Re: Internet domain name controversies

Mario Heilmann <mheilman[_at_]a3.com> wrote:
>
> I got worried, because there is no doubt that a generic and smple domain
> name like a3 certainly has been trademarked or servicemarked somewhere.
>
> Do I understand this right, anyone who has A3 Pizza in Boston, A3 car
> repairs in Rome, etc can come and request my comain and Internic will
> put me and all my work on hold until the cours decide, and I will have
> to fork out thousands for lawyers?
>
> I understand that in the normal world Miller Brewery and Miller Autobody
> can peacefully coexist, because they do not compete with each other in
> any way.

There is an article in the current (Summer 1996) issue of New Matter, the publication of the State Bar of California IP section, which addresses exactly the issue you raise. The author, Michael M. Krieger uses, the example of United Airlines and United Fruit. Both can peacefully coexist in the Yellow Pages but not at united.com. The article is the first of two parts, and the author suggests that the current structure of internet domain names is not rich enough and thus is inadequate to have domain names also function as trademarks. So, at best, the current situation is unsettled. Perhaps in Part II he will suggest some realistic solutions.

(I have not bothered to search for "bmb" marks, and my initials ARE bmb.)

-- 
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