Clay Shirky on the insoluble domain name problem

Typically thoughtful essay. Quote:

“Unfortunately, what made domain names contentious was simply that the internet became important, and there’s no putting the genie back in that bottle. The legal issues involved actually predate not only ICANN but the DNS itself, going back to the mid-70s and the earliest decision to create memorable aliases for unmemorable IP addresses. Once the original host name system was in place — IBM.com instead of 129.42.18.99 — the system was potentially subject to trademark litigation. The legal issues were thus implicit in the DNS from the day it launched; it just took a decade or so for anyone to care enough to hire a lawyer…”