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Number four on ICANN’s list of top priorities in the organization’s three year strategic plan is improving the confidence in the gTLD marketplace by making sure registries and registrars operate in accordance with their contracts and ICANN policies. Captured in this initiative is the goal to “introduce methods for protecting registrant from abuse of their registrations and preventing the registration of fraudulent sites.” By assuring adequate protection measures in the New gTLD process, and taking action to improve some existing problem areas, ICANN should be able to score a few confidence points.
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Implementation of New gTLDs is listed as the #1 priority for ICANN according to the three year strategy document just posted by the organization. The principal objective for this priority is to have new gTLDs (including IDNs) and IDN ccTLDs functioning in the root, with the processes to support them embedded in standard operations. The published goal still has the first round of applications launching by mid 2009.
No specific time frame is given for subsequent rounds except that the timeline for the review of the first round application process and procedures, including management of the objection process, is shown extending into late 2011 to provide routine and predictable processes that are acceptable to the Internet community.
This seems to indicate ICANN is serious about getting the procedure right, including safeguards for existing trademark holders. It does bring up a number of other issues, such as how many new gTLDs will be accepted in the first round, and what will be the selection criteria? This could create a competitive issue for brand holders interested in a gTLD given first movers often gain an advantage. On the other hand, the timeline indicates there could be a significant gap between the investment made to register a gTLD and the actual launch date.
These are some of the issues Melbourne IT will be monitoring and providing comment on, and will be able to assist companies with when undertaking the decision making process for determining if, and possibly when, a gTLD should be considered as part of the corporate strategy.
ICANN has posted the meeting agenda for the Mexico City meeting to be held 1 -6 March As anticipated there is a significant amount of time dedicated to the New gTLD Applicant Guidebook. There will be a forum that includes a 90-minute Q&A session and a 30 minute feedback session on Monday and a two and a half hour open microphone session on Thursday. All of these sessions should prove to be very engaging. Melbourne IT will have representatives in attendance to reinforce the views of clients that have already been provided during the public comment period.
Other relevant sessions of the meeting:
The CEO and senior staff of ICANN have released a video update on the applicant guidebook. In it Paul Twomey, CEO of ICANN commented on the responses received and gave insight into some of modifications that can be expected. Following is a summary of the video update.
Mr. Twomey stated there is clear demand from a large number of people for new gTLDs, but there have also been numerous responses from industry associations and businesses concerned with the potential impact of new gTLDs.
Issues raised include the need for additional brand protection measures, with a number of respondents expressing feeling compelled to register their brands at the second level of new gTLDs. Several comments cited the concern of added complexity in combating malicious use of the Internet via methods such as phishing, and malware.
On the technical side there were a few mentions of stability concerns from the combined impact of changes to the root zone, including adding new gTLDs and the addition of International Domain Name (IDN) versions of both new gTLDs and ccTLDs, DNSSEC (DNS Security), and IPv6 records.
Mr. Twomey reported there is an opportunity to review the contractual frameworks for registries and registrars to address some of the concerns that exist within current gTLDs in order to combat issues such as phishing and malware. He stressed that this needs to be in the context of applicable national laws.
In the initial announcement last year, innovation was mentioned as key reason for the initiative. In his video address, Mr. Twomey reiterated that stance saying that innovation often occurs when new opportunities become available through changes in a market conditions, and that not all innovation is directly driven by user demand.
Kurt Pritz, senior vice president services, reported that a summary of comments will be posted, and a new version of the application guidebook will be published in time for the ICANN meeting in Mexico City starting 1 March 2009. The next version will include changes to the evaluation criteria, more detailed procedures, changes in fees paid by registry operators and more protection for marks holders. ICANN will also identify areas requiring further study and consultation.
Mr. Twomey also said it’s likely another draft of the application guidebook would be published for further comment following the meeting in Mexico.
Melbourne IT will provide a summary of the changes in the new draft when they are released, and will again seek feedback from clients to present to ICANN.
ICANN previously announced plans to publish the second draft gTLD Request for Proposal in late February prior to their meeting in Mexico City. In anticipation of the revised document becoming available, Melbourne IT is planning to host a web seminar on Thursday February 26, to outline the revisions within the proposal document. Mark your calendar and plan on joining us for this informative session. Exact times and registration details will be posted as soon as details are available on the release of the revised RFP.
ICANN has received over 300 comments on the draft RFP from individuals and organizations representing intellectual property interests, brand owners, business owners, ICANN supporting organizations, domain name industry players, and government representatives.
The key concerns raised were:
- Brand protection issues and the impact on brands and trademark owners.
- Financial considerations, including evaluation fees, ongoing registry fees, and refund procedures.
- Various issues surrounding the proposed registry agreement, particularly price controls, registry/registrar separation, the management of future agreement amendments, equitable treatment, and others.
- General comments and concerns related to expanding the top level and its impact on the global marketplace, specific industries and Domain Name System stability.
ICANN will release a comprehensive analysis of the comments in early February 2009. ICANN also announced that it will be holding conferences in different global locations, and will be amending the draft RFP based on the feedback it has received. No date has been given for when the next release of the RFP will be available.
On December 3, the United States Department of Commerce (Doc) provided comments to ICANN after a review of the RFP by the US Department of Justice. In the comments, Assistant Secretary Meredith Baker stressed that ICANN address a number of concerns prior to moving forward with any new gTLDs. Ms. Baker’s letter also included the Dept of Justice memorandum that enumerated many of the concerns that have been expressed by the business community regarding the process, and associated cost.
Given that ICANN will need to address a number of points to have the support of the US DoC it is likely the current proposed timelines for rolling out the process will be modified. Look for more information on this as it becomes available.
Click Here to view the Department of Commerce letter.
Melbourne IT’s Chief Technology Officer, Dr Bruce Tonkin, discusses the implications and process around the new gTLDs.
Melbourne IT has submitted recommendations for improving the ICANN process in the following areas.
• “closed” gTLD – ICANN should identify a separate class of new gTLD where the applicant does not offer second level domains to third parties.
• Application fees – provide a discount for applicants that apply for multiple names that are trademarks for the same legal entity (e.g product names)
• Annual registry fees – for “closed” gTLD, allow brand owners to pay a lower annual fee for reserving the name as a brand protection mechanism (e.g $5,000). For “closed” gTLDs reduce the annual fee for names that are trademarks for the same legal entity, and also reduce the fees as the volume of approved “closed” gTLDs increases.
• Trademark protection at the second level – improve the protection for trademark holders at the second level, and match the level proposed to be offered at the top level.
• Timeframe for the second round – announce a date for the start of the second round to be 6 months later than the date of publication of the applications for the first round.
Read Melbourne IT’s full submission to ICANN.
ICANN will be convening two open meetings with the first scheduled in Washington, DC on Thursday, 11 December from 2-5pm, and the second in Marina del Rey, CA on Friday, 19 December from 10am-1pm. The purpose of the consultations are to explore draft recommendations regarding the relationship between registries and registrars as well as other potential models that would be acceptable to a consensus of the Internet community. The draft recommendations state that a single organisation operating a gTLD for its own purposes will be able to perform the role of registry and registrar, and that a organisation that is operating a registry for one gTLD would be allowed to act in the role as registrar for another gTLD.
For the full ICANN announcement visit: http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-2-09dec08-en.htm
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