Question: With the addition of TLD's, companies will feel compelled to buy them up to protect their site(s). If a new TLD like .CMP is added for companies, will current .COM domain name holders get first opportunity to purchase the new .CMP domain?

Nominee Replies

Barbara Simons - posted on 2000-10-01 21:53:06 I am opposed to providing current owners of .com domain names the first opportunity to purchase domain names on new TLDs. Emerson Tiller, J.D., Ph.D. - posted on 2000-09-29 19:00:51 No. There generally should not be any special privileges for anyone in registering a domain name, except those set by a particular registrar for chartered domains. The UDRP has been a successful forum for trademark holders to capture cybersquatted domain names. I believe the UDRP should be relied upon rather than having property rights determined up front by ICANN. Disputes that will inevitably arise are best suited for the arbitration panels. Donald Langenberg - posted on 2000-09-24 11:54:00 Sounds to me like a TBD (to be determined) issue. Harris Miller - posted on 2000-09-23 19:02:12 I support opening up TLDs on a measured, planned basis. Key considerations will be whether an alternate dispute resolution system is in place, some consensus is developed about famous marks. Harris Miller - posted on 2000-09-23 19:01:56 I support opening up TLDs on a measured, planned basis. Key considerations will be whether an alternate dispute resolution system is in place, some consensus is developed about famous marks. Lawrence Lessig - posted on 2000-09-22 05:00:56 That is a decision for the new gTLDs. ICANN should play as small a role as possible in defining how gTLDs should compete. Lyman Chapin - posted on 2000-09-21 19:33:07 The issue of trademark rights in domain names is very much in dispute. The choices seem to be either (a) sunrise provisions (roughly right of first refusal for second-level domain names) attached to the introduction of new gTLDs for which the possibility of confusion with existing .com registrations exists, or (b) an endless stream of lawsuits, as opportunists grab well-known SLDs in the new TLDs and trademark owners chase them through the legal system. Neither of these scenarios will give us much useful information about what role new TLDs might play in a greatly expanded and more openly competitive market for domain names, which is why I favor the introduction of a very small number of very carefully selected TLDs in the near term.