The upcoming ICANN meeting scheduled for October 29-November 2 in Los Angeles will be a unique opportunity to attend an ICANN meeting in the United States. It has been more than six years since a meeting took place in the USA. This opportunity will not recur this decade and is just too good to miss.
The Internet Commerce Association is strongly encouraging all ICA members and other concerned domain name registrants to attend the LA meeting. ICANN adopts and enforces policies of critical import to DN registrants, including:
· The registry operator contracts for generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) that set the baseline cost for all DN registrations.
· The content and enforcement of registrar accreditation agreements with more than 800 ICANN-accredited registrars around the world.
· The terms and arbitrator enforcement of the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policies (UDRP) that determine registrants’ vulnerability to reverse domain name hijacking.
· The authorization of new gTLDs and the new policies that will govern their operations.
Your ICA Board has approved a proactive agenda for our Association in conjunction with the LA ICANN meeting. Our action items for DN registrants include:
- No More RegisterFlys – We want timely action to strengthen and enforce registrar accreditation agreements (RAAs) so that we never again witness a situation in which an ICANN-accredited registrar causes registrants to lose hundreds of thousands of their domain names.
- End Abusive Domain Tasting – We call on ICANN and the gTLDs registries to undertake market-based initiatives, similar to what .org has already implemented, to eradicate abuses of the add/grace period.
- Oppose the New DRP – We oppose the revised dispute resolution process proposed by ICANN staff for new gTLDs because it goes substantially beyond the bounds of trademark law, deprives DN registrants of current procedural protections, and gives inordinate control over DNs to governments and Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs). DN registrants need to speak up forcefully against adoption of this threatening proposal, particularly as the staff document envisions that it eventually be applied retroactively to existing gTLDs, including .com. This proposed DRP was developed in consultation with ICANN’s Government Advisory Committee (GAC), and relates directly to the next action item.
- Sunshine for the GAC – There are 11 separate meetings of the GAC and its working groups during the LA meeting that are closed to the public and the press. This is completely counter to ICANN’s claims of achieving greater transparency in its operations. The GAC is increasingly influencing a broad range of ICANN policies and actions, and this trend will likely continue as U.S. government oversight of ICANN diminishes. In addition to advocating dispute resolution procedures for new gTLDs that give governments a claim on all DNs “of geographic and national significance”, the GAC was directly responsible for the imposition of conditions and commitments that made the now-rejected .xxx registry contract unacceptable.
As the LA meeting approaches, the ICA will be providing its members and other concerned DN registrants with additional background materials on these issues that can assist attendees in formulating their comments for the open microphone public forums that occur during the event. ICA urges you to attend these public forums so that your voice is heard. We will also provide a basic guide to the meeting for first-time attendees unfamiliar with ICANN’s structure and processes.
Finally, the ICA is planning to host a social event during the meting to welcome and thank those DN registrants who undertake the time and expense of attending ICANN LA. Your presence and participation at ICANN-LA will demonstrate to ICANN that the DN registrant community is now organized to defend its legitimate rights. The fees paid by DN registrants support the entire DNS – registrars, registries, and ICANN itself. Our voices should be heard on ICANN matters affecting the future of our businesses.
The future of the Domain Name System – and the future value of your DN portfolio and your rights as a registrant – are being decided by ICANN. Come to LA and participate in its decision-making.
If you are planning to attend the LA ICANN meeting please advise ICA Executive Director Michael Collins michael@InternetCommerce.org.
Further information about the LA ICANN meeting can be found at http://losangeles2007.icann.org/ .