Besides, this opens up the way for other demands for special treatment
-- the one which is already being done by the GAC is place names. Of
course there will be other categorizations and respective constituencies
who will follow suit.

frt rgds

--c.a.

Robin Gross 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, 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) 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 (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, 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: [log in to unmask]
> 
> 
> 
> 

-- 

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