Afilias set up two mechanisms to address the problem of Sunrise Squatters: (1) a Sunrise Challenge process for the public; and (2) Afilias itself challenged Sunrise Squatters. Under the Sunrise Challenge rules, anyone could challenge the trademark validity of a Sunrise registration with a $295 fee paid to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), but challengers who wanted to get the name themselves were supposed to have trademark rights to the challenged name. On 12/6/2001, Afilias made changes to the Sunrise Challenge process to require stricter documentation of trademark rights by challengers and also to decrease challenges against Sunrise registrants with legitimate trademarks -- Afilias Strengthens Sunrise Policies to Ferret Out Phony Registrants. For the entire original Sunrise Challenge policy and rules, click on Sunrise Challenge Policy Original) and Sunrise Challenge Rules (Original). For the new Sunrise Challenge policy and rules, click on -- Sunrise Challenge Policy (Proposed) and Sunrise Challenge Rules (Proposed).
Challenges by Afilias were good in that they reduced the chances that Sunrise Squatters would get away with their bogus registrations. However, they did not completely address the harm (lost time and money) done to participants in the original Land Rush period. Honest people who played by the rules and paid good money to pre-register in the Land Rush were cheated out of a chance at good names due to Sunrise Squatters. One way to have addressed the harm done to participants in the original Land Rush period was to have given them some standing in Land Rush 2. The following "DomeBase Proposal" was one way to do this that would have been fair to the original Land Rush participants and other parties as well.
DOMEBASE PROPOSAL (revised 12/6/2001)
1. Afilias announces that there will be a "Land Rush II" after challenges by Afilias are done. Land Rush II should include all names registered in the Sunrise Period because, due to the ways fees and incentives are structured, it is unlikely that all the names that should be challenged would be challenged beforehand. As outlined below, legitimate trademark holders will not lose any names in Land Rush II, but Sunrise squatters on non-trademarked names will lose their names.
2. Registrars can participate in Land Rush II if they agree not to charge their customers who paid for names in Land Rush I twice for the same thing. Specifically, registrars can participate in Land Rush II if they: (a) did not charge non-refundable pre-registration fees for Land Rush I; or (b) allow their customers who paid non-refundable pre-registration fees in Land Rush I for names taken during Sunrise to pre-register for the same names in Land Rush II without paying twice. Also, they should accept only one submission per name in Land Rush II if they did this in Land Rush I. Some people have also suggested that only registrars who give the public a chance to pre-register in their list should be allowed to submit a list names.
3. New customers also encouraged to pre-register names in Land Rush II. Although the rights of original Land Rush participants should be protected, other people should also have a chance at the Land Rush II names.
4. The "winner" of a name for Land Rush II gets that name for a registration fee if the name has been successfully Sunrise challenged or canceled by Afilias and not taken by someone with legitimate trademark rights. If the name is not available, the "winner" also has the option to Sunrise challenge the name and get it if successful (the name is not trademarked) for a subsidized fee (somewhere between $0 and $295) without having to show a trademark right in the name (which would be impossible by definition).To protect legitimate trademark holders from name loss due to WHOIS data processing corruption (good data entered, bad data displayed), challenged registrants should have a specified time-window after challenge to demonstrate that the registrant holds legitimate trademark for the name in accordance with Sunrise rules despite corrupted WHOIS data.
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EARLIER VERSION OF THE DOMEBASE PROPOSAL (before Land Rush Period) (with help from chrism, bobc, and richh):
1. Hold "Land Rush I" as
originally scheduled.
2. Registrars do not submit
names in "Land Rush I" that are registered in the Sunrise Period.
3. After Land Rush I, registrars
give their customers the option to:
(a) cancel name not submitted
in Land Rush I and receive any applicable refund... none, partial or complete,
depending on registrar-specific agreement; or (b) have name submitted in
Land Rush II held after the end of the Sunrise Challenge period without
additional cost.
4. All names registered
in the Sunrise Period are entered into Land Rush II.
5. In addition to people
with names postponed from Land Rush I, new people can pre-register names
in Land Rush II. Registrars who accepted "only one submission per
name" for Land Rush I must keep that policy for Land Rush II to avoid "bait
and switch" for Land Rush I pre-registrants.
6. The "winner" of a name
for Land Rush II: (a) gets that name for a registration fee if the name
has been successfully Sunrise challenged* by Afilias or someone else and
not taken by someone with legitimate trademark rights; (b) gets that name
for a registration fee if it has been voluntarily canceled by the Sunrise
registrant; or (c) can Sunrise challenge*
the name and get it if successful (the name is not trademarked) for a subsidized
fee (somewhere between $0 and $295) without having to show a trademark
right in the name (which would be impossible by definition). In this manner,
legitimate trademark holders would not lose any names in Land Rush II,
but sunrise squatters on non-trademarked names would face challenge by
either Afilias or the Land Rush II winner.
*to
protect legitimate trademark holders from name loss due to WHOIS data processing
corruption (good data entered, bad data displayed), give original registrant
a specified time-window after challenge to demonstrate that the registrant
holds legitimate trademark for the name in accordance with Sunrise rules
despite corrupted WHOIS data.