While not every ICANN policy issue generates as much controversy or notice as new gTLDs, many seemingly mundane matters can nonetheless have a substantial impact on domainers and other registrants. One of those is the Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy (IRTP) that sets the rules for domain transfers between registrars. Good rules facilitate the workings of the secondary domain marketplace and help …
ICANN Board Locks Down New gTLD Timeline, Approves .XXX Contract
ICANN’s Board of Directors moved decisively toward final implementation of the new gTLD program with a unanimous vote in favor of setting a timeline that contemplates final approval of the Applicant Guidebook (AG) at the June 2011 ICANN meeting in Singapore. The Board also voted to move forward and sign a contract with ICM Registry to operate the controversial .XXX …
Glacial Progress in San Francisco ICANN Board/GAC Discussions
The second day of public consultation between ICANN’s Board of Directors and its Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) ended on Thursday, March 17, 2011 with scant narrowing of remaining differences on multiple issues in the proposed Applicant Guidebook (AG) for new gTLDs – but with the revelation that opaque exchanges of views on trademark issues have taken place in apparent disregard …
ICA on the Record at ICANN San Francisco
On Monday, March 14th the ICANN Board held a public forum to discuss issues identified by the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) in regard to new gTLDs (full transcript available at http://svsf40.icann.org/node/22097). Following their recent meeting in Brussels, the GAC sent a communiqué to the Board (available at http://gac.icann.org/press-release/gac-brussels-intersessional-meeting-communique-2011) and the Board released a detailed response (see http://icann.org/en/correspondence/dengate-thrush-to-dryden-05mar11-en.pdf ) to the …
ICA Inquires Whether Third Party Counsel Will Be invited to Participate in ICANN/Board GAC IP Teleconferences – and Suggests a Better Alternative to URS Domain Transfer
The Internet Commerce Association has just sent an urgent letter of inquiry to ICANN’s Board Chairman and CEO raising two critical issues arising out of the just-concluded Board/GAC meeting in Brussels. The first issue is whether the GAC will be permitted to invite corporate brand trademark counsel to participate as the exclusive “IP experts” in upcoming Board/GAC teleconferences on IP …
Brussels Meeting Semi-Ends with Semi-Response and All Issues Still in Play
Having canceled all scheduled afternoon discussions to confer separately, the ICANN Board and GAC returned to their Brussels meeting room late Tuesday afternoon for a short and inconclusive exchange of views on their Applicant Guidebook disagreements, as well on as mapping the path forward. Opening the session, ICANN Chairman Peter Dengate Thrush announced that, while the Board had not yet …
Impasse in Brussels: ICANN Board/GAC Talks Stall Out
U.S. “remote participants” who rose long before dawn to monitor the ICANN Board/GAC discussions awoke to a bad dream as the talks reached an impasse on nearly all issues, including how to move forward. By the close of the morning session – after Board member Cherine Chalaby remarked that “the energy level has dropped” within the meeting room — the …
Brussels Day One – ICANN Board and GAC Parry on New gTLD Trademark Protections
ICANN’s Board and its Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) engaged in a preliminary discussion of trademark protections for new gTLDs on day one of their conclave in Brussels, with more intensive exploration slated for day two. The topic was scheduled for an initial thirty minutes exploration but received somewhat more time, not surprisingly given its importance and complexity. Mark Carvell of …
ICA Tells Department of Commerce that USG and GAC Scorecard Goals Could Undermine ICANN’s Multi-Stakeholder Model While Trampling on Registrant Rights
The ICA has just dispatched a letter to Assistant Secretary of Commerce Lawrence Strickling in advance of the talks scheduled in Brussels on February 29-March 1 between ICANN’s Board and its Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC). Our letter expresses strong concerns that the positions being advocated by the U.S. government and the GAC regarding the proposed Final Applicant Guidebook (AG) for …
Google is Missing “Elephant” Not in the Room at Senate Domain Seizure Hearing
On Wednesday, February 16th the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing titled "Targeting Websites Dedicated To Stealing American Intellectual Property" (hearing webcast and all witness statements are available at http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/hearing.cfm?id=4982). Not surprisingly, all those present – Senators and witnesses alike – agreed that with websites specializing in the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted works and counterfeit goods were a serious problem …