TELECOM Digest     Tue, 13 Mar 2007 21:30:00 EDT    Volume 26 : Issue 72

Inside This Issue:                            Editor: Patrick A. Townson

    Viacom in $1 Billion Copyright Suit versus Google and YouTube (Li&Gersberg)
    Funeral Services on Internet Webcasts (Shawn Pogatchnick, AP)
    Neutrality on Net Gets High '08 Profile (Charles Babington, Wash Post)
    CommunicationsDirect News Daily Update (communicationsdirect_daily)
    Eisner Launches New Multimedia Studio (USTelecom dailyLead)
    Speaking About Daylight Saving Time (Patrick Townson)
    Re: Reverse 911 (mc)
    Re: Troubles With Computers' Daylight Shift (Lisa Hancock)
    Re: Internet Name System in Growing Danger (John Levine)

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----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2007 19:08:39 -0500
From: Ken Li/Michele Gershberg <reuters@telecom-digest.org>
Subject: Viacom in $1 Billion Copyright Suit versus Google and YouTube


By Kenneth Li 
and Michele Gershberg

Media conglomerate Viacom Inc. sued Google Inc. and its Internet
video-sharing site YouTube for more than $1 billion on Tuesday in the
biggest challenge yet to the Web search leader's strategy to dominate
the online video market.

The lawsuit accuses Google and its popular online video unit of
"massive intentional copyright infringement" for allowing users to
upload popular shows, threatening ambitions to make YouTube a major
entertainment and advertising outlet.

The legal challenge from Viacom, home to the MTV and Comedy Central 
channels, also suggested a wider battle between traditional and Internet 
media companies that now compete for audiences and advertising dollars.

"This is a seminal event in Media-Internet relations ... and how the
value of content will be clarified in the online medium," wrote UBS
analyst Aryeh Bourkoff in a client note.

Shares in Viacom slipped 9 cents to close at $39.48 on the New York
Stock Exchange and Google shares fell $11.72, or 2.6 percent, to
$443.03 on Nasdaq.

Viacom has been the most vocal critic of YouTube during months of
negotiating over payment for use of its programming. The Sumner
Redstone-controlled company last month demanded YouTube pull over
100,000 video clips uploaded by users.

"YouTube's strategy has been to avoid taking proactive steps to
curtail the infringement on its site, thus generating significant
traffic and revenues for itself while shifting the entire burden --
and high cost -- of monitoring YouTube on to the victims of its
infringement," Viacom said.

YouTube does not prevent copyrighted content from being uploaded onto
its site, but will take material down at the request of copyright
owners.

Google said it was confident that YouTube respects the copyrights at
issue in the Viacom case.

"We will certainly not let this suit become a distraction to the
continuing growth and strong performance of YouTube," Google said in a
statement.

General Electric Co.'s majority-owned NBC Universal and News
Corp. have also criticized YouTube's policies on copyright protection
but stopped short of legal action, testimony to the dilemma of media
companies forced to choose between embracing a fast-growing outlet for
younger audiences and trying to build competing Web vehicles
themselves.

"We've dealt with YouTube on a case by case basis to have content
taken down," a News Corp. spokesman said, adding that the company
supported Viacom's right "to protect its own content in whatever way
it needs to."

Viacom found another ally in Time Warner Inc.

"It is clear from this lawsuit that it is time for YouTube to remove
unauthorized material from its site," a Time Warner spokesman
said. "We are in talks and hopeful we can work together toward a
solution that would effectively identify and filter out unauthorized
material and license copyrighted works for an appropriate revenue
share."

160,000 CLIPS

Viacom contends that almost 160,000 unauthorized clips -- from
excerpts of comedy talk show "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" to
pieces of children's programs like "SpongeBob SquarePants" -- have
been uploaded on to YouTube's site and viewed more than 1.5 billion
times.

The decision to sue Google followed "a great deal of unproductive
negotiation," the company said.

Viacom filed the suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern
District of New York, seeking an injunction against further violations
and damages.

Google bought YouTube last November for $1.65 billion, aiming to
capitalize on its explosive audience growth built from sharing both
homemade and professionally produced videos.

YouTube has reached licensing deals with major record labels, but
still faces the ire of major media companies. Google has promised new
technology to help identify pirated videos, but has not given a
timetable for its introduction.

Any progress Viacom makes in its lawsuit could spur other companies to
consider legal action against YouTube and raise new questions about
the laws governing digital distribution.

