WIPO goes too far, and always has ...

["Roeland M.J. Meyer" <rmeyer@mhsc.com>]

Hello fellow ICANN/DNSO WG-B members;

Here is yet another example of pro-trademark zealots going out of bounds.
Even from the BBS days, it has been universally accepted that the host, or
hosting provider, is neutral ground. They are only the carrier of the
message and can not be held responsible for the content, since they are not
the content creator. This has also been supported by many court cases, in
MANY countries.

Making the Hosting Provider, or ISP, responsible for any part of content,
that they currently have no control over, is the surest means to kill-off
the Internet that I can think of.

However, the point that I am making here is that, since WIPO and other
trademark zealots are going so far out of bounds, they really don't need yet
another weapon. They are not using the ones they have now in any sort of
responsible fashion. Giving them any sort of exculsionary power, over the
DNS, is like handing an unarmed psycho-killer a sword. They will hack away
until we have a dead Internet. They are shown to actually cut off their nose
to spite their face. They will kill/maim/hurt the Internet to protect
trademarks whose value derives or is enhanced by the Intenet. This behaviour
is demonstrable, over a long period of time (years).

http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2383311,00.html?chkpt=zdnntop

Other examples of this self-destructve behaviour, not restricted to the
Internet,
 can be found on the http://www.eff.org/ web-site. Go there, enter "WIPO" in
the search engine, read what pops up.

I hope, prior to the ICANN LA meeting, that this explains my position
adequately. There is ample existing protection, currently under the law, in
most countries, to protect trademark interests, especially "Famous marks",
without handing them the equivalent of a fission bomb. There has been
adequate proof, some of it on-going, that they excessively use the tools
that they have now. This report is only the icing on the cake. But, it
enhances the vehemence of my opposition to handing them ANY more power than
they already have. Please consider me, once more, a "hard-liner" on this
point, you have only WIPO activity to thank for that.

I recommend that ICANN immediately cease and desist any and all discussions
on trademarks, as they are relevent to the DNS or any other part of the
Internet, until such time as the trademark interests show themselves to be
reasonable and responsible in their actions and activities, and the
trademark interests are willing to sit at the Internet discussion table in
"good faith". Otherwise, they should be treated, like any other pack of
belligerant unhouse-broken dogs, and kept outside until they have learned to
behave. They should be given no standing until this occurs.

------------------------------------------
R O E L A N D  M. J. M E Y E R
CEO, Morgan Hill Software Company, Inc
President, MHSC-Systems
Chief Administrator, MHSC.NET
Operations Officer, DNSO.NET

Morgan Hill Software Company, Inc.
925.373.3954