CANADIAN GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES UDRP ACTION
The Government of Canada has launched a UDRP action against
the "Domain Baron", a BC resident.  At issue are 32 domains
using the names of government departments including
governmentofcanada.com, canadacustoms.com, and
statisticscanada.com.  Interestingly, the Canadian
government chose WIPO as its arbitration provider, not
Montreal-based eResolution.
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/164231.html

WIPO DECIDES FIRST MULTILINGUAL DOMAIN DISPUTE
A WIPO panel has ruled in favor of Japanese pharmaceutical
company Sankyo in rendering the first multilingual domain
name dispute decision.  The panel ordered the transfer of
the two-character Japanese name after finding rights in the
domain and bad faith.  Decision at
http://arbiter.wipo.int/domains/decisions/pdf/d2000-1791.pdf
Media coverage at
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/tech/2001/mar/30/033009177.html

NEW.NET EXPANDS SCOPE
New.net, which is challenging ICANN by providing TLD
alternatives that require a browser plugin, will today
announce deals with several leading software vendors that
will increase the company's reach.
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,42915,00.html

IETF RUNS INTO PATENT TROUBLE ON DOMAIN SOLUTION
The IETF has run into trouble in its attempt to develop a
technical solution for multiligual domains -- a Michigan
company obtained a patent in January that may cover many of
the technical aspects of the solution.
<http://www.computerworld.com.au/cwt.nsf/a/000360AA?OpenDocument&n=e&c=TL>

VERISIGN DEAL STILL SUBJECT TO CRITICISM
Despite receiving approval from ICANN last week, the
Verisign deal on dot-com and dot-org is still receiving
criticisms, particularly around the issue of domain resales,
in which critics say it has an unfair advantage.  The
article focuses on a Canadian site that provides subscribers
with real-time updates on expiring domains and what happens
to some of the most valued domains that aren't
re-registered.
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/09/technology/09NAME.html

The name game
ICANN, charged with clearing up the murky water of domain naming, is
under fire from every quarter
Its mission began modestly.
Three years ago, an eon in Internet time, the US government turned over
the task of organizing and overseeing the dot-coms, dot-nets, and other
domain names that instill order in cyberspace to a nonprofit group known
as ICANN, a svelte acronym for the Internet Corporation for Assigned
Names and Numbers. By doing so, government officials hoped to privatize
a powerful regulatory chore of the burgeoning Internet and deflect
charges of American dominance over the online world by ensuring that the
group - in the makeup of its board and the locale of its meetings - had
an international veneer.
 http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/099/business/The_name_game+.shtml

New.net Cuts Out ICANN
An Internet startup that sells unsanctioned domain names has reached
deals with five software companies to promote the use of such suffixes
as ''.kids'' and ''.travel.''
  http://www.wirednews.com/news/business/0,1367,42915,00.html