Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Economic Development and Technology and Commerce, Consumer Protection and Housing, to which was referred S.B. No. 1276 entitled:

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to prohibit the bad faith registration of domain names on the Internet.

Your Committees received testimony in favor of this measure from Verizon Hawaii and the Lieutenant Governor.

Your Committees find that since its inception, the Internet has been a largely unregulated industry. As a result, many of the rights we have under the law are susceptible to intrusion by other parties. Further, a cybersquatter can harm an individual or a company not just by demanding money for the domain name site, but by putting information on the site that could tarnish or disparage an individual or a company's goodwill or create confusion as to the source, sponsorship, affiliation, or endorsement of the site.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Economic Development and Technology and Commerce, Consumer Protection and Housing that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1276 and recommend that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.