"If there's anything central to Google's business model, it is being
at the center of everything," said Forrester Research analyst James
McQuivey. "This has the potential to put them on the periphery."

Viacom and peers like NBC Universal, in which France's Vivendi owns a
minority interest, are also investing heavily in their own Internet
video sites to benefit from the migration of television audiences to
the Web.

"There is certainly an opportunity for YouTube to do a deal with
Viacom, but Viacom does not have to have a YouTube deal," said analyst
Richard Greenfield of Pali Capital.

Google's dominance in Web search has made it a magnet for lawsuits by
copyright and trademark holders.

The Silicon Valley company faces outstanding lawsuits in the United
States and Europe by major book, magazine and online news publishers
as well as small-time Web site operators.

Google has prevailed in high-profile suits against it by auto insurer
GEICO -- owned by billionaire investor Warren Buffett's holding
company Berkshire Hathaway Inc. -- over trademark infringement, and in
a demand by the U.S. Justice Department for consumer Web search data.

(Additional reporting by Eric Auchard)

Copyright 2007 Reuters Limited. 

NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the
daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at
http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new
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For more news and headlines, please go to:
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------------------------------

Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2007 19:12:12 -0500
From: Shawn Pogatchnik, Associated Press <ap@telecom-digest.org>
Subject: Funeral Services on Internet Webcasts


By SHAWN POGATCHNIK, Associated Press Writer

In Ireland, they bury people quickly and now they're harnessing the 
speed of the Internet to help families grieve across the globe.

A Northern Ireland mortuary director has launched a pioneering service
of broadcasting funerals on its Web site for mourners too distant, ill
or busy to make it in person. It's reckoned to be the first of its
kind worldwide.

"We have one camera to give you the perspective of the minister
looking out to the congregation, one showing the hearse and cortege of
mourners outside, and one that looks like you're sitting in amidst the
mourners," said Jim Clarke of Clarke & Son undertakers in Newtownards,
an eastern suburb of Belfast.

The family-owned firm, founded in 1918 by Clarke's grandfather, began
experimenting with streaming audio and video of funeral services two
years ago at its other mortuary and chapel in another nearby suburb,
Bangor.

It is launching new software and a suite of cameras at its second
funeral home in Newtownards this week; a development that, to the
surprise of Clarke, has spurred international interest. 

Clarke said more funeral homes should take advantage of the Internet,
particularly in places like Ireland, where funerals typically happen
within three days of a death and a tradition of emigration can mean
cousins from Calgary to Canberra.

"It used to be that we'd be asked: Is there any chance you can take a
tape recording of the service for our friends in Canada? We always did
that. Now we can offer so much more," he said.

About 20 percent of the company's clients use the Web broadcast, or
about 50 funerals so far at the two chapels beside the mortuaries,
according to Clarke. It carries no additional charge.

He said the service last year proved invaluable for two brothers -- one 
living in New Zealand, the other in the United States -- who had traveled 
back to Northern Ireland to visit an ill relative who then died.

"They said, `There's no way we can get our wives and families here at
such short notice,' and we had the solution to hand. It really removes
a burden for some families," Clarke said.

Just last week, he said, the funeral home negotiated with an internet
service provider in New Zealand to upgrade one woman's connection
temporarily to high-speed broadband so that she could see her sister's
funeral without freezing screens or dropped audio.

Not just anybody can log on to eavesdrop on the grief. The service
requires special software downloads and password access controlled by
Clarke & Son. "It does not just run over and over as in 'on demand';
the service plays once; ISPs customarily provide us the courtesies
given to any funeral procession regards special technical help needed
by the bereaved families, and so forth. Our customer service personnel
at the funeral home make all the arrangements, sending out
announcements requested by the clients; we deal with the ISP in your
time of grief," noted Mr. Clarke.

"We're trying to use the latest technology to help families in a time
of need," Clarke said. "We're not trying to encourage morbid
curiosity.  There is far too much of that on the Internet already. We
respect the dignity of our clients and their families and friends. No
extraneous messages on the screen during the service; none of that."

On the Net:

Clarke & Son on-line funerals, 
http://www.sclarkeandson.co.uk/services/online/

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press.

NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the
daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at
http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new
articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at
http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or)
http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html

For more news and headlines, please go to:
http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2007 19:15:00 -0500
From: Charles Babington, Washington Post <washpost@telecom-digest.org>
Subject: Neutrality on Net Gets High '08 Profile


Tech Issue Gains Traction in Election

By Charles Babington
Washington Post Staff Writer

Bloggers and other Internet activists made their marks in the past two
presidential elections chiefly by building networks of political
enthusiasts and raising money for candidates. Now, they are pushing
aggressively into policymaking -- and not just over high-profile
issues such as Iraq.

They are pressing candidates to back a handful of issues that are
obscure to many Americans but vital to those who base their
livelihoods on the Internet and track its development.

Armed with massive e-mail lists and high-speed networks, these
activists are bypassing the familiar campaign tactics of door-knocking
and phone-banking. They are also using their new-age technologies for
an old-fashioned purpose: making politicians take note of their
legislative priorities.

One of those is "net neutrality." Hardly a household term, it has no
overtly partisan or ideological dimensions. Yet it is shaping up as a
Democratic issue this year, largely because its most fervid advocates
are liberal bloggers and other Internet activists who play a big role
in the early stages of choosing a Democratic presidential nominee.

Unlike their Republican counterparts, every major Democratic
presidential candidate has endorsed net neutrality. The move keeps
them in good standing with powerful grass-roots groups, such as
MoveOn.org, and costs them little in return -- perhaps a bit of space
on campaign Web sites to promote a matter that comparatively few
voters might explore.

Net neutrality is a principle that bars Internet providers, primarily
phone and cable companies, from charging higher rates to Web-based
firms in return for giving their content priority treatment on the
pathways to consumers. Without such restrictions, proponents say, a
user might find it time-consuming, or even impossible, to call up a
favorite site that carriers have relegated to slower lanes for
economic or even philosophical reasons.

"It's an issue that really captures the attention of one of their core
constituencies, especially the bloggers and 'netroots,' " said Craig
Aaron of Free Press, a group that champions net neutrality. "For
candidates looking to appeal to those folks, it was important to take
a stand," he said, even though "nobody was talking about it a year
ago."

A veteran Democratic consultant who spoke on condition of anonymity
was more blunt. Among Democratic candidates, she said, "if you're not
for net neutrality, then the blogs will kick your" rear. The
grass-roots groups that strongly favor it are relatively small but
very noisy, she said, "and you just don't want to have to deal with
that."

Opposing net neutrality are the telephone and cable companies that
control the "pipes" that transport Internet content from producers to
users. The companies say they need flexibility to manage Internet
traffic, even if it eventually means charging higher rates for
priority service.

For several years, the issue has been debated mainly in legal and
telecom circles. Recent telecom mergers have raised its profile,
however, as regulators considered the possible ramifications of
consolidating control over the Internet's major pathways.

Net neutrality restrictions "could prevent broadband providers from
offering enhanced levels of service for specialized applications such
a telemedicine, or to offer their own branded or co-branded products
or services," said Christopher Wolf, co-chairman of Hands Off the
Internet, a group sponsored by phone and cable companies . Such
arrangements, he said at a recent Federal Trade Commission workshop,
"will help pay for the build-out of the next generation of Internet
pipes."

Moreover, Wolf said, his industry's critics cannot cite an example in
which any U.S. user has been blocked.

But some groups that rely heavily on their Web sites to share
information, raise money or promote causes say they fear it's only a
matter of time. They cite, for example, a 2005 comment by William L.
Smith, then chief technology officer for BellSouth, which has merged
with AT&T, that Internet service providers should be able to charge a
firm such as Yahoo for the opportunity to have its search site load
faster than Google's site.

Last spring, the debate over net neutrality barely scratched the
consciousness of Congress, let alone the general public, after a House
subcommittee defeated an effort to add net-neutrality restrictions to
a multi-faceted telecommunications bill. The 23 to 8 vote goaded more
than 850 interest groups, many, but not all, politically left of
center, to form a coalition called SavetheInternet.com.

Members included organizations such as Common Cause and the American
Civil Liberties Union, but the name that really grabbed the attention
of Democratic officials was MoveOn.org. The group, founded in 1998 to
oppose the impeachment of President Bill Clinton, rocked the political
establishment in 2003 and 2004 with its ability to rally supporters
and raise money for causes such as opposing the Iraq war.

With MoveOn.org urging its 3 million members to sign and deliver
pro-net-neutrality petitions to senators last spring, congressional
support began to grow. The net-neutrality language died in an 11 to 11
Senate committee vote, but its backers claimed a moral victory after a
wide-ranging telecom bill, which lacked their amendment, eventually
collapsed.

