ICANN sued by unsuccessful new gTLD applicant
ICANN has been sued by the disgruntled new gTLD applicant DotConnectAfrica, in order to prevent the delegation of .AFRICA to its rival applicant ZA Central Registry, reports Hogan Lovells.
Five key take-aways from ICANN 55 meeting in Marrakesh
For a summary of the key outcomes of the 55th meeting of ICANN in Marrakesh, March 2016, see this Mayer Brown report.
ICANN Marrakesh meeting reaches milestone for IANA transition
The Board of ICANN has sent a package of proposals to the US government which, if approved, will see ICANN become the manager of the registries for domain names, IP addresses and protocol parameters essential for the functioning of the global internet, reports IP Watch.
Governments agree to ICANN accountability proposals, giving green light for IANA transition
Governments at the ICANN 55 meeting in Marrakesh have agreed to not object to the final proposal on enhancing ICANN accountability, clearing the way for handover from the US Department of Commerce to ICANN of the management of the central root zone of the domain name system, reports IP Watch.
Expectations for success of IANA transition
The 55th meeting of ICANN in Marrakesh this week is expected to finalise the last proposal necessary for the transition of the IANA responsibilities, reports IP Watch.
ICANN demands compliance by cyberflight-permitting registrar
ICANN has sent a notice of non-compliance to a registrar, Visesh Infotecnics Ltd. d/b/a Signdomains.com, for failure to comply with new rules designed to prevent so-called “cyberflight”, reports Dorsey & Whitney.
auDA Policy Panel recommends direct registration in .au
A policy panel appointed by auDA, the regulatory authority for the .au domain space, has proposed opening the space to direct registrations – e.g. myname.au.
The proposal is contained in a set of Draft Recommendations, released on 19 August for public consultation.
The public have until 30 September to comment on the proposals, either by written submission or completion of an online survey.
We’re not the Internet content police, says ICANN
ICANN has declared it is not, and cannot be, a content regulator.
In a recent blog post, ICANN’s Chief Contract Compliance Officer, Allen R. Grogan, states ICANN “was never granted, nor was it ever intended that ICANN be granted, the authority to act as a regulator of Internet content”.
Accordingly, despite calls for it to do so, ICANN will not use the 2013 Registry Accreditation Agreement to require a registrar to determine whether a website is engaged in illegal activity, to demand that a website operator or registered domain name owner cease illegal activity, or to suspend a domain name if a website operator or registered domain name owner does not cease illegal activity.
.sucks extends sunrise registration period
The registry for the .sucks TLD has extended its controversial sunrise registration period by three weeks.
The registry claims the move is due to the fact that “far too many intellectual property lawyers, company executives and brand owners were unaware of the registry”.
Critics claim the move is “possible overreaching … for the purpose of taking additional profits from the registration of this already high priced gTLD”.
Registration of a .sucks domain name costs USD2,500 with annual renewal at the same rate.
As previously discussed, ICANN has requested the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate whether the registry running the .sucks domain is acting illegally.
ICANN asks FTC to rule on .sucks domain dispute
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been asked to investigate whether the registry running the .sucks domain is acting illegally.
According to a report by V3, the concern is that brand owners wishing to register their brands in the .sucks domain will have to pay $2,500 – an amount far in excess of the price that will be offered to the general public and the price of other top-level domains.
In response, ICANN’s chief contract compliance officer, Allen Grogan, said “Due to the serious nature of the allegations, we have sent letters to both the (FTC) and, because Vox Populi is a Canadian enterprise, Canada’s Office of Consumer Affairs (OCA) asking them to consider assessing and determining whether or not Vox Populi is violating any of the laws or regulations those agencies enforce”.
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