NTIA letter to ICANN on New gTLD Program

[Mary.Wong at LAW.UNH.EDU]

Hi everyone, 

The NTIA has sent another letter to ICANN about the new gTLD program, mentioning the progress that has been made by ICANN to address industry stakeholder concerns. The letter also refers to the ongoing implementation of the Trademark Clearinghouse and the Uniform Rapid Suspension service, and calls on ICANN to develop additional trademark protections going forward through the appropriate processes. As such, I think it's important that we continue to emphasize that all the various rights-protection mechanisms, including the long-standing Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), are due to be reviewed by the GNSO in 18 months' time (per a recent GNSO Council resolution). That should be the forum, and the GNSO the primary venue, where these developments are evaluated and possibly improved. This does not of course rule out cross-community dialogue and working groups, but any policy changes to the new gTLD program should either originate in or at least be conducted through the GNSO, which bears the primary responsibility for such policy making. 

The full letter can be accessed here: http://www.icann.org/en/news/correspondence/strickling-to-crocker-04oct12-en 

Cheers 
Mary 
Mary W S Wong
Professor of Law
Director, Franklin Pierce Center for IP
Chair, Graduate IP Programs
UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE SCHOOL OF LAW
Two White Street
Concord, NH 03301
USA
Email: mary.wong at law.unh.edu
Phone: 1-603-513-5143
Webpage: http://www.law.unh.edu/marywong/index.php
Selected writings available on the Social Science Research Network (SSRN) at: http://ssrn.com/author=437584  


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