While the torrential rains that swept through Cartagena, Colombia throughout Friday, December 3rd have given way to steady sunshine since, the atmosphere within the Julio Cesar Turbay Ayala Convention & Exposition Center – site of ICANN’s 39th meeting – remains hot and stormy. Both proponents and opponents of the new gTLD pro...

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has asked for input from small businesses who believe they have been victimized by trademark ?bullies???. Since every individual domainer and the vast majority of the commercial entities serving domain investors and developers are small businesses, this is an open invitation for domain industry participant...

To register or renew a domain name a registrant must utilize the services of an ICANN-accredited registrar, all of which must enter into a standard binding contract with ICANN known as the Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA). But, rather incredibly, that same domain can be extinguished or transferred by a UDRP provider that has been empowered b...

Veterans of the legislative process have often been heard to observe that the one law that never gets repealed is the law of unintended consequences. That is, new laws not only often fall short of their intended effect but also produce negative fallout. The classic example is the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, otherwise known as Prohibiti...

The intersection of domain names and law enforcement concerns was the focus of two very high level  meetings  held recently in Washington, DC. The discussions that ensured mark a demarcation line that will change the tenor of all future discussions of the rights and responsibilities of DNS participants. read more

Congress ended its regular session in the last week of September with no action taken by the Senate Judiciary Committee to amend and report S. 3804, proposed legislation to block and shut down services to domains alleged to be abetting copyright and trademark infringement. However, shortly before adjournment Committee staff circulated a revised ?Ma...

On the eve of its Board retreat in Norway to consider final matters to be resolved before the opening of the application window for new GTLDs, the ICA communicated with the Chairman and the CEO of ICANN. Our September 23rd letter reiterated two prior ICA positions: read more

The Senate Judiciary Committee did not act on S 3084, the proposal to let the U.S. government seize or otherwise block access to and severely impair allegedly infringing domains on a global basis, after Ranking Republican Member Jeff Sessions exercised the automatic deferral option at the Committee?s September 23rd Business Meeting. read more

On September 20, 2010 Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, joined by nine other Senators, introduced S. 3084, the ?Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act???. If enacted, this proposal would expedite Department of Justice (DOJ) actions against domains that abet the sale or distribution of unauthorized copyrighted materials ...

Sell a trademark as a keyword for directed search or online auctions and make $billions. But use a trademark in a domain name for direct search and lose the domain, or worse. read more

The Wall Street Journal?s (online.wsj.com ) July 31st issue carries a front page story, with extensive sidebars, titled ?The Web's New Gold Mine: Your Secrets???. read more

The recent ICANN Meeting held in Brussels was marked by heavy attendance and an even heavier issues agenda. Every ICANN meeting includes a Public Forum in which attendees and other interested parties may direct questions and comments to ICANN?s Board of Directors. ICA Counsel Philip Corwin used his two minutes at the microphone (plus a few addition...

Thinking about applying for a new generic top level domain? Then ante up $55,000 for the right to file an application. That?s the heart of a tentative proposal for an Expressions of Interest (EOI) procedure for new gTLDs released on December 18th by ICANN for public comment by January 27, 2010 (see http://icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-2-1...

You?ve heard about the URS, but what about the URT ? Universal Rapid Transfer? WIPO and CAC have proposed to implement separate versions of URT by unilateral revision of their supplemental UDRP rules. In response, ICA has just asked ICANN to halt these fast track plans in their tracks pending full policy review by the GNSO and ICANN Board. read mo...

Sunday, November 22nd, was the filing deadline for comments on the third version of the Draft Applicant Guidebook (DAG) for new gTLDs, so ICA and many others dutifully submitted further input on this latest iteration of the proposed rules of this new game. IT seems that the opening date for acceptance of applications for new gTLDs recedes further r...

Just as we were completing our analysis and preparing a response to WIPO?s announcement that it intends to propose a fast track version of the UDRP before year?s end and implement that expedited procedure in the first quarter of 2010, comes an announcement from ICANN that the Czech Arbitration Court (CAC) has proposed its own version of fast track ...

On Monday, November 3rd it became public knowledge that WIPO intends to propose a ?fast track??? UDRP process before the end of 2009. Following a 30-day public comment period, WIPO expects to implement the new process in the first quarter of 2010. read more

ICA Counsel Philip Corwin attended the final ICANN meeting of 2009 held in Seoul, South Korea from October 24-30 to represent and speak for the interests of ICA members. On Thursday, October 29th the ICANN Board conducted its regular Public Forum, at which meeting participants can address their questions and concerns directly to Board members. Mr. ...

Slow down or speed up? It depends on who you ask. ICANN?s ongoing meeting in Seoul has heard very different opinions on whether new gTLDs are ready for prime time. But the real world? bottom line seems to be that the application window will not be opening until fall 2010 at the earliest, and that no new gTLDs will be up and running until 2011. rea...

