ICANN Seeks to Hire Registrant Advocate – While Seeking Volunteers for Second Round New gTLDs Discussion Group by Philip Corwin
Two recent ICANN announcements caught our eye because of their relevance to domain investors.
The first was ICANN’s placement of a notice that it was seeking to hire its first ever Registrant Services Director-Consumer Advocate. The Job Description states that the position “involves participation in a number of cross-organizational projects in areas such as registrant rights, contract interpretations and compliance, operations, legal policy definitions and implementation with a strong focus on multi-stakeholder collaboration” and that, among other tasks, the selected individual will “become the Registrant Community advocate within ICANN and represent their needs to other teams across the organization.” The Director will report to the President of the Global Domains Division, the separate business unit established within ICANN last year. Consistent with CEO Fadi Chehade’s statement during the London meeting that future staff growth would occur in locations outside ICANN’s Los Angeles headquarters, this position is to be based in Istanbul, Turkey – although applicants must be willing to travel 40% of the time. Curiously, despite the job’s focus on registrant rights, contractual interpretations, and legal policy, the educational experience sought is “BA or BS degree, MS or MBA preferred. Advanced degree in engineering or systems is highly desirable” – and not a law degree.
The creation of this position finally puts some meat on the bones of CEO Chehade’s June 2013 declaration that domain registrants are ICANN’s primary customer. As a trade organization representing the interests of registrants who are professional domain investors and developers we have been critical of ICANN’s failure to “walk the walk” on that verbal commitment in the past. ICA now looks forward to working with this new ICANN staffer on issues of importance to registrants, while recognizing that in certain situations involving registrant grievances against ICANN there will be constraints against biting the hand that pays him, or her.
Separately, ICANN’s GNSO is soliciting volunteers for the just-launched GNSO New gTLDs Subsequent Rounds Discussion Group. This Group will review the first round of new gTLDs and report findings to the GNSO Council “that may lead to changes or adjustments for subsequent new gTLD application procedures”. With Initial Evaluation just having been completed on all applications submitted in the first round of the new gTLD program, ICANN is putting in place the first step in meeting its commitment to review it thoroughly before a second round commences.
From what we have heard, when it does launch down the road the second “round” may not be a round at all, in terms of having a set time window in which applications must be submitted. Rather, once any adjustments in the program are made based upon first round experiences the application window may simply stay open indefinitely, with applicants free to submit a bid for any string at any time.
The new gTLD program of course included the new rights protection mechanisms (RPMs) of Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS) and the Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH), and we expect both to be the subject of discussion and possible suggestions for modification within the new Discussion Group. That’s one major reason why ICA shall be participating. Perhaps once the Registrant Services Director is hired he or she will participate as well — to help assure that registrant rights receive adequate due process as the new gTLD program evolves.
This article by Philip Corwin of the Internet Commerce Association was sourced with permission from:
www.internetcommerce.org/icann-seeks-to-hire-registrant-advocate-while-seeking-volunteers-for-second-round-new-gtlds-discussion-group/
ICANN: Board Extends Term of President And CEO Fadi Chehadé
“As we noted in the Board resolution, taking this action will help ensure the stability in leadership that is important for ICANN ,” said Board Chair Dr. Stephen Crocker. “It also shows the support and confidence that the Board has in Fadi.”
Chehadé’s base salary will increase by 12.5 percent.
The Board resolution said, “The decision to increase Mr. Chehadé’s compensation was done with recognition and acknowledgment of the work done by the Compensation Committee with Towers Watson to ensure that the increase recommended is reasonable and in line with comparable positions.”
“I’m both humbled and honored by the Board’s trust in me to lead this important organization at such a critical time,” said Chehadé. “I’m glad to be able to expend my energy and passion towards ICANN ‘s noble mission and great public responsibility. With focus, diligence and hard work, we will continue to evolve ICANN into a mature, global organization.”
