In another unpredicted development the entire community of ICANN stakeholders has sent a joint letter to CEO Fadi Chehade and the ICANN Board that strongly questions the “Enhancing ICANN Accountability and Governance – Process and Next Steps” document published by ICANN staff on August 14th over widespread community objections. Signatories to the August 26th letter (text below) include the GNSO …
DC Constituencies Start to Coalesce on Principles for the IANA Transition and Enhanced ICANN Accountability
It is now being broadly acknowledged that, as expressed unanimously by all GNSO constituencies at the recent ICANN London meeting, “as part of the IANA transition, the multi-stakeholder community has the opportunity and responsibility to propose meaningful accountability structures that go beyond just the IANA-specific accountability issues”. In a July 22nd Keynote Address at the American Enterprise Institute, NTIA …
Is ICANN’s .IR Response at Odds with the ACPA and ICE Domain Seizures?
An initial review of ICANN’s response to litigation seeking it to turn over control of the ccTLDs of Iran, Syria and North Korea led to the conclusion that it had opened a “legal can of worms”. A few more just wriggled out, and they threaten the basic assumption that underlies the U.S. statute governing cybersquatting and the practices engaged in …
ICANN’s .IR Response Opens Legal Can of Worms
ICANN has filed its initial response to writs of attachment issued by U.S. Courts that seek to have ICANN transfer control of the country code top level domains (ccTLDs) of Iran, Syria and North Korea to plaintiffs in various legal actions. The lawsuits were brought under a U.S. law that permits victims of terrorism and their family survivors to seek …
ICANN Seeks to Hire Registrant Advocate – While Seeking Volunteers for Second Round New gTLDs Discussion Group
Two recent ICANN announcements caught our eye because of their relevance to domain investors. The first was ICANN’s placement of a notice that it was seeking to hire its first ever Registrant Services Director-Consumer Advocate. The Job Description states that the position “involves participation in a number of cross-organizational projects in areas such as registrant rights, contract interpretations and compliance, …
ICA Members and other Domainers Joining New ICANN Working Group on Acronym Domains
ICANN has set up a new GNSO Working Group (WG) on IGO/INGO acronyms and we know of at least five ICA members who have already joined it. Other domainers should consider doing the same. Here’s the reason. IGOs are International Governmental Organizations, and INGOs are International Nongovernmental Organizations, and through ICANN’s Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) they have been waging a …
GNSO Constituencies Issue Unanimous Joint Statement on ICANN Accountability
In an unprecedented development, all stakeholder groups and constituencies comprising ICANN”s Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) unanimously endorsed a joint statement in support of the creation of an independent accountability mechanism “that provides meaningful review and adequate redress for those harmed by ICANN action or inaction in contravention of an agreed upon compact with the community”. The statement was read …
ICANN 50 Kicks Off in London
“The temperature in the room is warm and I suspect it will get a whole lot warmer before we are through.” So stated ICANN Board Chairman Steve Crocker at the beginning of the Board’s interaction with the GNSO Council on the afternoon of Sunday, June 22nd. Yet that dialogue never got beyond lukewarm. Both Crocker and CEO Fadi Chehade made …
Black Rain and Trademark Policy: Report from INTA Hong Kong
It was an omen of things to come. Just over an hour out from Hong Kong the pilot of my 777 en route from San Francisco came on the intercom. Hong Kong was temporarily closed due to torrential rain and we would need to land in Taipei to refuel before proceeding. When we finally arrived in HKG my journey from …
Personal Clarification Regarding .XYZ Article
Several days ago I posted an article – “ICANN is Missing in Action on .XYZ” – expressing my personal views regarding Network Solutions’ involuntary opt-out registration of .XYZ domains for its existing customers. It was posted, as many of my opinion pieces are, at both the website of the Internet Commerce Association, which I have served as Counsel since its …