ICANN’s Board ended the Cartagena meeting with a contention-free public session that left potential new gTLD applicants and all other interested parties with continuing uncertainty about when — and even if—the new gTLD Guidebook will be finalized and a date certain set for the submission of applications. But it seemed to put in place an endgame for the multi-year struggle …
ICA Speaks Out at the Cartegena Public Forum
On the afternoon of Thursday, December 9th ICA Counsel Philip Corwin presented the following oral statement to the ICANN Board on the topic of the proposed Final Applicant Guidebook for new gTLDs— PHILIP CORWIN: Good afternoon. Philip Corwin, counsel for the Internet Commerce Association, representing domain name investors and developers. And to set my remarks in context, ICA members own …
ICA Tells ICANN That UDRP “Three Strikes” Applicant Disqualification Criteria Must Be Refined, and URS Response Time Clarified, In New gTLD Applicant Guidebook
Having received no response to its request that the comment period on the proposed Final Applicant Guidebook for the new gTLD program be extended by an additional 14-21 days, the ICA today filed its comments while participating in the ongoing Cartagena meeting. ICA will be speaking on these points to the ICANN Board at the Thursday, December 9th Public Forum, …
GAC Versus Board “Smackdown” Ends Day Two In Cartagena
The second day of ICANN’s 39th Meeting in Cartagena, Colombia ended with what would be characterized in diplomatic circles as a “full and frank discussion of the issues” – and in professional wrestling circles as a “smackdown” – as ICANN’s Board and its Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) met in open public session before a SRO crowd. The EU’s representative led …
Forecast for Cartagena: Hot and Stormy
While the torrential rains that swept through Cartagena, Colombia throughout Friday, December 3rd have given way to steady sunshine since, the atmosphere within the Julio Cesar Turbay Ayala Convention & Exposition Center – site of ICANN’s 39th meeting – remains hot and stormy. Both proponents and opponents of the new gTLD program are hurling their last rhetorical salvos with the …
PTO Asks for Data on Tactics of Trademark “Bullies”
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has asked for input from small businesses who believe they have been victimized by trademark “bullies”. Since every individual domainer and the vast majority of the commercial entities serving domain investors and developers are small businesses, this is an open invitation for domain industry participants to share their stories with the government in …
Senate Judiciary Committee Reports Domain Blocking Legislation
During its November 18th Executive Business Meeting the Senate Judiciary Committee reported out an amended version of S. 3804, Chairman Leahy’s domain blocking legislation. The vote in favor of reporting the bill for full Senate Consideration was a unanimous 18-0. The amended version of the bill omits the proposal for a Justice Department “blacklist” of domains it believes are dedicated …
Uniform Provider Agreements Must Be The Foundation of UDRP Reform
To register or renew a domain name a registrant must utilize the services of an ICANN-accredited registrar, all of which must enter into a standard binding contract with ICANN known as the Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA). But, rather incredibly, that same domain can be extinguished or transferred by a UDRP provider that has been empowered by ICANN but which has …
Domain Blocking Legislation and the Law of Unintended Consequences
Veterans of the legislative process have often been heard to observe that the one law that never gets repealed is the law of unintended consequences. That is, new laws not only often fall short of their intended effect but also produce negative fallout. The classic example is the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, otherwise known as Prohibition, which fell …
Domains and Law Enforcement Are Focus of Recent White House and FTC Meetings
The intersection of domain names and law enforcement concerns was the focus of two very high level meetings held recently in Washington, DC. The discussions that ensured mark a demarcation line that will change the tenor of all future discussions of the rights and responsibilities of DNS participants. On September 28th, a group of leading registries and registrars – many …