Domain-name registry and registrar members of 3 ICANN Whois task forces rejected a recommendation aimed at giving registrants better notice of and consent for use of contact data in the Whois database. The recommendation, by Whois Task Forces 1 and 2 of the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO), would require registrars to: (1) Ensure that disclosures about the availability of and 3rd-party access to personal data associated with domain names “actually be presented” to registrants during registration. “Linking to an external web page is not sufficient.” (2) Obtain separate acknowledgement from registrants that they've read and understood the disclosures. (3) Make sure disclosures are set aside from other registration agreement provisions if given to registrants with that agreement. Disclosure wording should be as uniform as feasible. The proposal, was voted on April 19 by all 3 Whois task forces. Constituencies in favor included Commercial & Business Users, Intellectual Property, Noncommercial Users, and ISPs and Connectivity Providers. Registrar members of the combined group said the recommendations, if adopted as policy rather than as suggestions, would destabilize the registration process by making it less simple and transparent. They also said adding a new and separate acknowledgment process would be cumbersome and impractical. Registry members said adopting the recommendation as proposed wouldn’t significantly affect their constituency, but its negative impact on registrars “would make registry-registrar relationships more difficult, and the increased cost of compliance with a complex and unnecessary policy would make the use of domain names less desirable.” Both constituencies agreed registrants deserve better notification on a voluntary basis. Comments on the combined Whois task force preliminary report on the recommendation are due May 12 -- gnso-whois-tf- rpt@icann.org.
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has initiated an antidumping (AD) duty investigation of certain artist canvas from China.
EBay reached a preliminary settlement in a consolidated shareholder suit, the firm said Thurs. Several eBay officers and directors were accused of purchasing allocations of shares in initial public offerings that should have been made available to eBay. The shares in question were underwritten by Goldman Sachs. The settlement, submitted to the U.S. Dist. Court, Wilmington, Del., would set up a $3.395 million kitty funded by eBay’s chairman, CEO, a former vice president and Goldman Sachs. The company would give 1/2 the net proceeds to the Boys & Girls Club of Northern Cal. and the Appleseed charity. After the Del. court enters final judgment, eBay will file a motion to dismiss 2 related Cal. cases.
On April 27, 2005, a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) issued an order in USA-ITA v. U.S., et. al. which lifted the Court of International Trade's (CIT) preliminary injunction that has prevented the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) from considering, accepting or taking any further action on any China safeguard petitions based on the threat of market disruption.
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued its preliminary results of the following antidumping (AD) and countervailing (CV) duty administrative reviews:
The United States Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel (USA-ITA) has issued a Textile Development Memo stating that the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has lifted the preliminary injunction against further action on threat-based China safeguard petitions. As a result, USA-ITA states that CITA may resume its consideration of the 12 threat-based cases that were filed last year. (USA-ITA, TDM dated 04/27/05, www.usaita.com )
Two Radio One DJs in Philadelphia won a federal court ruling preventing the company from taking further steps to enforce noncompete clauses in their contracts. The U.S. Dist. Court, Philadelphia, issued a preliminary injunction finding the clauses unenforceable because the station where DJs Preston Eliot and Steve Morrison worked, WPLY(FM), no longer operates. The agreement had barred them from taking jobs at other stations in the area for 6 months. Eliot and Morrison now work for Greater Media’s rock station WMMR(FM) in the same market, but they were off the air 2 months before the court decision.
The International Trade Commission (ITC) has posted to its Web site its preliminary report for its investigation (No. 1205-6) on proposed modifications to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS), which are scheduled to become effective in January 2007.
Computer Sciences Corp. (CSC) settled for $24 million in an overtime pay class-action suit by 30,000 current and former employees. The U.S. Dist. Court, L.A., gave preliminary approval. The company offers Web and application hosting among other businesses.
The International Trade Commission (ITC) has posted to its Web site its preliminary report for its investigation (No. 1205-6) on proposed modifications to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS). According to the ITC, these proposed modifications are scheduled to become effective in January 2007.