Privacy interest in my (domain) name?
posted by:Hilary Young // 02:32 PM // June 29, 2005 // Core Concepts: language and labels
A couple weeks ago, Michael Geist's Toronto Star column discussed the domain name dispute that was sparked when the Defend Marriage Coalition created websites with domain names of MPs (donboudria.ca, davidmcguinty.ca) which it used to denounce the Liberals' same sex legislation. It isn't clear whether the MPs have any recourse through CIRA but Geist doesn't believe so, and it is clear that the content itself is protected free speech.
It seems counterintuitive to me that someone could create a hilaryyoung.ca site with my e-mail address and phone number claiming I have free Live8 tickets to give away, and I would have no recourse (at least not to CIRA). The problem is that I don't own or have a trademark in my name. A simple Google search reveals dozens of other Hilary Youngs (one is an expert in Victorian porcelain, another is in the chorus of The Mikado in Austin, Tx) and if they wanted their own hilaryyoung.com sites, they'd be welcome to them. The privacy invasion happens when someone creates a web site with my name AND information about me. Is this any different than an unauthorized biography - "The Life and Times of Hilary Young" (zzzz...)? In most respects, no, but I think there is an expectation when a website's domain name includes a person/company's name and the site contains information about that person/company, that the website originated with that entity and has some legitimacy. Whether this expectation is enough to provide any legal protection is another matter...
To read Michael Geist's column on the domain name dispute, click here.
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