Direct registration in .au domain space under consideration
The regulatory authority for the .au domain space, auDA, is considering opening up the space to direct registrations – e.g. myname.au.
Through its Names Policy Panel (NPP), auDA is conducting a review of the policies for allocation and use of domain names in the .au domain space. One of the key terms of reference for the review is whether direct registrations at the second level should be permitted.
Currently, .au domain name registrations can only occur in one of the five established second levels: com.au, net.au, org.au, asn.au, id.au. However, .uk and .nz have recently opened up to direct registration at the second level, raising the question of whether .au should follow suit.
As part of is public consultation, the NPP has released an Issues Paper seeking input on the following questions:
- do new gTLDs pose a threat to the “.au brand”?
- is there evidence of any market demand for direct registrations?
- what types of registrants/users would benefit from direct registrations?
- what policy rules should apply to direct registrations?
- what issues would need to be taken into account as part of the implementation process?
- should .au follow the example of other ccTLDs like .uk and .nz?
Input can be provided in two ways:
- by written submission, sent by email to jo.lim@auda.org.au
- by completing the online survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/5XYL2WW
Submissions are due by Monday, 1 June 2015.
Domain name registrars on US list of “notorious markets” for IP infringement
The US Trade Representative (USTR) has, for the first time, included domain name registrars in its list of “Notorious Markets” for online trademark counterfeiting.
The Notorious Markets list identifies markets that, due to the scale of infringing activity, cause economic harm to US IP rights holders.
The most recent list includes domain name registrars, including Tucows.com, that are said to refuse requests to lock or suspend domain names that are being used to sell suspected counterfeit pharmaceuticals to consumers worldwide.
.app domain name sells for USD 25 million
Google has won the right to operate the new gTLD “.app” – at a cost of USD 25,001,00.
When the new gTLD program opened in early 2012, 13 applications were received for .app. Because the applicants were not able to agree among themselves as to who should have .app, the matter when to auction last week.
The result of the auction was that Google, through its subsidiary Charleston Road Registry Inc, won with a bid of just over $25 million.
auDA to review policies for allocation and use of .au domain names
.au Domain Administration Ltd (auDA), the policy authority and industry self-regulatory body for the .au domain space, is commencing a review of its policies for the allocation and use of domain names in the .au domain space.
The terms of reference for the review require consideration of the following issues:
- Should .au be opened up to direct registrations (eg. domainname.au)? If yes, should there be any policy rules, and if so what rules?
- Should the eligibility and allocation policy rules for asn.au, com.au, id.au, net.au and org.au be changed? If yes, what changes should be made?
- Should the policy rules relating to the reserved list and misspellings be changed? If yes, what changes should be made?
The review will be undertaken by the Names Policy Panel (NPP), chaired by Derek Whitehead, former CIO at Swinburne University of Technology. The NPP includes representatives of key stakeholders in the Australian domain name system, including accredited registrars, domain name resellers, domain name holders, domainers, business, consumers, government, law enforcement, legal sector, IT industry and Internet users.
The deliberations of the NPP will commence in February, with the final report to the auDA Board due in November 2015.
ITU conference successfully fails to mention Internet governance
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Plenipotentiary Conference last week has been hailed a success, on the basis that reference to possible reconsideration of the allocation of internet addresses or domain names was erased from the final documents, reports IP Watch.
Five key takeaways from ICANN’s London meeting
Despite what has been characterized as organized chaos on the ground during ICANN’s London meeting in late June 2014, five topics emerged for brand owners and new generic top-level domain applicants.
According to Katten’s report of the meeting, the five key topics were:
- Geographic Terms Trump Trademarks, According to the Argentina Proposal
- Conflicts Addressed Between Trademark Sunrise Protection and the Domain Name Collision Mitigation Framework
- The Circumvention of Rights Protection Mechanisms Has Reached a Boiling Point
- Improvements for a Second Application Round Are Already Under Formation and Consideration
- ICANN Accountability Has Taken Center Stage in the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) Transition
Overview of .au domain name jurisprudence published
auDA, the authority responsible for the .au domain space, has published an Overview of the jurisprudence of .au domain name decisions.
The auDRP Overview 1.0 , authored by well-known domain name panelist Andrew F. Christie, is a compendium of consensus views of panels on key legal and procedural issues. This consensus has been drawn from the 330+ cases that have been decided from inception of the auDRP, on 1 August 2002, to 15 July 2014.
The auDRP Overview provides for the auDRP an equivalent of the WIPO Overview of UDRP decisions.
First auction for a new gTLD achieves USD 600,000
The first auction to resolve a contention set for a new generic Top-level Domain (gTLD) string achieved a winning bid of USD 600,000.
Two applicants, Afilias Limited and Beijing Tele-info Network Technology Co., LTD. applied for the gTLD 信息, (xn--vuq861b), which is a Chinese Internationalized Domain Name (IDN) for “information” or “info”. Because the two applicants were unable to resolve the contention set between themselves, they proceeded to an auction – which is the method of last resort to resolve string contentions, as prescribed in Module 4 of the Applicant Guidebook.
Beijing Tele-info Network Technology Co., LTD. prevailed in the auction.
Takeaways from ICANN 49 in Singapore
ICANN 49 addressed, among other things, the following issues:
- the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) safeguard advice;
- the Qualified Launch Program (QLP) for registry operators;
- Specification 13 to the new gTLD Registry Agreement for dot brand registries;
- the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority’s (IANA’s) transition away from the US National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA);
- rights protection mechanism (RPM) circumvention; and
- intergovernmental organization (IGO) abbreviations.
For a summary of the outcomes on these issues, see Katten’s takeaways from ICANN 49.
ICANN puts off decision on .wine and .vin gTLDs (again)
ICANN’s New gTLD Program Committee (NGPC) has again deferred consideration of the applications for <.wine> and <.vin>, in response to concerns raised by the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) and vigorous objections from the wine industry.
According to the NGPC decision, ICANN has deferred contracting for the <.wine> and <.vin> gTLDs “in order to provide additional time for the relevant impacted parties to negotiate, which they are encouraged to do”.
In addition, the NGPC recommends that the full Board of ICANN “consider the larger implications of legally complex and politically sensitive issues such as those raised by GACmembers, including whether ICANN is the proper venue in which to resolve these issues, or whether there are venues or forums better suited to address concerns such as those raised by GAC members in relation to the .WINE and .VIN applications”.
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