Chris Brauer Media Project [BLOG]

Why is the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) above the law?

Industry Canada has completely fumbled the oversight of CIRA current administrator of the .ca domain space. As anyone who has tried to put their business online knows the domain name space of .com, .net, .org, .biz and whatever other god-forsaken extension is a farcical wonderland where it is virtually impossible to protect your brand without extensive investment in lawyers and dispute resolution processes.

That's why it is critical that national domain extensions be protected in the interests of businesses operating in the country. For example you must be a Canadian citizen or operate a business in Canada to apply for a Canadian .ca domain name. That much makes sense. But for Industry Canada that is the end of sense and the beginning of senseless.

Basically CIRA permits certified registrars to lease trademarked or copyrighted materials to anyone who wishes to acquire these materials (If you want to register www.microsoft.ca and it is available you can do it). The expectation is that the owner of these trademarked materials (in this case microsoft) will then initiate a convoluted and legal dispute resolution policy through CIRA to recover the rights to these trademarked material. And who pays for this process? The complainant (microsoft) must pay the tariff for these arbitrated proceedings with no cost recovery even if their complaint is determined to be valid!

How did they get it so wrong, particularly when Industry Canada also oversees the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) who protect Canadian trademarks. Why not simply perform the same name checks Corporations Canada does when registering a new federally incorporated business? In other words when someone tries to register microsoft.ca, you perform a name check and inform the applicant that this is protected by a Canadian trademark instead of putting the onus on the business who has already invested considerable time and money in establishing the trademark to protect a brand in the marketplace.

How does it make sense that organizations certified by CIRA are allowed to lease trademarked materials when no other organization in the country has the same right? A registrar trades money for the right to use a domain name that they have no right to sell because it is trademarked. And Industry Canada looks on approvingly. Very strange.