, worried about mass cybersquatting”.
That’s reported speech, by the way, not a quote. The article does not make clear the context.
Rosette is Intellectual Property Constituency representative for North America on ICANN’s GNSO Council.
The IP community is worried that the launch of new TLDs will lead to companies splurging more money unnecessarily on defensive registrations.
The current best, arguably most optimistic guess on the new TLD timeline comes from registry hopeful Minds + Machines. M+M has applications opening next April.
A delay in the launch of new TLDs would hurt most the startup companies that intend to apply for them, and the service providers and consultants hoping to facilitate the launches.
Some of these companies make minimal revenue, are dependent on funding, and would prefer applications open sooner rather than later.

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Comments (3)

  1. I Want My TLD says:

    “a possibility to slow down the application launch”…..
    If the new TLD process slowed down any further we would be going backwards!

  2. Rob says:

    Notice the comment of litigation came from a law firm. Law firms would stand to benefit greatly from any litigation….hmmm makes you wonder who is pulling the strings here.

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