roundtable: Proposed California Trademark Legislation Forum
roundtable: Proposed California Trademark Legislation
Proposed California Trademark Legislation
Patrice McDermott (patrice@rtknet.org)
Fri, 3 May 96 10:20:07 EDT
Date: Fri, 3 May 96 10:20:07 EDT
From: Patrice McDermott <patrice@rtknet.org>
Subject: Proposed California Trademark Legislation
To: roundtable@cni.org
Message-Id: <Chameleon.960503102126.patrice@patrice.rtknet.org>
FYI. And, for anyone with California connections, your attention.
-------------------------------------
Patrice McDermott
patricem@rtk.net
OMB Watch
Date: 05/02/96 Time: 17:26:14 EDT
-------------------------------------
On Thu, 2 May 1996 13:20:18 -0700 Jim Warren wrote:
[Repost freely and widely.]
Please note that this concerns USER-names as well as domain-names,
WORLDWIDE.
This bill IS MOVING *RAPIDLY* TOWARDS ENACTMENT in Calif.
And, for better and worse, Californicated legislation is often promptly
inflicted on other states and even on the nation by look-alike
legislators.
Continuing the myopic legislation-in-ignorance by horse-n-buggy
legislators-- and legislative staffers -- who don't have only foggiest idea
of how the net operates but are going to impose draconian regulations on it
anyway, Californica <sic is planning to threaten anyone who dares to use
any word or name as their USER-id, if it has ever been registered or
trademarked by anyone or any company -- which presumably includes
char-sequences trademarked in any of the fifty states, as well as federal
or foreign trademarks.
They seem to be ignoring the fact that trademark protection is
traditionally *limited* to situations in which there is reasonable
likelihood of confusion in a particular marketplace. ASCII characters are
just a bit more global than that -- which fact seems to have completely
escaped bill-author Calif State Sen. Charles Calderon (D-Whittier,
916-327-8315).
Illustrating Calderon's dedication to the public who elected him, and his
understanding of modern communications technologies, he has a tax-funded
fax number, but refuses to give it out to the public -- unless, I betcha,
it's to a contributor or money-emitting Sacramento lobbyist.
Pass this along to everyone you know who's near his district -- anywhere
around ZIP-code 90640. (Fortunately, this mental geriatric will be
term-limited out in 1998, but until then, he can still push stupid,
repressive legislation.)
[This action alert, thanks to bird-dog Joel_M_Snyder@Opus1.COM, who has
been following this particular stupidity.]
--jim
Jim Warren, GovAccess list-owner/editor, advocate & columnist
(jwarren@well.com)
345 Swett Rd., Woodside CA 94062; voice/415-851-7075; fax/<# upon request
[puffery: John Dvorak Lifetime Achievement Award (1995); James Madison
Freedom-of-Information Award, Soc. of Prof. Journalists - Nor.Cal. (1994);
Hugh M. Hefner First-Amendment Award, Playboy Foundation (1994);
Pioneer Award, Electronic Frontier Foundation (its first year, 1992);
founded the Computers, Freedom & Privacy confs, InfoWorld; blah blah blah
:-).]
Date: Thu, 02 May 1996 10:35:08 -0700 (PDT)
From: Senate-News-Reply@SEN.CA.GOV
Subject: Message on bill sb_1533 :
Bill No: SB 1533
Author: Calderon (D)
Amended: 4/25/96
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 4/9/96
AYES: Haynes, Lockyer, O'Connell, Solis, Wright, Leslie, Calderon
NOT VOTING: Mello, Petris
.
SUBJECT: Trademark: unauthorized use
DIGEST: This bill would create a statutory right to an
immediate injunction and monetary damages to enable owners
of a registered trademark or trade name as a domain name to
more readily remove and prevent the unauthorized use of
their trademark or trade name as an electronic mail address
or user identification on the "Internet".
ANALYSIS: Existing law provides for the registration and
protection of trademarks and trade names.
This bill would provide that the unauthorized use of
another's registered trade name or trademark as a domain
name, user identification, or electronic mail address on
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
any computer bulletin board, information network, or
information system which accepts and relays electronic mail
into computers situated in this state constitutes an act of
unfair competition. The bill provides that the failure of
a person using another's registered trade name or trademark
as a domain name, user identification or electronic mail
address to release the use of that name or trademark on any
computer bulletin board, information network or information
system upon demand from the owner would constitute grounds
for the issuance of an immediate injunction, an award of
monetary damages of not less than $1,000, as well as an
award of costs and attorney's fees. The bill provides that
the notice and demand must be sent by certified mail to the user.
The bill would further provide when a domain name user
identification or electronic mail address on a computer
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
bulletin board, electronic information network or
electronic information system is a registered trade name or
trademark, an Internet service provider is not subject to
civil or criminal liability for the removal of that domain
name user identification or electronic mail address from
its services if that action was made in good faith.
....
The bill provides that the provisions of this bill do not
apply to the use of a person's own legal name as a domain
name user identification or electronic mail address on any
computer bulletin board, information network or system such
as the Internet or World Wide Web, and nothing in this bill
may be construed to prohibit that use.
Finally, the bill provides that the above provisions do not
apply to the registration of a domain name, user
identification, or electronic mail address on any computer
bulletin board, information network, or information system,
such as the Internet or the World Wide Web which predates
the registration date or copyright date of a registered
trade name or trademark.
....
The complete bill-text and other information is available by pointing your
web-browser at www.sen.ca.gov .
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