Dear Colleagues:
At this suggestion of Kevin Connolly, I am resubmitting this posting,
originally sent to CORE only. I have re-edited points raised by Kevin:
In this posting, I want to set forth our (PSI-Japan's) strong objections to
the
WIPO ACP delays and the transfer of Albert Tramposch from his assignment to
the
ACP project.
I first read the proposal for the dispute mediation/arbitration of tradename
conflicts last March.=A0 I have been aware for many years of the problem of
trademark pirating in Japan.=A0 Like the Internet, the Japan Trademark
application process is based upon the first to file.=A0 There is no=
requirement
for any proof of use or statement of intent to use the mark which is the
subject of the application.
For some time, I had been concerned with the tradename collisions and
downright
*crashes* on the Internet.=A0 I found them similar to the Wild West law of=
the
jungle (for Trademarks) which prevailed in Japan when I first arrived 26.5
years ago.=A0 I saw great benefits from the concept of the ACP's.=A0 I thus
elected
to go to Geneva to learn more -- and elected to sign the gTLD-MoU to show my
support for the concept.
One of the aspects which I found *particularly_laudable* was the preemptive
*exclusion* of famous trademarks from the "inventory" of names which would=
be
available to CORE.=A0 I've been asking, and asking --- and asking again,=
when
will it come to pass. There does not seem to be any plan to make it happen.
About three weeks ago, we (PSI-Japan) had applications by a Japanese
individual
for sumitomo.firm, toyota.firm, nissen.firm (sic: Nissan misspelled) and
mitsubishi.firm.=A0 I know that those pirates are out there and ready to=
jump on
well know marks so they can extort "tribute" from the lawful owners.
Sadly, there are no *excluded* famous marks yet.=A0 Worse than that, the=
"final"
version of the ACP's is not complete and has even been delayed.
[The following two paragraphs crafted to motivate CORE]:
That delay, like so many that have been thrust upon us, is endangering=
CORE's
credibility.=A0 What should we do, 1. delay the startup of the SRS or 2. go
ahead
with no "safety net" for the legitimate intellectual property owners?
I feel that CORE should make an appeal to WIPO to do all possible to keep=
the
original schedule.=A0 Lacking same, give us some convincing argument why=
Albert
is indispensable to some other activity -- we feel he is indispensable to
*ours*.
[Another thought which I intended to include but slipped my mind while
drafting
the prior posting: If we cannot depend upon WIPO to carry forward their
excellent proposal, then why not bring in other well know and highly=
competent
arbitrators, e.g. International Chamber of Commerce in Paris, American
Arbitration Association?]
OK, PAB, with your new officers and POC Members in place. Have at it. ;-)
Regards, BobC=20
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Robert F. & Jane Wms. Connelly
Internet: rconnell@psi-japan.com
California Mailing Address
17300 E. 17th Street
Unit J-222
Tustin, CA 92780-1991
TEL (714)544-6242
FAX (714)730-9434
CellPhone (714)270-3599
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*VJewx