Hillary Clinton wins HillaryClinton.com, just in time for 2008...
Hillary Clinton has won a dispute with an Italian domain name squatter over the rights to HillaryClinton.com. A panel of arbiters ruled on Mar. 18 that because Michele Dinoia of Pineto, Italy did not respond during the dispute proceedings, Dinoia had no "rights and legitimate interests in the domain name."
Clinton, a Democratic senator from New York, claims that she should enjoy trademark rights to her own name. Summarizing her argument, the panel said Clinton's name had "become distinctive through (her) use and exposure of the mark in the marketplace and through use of the mark in connection with (her) political activities, including a successful Senate campaign."
This decision, of course, could clear the way for a presidential campaign Web site in 2008 -- much as John Kerry used JohnKerry.com and President George W. Bush used GeorgeWBush.com.
Declan McCullagh, CNET News' chief political correspondent, chronicles the intersection of politics and technology. He has covered politics, technology, and Washington, D.C., for more than a decade, which has turned him into an iconoclast and a skeptic of anyone who says, "We oughta have a new federal law against this." E-mail Declan. 
