IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA
ALEXANDRIA DIVISION
UNITED STATES OLYMPIC )
COMMITTEE, et al., )
)
Plaintiffs, )
)
v. ) Civil Action No. 00-1018-A
)
2000OLYMPIC.COM, et al., )
)
Defendants. )
DECLARATION
I, John T. Parker, hereby declare the following:
1. I, a person over the age of 18 years, am a law clerk at Silverberg Goldman & Bikoff, LLP and not a party to this action.
Categories of Domain Names and Reconciliation
2. The domain name defendants in this in rem action are dispersed amongst the various Motions presented this day in the following manner:
Motion / Domain Names / RegistrantsMotion To Set Time Certain / 891 / 322
Motion for False Contact Procedures / 356 / 183
Motion To Dismiss / 553 / 227
Totals
/ 1,800 / 732Registrar Certificates
3. I have reviewed the registrar certificates (the “Registrar Certificates”) that grant this Court dominion and control over the domain names subject to this Motion (“Domain Names”) and have attached a chart listing the registrars (“Registrars”), the Domain Names associated with each Registrar and the dates when the Registrar Certificates were filed with the Court. See Attachment 1.
Web Sites Associated with the Domain Names
4. As of August 16, 2001, I have reviewed all of the Domain Names to determine whether they have web sites. I first loaded a list of the Domain Names involved in the suit into an .html file (hypertext markup language, the format used for web pages), and viewed the document with a web browser. I then printed the document and commanded the Web browser program to print the web pages for all of the links on the document. After reviewing the printouts of the Domain Names’ web addresses, I have determined that 826 of the Domain Names do not have web sites, although some Domain Names link to a Registrar-provided web site that merely indicates “Under Construction” or “Coming Soon.”[1]
5. I have reviewed the 65 web sites linked to the Domain Names and have determined that they either (1) are not interactive web sites, as they do not allow users to purchase goods or services over the Internet or (2) with respect to the two (2) web sites that appear to be interactive (“olympiccasinos.com” and “olympicsex.com”), they show no contacts with any judicial district in the United States. In addition, 18 of the web sites are in foreign languages, which show that the registrants have no intention of doing business in the United States.
Providing the Registrants of the Domain Names with a Copy of the Complaint
6. In attempting to contact the 322 Registrants of these Domain Names, the Olympic Plaintiffs relied upon the “Whois” Contact Information (the e-mail and postal addresses and, where available, facsimile numbers) provided by the Registrants upon registration of the Domain Names and available for all Registrars at, e.g., www.betterwhois.com.
7. Persons, including trademark owners, seeking to contact registrants of domain names, rely upon the Contact Information in order to contact the registrants of domain names for various reasons, e.g., to notify registrants that their domain names infringe trademarks. ICANN DNSO Names Council Whois Survey, (June 10, 2001) <http://www.icann.org/dnso/whois-survey-en-10jun01.htm>. In order for a registrar to register domain names on behalf of registrants, it must first become accredited by ICANN (the Internet Corporation on Assigned Names and Numbers), which administers the top-level domains “.com”, “.net” and “.org”. The Registrars are required by their ICANN Registrar Accreditation Agreement (Attachment 2) to include provisions in their individual registration agreements that (1) require the registrants to list and maintain accurate Contact Information in their domain name registrations and (2) provide for domain name registration cancellation procedures when a registrant is suspected of providing or failing to update false Contact Information. See Attachment 2 at 3.7.7.1-3.7.7.2.
8. The Olympic Plaintiffs first sent e-mails to the 322 Registrants of the Domain Names in this action. They were sent to the e-mail addresses provided by the Registrants as a part of their Contact Information. These e-mails notified the Registrants of this action against the Domain Names and attached a copy of the Complaint. The 94 Registrants who replied to these e-mails are indicated in the Fourth Column of Attachment 3.
9. Facsimiles were then sent to some of the Registrants who had replied to our e-mail and the 228 Registrants who (a) had not replied to the Olympic Plaintiffs’ earlier e-mails and (b) had provided facsimile numbers in the Contact Information of their domain name registrations. These facsimiles notified the Registrants of this action and provided the Internet address where they could view the Complaint. The 23 Registrants who were successfully sent facsimiles (as verified by facsimile confirmations) are indicated in Fifth Column of Attachment 3.
10. International letters, return-receipt requested, were then sent to the postal addresses of some of the Registrants previously contacted and the 205 Registrants who (a) had not replied to the Olympic Plaintiffs’ earlier e-mails, and (b) had not provided facsimile numbers or had provided invalid facsimile numbers. These letters notified the Registrants of this action and provided the Internet address where they could view the Complaint. The 175 Registrants from whom the Olympic Plaintiffs received return receipts confirming delivery are indicated in the Sixth Column of Attachment 3.
11. E-mails were then sent via the United States Postal Service Electronic Courier Service (“PosteCS”) to the e-mail addresses of some of the Registrants previously contacted and the thirty (30) Registrants who (a) had not replied to the Olympic Plaintiffs’ earlier e-mails, (b) had not received a copy of the letter by facsimile, and (c) from whom the Olympic Plaintiffs had not received a return receipt indicating that the international mail had been delivered. PosteCS is an Internet-based document delivery service that allows a user “to send any type of electronic file over the Internet in a fast, reliable and secure method to anyone with an e-mail account and a Web browser” and receive an electronic return receipt notification. See Attachment 4.
