Latest UDRP Stupidity: Unix.org, Canadian.biz

The Uniform Dispute Resolution Procedure, an expedited process for allowing corporations to steal domain names, continues to be abused as arbitrators stretch the definitions of "cyber-squatting" to any length in order to find for the corporate complainants. Lunenburg writes "Unix.Org, a site that was apparently used for noncommercial discussion of Unix(tm) operating systems, has been ruled a "cybersquatter" by a WIPO panel and given to the X/Open group. In spite of not actually matching any cybersquatting criteria, a WIPO panelist felt that by providing links to commercial sites, Unix.ORG was acting in "bad faith" and thus should be given over to the Open group." And WEFUNK writes "Exploiting an obvious technical error to help build their case, Molson Inc. has been awarded the seemingly generic canadian.biz domain from the original owner who "registered this name because I am Canadian and want to develop a Canadian business directory" and is now appealing to the courts." John Gilmore has a bit of commentary.

Let's boycott DNS

[JeanMarieLepen]

For now on, I'm only using IP addresses.

from politechbot:

[A_Non_Moose]

"Now tell me again that free speech guarantees should not be part of the incorporation charter of ICANN."

Blatant sarcasm mode on:

Free speech guarantees should not be part of the incorporation charter of ICANN.

BSM off.

You expect professional behaviour from ICANN?
You know what ICANN stands for don't you?

Idiots Controlling A Nationwide Network.

.

Re:Let's boycott DNS

[Jedi Alec]

mmmmm, might bring a whole new dimension to goatse.cx links......anyways, in that case a new battle would start over the ip adresses that are easy to remember ;-) 123.123.123.123

UDRP squatted

[LaserBeams]

Funny how http://www.udrpinfo.com has its own cybersquatter(s)...

http://www.udrp.info - complete with an automatic homepage-changer, and Gator!

Buy it today!

Breaking more IP laws!

[adubey]

[I] "registered this name because I am Canadian and want to develop a Canadian business directory"

It's a good thing this guy didn't capitalize the "am" in "I am Canadian". For "I Am Canadian" is a trademark owned by Molson, and this poor chap would be sued for even using that sentence as a defence!

Re:Canadian.biz

[bigfatlamer]

Molson isn't even good

True. Perhaps they'd have more of a claim on the beer.shit domain. Of course they'd have to fight Anheuser-Busch for that one.

Slashdot Vigilantes

[Little Brother]

(AP)Today Slashdot Icon CowboyNeil, issued a warning to worldwide corperations. "If you use the Uniform Dispute Resolution Procedure to steal somebody's domain name, me and my posse [the slashdot community] will DoS your website." The announcement was made after the example setting cannadian.biz and Unix.org rustlers were "slashdotted" out of existance. When asked if he was taking the wild-west theme of "Cowboy" a bit far, Neil answered "yessiree partner!"

Disclaimer: Duh! this never happened, CowyboyNeil never said that, you beleived me? What a shmuck!

Unix.org = Pr0n?

[saintm]

I thought I'd take a look at unix.org to see what their take on the decision would be.

I was a might suprised to find it blocked by the wonderful corporate content filter.

Checking the URL checker [n2h2.com] I got the following response:

URL Checker

Thank you for your submission. Below please find a listing of the category (ies) in which your submitted URL appears. For a detailed description of each category, visit our filtering categories section.

The Site: www.unix.org
is categorized by N2H2 as:
Pornography

Should you still wish to inquire about the URL in question after checking with your System Administrator, please submit your request to N2H2's Review Editors for further analysis.

Re: "I Am Canadian"

[No Such Agency]

Yes, it's sad that the name of my (and ~30 million other Canadians') great country has been made synonymous with what is in essence bottled piss. Imagine if Coors Lite was called "American Beer", and "I Am American" was trumpeted as a commercial slogan in commercials for an inferior product!

In other news...

[Grape Shasta]

Other domain names in arbitration:

music.com - RIAA says they have the rights to this, since they "own music"

switch.com - Apple claims they deserve it because of their oh-so-clever ad campaign. But Cisco says it belongs to them, because they make switches, and can afford the most lawyers.

fordreallysucks.com - Now Chevy is claiming rights to this one, as it is a fundamental part of their corporate philosophy.

bendoverandtakeit.com - Microsoft is pursuing this one, using an argument similar to Chevy's.

Beer?

[checkyoulater]

I almost took this poor dude's side, until I read an absolutely preposterous remark.

Being Canadian isn't just about drinking beer...

As long as I can remember, being a Canadian has been about drinking beer. Good beer, too. Canadian beer. Besides, Canadian.biz is kind of like saying Cuba.biz. Nobody really cares.

Google as a measuring tool

[Ezubaric]

The word "Canadian" is, unquestionably, generic. "Canadian" is a word whose usage is far, far more broad than the context of beer. A Google.com search for "canadian -beer" yields almost 4 million results!

Yeah, and "stupid -bush" turns up about the same number. That doesn't mean the words don't have a deep and meaningful connection.

Re:Canadian.biz

[alexmogil]

So does Molson.

Damn Right!

[curunir]

The word "Canadian" is, unquestionably, generic. "Canadian" is a word whose usage is far, far more broad than the context of beer.

Yeah...It's way more broad. It also includes Hockey.