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] > > > > -- ------------------------------------------------ Carlos A. Afonso Rede de Informações para o Terceiro Setor - Rits www.rits.org.br www.rets.org.br www.nupef.org.br www.politics.org.br www.ritsnet.org.br ------------------------------------------------