trademark lobby still dominating discussion at ICANN

Tue Mar 10 02:47:34 CET 2009

Dear Robin and all,
I agree with you  we need to be very strict and put as much pressure as we
can in order to ensure that individual rights are protected and that
trademark constituencies do not proceed to illegitimate actions. I would
like to nominate myself in any team that might be formed or assist anyone in
this task.

Konstantinos

On 09/03/2009 20:34, "Robin Gross" <robin at IPJUSTICE.ORG> wrote:

> Hi there,
> 
> 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).
> 
> 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.
> 
> 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"?
> 
> Thanks,
> Robin 
> 
> 
> 
> Trademark Issues to be Addressed Ahead of Internet Address Expansion
> Discussions Show Progress
> 6 March 2009 
> 
> Mexico City, Mexico March 7, 2009: 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).
> 
> "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."
> 
> 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.
> 
> The Mexico City meeting was also saw the release of a study that pointed to
> the public benefit of new gTLDs.
> 
> The study <http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-04mar09-en.htm>
> , commissioned by ICANN, was conducted by University of Chicago Economics
> Professor Dennis Carlton. "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."
> 
> In other notable decisions, the Board discussed the substance of changes to
> the Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA)
> <http://gnso.icann.org/drafts/current-list-proposed-raa-amendments-16dec08.pdf
> >  which include:
>  
> * New enforcement tools  new Registrar Audit and a group liability provision
> amongst other things.
> * Registrant protections  shining a light on the risks of proxy registration.
> * Consistent minimum standards of service for all registrars.
> * A modernizing of the agreement to get up-to-date with the domain name
> market.
> 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.
> 
> "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.
> 
> Attendees of the Mexico City conference also discussed the impacts of
> Internationalized Domain Names <http://www.icann.org/en/topics/idn/>  (IDN),
> which will allow internet uses to enter internet addresses in languages other
> than English.
> 
> Further, implementation of the upgrade of the Internet's protocol to IPv6
> <http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/factsheet-ipv6-26oct07.pdf> , 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.
> 
> Finally, ICANN Board Chairman Peter Dengate Thrush thanked the Internet
> Mexican Association (AMIPCI) for helping to coordinate and host the Mexico
> City Conference.
> 
> ICANN's next international public meeting is scheduled to take place in
> Sydney, Australia, 21- 26 June, 2009.
> 
>  
> 
> 
> 
> IP JUSTICE
> Robin Gross, Executive Director
> 1192 Haight Street, San Francisco, CA  94117  USA
> p: +1-415-553-6261    f: +1-415-462-6451
> w: http://www.ipjustice.org     e: robin at ipjustice.org
> 
> 
>  
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Dr. Konstantinos Komaitis,
> Lecturer in Law,
> GigaNet Membership Chair,
> University of Strathclyde,
> The Lord Hope Building,
> 141 St. James Road,
> Glasgow, G4 0LT,
> UK
> tel: +44 (0)141 548 4306
> email: k.komaitis at strath.ac.uk 

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