(Thanks to James Love for indicating the following, which is from
Emerson Tiller's icannvote.com website)
Religious Rights v. Free Speech?: South African Religious Sect
Recovers
Domain
Name From Critic (Mission KwaSizabantu v. Benjamin Rost, Case No.
D2000-0279, June 7, 2000)
On June 7, 2000, an ICANN panel held that an African religious sect
(Mission entitled to domain names (kwasizabantu.com,
kwasizabantu.org,
kwasizabantu.net) on which sites criticism and comment on the
Mission
KwaSizabantu sect were posted. Benjamin Rost had registered the
domain
sites to offer alternative and critical views of KwaSizabantu. The
word
"KwaSizabantu" was said to be a Zulu word meaning "The Place Where
People are Helped" and is only found in the Zulu language.
The panel ordered the domain names transferred to Mission
KwaSizabantu.
With respect to free speech, the panel stated:
"It is beyond the scope of the present adjudication to
consider
any
such issues as the boundaries of free speech ...
The admitted nature of the use of the domain names ...
includes
alternative views and indeed critical views concerning ...
[KwaSizabantu] and its activities. The Panel holds such activity
amounts
to tarnishing the activities associated with the trademark or
service
mark "KwaSizabantu" ... . Therefore, ... [Rost] does not establish
any
rights or legitimate interests ...
...[I]t is no rebuttal for ... [Rost] to assert that any
disruption is
merely a consequence of him publishing his view of the truth."
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Michael Sondow I.C.I.I.U. http://www.iciiu.org
Tel. (718)846-7482 Fax: (603)754-8927
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