[IFWP] lots of domain news today

[Planet Communications Computing Facility]

lots of domain news today

--> 1. POST OFFICE MAY BE BARRED FROM .US

Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Calif.) is making plans to block
the U.S. Postal Service from taking control of the .us
domain name.  Groups that endorse the Cox plan want
private companies to oversee the management of .us
addresses.

The US Postal Service proposed to take over the .us
domain May 8 in a private proposal to members of the
University of Southern California's Information Services
Institute -- the organization overseeing the .us name.

Cox plans to amend the National Telecommunications and
Information Administration reauthorization bill, which
the House Commerce committee considered last Thursday.

Sen. Cox's office told AIM that a vote on the bill will
happen in the Commerce Committee sometime after Labor
Day.


http://www.wired.com/news/news/politics/story/13129.html

http://www.wired.com/news/news/politics/story/21106.html

--> 3.  CYBERSQUATTING BILL PASSED

The Senate successfully passed the Anti-Cybersquatting
Consumer Protection Act late last Thursday.  The bill,
sponsored by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), makes it illegal
to register a trademark domain name with the intent to
sell it later.

The bill now goes to the House and if passed, could make
cybersquatters liable to civil action by the owner of the
trademark, as long as the trademarked name or service was
"distinctive" when the domain name was registered.

Trademark owners could sue for financial damages and for
ownership of the domain name.

More Info:

http://www.wired.com/news/news/politics/story/21146.html

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c106:S.1255.IS:

--> 4. ANOTHER DELAY FOR INTERNET ADDRESS PLAN

The Department of Commerce and Network Solutions agreed
last Friday to extend the test phase of competition in
which more than 50 companies have been accredited by the
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
(ICANN) through Sept 10.

The agreement will allow for additional accredited
registrars to provide domain name registration services.
The Shared Registration System, which allows multiple
licensed accredited registrars to provide domain name
registration services in the .com, .net, and .org
domains, was developed by Network Solutions pursuant to a
Cooperative Agreement with the Department of Commerce.

Friday's agreement makes new registrars who have signed
an accreditation agreement with ICANN eligible to
participate in the test period.

More Info:

http://search.nytimes.com/search/daily/bin/fastweb?getdoc+site+site+81018+0+wAAA+Network%7Esolutions