On March 9th, 2016, during its final open meeting at ICANN 55 in Marrakech, Morocco, the GNSO Council approved a motion that I proposed to adopt the Charter of the Policy Development Process (PDP) to Review all Rights Protections Mechanisms in all Generic Top-Level Domains. I serve on the Council as one of the two representatives of ICANN’s Business Constituency, and …
ICANN and VeriSign Reach Deal for Ten Year .Com Agreement Extension
On February 11th VeriSign held its Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2015 Earnings Call with stock analysts. In the course of the call VeriSign revealed that it had reached tentative agreement with ICANN to extend the .Com Registry Agreement (RA) by ten years, with the extension’s start coinciding with the effective date of the IANA contract transition. The current .Com RA …
ICA Welcomes New ICANN CEO Göran Marby
The domain investment community represented by the Internet Commerce Association extends a warm welcome to incoming ICANN President and CEO Göran Marby. Mr. Marby’s selection was announced by ICANN on February 8th. He presently serves as Director-General of the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority and has more than 20 years of experience in the Internet and technology sectors, following his …
Final RPM Report Follows ICA Comment and Sets Stage for UDRP Review
Domain registrants have long voiced their desire for a comprehensive review and subsequent reforms of the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP). That goal is now in sight, and is set to proceed in the manner recommended to ICANN by ICA. On January 11, 2016 ICANN policy staff submitted to the GNSO Council the “Final Issue Report on a Policy Development …
Initial Statement of the Internet Commerce Association Regarding the Camilla.Com UDRP Decision
Washington, DC; December 11, 2015 — The Internet Commerce Association today released the following initial statement in regard to the November 30 decision of the WIPO Administrative Panel in the case of Camilla Australia Pty Ltd v. Domain Admin, Mrs Jello, LLC (Case No. D2015-1593; http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/search/text.jsp?case=D2015-1593): The egregious three-member panel decision in this Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP) dispute departs …
ICA Tells ICANN That Comprehensive UDRP Review Should Follow RPM Analysis
On November 30th ICA filed its comment letter regarding the “Preliminary Issue Report on a GNSO Policy Development Process to Review All Rights Protection Mechanisms in All gTLDs” that was published for public comment on October 9, 2015. ICA’s complete comment can be viewed at http://forum.icann.org/lists/comments-rpm-prelim-issue-09oct15/msg00021.html, and all 24 filed comments are available at http://forum.icann.org/lists/comments-rpm-prelim-issue-09oct15/index.html. The principal question raised by the Report …
The TPP and the DNS
On November 5, 2015 the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) released the official text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). That text consists of 30 separate Chapters totaling more than 2,000 pages, and is accompanied by four additional Annexes and dozens of Related Instruments. Only those who negotiated it are likely to have a detailed understanding of all its …
ICA Asks ICANN BGC to Reconsider Approval of Legacy gTLD Registry Agreements Containing URS
On October 13th ICA filed a formal Reconsideration Request (RR) asking ICANN’s Board Governance Committee (BGC) to rethink The Board’s approval of the renewal registry agreements (RAs) for .Travel, .Cat and .Pro. All three renewal agreements contain Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS) and other rights protection mechanisms (RPMs) drawn from the new gTLD program. Those RPMs are in the contracts largely …
The Empire Strikes Back: ICANN Accountability at the Inflection Point
Note: I first started this article in mid-September, and the opening quote from Yogi Berra was in the first draft because it seemed to fit the situation so well.. It was by sheer coincidence that it was first published on the day of his death. Consider that my unintended tribute to a great human being. Unfortunately, it’s now over for …
Join ICA at The Domain Conference
ICA and its members will have a major presence at The Domain Conference, a new industry gathering being held September 26-29 at the beautiful Hyatt Regency Pier 66 Hotel and Spa in Fort Lauderdale, Florida,. The four-day event will start with two days of relaxed poolside networking overlapping with three days of highly informative sessions on the business of domaining. …