GNSO Grapples with ICANN Board’s Charge on Trademark Protections

Philip CorwinBlog

Has ICANN’s Board assigned its policy-making GNSO Council an impossible task in directing it to attempt to reach consensus on alternatives to the staff “assimilation” of the IRT recommendations regarding the Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS) and Trademark Clearinghouse proposals?  (See https://www.internetcommerce.org/ICANN_Requests_GNSO_Feedback for background on that request.) That question was grappled with at length during an all-day meeting of the Council …

ICANN Requests Internal Working Group to Address Registrar Cybersquatting and Other RAA Areas of Concern

Philip CorwinBlog

Greetings from Seoul, an exciting and dynamic city that is a fascinating mix of the 21st century and traditional culture. Pre-meetings of ICANN’s policymaking GNSO commence tomorrow morning, where scores of jet-lagged “community members” will attempt to stay alert and engage in coherent and productive discussions. On the eve of the meeting, members of the volunteer Drafting Team, including yours …

ICANN Board Requests Expedited GNSO Feedback on IPC and URS

Philip CorwinBlog

We recently noted (see https://www.internetcommerce.org/ICANN_Releases_DAGv3)  that the third version of the Draft Applicant Guidebook (DAG) for new gTLDs did not contain the Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS) policy and several other trademark protection mechanisms proposed by the Implementation Recommendation Team (IRT) but instead left the final decision on these matters to ICANN’s Board, to be made after consultation with the Generic …

ICANN Releases DAGv3 – Board to Decide on TM Protections After November Launch of IDN ccTLDs

Philip CorwinBlog

As anticipated, ICANN has just released the third version of the Draft Applicant Guidebook (DAG) for new generic top level domains (gTLDs). The DAG has been revised in more than 50 areas, so we will be combing through it to fully understand its potential impact on the domain investment community. (DAGv3 available at http://www.icann.org/en/topics/new-gtlds/comments-3-en.htm.) In the area of greatest concern …

ICANN Technical Study Suggests Delaying New gTLD Introduction Until 2011-12

Philip CorwinBlog

ICANN has taken considerable heat from many parties that it has yet to produce a convincing economic study detailing the market demand and viability of new generic top level domains (gTLDs). But a recently issued, ICANN-funded technical study makes a strong case for delaying the introduction of new gTLDs and other root zone changes until domain name system  (DNS) security …

The ICANN-U.S. AOC: What It Really Means

Philip CorwinBlog

The JPA is dead. Long live the AOC. The Joint Project Agreement (JPA) which has defined the relationship between ICANN and the United States government for the past three years expired on September 30th, and that same day an Agreement of Commitments (AOC – see http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-30sep09-en.htm for text) was unveiled by these same parties to govern their relationship for the …

Domainers Win A Round As ICANN Reveals That URS Will Not Be In DAGv3

Philip CorwinBlog

Domain investors can breathe at least a temporary sigh of relief following Wednesday’s revelation that the much feared and reviled Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS) policy will not be included in the third version of the Draft Applicant Guidebook (DAG) for new gTLDs to be released by ICANN in the first week of October. The disclosure came in the course of …

ICA Declines to Sign On To ‘Full Speed Ahead’ With New gTLDs Letter

Philip CorwinBlog

A diverse group has just sent a letter (http://www.icann.org/correspondence/van-couvering-to-beckstrom-21sep09-en.pdf) to ICANN’s top executives and Board in which they “urge you to direct ICANN staff to implement ICANN’s plan to introduce new top-level domains without further delay”. ICA Counsel Philip Corwin had received a request from Jothan Frakes, COO of new gTLD adviser and investor Mind and Machines (http://www.mindsandmachines.com/)  requesting endorsement …

Congress to Beckstrom: Congratulations! Now Answer Our Questions!

Philip CorwinBlog

On September 15th two senior Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee, Lamar Smith and Howard Coble, dispatched a letter to ICANN CEO Rod Beckstrom. The letter (text here) starts with a hearty congratulation, but by the second paragraph it is raising concerns over the proposed rollout of new gTLDs and the potential expiration of its Joint Project Agreement with …

GAC Concedes on Second Level Geo-Domains – While Telling ICANN That New gTLDs Need Far More Study

Philip CorwinBlog

While the comment period on Version 2 of the Draft Applicant Guidebook (DAG) on new gTLDs officially closed on April 13th (see article for ICA’s comments) ICANN’s Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) weighed in with a 7-page letter dated August 18th (available at http://www.icann.org/correspondence/karklins-to-dengate-thrush-18aug09-en.pdf). Despite its tardy submission, ICANN is unlikely to disregard this consensus statement by national governments and intergovernmental …