Name: Bernard HP Gilroy Organization: Pan Stellar Combine I feel that the proposed loosening of names is a bad move and is not justified by the current Internet environment. Although I support eviction of "cybersquatters" who attempt to monopolize and sell lucrative domain names, I also recognize a class of people who have the misfortune to have names similar to those possessed by large companies. The choices of such people should not be restricted merely because a corporation has decided to enter the array. Restriction of domain names -- or worse, actual forced transfer of domain names -- strikes me as silly as requiring all people named "McDonald" to change their names. Unless a domain holder is (a) attempting to extort money for a change or (b) setting up a site that directly competes with or impedes a trademarked entity, I believe the decision should be for whomever registered the name first. Additionally, I think it is extreme to allow seizure of a domain name on the basis of "tradenames". Tradenames, unlike trademarks, are broad, unregistered, unregulated, and open to extreme litigation. Allowing an entity to seize a domain name -- even outside its trademarked realm of applicability -- strikes me as nothing less than a brazen sacrifice of any individual rights on the altar of extreme and unhealthy commercialism.
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