The debate's partisan nature has surprised and disappointed some
advocates, who note that conservative groups such as the Christian
Coalition of America and the Gun Owners of America are part of the
SavetheInternet coalition. The Christian Coalition of America, in its
policy statement, said net neutrality is "extremely important to
America's grassroots organizations and those Americans who want to
ensure the cable and phone companies controlling access to the
Internet will not discriminate against groups like Christian Coalition
of America." Michele Combs, a spokeswoman for the Christian Coalition
of America, said that net neutrality is a nonpartisan matter and that
"the conservative side has not been educated on the issue."

MoveOn.org officials agree that net neutrality should transcend
political lines. "There's a growing online people-powered movement
that has increasing relevance in our politics," said Adam Green, a
spokesman for MoveOn.org. "An issue like net neutrality, which
directly taps into Internet issues, ... could have a special energy
in the political season," he said. "Every Republican and Democrat who
uses the Internet is threatened by corporations that want to control
which Web sites people can access."

NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the
daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at
http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new
articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at
http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or)
http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html

For more news and headlines, please go to:
http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/internet-news.html

------------------------------

Subject: CommunicationsDirect News Daily Update
From: communicationsdirect_daily <communications@communicationsdirectnews.com>
Reply-To: communicationsdirect_daily-owner@communicationsdirectnews.com
Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2007 11:43:47 EDT


********************************
PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents
The CommunicationsDirect Daily Update
For March 13, 2007
********************************

AT&T to Invest US$750 mil. in Global IP Services
http://communicationsdirectnews.com/do.php/120/23218?11228

     U.S.-based carrier AT&amp;T has announced that it is to invest
     some US$750 million in 2007 on accelerating and expanding
     delivery of global IP services and solutions to enterprises in
     key worldwide markets. AT&amp;T will add to internet data centre
     (IDC) capacity by expanding several existing sites in California,
     Virginia, Arizona, and...

Altimo Keeps Pressure on Telenor with Further Increase of VimpelCom Stake
http://communicationsdirectnews.com/do.php/120/23213?11228

     Altimo, the telecoms arm of Russia's Alfa group, has once
     again upped its stake in mobile operator VimpelCom. At the start
     of the month Altimo held a 36.3% stake in the operator, but last
     week made several purchases of American Depositary Receipts
     (ADRs) from Deutsche Bank through its fully&nbsp;owned subsidiary
     Eco Telecom, ...

Mapping Out the Intelligent Network
http://communicationsdirectnews.com/do.php/140/23207?11228

     Is there an expression in the English language less satisfying
     than 'let's agree to disagree'? For me, that's just a fancy way
     to declare a tie, a completely pointless outcome that has been
     compared famously to kissing one's sibling.  Deadlocks, or
     draws, if you prefer, are simply un-American -- and to be ...

Deutsche Telekom Cancels FMC Service
http://communicationsdirectnews.com/do.php/140/23203?11228

     Deutsche Telekom AG confirmed today that it canceled its
     fixed/mobile convergence (FMC) service, called T-One, missing an
     FMC opportunity on its home turf.  The German operator officially
     says the reason for cancelling the SIP-WiFi/GSM service was
     because it wants to focus on broadband and mobile Internet
     services. The T-One FMC ...

Investors Trash Clearwire; Wall Street Asks 'WhyMAX'
http://communicationsdirectnews.com/do.php/120/23199?11228

     Wall Street's romance with Intel's super-hyped but still-mythical
     mobile WiMAX has turned out to be painfully brief.  WiMAX poster
     child Clearwire's shares are off 20 percent from their
     superheated IPO level in barely two days of trading.  More than a
     billion dollars in equity looks to have evaporated almost
     overnight.  ...

Alcatel-Lucent Shows Unified 3G, Broadcast TV
http://communicationsdirectnews.com/do.php/140/23197?11228

     In Germany, Alcatel-Lucent is demonstrating seamless access on a
     single device to a selection of mobile TV channels delivered via
     either 3G or broadcast networks. The demonstration will include
     German language channels RTL Mobile TV, National Geographic
     Channel and Eurosport. Based on the new DVB-SH mobile broadcast
     standard using the ...

Insider: The Backhaul Question
http://communicationsdirectnews.com/do.php/120/23193?11228

     The rise of wireless data services is causing a dramatic change
     in the way mobile operators backhaul traffic off a cellular
     network, according to the latest edition of the Unstrung Insider.
     The report -- Mobile Backhaul & Cell Site Aggregation: State of
     the Art -- reveals how legacy backhaul systems are increasingly
     becoming a ...

