Hi Mary

Thanks for this info, interesting and perhaps less discouraging than  
usual.  I looked at the list of members a ways back and it seemed like  
you were in a potentially lonely position.  Within the confines of the  
agreement, can you say anything about the extent to which public  
interest/noncomm considerations were in the mix and/or had an impact?

Cheers,

Bil

On Apr 24, 2009, at 2:16 AM, Mary Wong wrote:

> Thanks, Bill - I'd just seen that article too.
>
> Everyone, as I was asked by the IPC to be on the IRT, and as I  
> wasn't able during the last NCUC call to elaborate on what's being  
> done, here's a quick summary:
>
> - The Implementation Recommendation Team's (IRT) initial draft  
> proposals will be released tomorrow for public comment. I'd  
> encourage everyone to review the proposals and submit feedback, as  
> the IRT is due to make its final recommendations to the Board in  
> late May.
>
> - the IRT meets weekly via teleconference, and in two in-person  
> meetings (one in April, one in May); in between, various work teams  
> that were formed within the IRT also meet via teleconference and  
> work on draft proposals for circulation and comment by other IRT  
> members.
>
> - the discussions to date include proposals dealing with both top  
> and second level domains and regarding both pre-launch and post- 
> delegation issues. The primary suggestion is to use an IP  
> Clearinghouse with tiered rights protection mechanisms (instead of a  
> single Reserved Names List - this was a non-starter given the flak  
> the GAC and the Geographic Names List has been getting); and there  
> may also be a rapid suspension system for abusive registrations.
> - contrary to some expectations, the process so far has not been a  
> whitewash in favor of big brand owners. There have been compromises,  
> disagreements and quite a bit of debate over controversial issues.  
> While the draft report is unlikely to please everybody, I think it  
> is more balanced than some had feared and is not, for example, a  
> back door route to expand the UDRP (as Phil Corwin alleges in the  
> article).
>
> - Minutes of previous IRT meetings are available online at https://st.icann.org/new-gtld-overarching-issues/index.cgi?trademark_protection 
>  (if you have limited time, the more informative minutes are  
> probably those from April 2 and April 17).
>
> So please review the draft proposals when they are released late  
> tomorrow, and please do make public comments - and also start a  
> discussion on this listserv - if you see anything that you think may  
> impact on non-commercial users and consumers.
>
> Thanks,
> Mar
>
> Mary W S Wong
> Professor of Law
> Franklin Pierce Law Center
> Two White Street
> Concord, NH 03301
> USA
> Email: [log in to unmask]
> Phone: 1-603-513-5143
> Webpage: http://www.piercelaw.edu/marywong/index.php
> Selected writings available on the Social Science Research Network  
> (SSRN) at: http://ssrn.com/author=437584
> y
> >>> William Drake <[log in to unmask]> 4/23/2009  
> 4:50 PM >>>
> If you've not seen it...http://www.circleid.com/posts/20090422_ica_icann_implementation_recommendation_team/

***********************************************************
William J. Drake
Senior Associate
Centre for International Governance
Graduate Institute of International and
   Development Studies
Geneva, Switzerland
[log in to unmask]
www.graduateinstitute.ch/cig/drake.html
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