In brief
Brown, JenniferThe federal government has won a challenge to claim ownership of a series of dot-ca names originally registered by a British Columbia man who calls himself Darwin Bedford. Bedford uses the domain names to point to a number of Web sites promoting atheism and other causes.
Bedford, of Burnaby, B.C., no longer has the right to use a series of dot-ca domain names such as statscanada.ca and governmentofcanada.ca.
The 54-year-old, who has a company called Abundance Computer Consulting and also goes by the name Darwin Bedford on his Web site, said he originally purchased the domain names with the intention of selling them back to the government - asking $300 a piece - when it went to arbitration.
He said he goes by Darwin on his Web site because David "was not unique enough" and it is also the name of the evolutionist, Charles Darwin.
"I started using them for my activism - I'm an atheist activist, environmentalist and non-smoking activist. But because of what I had on the Web sites it was quite controversial, the government saw me as a squeaky wheel and took the names away from me," said Bedford.
The decision was handed down May 27 by a three-member panel acting under the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) domain name dispute resolution policy.
The order indicates nine names registered by Bedford, including theweatheroffice.ca, publicworkscanada.ca, gouvernementducanada.ca, ecgc.ca, transportcanada.ca and others must be transferred to the government.
As of July 28, each government department involved was to transfer the names from Bedford's ISP to their own. Individual departments preside over the transfer of the names and are supposed to use them as redirects to the genuine site.
Toronto lawyer Javad Heydary, a managing partner at Heydary Hamilton LLP, said organizations often fail to transfer the sites for their use.
"They spend thousands winning back domain names, then if you go and type in the name it leads you to a dead page," he said. "You've won the battle and have a judgment - make sure you use what you've got."
In its written complaint, the government argued that Bedford had "not used the domain names in good faith" in connection with a non-commercial activity.
It also said the names did not constitute his legal name or the location of his non-commercial activity or business.
Only one of the 10 names challenged by the government - canadiancustoms.ca - was determined too generic and not similar enough to Canada Customs and Revenue Agency.
"People shouldn't assume they would find the Canada Customs and Revenue site," Bedford said. "It basically comes down to trademark law and if the lawyers feel it's an infringement on what is normal for trademark law, they will award the name to the claimant if they have rights. But there could be several people who could claim rights, so if it's generic, you get to keep the name."
In a prior decision in June 2001, under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy, the government also successfully challenged Bedford's use of 31 dot-com domain names such as transportcanada.com and statcanada.com.
Bedford says he still has 220 domain names such as vancouverpolice.ca - a name for which he paid $32 for a one-year registration. "Names become available and I can register them if I think there's going to be traffic involved," he said.
"The first batch was a little more expensive - about $70 a year - but as prices come down I can pick up a name today for $15, a name the government should have because people want to go there."
CIRA assumed management of the dot-ca domain in December 2000 and the CDRP was launched in June 2002. Since the CDRP was introduced there have been 13 decisions. One of two Canadian dispute resolution policy service providers can be chosen by the complainant (in this case, the government) - Vancouver-based British Columbia International Commercial Arbitration and Resolution Canada Inc. located in Don Mills, Ont. The dispute resolution fees range between $1,750 and $6,400 depending on the number of panelists and domain names involved. The complainant - in the Bedford case the government - pays the fees. But an arbitrator is not the last course of action an individual can take.
"The CDRP does not replace Canada's legal system. However, we know that can be time-consuming and require a rather significant amount of money. The CDRP is designed to provide a relatively quick and relatively inexpensive process to challenge the rightful use of a domain name."
Bedford said he plans to create another page for children, telling them there is no God. "It is going to be quite a philosophical piece and I'm going to point a whole lot of names at it including vancouverpolice.ca and they will complain," he said.
-Jennifer Brown
An automated ticketing enforcement system is helping the City of Vancouver increase revenues, catch scofflaws and cut down on fraud.
Two years after Brent Heisler, the program's administrator, issued the program's first ticket, city staff are estimating an annual benefit of $235,000 through to 2007, increasing to $393,000 for each subsequent year. Vancouver's parking attendant force has been equipped with 81 handheld SPT 1733 PDAs produced by Symbol Technologies and Cameo printers from Zebra Technologies. Epic Data provides the TicketManager software.
With their PDAs, parking enforcement officers can access in real-time ticket and vehicle infraction history as well residential parking permit registrations, all stored on a TicketManager server. The software's drop-down menus cut down the time and energy required to issue tickets and also help attendants enforce Vancouver's parking laws.
"The impact to enforcement is huge," Heisler said. "They (enforcement officers) get the number of outstanding tickets to a vehicle. If it's a certain amount, they can impound it. It's a great motivator for people to pay their tickets."
Heisler said as word of the ability to track repeat offenders who neglect to pay their tickets has spread, compliance has improved. The city reports increased revenues of $300,000 from tickets that would go to court if left unpaid.
"In the past in Vancouver, people who collect hundreds of tickets kept them in their glove compartment and then got new plates," said Jim Korchinski, area sales manager for Epic Data International Inc., whose system is also being used by city governments in Victoria and White Rock, B.C. "Because the offender knows their info is available in real time, they're less likely to offend."
With a one-way feed to the Vancouver Police department, information on car tickets is transmitted where it can be cross-referenced with vehicles reported missing or stolen.
Currently, transmission to police is on a 24-hour delay, but will soon be in real-time, Heisler said.
The TicketManager system is also helping Vancouver, which began the process of automating its ticketing and enforcement system five years ago, cut down on fraud, both large and small.
The more minor fraud concerns are called "courtesy cancellations," where enforcement officers will decide to not issue a ticket - for example, if the car's owner comes running out of store claiming they were just going to get change. The TicketManager system allows enforcement officers to learn if the person had recently used the same excuse with another officer or has a habit of making such claims.
"It's very common, and the interesting thing is that they track in real-time, so you could have multiple cancellations in a single day and you could see a pattern," Korchinski said.
The larger fraud involves illegal use of parking permits. Residents of an area with limited on-street parking apply for permits they do not need and then sell them to others who work in the area at a steep premium. This trade involves as much as 15 per cent of permits issued, according to the city. The TicketManager system allows enforcement officers to immediately see if the permit is in fact registered to that vehicle, resulting in 10 towed vehicles daily.
Vancouver has experienced a few snags with the TicketManager system, mainly network problems caused by extreme weather or overload on Sept. 11, 2001.
As well, the city's attempt to print tickets that could be supported by banking institutions was drowned out by the Pacific Northwest climate. "It was a disaster," Heisler said. "The stock absorbed the water. It was very susceptible to problems."
- Paul Fruitman
Copyright Plesman Publications Ltd. Sep 2003
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