Your feedback on our e-letter is always welcome. Send email to:
CommunicationsDirect Editor <telecom_direct_editor@us.pwc.com>

Copyright (C) 2007 PricewaterhouseCoopers.

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2007 12:12:06 CDT
From: USTelecom dailyLead <ustelecom@dailylead.com>
Subject: Eisner Launches New Multimedia Studio


USTelecom dailyLead
March 13, 2007
http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/grqgfDtusXnUgACibuddYmNd

TODAY'S HEADLINES


NEWS OF THE DAY
* Eisner launches new multimedia studio
BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH
* Viacom announces $1 billion suit against YouTube
* Hawaiian Telecom invests in its network
* Qwest considers on-demand solution
* Carriers seek content exclusivity
* Icahn increases Motorola stake
* Report: Microsoft inches closer to purchase of Tellme
* Vyyo, StarHub hook up in Singapore
TECHNOLOGY TRENDS
* Motorola funds wireless HDTV developer
* Could Internet go over the air?
* Ciena benefits from network overhauls
* VMix lands NBC deal for video clips
REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE
* Government announces subsidies for digital-TV conversion

Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others.
http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/grqgfDtusXnUgACibuddYmNd

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2007 02:28:46 -0500
From: Patrick Townson <ptownson@cableone.net>
Subject: Speaking About Daylight Saving Time


I am reminded of the days when Western Union Naval Observatory Clocks
were in very common use throughout the United States. Getting those
all set and synched for the change in time twice yearly was quite a
hassle.

Typically, the 'clock man' would go around to every clock location to
set the clocks manually, and it was far easier to set the clocks
FORWARD one hour in the spring than it was to set the clocks FORWARD
_11 hours_ in the fall (for the essence of setting the clocks _back_
one hour).  Since the clocks could not be set backward more than the
'12' position on the dial (and even that was ill-advised) the only
solution was to set the minute hand forward 11 times to where it
appeared to be one hour back

Working on an assembly line style basis, the clock man would come into
the office where the clock was located, unscrew the case, pull it off,
quickly zip the minute hand around the dial to where it
_approximately_ had been sitting before, slap the case back on and
screw it all together; he usually would be in and out of the office
within two or three minutes. He only had to set the minute hand
_approximately_ correct (within one or two minutes) since the next
hourly mechanical setting of the clock would correct the difference as
needed. If there were five or ten clocks in a single office, he had to
do this five or ten times, and he would not get out for maybe fifteen
minutes. In the fall, (clocks back one hour) it took longer, of
course, and maybe five minutes per clock. The clock man would start
this process on Friday prior to the clock change Sunday morning, work
all day Friday at it for those offices which would not be open on
Saturday. Then on Saturday he would work on the clocks in the offices
which were open Saturday, and he would go out on Monday (day after
'clock change Sunday' as they called it) to get hopefully the few they
had not gotten in the couple days before. Invariably, the fall weekend
of 'clock change Sunday' took longer than the spring version; in the
fall they would be at it all day Friday and all day the next week on
Monday. They had a little sign on a string they would hang around the
clock which said on one side of it 'this clock is adjusted for
Daylight Saving Time' and the reverse side of the sign said 'clock
adjusted for Standard Time'. They would hang the sign accordingly, and
ask the subscriber to remove the sign on Monday or Tuesday.

The clock man was always assured of getting all the overtime work he
desired on at least those two weekends of the year.

PAT

------------------------------

From: mc <look@www.ai.uga.edu.for.address>
Subject: Re: Reverse 911
Organization: BellSouth Internet Group
Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2007 10:47:14 -0400


>>>> and it was an "amber alert" about a missing boy in our town.

Why would they expect people sitting at home in their residences to
know the location of a missing child?  Is there enough likelihood of
success that it justifies disturbing thousands or tens of thousands of
people?

I'm in favor of locating missing children, but these "Amber alerts"
may have gotten out of hand.