12. Upon sending documents via PosteCS, the recipient is notified that it has been sent documents by a notification e-mail from PosteCS. The recipient can then “receive” the documents by accessing the PosteCS web site via the unique Web address sent in the PosteCS e-mail. The PosteCS system provides a return receipt notification that the recipient has viewed the document.
13. These e-mails notified the Registrants of this action and provided them with the hyperlink to the Complaint. PosteCS indicated which Registrants had viewed the notification. The thirty (30) Registrants who received the e-mail via PosteCS are indicated in Seventh Column of Attachment 3.
Use of E-mail by Registrars
14. I have also reviewed the web sites and registration agreements of twenty-one (21) Registrars of these Domain Names (because the Hangang Systems, Inc. web site is in Korean, I could not review its features) and noted many of the situations in which the Registrars’ utilization of e-mail requires the Registrants to have valid e-mail addresses. These situations are discussed in the following chart, Chart 1.
CHART 1123 Easy Domain Names Inc., d/b/a Signature Domains
/ Transfers of domain names must be confirmed via e-mail. E-mail addresses are required to receive replies to inquiries made on Signature Domains’s webpage.Abacus America, Inc. d/b/a Names4Ever / All updates to the registration agreements are notified by e-mail. All support problems, password reminders, and confirmations of modifications to domain name registrations are handled by e-mail.
Registrar may terminate registrations via e-mail. Abacus suggests contacting it via e-mail to handle problems and questions.
Alabanza, Inc. d/b/a BulkRegister.com
/ A valid e-mail address is necessary in order to register a domain name or to change personal data in the registration. Renewal notices are sent to the registrant via e-mail. BulkRegister.com will notify the registrants of any problems with a domain name registrations, i.e., false contact inquiries or breaches of registration agreements, via e-mail.All West Communications, Inc. d/b/a AWRegistry / Any correspondence sent from AWC to the registrant is sent via e-mail. If any problems arise in transferring the domain name registration to another registrar, AWC will notify the registrant via e-mail.
CORE Council of Internet Registrars / E-mail address required to register any domain name. Any correspondence regarding domain name disputes must be sent via e-mail.
Domain Bank, Inc. / All requests for information are conducted via e-mail. Any transfer of domain name requires the new registrant to confirm the transfer via e-mail.
Domain Registration Services / All contacts with Domain Registration Services, i.e., questions regarding domain name registration and password problems, are via e-mail. Reminders of passwords are sent via e-mail.
DomainPeople, Inc. / Confirmation e-mails are sent to the registrant’s e-mail address upon registration. All billing inquires are conducted via e-mail.
Dotster, Inc. / All contacts with Dotster, i.e., changes in contact information, questions regarding registration, and technical support, is handled via e-mail. An e-mail address is required to transfer the domain name.
Easyspace, Ltd. / An e-mail address is required to receive response to any questions submitted on the web site. All notices from EasySpace will either be posted to the web site or e-mailed to the registrant.
eNom, Inc. / If the registrar must be contacted regarding problems with the domain name registration, eNom will contact the registrant via e-mail. Registrant is notified via e-mail when the domain name registration is about to expire or when renewal fees are due.
iHoldings.com d/b/a DotRegistrar.com / To request, modify, or update information, the registrants must e-mail iHoldings. Confirmations of changes are sent to a registrant’s e-mail address. Notices are sent to the e-mail addresses of the registrants.
Intercosmos Media Group d/b/a directNIC.com / Confirmations of domain name registrations are e-mailed to the registrants. Notices that domain names may soon expire are e-mailed to the registrants. Renewal invoices are e-mailed to the registrants.
Internet Domain Registrars d/b/a Registrars.com / An e-mail address must be given to register a domain name. E-mail addresses for different departments of Registrars.com are provided on the web page. Username and password reminders are sent via e-mail.
Melbourne IT, Ltd. d/b/a Internet Names WorldWide / Termination of a domain name registration is e-mailed to the registrant.
NameSecure.com, Inc. / Must use an e-mail application process to register domain names. Notices are sent to the registrant via e-mail.
OnlineNIC, Inc. d/b/a China-channel.com
/ Questions must be sent to OnlineNIC via e-mail.Register.com, Inc.
/ Changes in the information listed in the domain name registration must be confirmed via e-mail. Promotional offers are sent via e-mail. E-mail addresses are required to receive replies to inquires made on Register.com’s web page.The NameIt Corp.
/ All questions are handled via e-mail.Tucows, Inc.
/ Notifications from Tucows are sent to the registrant via e-mail. Technical support and other questions are answered via e-mail. E-mail addresses are required to transfer a domain name to Tucows.VeriSign, Inc. (formerly Network Solutions, Inc.) / Notices are sent to the registrant via e-mail. In order to make changes to a domain name registration, the registrant must e-mail Verisign to receive a tracking number for their request. VeriSign encourages registrants to request technical support though e-mail.
I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America, that the foregoing is true and correct.
DATED this ____ day of November 2001.
______
John T. Parker
SILVERBERG GOLDMAN & BIKOFF, L.L.P.
1101 30th Street, N.W., Suite 120
Washington, D.C. 20007
2
[1] Domain Names linked to “Under Construction” or “Coming Soon” web sites (“Coming Soon Domain Names”), i.e., they merely indicate a website is “Under Construction” or is “Coming Soon,” were not included in the number of Domain Names that have actual web sites because the Coming Soon Domain Names have merely been registered with Registrars that provide this type of web page service and are not necessarily going to be linked to web pages. The Coming Soon Domain Names were thus included in the group of Domain Names that are mere registrations because the web sites of the Coming Soon Domain Names are not interactive.