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<div>Hi there,</div><div><br></div><div>The trademark lobby has succeeded in convincing the ICANN Board it needs special treatments in the introduction of new gtlds (see below ICANN press release).</div><div><br></div>We will need to ensure that this new "Team" includes a balanced perspective and not only trademark extremists who will over-state the rights of trademark holders and understate the rights of ordinary individuals or others who have a lawful right to discuss trademarked products and companies.<div><br></div><div>Has there been any discussion of this IRT on the GNSO Counsel? How do we make sure that balanced perspectives make their way onto the new "ITR Team"?</div><div><br></div><div>Thanks,</div><div>Robin<br><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><b><br></b></span></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><b><br></b></span></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><b><br></b></span></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; "><font face="Arial" size="5" style="font: 18.0px Arial"><b>Trademark Issues to be Addressed Ahead of Internet Address Expansion</b></font></div><p align="center" style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px; text-align: center"><font face="Arial" size="4" style="font: 13.0px Arial">Discussions Show Progress</font></p><p align="center" style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px; text-align: center"><font face="Arial" size="4" style="font: 13.0px Arial">6 March 2009</font></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px"><font face="Arial" size="4" style="font: 13.0px Arial"><b>Mexico City, Mexico… March 7, 2009: </b>ICANN's 34th International public meeting in Mexico City has drawn to a close after the organization's Board of Directors approved the establishment by staff of an Implementation Recommendation Team (IRT) comprised of an internationally diverse group of people to develop and propose solutions to the over-arching issue of trademark protection in connection with the introduction of new generic top level domain names (gTLDs).</font></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px"><font face="Arial" size="4" style="font: 13.0px Arial">"The Board has clearly heard and believes strongly that the concerns of trademark holders must be addressed before this process is opened for applications," said Peter Dengate Thrush, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ICANN. "The establishment of this team, is an attempt to get proposed solutions from the people with skill in trademark protection and other issues."</font></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px"><font face="Arial" size="4" style="font: 13.0px Arial">The IRT will be comprised of people who put forward solutions in the first public comment period on the new GTLD Applicant Guidebook. The IRT has been asked to draft a report by 24 April for comment and to produce a final report no later than 24 May so it can be considered at ICANN's Sydney meeting in June.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px"><font face="Arial" size="4" style="font: 13.0px Arial">The Mexico City meeting was also saw the release of a study that pointed to the public benefit of new gTLDs.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px"><font face="Arial" size="4" color="#0032e6" style="font: 13.0px Arial; color: #0032e6"><a href="http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-04mar09-en.htm"><u>The study</u></a></font><font face="Arial" size="4" style="font: 13.0px Arial">, commissioned by ICANN, was conducted by University of Chicago Economics Professor Dennis Carlton. <i>"</i>The likely effect of ICANN's proposal is to increase output, lower price and increase innovation," said Carlton. "I conclude that ICANN's proposed framework for introducing new TLDs is likely to improve consumer welfare by facilitating entry and creating new competition."</font></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px"><font face="Arial" size="4" style="font: 13.0px Arial">In other notable decisions, the Board discussed the substance of changes to <a href="http://gnso.icann.org/drafts/current-list-proposed-raa-amendments-16dec08.pdf"><font color="#0032e6" style="color: #0032e6"><u>the Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA)</u></font></a> which include:</font></p> <ul> <li style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><font face="Arial" size="4" style="font: 13.0px Arial">New enforcement tools – new Registrar Audit and a group liability provision amongst other things.</font></li> <li style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><font face="Arial" size="4" style="font: 13.0px Arial">Registrant protections – shining a light on the risks of proxy registration.</font></li> <li style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><font face="Arial" size="4" style="font: 13.0px Arial">Consistent minimum standards of service for all registrars.</font></li> <li style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><font face="Arial" size="4" style="font: 13.0px Arial">A modernizing of the agreement to get up-to-date with the domain name market.</font></li> </ul><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px"><font face="Arial" size="4" style="font: 13.0px Arial">These changes were unanimously agreed upon by the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO). The Board asked that the changes be published for public comment for no less than thirty days with a commitment to act on approval of the amendments at the earliest opportunity.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px"><font face="Arial" size="4" style="font: 13.0px Arial">"This maintains a policy of timely, accurate and unrestricted public access to Whois data but also adds new enforcement tools which fits well with ICANN's increased emphasis on compliance" said Paul Twomey, President and CEO of ICANN.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px"><font face="Arial" size="4" style="font: 13.0px Arial">Attendees of the Mexico City conference also discussed the impacts of <a href="http://www.icann.org/en/topics/idn/"><font color="#0032e6" style="color: #0032e6"><u>Internationalized Domain Names</u></font></a> (IDN), which will allow internet uses to enter internet addresses in languages other than English.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px"><font face="Arial" size="4" style="font: 13.0px Arial">Further, implementation of the upgrade of the Internet's protocol to <a href="http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/factsheet-ipv6-26oct07.pdf"><font color="#0032e6" style="color: #0032e6"><u>IPv6</u></font></a>, which will vastly expand the number of available Internet addresses was also a topic of discussion. Estimates are that under the current protocol (IPv4) the number of available internet addresses will be exhausted in 3 to 4 years.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px"><font face="Arial" size="4" style="font: 13.0px Arial">Finally, ICANN Board Chairman Peter Dengate Thrush thanked the Internet Mexican Association (AMIPCI) for helping to coordinate and host the Mexico City Conference.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px"><font face="Arial" size="4" style="font: 13.0px Arial">ICANN's next international public meeting is scheduled to take place in Sydney, Australia, 21- 26 June, 2009.</font></p><div> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0; "><div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><br class="khtml-block-placeholder"></div><div><br class="khtml-block-placeholder"></div><div>IP JUSTICE</div><div>Robin Gross, Executive Director</div><div>1192 Haight Street, San Francisco, CA 94117 USA</div><div>p: +1-415-553-6261 f: +1-415-462-6451</div><div>w: <a href="http://www.ipjustice.org">http://www.ipjustice.org</a> e: <a href="mailto:robin@ipjustice.org">robin@ipjustice.org</a></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"> </div><br></div></body></html>