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<h1> Congress to ICANN: No You Can’t </h1>
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<p class="byline">By <a
href="http://www.nationaljournal.com/reporters/bio/33">David
Hatch</a></p>
<h5 class="timestamp"> May 4, 2011 | 7:58 p.m. <br>
Updated: May 4, 2011 | 10:03 p.m. </h5>
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<p>An effort to dramatically expand the number of Internet
suffixes beyond those already in use—such as .com, .net, and
.org—met with bipartisan resistance on Wednesday in a House
Judiciary subcommittee.</p>
<p>During a hearing before Judiciary’s Intellectual Property,
Competition, and the Internet Subcommittee, the Internet
Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (better known as
ICANN) said its proposal would pave the way for hundreds or even
thousands of additional suffixes, resulting in more choices and
innovation.</p>
<p>But critics suggest that ICANN, a non-profit based in
California, would reap a financial windfall at the expense of
companies and non-profits that would be forced to “defensively”
register their websites with the new suffixes to protect their
trademarks.</p>
<p>“I would ask that we balance the costs and benefits of this
proposal before a final decision is made to go forward,” said
Subcommittee Chairman <strong>Bob Goodlatte</strong>, R-Va.,
who joined members from both parties in urging ICANN to delay
final implementation until concerns about trademark
infringement, identity theft, and increased business sector
costs can be adequately resolved. While he doesn’t oppose a
limited expansion of Internet suffixes, the specifics of ICANN’s
approach are troubling to him, he said.<strong> </strong></p>
<p>With Goodlatte and other hearing participants projecting that
ICANN could earn tens of millions of dollars in additional fees,
Rep. <strong>Maxine Waters</strong>, D-Calif., asked: “Where
will all this new money end up?<strong>”</strong></p>
<p>Kurt Pritz, senior VP of stakeholder relations at ICANN, said
strong safeguards would be in place to protect trademarks,
including the ability of parties to object to the adoption of
new suffixes. He said ICANN would constantly evolve its plan in
an effort to respond to concerns that might arise.</p>
<p>But Goodlatte challenged him on those points, noting that ICANN
has not taken any preemptive steps to ensure that “legitimate
businesses” and non-profits such as the Red Cross and the U.S.
Olympic Committee would not be victimized as a result of the
changes.</p>
<p>Trademark holders are worried about a flood of knock-off sites
designed to confuse consumers. For example, Coca Cola could have
headaches if someone were to register “Coca-Cola,” with the
suffix .soda, to create a new address, <a
href="http://www.coca-cola.soda/">www.Coca-Cola.soda</a>, not
affiliated with the company.</p>
<p>Echoing Goodlatte’s concerns was ranking member <strong>John
Conyers</strong>, D-Mich., who said: “I’m worried that the
benefits will not outweigh the concerns raised by stakeholders."
Conyers recommended a follow-up hearing on the matter and called
for ICANN’s proposal to be “held up.”</p>
<p>“This has such enormity—the scale of it, the magnitude of the
change, the implications for the public, that it behooves
everybody to take the time necessary to make sure that we do our
best to get it right,” agreed Mei-Lan Stark, senior VP for Fox
Entertainment Group, who testified on behalf of the
International Trademark Association.</p>
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