ICANN Approves Name Collision Occurrence Management Framework | Special IP Address (127.0.53.53) Alerts System Administrators of Potential Issue
The framework is designed to mitigate the impact of name collisions in the domain name system ( DNS ), which typically occur when fully qualified domain names conflict with similar domain names used in private networks. When this occurs, users can be taken to an unintended Web page or encounter an error message.
To address this issue, the framework calls for registry operators to use a technique called “controlled interruption” to alert system administrators that there may be an issue in their network. Specifically, an IPv4 address – 127.0.53.53 – will appear in system logs, enabling a quick diagnosis and remediation.
“We now have a well-defined methodology for mitigating name collisions for delegated top-level domain names and a path forward for registries to unblock certain second-level domains in their list,” said Akram Atallah, president of ICANN ‘s Global Domains Division. “These operational processes, which were developed in conjunction with the multistakeholder community, will help to ensure the security of the domain name system.”
Atallah went on to note that ICANN will provide information to and work with the Generic Names Supporting Organization ( GNSO ) to consider whether policy work on developing a long-term plan to manage gTLD name collisions issues should be undertaken.
ICANN will be holding webinars to discuss details of the Name Collision Occurrence Management Framework and answer questions on 11 August at 01:00-02:30 UTC and 12 August 15:00-16:30 UTC.
Overview: Name Collision Occurrence Management Framework Implementation
ICANN registry operators are obligated to comply with requirements in the Name Collision Occurrence Management Framework, which include:
- Acting on name collision reports from ICANN within two hours of receipt of the report during the first two years of the life of the top-level domain ( TLD ), measured from the time of delegation of the TLD ;
- Implementing continuous controlled interruption for a 90-day period.
ICANN obligations include:
- Monitoring the registry’s implementation of the controlled interruption to ensure compliance with contractual requirements;
- Coordinating an emergency response for name collision reports only where there is a reasonable belief that the name collision presents a clear and present danger to human life; and
- Working within the Internet Engineering Task Force ( IETF ) and with other relevant technical communities to identify a mechanism for IPv6 IP addresses that provides similar functionality to that being used in IPv4 (the loopback IP address 127.0.53.53).
The Name Collision Occurrence Management Framework also calls for the delegation of .CORP, .HOME, and .MAIL to be deferred indefinitely. ICANN will collaborate with the technical and security communities to determine the best way to handle these strings in the long term.
For more information on name collisions please visit https://www.icann.org/namecollision.
About ICANN
ICANN ‘s mission is to ensure a stable, secure and unified global Internet. To reach another person on the Internet you have to type an address into your computer – a name or a number. That address has to be unique so computers know where to find each other. ICANN coordinates these unique identifiers across the world. Without that coordination we wouldn’t have one global Internet. ICANN was formed in 1998. It is a not-for-profit public-benefit corporation with participants from all over the world dedicated to keeping the Internet secure, stable and interoperable. It promotes competition and develops policy on the Internet’s unique identifiers. ICANN doesn’t control content on the Internet. It cannot stop spam and it doesn’t deal with access to the Internet. But through its coordination role of the Internet’s naming system, it does have an important impact on the expansion and evolution of the Internet. For more information please visit: www.icann.org.
This ICANN announcement was sourced from:
https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-2-2014-08-01-en
ICANN Approves Name Collision Occurrence Management Framework | Special IP Address (127.0.53.53) Alerts System Administrators of Potential Issue
The framework is designed to mitigate the impact of name collisions in the domain name system ( DNS ), which typically occur when fully qualified domain names conflict with similar domain names used in private networks. When this occurs, users can be taken to an unintended Web page or encounter an error message.
To address this issue, the framework calls for registry operators to use a technique called “controlled interruption” to alert system administrators that there may be an issue in their network. Specifically, an IPv4 address – 127.0.53.53 – will appear in system logs, enabling a quick diagnosis and remediation.
