UDRP

["David Schutt" <david@speco.com>]

I am opposed to a uniform dispute resolution process, especially as no one
has offered an adequate definition of an abusive registration or of
cybersquatting.

Registrars (and registries) should be free to adopt whatever business
policies they deem fit to serve the market they wish to participate in, free
from interference by an unaccountable bureaucracy such as ICANN.

There is great variation throughout the world in matters relating to names,
and if this poses a problem for some business interests, the proper way to
deal with this variation is through government to government negotiation and
treaty.

There is already a dispute resolution process available, and it is the
courts of the nations of the world. Some have complained that this dispute
resolution process is too expensive, but the reality is that -any- adequate
process will be expensive. Problems that cannot be resolved directly by the
parties involved will always increase costs, and any system worth its salt
will be expensive. Budget dispute resolution is just that, a cut-rate court,
and not something that should be proposed as a mandatory solution on every
domain name registrant in the world.

Lastly, it is not clear at all that a mandatory dispute resolution policy
would not prevent someone from eventually going to court, I have read
opinions that it would prevent a party from going to court in some
jurisdictions, including the United States.

The last, and strongest objection that I have to a uniform dispute
resolution policy is that it is mandatory only for the registrant. The
agreement is only by one of the parties likely to be involved in a dispute,
and as such is -highly- inappropriate.

Having an optional, alternative dispute resolution procedure available could
be very useful, especially after the providers have built up some
credibility over time.

A policy that is mandatory for only one of the parties to a dispute is way
out of bounds.

David Schutt
Speco, Inc.
Schiller Park, IL USA
voice: 847-678-4240
fax: 847-678-8037

"Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know." - Michel
Montaigne