Has ICANN's Board assigned its policy-making GNSO Council an impossible task in directing it to attempt to reach consensus on alternatives to the staff ?assimilation??? of the IRT recommendations regarding the Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS) and Trademark Clearinghouse proposals?? (See http://www.internetcommerce.org/ICANN_Requests_GNSO_Feedback for...

Greetings from Seoul, an exciting and dynamic city that is a fascinating mix of the 21st century and traditional culture. Pre-meetings of ICANN?s policymaking GNSO commence tomorrow morning, where scores of jet-lagged ?community members??? will attempt to stay alert and engage in coherent and productive discussions. read more

We recently noted (see http://www.internetcommerce.org/ICANN_Releases_DAGv3)? that the third version of the Draft Applicant Guidebook (DAG) for new gTLDs did not contain the Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS) policy and several other trademark protection mechanisms proposed by the Implementation Recommendation Team (IRT) but instead left the final deci...

As anticipated, ICANN has just released the third version of the Draft Applicant Guidebook (DAG) for new generic top level domains (gTLDs). The DAG has been revised in more than 50 areas, so we will be combing through it to fully understand its potential impact on the domain investment community. (DAGv3 available at http://www.icann.org/en/topics/n...

The JPA is dead. Long live the AOC. The Joint Project Agreement (JPA) read more

Domain investors can breathe at least a temporary sigh of relief following Wednesday?s revelation that the much feared and reviled Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS) policy will not be included in the third version of the Draft Applicant Guidebook (DAG) for new gTLDs to be released by ICANN in the first week of October. The disclosure came in the cours...

A diverse group has just sent a letter (http://www.icann.org/correspondence/van-couvering-to-beckstrom-21sep0 9-en.pdf) to ICANN?s top executives and Board in which they ?urge you to direct ICANN staff to implement ICANN?s plan to introduce new top-level domains without further delay???. read more

On September 15th two senior Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee, Lamar Smith and Howard Coble, dispatched a letter to ICANN CEO Rod Beckstrom. The letter (text here) starts with a hearty congratulation, but by the second paragraph it is raising concerns over the proposed rollout of new gTLDs and the potential expiration of its Join...

ICA members and others familiar with our work know that we have no hesitancy taking ICANN to task when we have serious problems with its policy or procedures. That?s part of our job of being a vigorous advocate for the domain name investment and development industry given the huge impact that ICANN decisions can have on the fundamentals of its busi...

The dog days of August are providing a welcome respite from what has been an incredibly busy year at ICANN and in Washington, as well as a chance to catch up and attend to things we?ve been meaning to get to as soon as soon as the crisis de jour was dealt with. read more

On August 12 the ICA filed a comment letter with ICANN endorsing a proposal from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to move to an almost entirely paperless UDRP, also known as eUDRP. The majority of UDRP complainants and respondents already use electronic means for all of their filings. ICA?s endorsement of the proposal was conting...

In a stunning rebuke of ICANN?s assertion that it had achieved sufficient accountability and professional stature to justify termination of its unique relationship with the U.S. government, the Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce as well as the Chairman of its Internet Subcommittee, along with eight other Committee read more

The ICA was quoted this week on the importance of law enforcement taking domain thefts seriously. In a situation unfortunately unique for the forward thinking shown by state police, the New Jersey State Police have pursued their case against Daniel Goncalves, 25, of Union, New Jersey for hacking into an online account belonging to one of the owners...

An article just published in Computeworld, ?Domain-name wars: Rise of the cybersquatters??? confirms ICA predictions that if brand owners are able to implement their unbalanced Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS) policy for new gTLDs they will quickly move to use the same illicit, backdoor process to have it imposed on incumbent gTLDs -- including .com....

Yesterday the ICA filed its comment letter with ICANN regarding the final Report of the Implementation Recommendation Team (IRT). While reciting the constructive role that ICA has played on the new gTLD process since its inception, the letter takes aim and blasts away at the proposed Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS) system as stripping registrants of...

ICANN?s Sydney, Australia meeting kicked off to an official start on Monday, June 22. However, smaller pre-meeting sessions of its Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) policy-making body, as well as other parts of the multifaceted organization, began early on Saturday -- and ICA was in place then and speaking out on behalf of its members. ...

Do you have any plans for this Tuesday evening, June 16th? If you are the savvy domain investor that we think you are, then you?ll be taking part in the ICA Auction running from 4p.m. - 7p.m. EDT. read more

On June 8, 2009 the ICA filed extensive comments with the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) urging that the Joint Project Agreement (JPA) between the U.S. government and ICANN not be allowed to expire on September 30th. The letter expresses ICA?s continued support for the four principles underlying ICANN?s creation as well as for its eventual full ...

A judge for the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a lower court's decision on Friday after hearing the appeal from plaintiff Coalition for ICANN Transparency (CFIT) and considering an amicus (friend of the court) brief submitted by the Internet Commerce Association (ICA. The district court had ruled against plaintiff in the original pr...