“We now have a well-defined methodology for mitigating name collisions for delegated top-level domain names and a path forward for registries to unblock certain second-level domains in their list,” said Akram Atallah, president of ICANN ‘s Global Domains Division. “These operational processes, which were developed in conjunction with the multistakeholder community, will help to ensure the security of the domain name system.”
Atallah went on to note that ICANN will provide information to and work with the Generic Names Supporting Organization ( GNSO ) to consider whether policy work on developing a long-term plan to manage gTLD name collisions issues should be undertaken.
ICANN will be holding webinars to discuss details of the Name Collision Occurrence Management Framework and answer questions on 11 August at 01:00-02:30 UTC and 12 August 15:00-16:30 UTC.
Overview: Name Collision Occurrence Management Framework Implementation
ICANN registry operators are obligated to comply with requirements in the Name Collision Occurrence Management Framework, which include:
- Acting on name collision reports from ICANN within two hours of receipt of the report during the first two years of the life of the top-level domain ( TLD ), measured from the time of delegation of the TLD ;
- Implementing continuous controlled interruption for a 90-day period.
ICANN obligations include:
- Monitoring the registry’s implementation of the controlled interruption to ensure compliance with contractual requirements;
- Coordinating an emergency response for name collision reports only where there is a reasonable belief that the name collision presents a clear and present danger to human life; and
- Working within the Internet Engineering Task Force ( IETF ) and with other relevant technical communities to identify a mechanism for IPv6 IP addresses that provides similar functionality to that being used in IPv4 (the loopback IP address 127.0.53.53).
The Name Collision Occurrence Management Framework also calls for the delegation of .CORP, .HOME, and .MAIL to be deferred indefinitely. ICANN will collaborate with the technical and security communities to determine the best way to handle these strings in the long term.
For more information on name collisions please visit https://www.icann.org/namecollision.
About ICANN
ICANN ‘s mission is to ensure a stable, secure and unified global Internet. To reach another person on the Internet you have to type an address into your computer – a name or a number. That address has to be unique so computers know where to find each other. ICANN coordinates these unique identifiers across the world. Without that coordination we wouldn’t have one global Internet. ICANN was formed in 1998. It is a not-for-profit public-benefit corporation with participants from all over the world dedicated to keeping the Internet secure, stable and interoperable. It promotes competition and develops policy on the Internet’s unique identifiers. ICANN doesn’t control content on the Internet. It cannot stop spam and it doesn’t deal with access to the Internet. But through its coordination role of the Internet’s naming system, it does have an important impact on the expansion and evolution of the Internet. For more information please visit: www.icann.org.
This ICANN announcement was sourced from:
https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-2-2014-08-01-en
ICANN: Join Us for a Webinar on the Name Collision Occurrence Management Framework
ICANN will be holding a webinar to provide information regarding the Name Collision Occurrence Management Framework. There will be two sessions to accommodate different time zones.
ICANN staff will provide an overview of the framework including registry operator requirements followed by a Q&A. For more information see the Name Collision Occurrence Management Framework Implementation Announcement [PDF, 634 KB].
Webinar Details
Session 1
Date/Time: 11 August 2014, 1:00 – 2:30 UTC
Adobe Connect: https://icann.adobeconnect.com/gdd
Dial-in Numbers: Download Now [PDF, 70 KB]
Session 2
Date/Time: 12 August 2014, 15:00 – 16:30 UTC
Adobe Connect: https://icann.adobeconnect.com/gdd
Dial-in Numbers: Download Now [PDF, 86 KB]
For more information on name collision visit https://www.icann.org/namecollision
Questions?
Participants are encouraged to submit questions in advance of the webinar. We will do our best to answer pre-submitted questions during the presentation portion of the agenda.
- Submit webinar-related questions to
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - Send general questions to Customer Service at
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This ICANN announcement was sourced from:
https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-3-2014-08-01-en
