[ncdnhc-discuss] FYI: WIPO-2 process news

[Alexander Svensson]

[These are reformatted excerpts from 
http://www.dnso.org/clubpublic/council/Arc10/pdf00001.pdf
-- it's not a final WIPO document, but notes from a
meeting of delegations. The WIPO General Assembly
in September may make a recommendation to ICANN. These
excerpts only include the conclusions by the Chair
of the Special Session. Have a look at the document
for the positions of the various delegations.
SCT = STANDING COMMITTEE ON THE LAW OF TRADEMARKS,
INDUSTRIAL DESIGNS AND GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS

/// Alexander]



Second Special Session on the Report of the Second WIPO Internet 
Domain Name Process
Geneva, May 21 to 24, 2002



[International Nonproprietary Names (INNs) for Pharmaceutical Substances]

26. The Chair concluded that many delegations favored the protection of INNs 
in the Domain Name System against registration as domain names in order to 
protect the integrity of the INN system. While it was decided not to 
recommend a specific form of protection at this stage, it was agreed that 
the Secretariat should, in cooperation with the World Health Organization 
continue to monitor the situation and, if necessary, bring to the attention 
of the Member States any material change in the situation.


[Trade Names]

54. The Chair noted that views were divided as to whether the UDRP should 
be modified to accommodate trade names. One group of countries wished to 
treat trade names in the same manner as trademarks; others felt that there 
was no internationally accepted legal basis to underpin the extension.

55. It was decided that Member States should keep the matter under review 
and raise the matter for further discussion if the situation so demanded.


[Personal Names]

59. The Chair noted that the Special Session’s decision was that no action 
is recommended in this area.


[Names and Acronyms of International Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs)]

88. Noting, in particular, Article 6ter of the Paris Convention, to which 
163 States are party,
  1. The Special Session recommends that the UDRP be modified to provide
     for complaints to be filed by an international intergovernmental 
     organization (IGO)
       A. on the ground that the registration or use, as a domain name, 
          of the name or abbreviation of the IGO that has been communicated 
          under Article 6ter of the Paris Convention is of a nature
            (i) to suggest to the public that a connection exists between 
                the domain name holder and the IGO; or
           (ii) to mislead the public as to the existence of a connection 
                between the domain name holder and the IGO; or
       B. on the ground that the registration or use, as a domain name, of 
          a name or abbreviation protected under an international treaty 
          violates the terms of that treaty.
  2. The Special Session further recommends that the UDRP should also be
     modified, for the purposes of complaints mentioned in paragraph 1, to 
     take account of and respect the privileges and immunities of IGOs in 
     international law. In this respect, IGOs should not be required, in 
     using the UDRP, to submit to the jurisdiction of national courts. 
     However, it should be provided that decisions given in a complaint
     filed under the modified UDRP by an IGO should be subject, at the request 
     of either party to the dispute, to de novo review through binding 
     arbitration.
  3. The Delegation of the United States of America dissociated itself from this
     recommendation.


[Country Names]

210. The Chair concluded that:
  1. Most delegations favored some form of protection for country names
     against registration or use by persons unconnected with the constitutional 
     authorities of the country in question.
  2. As regards the details of the protection, delegations supported the
     following:
     (i) A new list of the names of countries should be drawn up using the
         UN Bulletin and, as necessary, the ISO Standard (it being noted that 
         the latter list includes the names of territories and entities that are 
         not considered to be States in international law and practice). Both 
         the long or formal names and the short names of countries should be 
         included, as well as any additional names by which countries are 
         commonly known and which they notify to the Secretariat before June 30, 
         2002.
    (ii) Protection should cover both the exact names and misleading variations 
         thereof.
   (iii) Each country name should be protected in the official language(s) of
         the country concerned and in the six official languages of the United
         Nations.
    (iv) The protection should be extended to all top-level domains, both
         gTLDs and ccTLDs.
     (v) The protection should be operative against the registration or use of 
         a domain name which is identical or misleadingly similar to a country 
         name, where the domain name holder has no right or legitimate interest 
         in the name and the domain name is of a nature that is likely to 
         mislead users into believing that there is an association between the 
         domain name holder and the constitutional authorities of the country 
         in question.
  3. The Delegations of Australia, Canada and the United States of America
     dissociated themselves from this recommendation.


[Geographical Indications]

229. The Special Session:
     (i) Decided that it was not timely to take definitive decisions with respect 
         to the protection of geographical indications in the Domain Name System.
    (ii) Noted that some delegations considered that the issue needed urgent
         attention, while others considered that a number of fundamental 
         questions concerning the protection of geographical indications needed 
         to be resolved before the question of their protection in the Domain 
         Name System could be discussed.
   (iii) Recommends that the WIPO General Assembly revert this issue to the
         regular session of the SCT to decide how the issue of the protection 
         of geographical indications in the Domain Name System be dealt with.