Dear ICA Members and Newsletter Subscribers:
Internet Commerce Association has been busy with a quick response to the Kentucky domain seizure order. I will have more information about ICA elections next week.
Kentucky Domain Seizure
For those who have not already heard. Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear ordered a seizure of 141 domain names related to online gambling; stating they are “tantamount to a virtual home invasion”. Some were seized only because the associated websites include online gambling ads, ads for gambling sites that are legally operated and regulated in their home jurisdiction. A hearing was held Tuesday, October 7. ICA submitted an amicus brief to the court opposing the seizure. Thank you to Philip Corwin and Butera & Andrews for preparing this brief. They put in more time and attorneys on it than our retainer requires. Thanks also goes to our Legal Council which provided much volunteer assistance.
While the legal battle rages and it will go on beyond this Judge’s decision, we take the message of an overreaching government action to the people. ICA participated in a press summit in Kentucky the day before the hearing. It was hosted by Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions and we were joined by representatives from Poker Players Alliance, Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association, Americans for Tax Reform and Media Freedom Project. Detailed articles about this case are posted at InternetCommerce.org Updates on this story will be published there.
Media with ICA quotes:
Some articles on the Louisville Courier-Journal and other local papers quoted Jeremiah Johnston, but they are not available online or only available with a fee payment.
Traffic Down Under
There is still time to register for this conference in Australia. Remember, all profits from Traffic Down Under go to ICA. We can use the financial help as this Kentucky case will almost certainly be appealed no matter what the Judge decides and CADNA will probably get another trademark bill introduced in US Congress next year. I do not think that they will repeat the mistakes that they made with the Snowe bill, which enabled us to defeat it so easily.
Join ICA
If you are not already an ICA member, this would be a great time to join.
Best regards,
Michael Collins