Domains, Domains, Domains

I'm doing a presentation on Domain Name Dispute Resoultion for my Cyberspace Law class next Monday and my mind is full of great cases and Trademark Infringement litigation theories.

I understand why Domain Names are so valuable especially to a Trademark holder. Unfortunately, I don't really understand why there can't be one database that registers your domain name in all the possible Top-Level Domains.

TLDs = ".com", ".net", ".fr", ".es", etc.)

Second Level Domains = "yahoo", "google", "blogger". (the actual name of the trademark on most cases)

"www." identifies the web server

It seems like so many of the disputes over domain names could be resolved if there was a company/service which would automatically renew and update a second level domain in all the TLDs. Most of the disputes I've seen arise between someone cybersquatting on a desired domain for a particular TLD or stealing an expired domain from a company when they forget to renew their service.

Why hasn't anyone thought of creating a service that automatically renews second level domains and registers a second level domain in every applicavle TLD? Is it too expensive? I can think of tons of companies who register second level domain names that find the process of renewing with the repective registries quite cumbersome and annoying, but absolutely necessary.

Think Google alone: "www.google.com", "www.google.fr", "www.google.mx" and "www.google.es". Think about how many times those second level domains expire and how cumbersome it is to remember each and every date and place of registry! AND that's only a few of their second level domain names!

Why isn't this all centralized? Has any company attempted to profit from the idea of automatically keeping track and renewing these second level domain names for companies like Google?

Seems like a profitable endeavor to me. Thoughts?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Adventures of UT Graduates

A very good friend of mine, Tressa, leaves for Rwanda and the Peace Corps on September 27th. Tressa, with her huge heart, love for Africa and very direct personality with never take no for an answer personality is going to land in Africa for the second time. (Her first trip to Africa was on a Fulbright Scholarship to Yoruba where she bestowed on me and everyone of our friends the great importance of Africa and Africans as a continent and as a people.

I wish I could say my adventures as a law student have brought such good to the world, but honestly, they've brought more self-induced headaches than anything. haha. I get great satisfaction from seeing my friends become good people and do great things. Tressa has inspired me to look at my law degree as not just another set of letters behind my name but as a way of giving back in whatever way I can. I may love IT & Privacy Law and it may have very little to do with changing the world, but ultimately I am determined to find a way for technology to touch the lives of everyone. I really do believe it can and it will bridge the gaps between economic, cultural, communication and societal barriers. I know the "what" of my hopes and beliefs, I just wish I knew the "how".

Thank you Tressa for inspiring me to ask the right questions.

Library Dwelling Rules for 1L's

Because I practically live in the library during the school year, I often eat lunch in the library. As a result, I have found that it's far less rude to crumple up your paper bag that once held your lunch quickly and loudly rather than slowly, painfully and with great annoyance by those around you.

I've also found that it's customary to sit at least one seat away from the person sitting next to you at a library table.

You should whisper quietly and take all phone conversations into the hallway. If you're listening to music, make sure YOU are the only one listening. (blaring your Britney Spears Greatest Hits Album for everyone to hear is rude.)

Clear out cubicles and carrols when you are done using them. There is nothing worse than someone who sets up shop in one and refuses to share.

If you decide to sleep on one of the 6th floor sofas, try not to snore, wipe up any drool when you're done and the rest of is will promise not to wake you unless it's for class or something super urgent.

And last but not least, if you're a loud typist, don't get upset when we make up nicknames for you and say them to your face. You don't have to bang on your keyboard to write.

2L Day 2

Embarked on my second day of law school today and to my surprise it all went pretty smoothly. I was able to sleep in and enjoy the comforts of 2L life without any hiccups. Made it to class, avoided getting called on and then headed to Borders for a copy of Lawrence Lessig's Free Culture and Remix (both of which are available for free to download on his website). Lawrence Lessig is the creator of Creative Commons and an interesting read for any student of Copyright and Trademark law. He makes some interesting arguments surrounding the life of a copyright, free access vs. creator rights argument.

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You're probably wondering why I am switching blog sites again. Well, to be honest, I really was getting annoyed with some of the features of Blogger and couldn't stand that I couldn't update my blog from anywhere with iWeb - so I am going to try out WordPress - which doesn't mean I won't just switch back in a few months. Don't hate me. I try to be consistent, but curiosity often gets the best of me.

On that note, I love blogging and I want to be able to do it from anywhere (my iPhone, the library, a friend's computer, etc.) The idea of having to wait until I am sitting at my Macbook just frustrates me and the idea of posting on Blogger frustrates me even more. Don't misunderstand me, I love many of the features of Blogger, but I have the photo posting formatting. I'm a stickler for formatting - as you'd know if you've ever borrowed notes from me or seen me mapping out a flow chart.

Did I ever mention I was a flow chart addict? I think flow charts are a great way to visualize the big pictures without having to know all the details. My greatest recommendation to any incoming law student is to know what your strengths are and to stick with them. My greatest strength is "big picture" flow charts. I'll post some of my favorite charts that I learned the most from later.

Additionally, I also find the CALI lessons extremely helpful for broad knowledge, not so much in depth knowledge. I like to take the CALI quizzes after outlining a section to see what I've learned from outlining. By the way, an outline is exactly that - an outline of the entire course that law students make before finals to study all the rules, cases, etc. of a subject. Ok, at this point I'm realizing this post lacks a lot of focus. It's a little bit too late to be writing. I'll focus my thoughts and save them for another post. Needless to say, I had a great day 2 of my 2L career!