This idea, although independently conceived, has been covered (with holes) in RFC 2352.

Domain Name Exhaustion and Trademarks

Is exhaustion really a problem?

Trademarks and domains have an uneasy relationship. Describe, at least for USA, and also describe why not the same.

For (trademarks, domains) describe: localizing (.ny.us?, state trademarks, national trademarks) categorization (TM for airline operations vs. .aero?)

Business names (as in the RFC) can be granted on a very local level. Inconvenience of trying to shoehorn in a geographic classification. Impossibility of categorizing conglomerates.

Use in commerce requirement of TM (but domains aren't just for commerce)... an analogue for domains? Anti-parking measures?

ICANN blog on categorization http://blog.icann.org/?p=183

the .com pre-eminence problem

-- DanielHarris - 29 Mar 2008