|
| |
Kids Internet Law:
Typo-squatting and Misleading Domain Names:
Jophn Zuccarini is the first
person charged with the new typo-squatting law. Adopted as part of the Amber
Alert legislation, the new Misleading Domain Names on the Internet is a
powerful tool in stopping typo-squatting. Until the enactment of the Protect
Act (most commonly known as the "Amber Alert" legislation), stopping
typo-squatters was a civil matter, or perhaps (under extraordinary
circumstances) a consumer fraud matter. The law has not passed constitutional
scrutiny, and some commentators believe that the "harmful to minors" and
"misleading" itself might be problematic, constitutionally. But, at this time
the law is in place and has not been challenged. The U.S. Attorney's office in
the Southern District of New York (one of the leading cybercrime units in the
U.S.) has only recently located Zuccarini to charge him.
Zuccarini was also the first
person charged under the civil cyber-squatting law in 2000, and has also lost
in the actions brought before WIPO under ICANN's domain name dispute
arbitration mechanism. The sites he has been found to have cyber-squatted
include those referring to Nicole Kidman, Back Street Boys, Encarta and
others. His abuse of Aaron Carter's name (the preteen heart throb and younger
brother of Nick Carter of Backstreet Boys fame) and Britney Spears' name are
among the more recent abuses. Courts have already held that there is no
legitimate purpose for Zuccarinin registering and using the typo-domains other
than to trade on the popularity of the underlying domain names and celebrities
and products involved.
Until now, there have been few
methods of stopping pornographers and others abusing the domain name system
from misleading children and adults into accessing sites masquerading as
popular legitimate sites. Some actions have been brought by celebrities under
privacy laws and when a trademark is being abused, standard intellectual
property laws apply. Prior to the advent of the Internet, typo-toll free
numbers were found to violate the intellectual property rights of well-known
and well-promoted toll free numbers. This is the first time criminal sanctions
are available to prosecutors in coonection with typo-squatting and misleading
websites.
The entire Protect Act
can be found, in PDF format, at:
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=108_cong_bills&docid=f:s151enr.txt.pdf
The applicable section of the
Protect Act, Misleading Domain Names on the Internet, can be found below:
Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to end the
Exploitation of Children Today Act of 2003’
or the ‘‘PROTECT Act’’
Chapter 110 of title 18, United States Code Section
2252B
Subtitle B—Truth in Domain Names
SEC. 521. MISLEADING DOMAIN NAMES ON THE
INTERNET.
§ 2252B. Misleading domain names on the
Internet
-
(a) Whoever knowingly uses a
misleading domain name on the Internet with the intent to deceive a person
into viewing material constituting obscenity shall be fined under this title
or imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both.
-
(b) Whoever knowingly uses a
misleading domain name on the Internet with the intent to deceive a minor into
viewing material that is harmful to minors on the Internet shall be fined
under this title or imprisoned not more than 4 years, or both.
-
(c) For the purposes of this section,
a domain name that includes a word or words to indicate the sexual content of
the site, such as ‘sex’ or ‘porn’, is not misleading.
-
(d) For the purposes of this section,
the term ‘material that is harmful to minors’ means any communication,
consisting of nudity, sex, or excretion, that, taken as a whole and with
reference to its context—
-
(1) predominantly appeals to a
prurient interest of minors;
-
(2) is patently offensive to
prevailing standards in the adult community as a whole with respect to what
is suitable material for minors; and
-
(3) lacks serious literary,
artistic, political, or scientific value for minors.
-
(e) For the purposes of subsection
(d), the term ‘sex’ means acts of masturbation, sexual intercourse, or
physical contact with a person’s genitals, or the condition of human male or
female genitals when in a state of sexual stimulation or arousal..
|
Parry
Aftab, Esq., 
Marvel and
all character names and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of
Marvel Characters, Inc., and are used with permission. TM & © 2004 Marvel
Characters, Inc. All rights reserved. “Super Heroes” is a Co-owned registered
Trademark.