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Around here, the cable company runs a
ticker strip message for missing children. Actually, the city of
Independence has that built into the cableco franchise agreement: a
channel for the high school and college's use (channel 22); a channel
for the city itself (channel 14), and an 'all-purpose' general channel
for anyone to use (channel 10). And the police dispatchers can 'flip a
switch' and take over _all_ channels on a moment's notice for things
like tornado warnings, missing children, crimes in progress, etc. The
city insisted that these channels all be in the 'free, basic' part of
the spectrum so that everyone would be able to listen to them, with or
without payment for the premium channels (which they refer to as
'basic extended' (channels 25 and upward). Normally, they content 
themselves with putting stuff on channel 14, only going elsewhere when
a dire emergency requires it, for example, the tornado spotted about a
week ago, or about a year ago when the girl from Independence High
School turned up 'missing' (which turned out to be a hoax). PAT]

------------------------------

From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com
Subject: Re: Troubles With Computers' Daylight Shift
Date: 13 Mar 2007 11:07:25 -0700
Organization: http://groups.google.com


On Mar 13, 2:09 am, Brian Bergstein, AP Technology <a...@telecom-
digest.org> wrote:

> People with Windows 2000 machines or older ones need to make their
> fixes manually.

Actually, you make the change in time yourself, like people have been
doing all along.  Further, there's a block to check off for auto time
change and you de-check it.  Takes all of maybe 10 seconds to do.

> In a few instances, a company's network was an hour late in
> releasing calls to customer-support staff at the opening of
> business, leaving the "agents sitting around twiddling their
> thumbs," Simmons said.

That something like that is automated is frightening to me.  Call
centers should manually turn themselves on and off when the people are
actually there.

Stuff always happens that changes work hours.  There may be a
snowstorm or special holiday that keeps people home unexpectedly.  Or,
a speical event may have people working extra.

One very frustrating thing is reaching a call center with the wrong
option set.  You cannot leave a message in that case and get stuck in
a loop.

> Those and other problems may have been caused by companies' failure to
> administer patches properly or to do it at all.

Sorry, the problem is not failing to administer "patches", but failing
to "administer".  That is failing to do basic managerment and being
too dependent on the computer for trivial activities because managers
and their staff have become too incompetent.

A computer can add 1+1 for you, but it cannot tell what to add.

------------------------------

Date: 13 Mar 2007 13:53:51 -0000
From: John Levine <johnl@iecc.com>
Subject: Re: Internet Name System in Growing Danger


> The Internet's key site identity system is in mounting danger from new
> techniques that could cause havoc by turning it into a free-for-all
> market, the World Intellectual Property Organization WIPO warned on
> Monday.

> And the United Nations' agency said the latest trends in registering
> top-level domain names (TLDs) -- like http://www.reuters.com -- could
> undermine dispute procedures under which patent holders can pursue
> "cybersquatters."  ...

This is one of the worst Reuters articles I have ever read.  The
reporter should immediately be sent to re-education.  It confuses
patents and trademarks, and more importantly, it takes at face value a
press release full of self-serving scare mongering from WIPO, which is
basically the international trademark lawyer's lobby.

Oh, no, there might be domain names that resemble trademarks that are
not owned by someone other than the trademark owner.  Consumers, who
are too stupid to breathe without corporate assistance, will be
helpless.  The world will come to an end.

Give me a break.

R's,

John

PS: I quit my position on the ICANN ALAC a couple of weeks ago,
largely because this kind of nonsense ties ICANN up in knots.

------------------------------


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*   TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from                  *
*   Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate  *
*   800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting.         *
*   http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com                    *
*   Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing      *
*   views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc.                             *
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Copyright 2007 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved.
Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA.

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career with a Master of Science in Telecommunications Management
(MSTM) degree from Oklahoma State University (OSU). This 35
credit-hour interdisciplinary program is designed to give you the
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The MSTM degree draws on the expertise of the OSU's College
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College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology. The program has
state-of-the-art lab facilities on the Stillwater and Tulsa campus
offering hands-on learning to enhance the program curriculum.  Classes
are available in Stillwater, Tulsa, or through distance learning.

Please contact Jay Boyington for additional information at
405-744-9000, mstm-osu@okstate.edu, or visit the MSTM web site at
http://www.mstm.okstate.edu

              ************************

   In addition, gifts from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert
   have enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and
   enter the 21st century sort of on schedule. His mail order 
   telephone parts/supplies service based in the Chicago area has
   been widely recognized by Digest readers as a reliable and very
   inexpensive source of telecom-related equipment. Please request
   a free catalog today at http://www.sandman.com 
   ---------------------------------------------------------------

Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as
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All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the
author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only
and messages should not be considered any official expression by the
organization.

End of TELECOM Digest V26 #72
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