It got him a Jefferson Muzzle award for censorship, but George W. Bush's complaint against a website parodying him got thrown out by the Federal Election Commission April 18. The commission found no evidence of serious intent to violate any law. The Bush campaign had filed against Zack Exley, a Massachussetts man, over his www.gwbush.com website - which satirizes various rumors of youthful drug experimentation by the Texas governor. The Bush campaign accused the site of serving in fact as a political committee subject to financial disclosure and registration rules. But Exley countered that it was Bush whose comments brought attention to the message, adding he wasn't out to influence the election so much as to express an opinion about alleged past indiscretions, according to published reports. The FEC also ruled that the Bush parody site was "less significant relative to other matters pending" before the board. The official Bush site is www.georgewbush.com
SAN JOSE, Calif. - The makers of Liquid Latex and other erotic accessories and fashion are suing SVT, Inc. over a domain name dispute. Deviant, which makes Liquid Latex, charges in a federal action that an SVT subsidiary used the Liquid Latex name in a website URL in violation of newly passed Internet trademark and cybersquatting laws. Deviant is seeking up to $200,000 in damages. Deviant spokesman Jerry Pena tells AVN On the Net it's practically an open-and-shut case but for "bureaucracy and legal paperwork." Liquid Latex is described by its makers as "a self-curing (drying) latex substance that paints directly onto the skin or over clothing and dries in about 5-10 minutes to form custom wearable rubber clothing, costumes, masks and much more. Use (it) for erotic fun, costuming, mask making, artwork, special effects…" Liquid Latex can be seen at www.LiquidLatex.net.
RICHMOND, Va. - Hoping to control the domain name market a bit, Network Solutions is prohibiting domain name owners from transferring domain name rights to new owners. The company's disclaimer, "Your rights under this (registration) Agreement are not assignable. Any attempt by you to assign your rights shall render this Agreement voidable at our option," will let it "revoke a domain name owner's registration at will whenever the owner attempts to transfer it," said Domain Name Buyer's Guide spokesman Chris Truax. "NSI seems to be taking the position that domain name registrants don't actually own their domain names…While they pretend to allow the transfer of domain names, they have given themselves the legal right to take your domain name away and transfer it to someone else." At present, however, there are a reported twenty domain name registration companies "with more being added each week," Truax said. Domain Name Buyer's Guide estimates the domain name market growing at a huge rate, with some names said to be worth in the millions.
--- Compiled by Humphrey Pennyworth
