TORONTO – The Association of Canadian Advertisers is demanding that proposed changes to the Internet domain program be scrapped, warning it “could become a minefield for criminal activity, aimed at consumers especially, if it remains possible for others to hijack trusted brand names”.
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has proposed a new program that would permit applicants to claim virtually any word – generic or branded – as domain suffixes (for example .shaw, .rogers., .bell, .beer, .toys), supplementing the 22 generic top-level domains (TLDs) now in use, such as .com, .edu, .net, .gov, and .org. The changes are due to go into effect in January.
In a letter this week to ICANN president Rod Beckstrom, the ACA’s VP of policy and research, Bob Reaume, warned that the proposed program “has very serious financial and legal implications for brand owners in Canada”.
“We are concerned that, if carried through, this program will cause harm and damage to marketers by diminishing the power of trademarks, contravening the legal rights of brand owners, introducing confusion into the marketplace, encouraging the likelihood of cybersquatting, and requiring brand owners at great cost to monitor and protect against domain name abuse”, he wrote.
Reaume also noted ICANN’s own impact assessment report that indicated the costs of the program could include misappropriation of intellectual property, defensive registrations, domain navigation dilution because consumers have more places to look, harm to Internet users from increased cybersquatting, and reduced investment by intellectual property owners.
“Virtually unlimited damage could ensue if criminals owned sites with trustworthy TLDs that appealed to children, the elderly, or any other vulnerable group of citizens”, he continued, before urging ICANN to abandon the program in its current proposed form, and to consult with client-marketers and brand owners.
The ACA is a national, not-for-profit association dedicated to serving the interests of companies that market and advertise their products and services in Canada. Membership in the ACA is restricted to client marketers only.
