On October 3rd, at 1500 UTC, ICANN will hold a publicly accessible webinar on the further development of the Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS) rights protection mechanism (RPM) for new gTLDs. The announcement of the webinar can be found at http://www.icann.org/en/news/announcements/announcement-6-24sep12-en.htm; those wishing to participate should send an e-mail to newgtldcommunications@icann.org to obtain call-in and web access details.
URS is the new RPM of greatest relevance and concern to domain registrants of all types. URS was conceived as a narrow supplement to the UDRP for instances of incontrovertible cybersquatting, but brand interests have continually pressed for changes that would make it a low-cost UDRP substitute at the expense of serious damage to registrant due process rights. ICA has been pressing ICANN for more than a year to initiate implementation of the approved URS model. While we are gratified to see that process finally beginning, we are concerned that the webinar announcement characterizes the event as designed to “continue development” of URS rather than to implement the specific elements unanimously approved by the ICANN Board.
The webinar announcement states that “Early feedback from UDRP providers and others indicated that the cost of the URS procedure as written would be likely to exceed targets”. ICA strongly questions that assumption, as ICANN has just issued a request for Information (RFI) from potential URS providers and as yet has no market-tested feedback on the actual cost of implementing the present model. Feedback from existing UDRP providers WIPO and NAF is suspect as WIPO has continuously opposed the current model and NAF offers a rapid suspension service for .XXX domains at the same price point as UDRP proceedings; brand interests have their own reasons to assert that changes must be made, although many of their proposals would actually raise administration costs.
The stakes are high for potential new gTLD registrants as brand interests have proposed such substantive alterations as:
- · Reducing the burden of proof and providing a domain transfer option in URS cases, thereby converting it to a low-cost substitute for the UDRP.
- · Imposing a ‘loser pays’ regime on all domain registrants targeted in URS actions.
- · Eliminating any substantive examination when a registrant does not respond to a URS filing within the short response time provided, resulting in an automatic win and resultant domain suspension.
Even for those domain registrants with no plans to acquire domains at new gTLDs, the URS is important because brand interests are sure to press for its adoption at .com and other incumbent gTLDs when UDRP reform is finally addressed, with initiation of that process currently scheduled for mid-2015.
A URS discussion session will also be held at the ICANN Toronto meeting on Thursday, October 18th. URS will also be a principal discussion topic in Toronto for the policymaking Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO), as ICANN recently delegated overall direction of URS implementation to the GNSO. ICA is developing principles for the evaluation of all proposed revisions to new gTLD RPMs and will be actively engaged in the Toronto discussions.