Durban is a lovely beach city on the Indian Ocean with idyllic winter weather, but you might as well be on Mars if you’re ensconced in the vast windowless meeting rooms of its International Conference Center. That’s where ICANN’s Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) spent a good part of Saturday, July 13th, engaged in a dialogue with the non-conflicted members of …
ICANN Downgrades Registrants’ “Rights” to “Benefits”
We got pretty excited recently when ICANN CEO Fadi Chehade said that registrants were ICANN’s primary customer[1] – but we must now curb our enthusiasm in light of the final treatment of registrants’ rights in the newly approved Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA). The draft RAA contained a statement of Registrants’ Rights and Responsibilities (RRR) that all accredited registrars must provide …
EU Registrars Empowered to Seek New RAA Data Retention Exemption
ICANN’s Board approved the new Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA) on June 27th, and its Resolution doing so noted that “the Board has accepted the GAC Advice in the Beijing Communiqué that the “the 2013 Registrar Accreditation Agreement should be finalized before any new gTLD contracts are approved.”” — and cited as a “highlight” that “The 12 Law Enforcement Recommendations that …
ICANN CEO: Registrants Rule!
ICANN held a briefing in Brussels on Tuesday, June 25th and ICANN CEO Fadi Chehade was the leadoff speaker. We’ve reviewed some detailed reports from those in attendance, and the most startling and refreshing statement made by CEO Chehade was that new gTLD applicants will be managed as ICANN’s licensees – that he regards the registrant/user as ICANN’s “customer” and …
U.S. IP Strategic Plan Cites ICANN Role – Contemplates URS “Course Corrections” and Monitoring of New RAA Compliance
The White House has just released the “2013 JOINT STRATEGIC PLAN ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ENFORCEMENT” issued by the U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC), and ICANN efforts are discussed at some length. The Report makes clear that U.S. activities within ICANN are regarded as an integral part of the government’s overall strategic efforts against IP infringement. (http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/IPEC/2013-us-ipec-joint-strategic-plan.pdf). The Introduction to …
ICANN WG to Recommend Four Day Extension of UDRP Response Time
ICA has been informed by ICANN Staff that the Working Group (WG) on the Locking of a Domain Name Subject to UDRP Proceedings appears to have settled on a recommendation that domain name registrants who are Respondents in a UDRP proceeding be granted an automatic right to request and be granted a four day extension of the deadline for filing …
ICA Seconds Call for Strengthened Registrant Rights Statement
The Internet Commerce Association (ICA) has endorsed and suggested additional improvements to the alternate statement of Registrants’ Rights and Responsibilities (RRR) proposed by ICANN’s Non-Commercial Stakeholders Group (NCSG). ICA’s comment was filed in regard to the “Proposed Final 2013 RAA” (Registrar Accreditation Agreement); the RRR is one component of the RAA and all ICANN-accredited registrars will be required to link …
ICANN’s Approval of ACDR as UDRP Provider Leaves Standard Contracts Issue Unresolved
The Arab Center for Dispute Resolution (ACDR) has been approved as a UDRP provider by ICANN’s Board of Directors. However, the language of the Board resolution of approval leaves unresolved the critically important issue of whether all UDRP providers will be placed under a standard and enforceable contractual agreement. The Board action took place during its meeting of May 18th, …
ICANN Response to ICA: URS Providers will become Contracted Parties
Responding to questions posed by ICA Counsel Philip Corwin at the Public Forum in Beijing, ICANN is now on the record that it is developing a standard contract for all providers of the new Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS) rights protection mechanism (RPM) for new gTLDs, and that more URS providers will be selected. This action sets a strong precedent for …
NCSG Cites ICA in Request for ICANN Board Reconsideration of TMC Claims “Trademark + Fifty” Decision
On April 19, 2013 ICANN’s Non-Commercial Stakeholders Group (NCSG) filed a formal Request for Reconsideration with ICANN’s Board Governance Committee to review a unilateral staff decision to expand the scope of the Trademark Clearinghouse (TMC) claims service for new gTLDs. That decision would allow trademark owners to include up to 50 additional typographical variations of each accepted trademark in the …