Cc-hk mailing list

[Rebecca MacKinnon <rebecca.mackinnon AT gmail.com>]

Hi everybody. 
As some of you know, next year ICANN plans to allow applications from anybody who wants to run a new top-level domain (the part of the URL after the dot), in any language. This has opened up a big argument over trademarks among other things. 

A set of recommendations for how to handle trademark disputes has been issued by an Implementation Recommendation Team (IRT) from ICANN's Intellectual Property Constituency. It has been up for download and public comment here: 

http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-4-29may09-en.htm

One critique of the IRT report highlighting free speech concerns is here: 

http://www.circleid.com/posts/20090621_mahmoud_ahmadinejad_globally_protected_marks_list_gpml/

The Non-Commercial Users' Constituency within ICANN strongly objects to these recommendations. In their formal comment paper objecting to the subtance of the IRT report, they state: 

"the substantive IRT recommendations take ICANN far afield of its
technical scope and mission, create substantive new trademark rights
(beyond existing law), gut existing safeguards and fair procedures for
domain name registrants in the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy
(“UDRP”), and create an unbounded situation for abuse by trademark
lawyers and those representing trademark owners." 

The full objection paper is here: 
http://icann-ncuc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/ncucs-substantive-comments-on

Other public comments are here: 
http://forum.icann.org/lists/irt-final-report/

Public consultations will be held in New York and London next week, then in Hong Kong the following week. The NCUC encourages people with concerns can show up in person to voice them. 

THE DEADLINE TO REGISTER FOR THE NYC AND LONDON MEETINGS IS TODAY (Friday). The deadline for Hong Kong is next week. For more information and to sign up go here: 
http://www.icann.org/en/topics/new-gtlds/consultation-outreach-en.htm

Best, 
Rebecca


-- 
Rebecca MacKinnon
Open Society Fellow | Co-founder, GlobalVoicesOnline.org
Assistant Professor, Journalism & Media Studies Centre, University of Hong Kong

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