Personal Clarification Regarding .XYZ Article by Philip Corwin, Internet Commerce Association
Several days ago I posted an article – “ICANN is Missing in Action on .XYZ” – expressing my personal views regarding Network Solutions’ involuntary opt-out registration of .XYZ domains for its existing customers. It was posted, as many of my opinion pieces are, at both the website of the Internet Commerce Association, which I have served as Counsel since its founding in 2006, and at CircleID.com; the two websites attract different audiences. The article was not requested by the ICA and does not represent any official policy of the ICA in regard to such involuntary domain registrations. The ICA has not yet adopted any position on this practice.
The article questioned whether this opt-out practice violated registrant rights and was in compliance with the Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA) that all registrars enter into with ICANN. A particular concern was that, unless ICANN stepped in, this practice could spread to other new gTLDs, adversely affecting registrants while undermining the integrity of the new gTLD program and raising additional questions about ICANN’s contractual compliance enforcement.
Toward the end of the article I referred to a 2011 Lanham Act litigation filed by Facebook against the CEO of the .XYZ registry, Daniel Negari, and another company he headed, Cyber2media. I noted that the case had been dismissed, and stated “Of course allegations are not proof of guilt”. I also tried to give even-handed treatment earlier in the article on the question of whether .XYZ had entered into any arrangement with Network Solutions in regard to the opt-out program by reprinting the relevant text of an interview he had engaged in on that question.
I now regard my referencing of the Lanham Act litigation as a mistake in judgment.
First, it was extraneous to the main focus of the article and has generated some unintended controversy that has diluted focus on the important policy question of whether opt-out domain registrations are an ethical practice consistent with RAA provisions that protect registrants and, if not, what ICANN should be doing in reaction.
More importantly, it appears to have created the misimpression that I believe that the award of the .XYZ registry contract to Mr. Negari and his registry enterprise was questionable. I am not aware of any facts that would lead me to such a conclusion and to the extent that my unartful words may have created such an incorrect impression I offer my sincere apology to him, his colleagues and his enterprise.
That section of the article also stated that it “would be useful to know” whether the application for .XYZ had disclosed the litigation. I have since learned through a third party that it was disclosed and considered by ICANN. Such information is redacted and not made part of the publicly available portion of any gTLD application.
There also seems to be a misperception that I may have been advocating amendment of the gTLD program Applicant Guidebook to create review of dismissed or settled trademark legal actions. In fact such a provision is already part of the program’s Evaluation Questions Criteria (see http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/applicants/agb/evaluation-questions-criteria-04jun12-en.pdf).
At Section 11(g) of the Applicant Background portion of that document this Question appears:
(g) Disclose whether the applicant or any of the individuals named above has been involved in any administrative or other legal proceeding in which allegations of intellectual property infringement relating to registration or use of a domain name have been made. Provide an explanation related to each such instance. (Emphasis added)
This Note appears next to that Question:
ICANN may deny an otherwise qualified application based on the background screening process. See section 1.2.1 of the guidebook for details.
That provision is the very reason why a dismissed Lanham Act lawsuit would need to be disclosed by a gTLD applicant. It is in addition to preceding Section 11(f), the inflexible “three strikes” UDRP/ACPA disqualification clause against which I lobbied at considerable length; while that effort was unsuccessful, a similar disqualifier was added for those cited for repeated Reverse Domain Name Hijacking. ICANN has stated that it intends to conduct a thorough review of all provisions of the Applicant Guidebook prior to any second round of new gTLDs, and that will provide an opportunity to revisit all these provisions.
I hope that this clarification facilitates a return to consideration of the opt-out registration issue and an appropriate ICANN response. I wish Mr. Negari and his marketing team well in their efforts to promote affirmative domain registrations in the .XYZ registry.
This article by Philip Corwin from the Internet Commerce Association was sourced with permission from:
www.internetcommerce.org/personal-clarification-regarding-xyz-article/
Sedo Reports $1,1 Million in Domain Name Sales! BigSale.com Topped Sedo’s Weekly Sales List at $50,000
BigSale.com topped Sedo’s weekly sales chart at $50,000. Highlights also include HandyBook.co.uk,leading the ccTLD category at $12,000 and Bess.net, leading the “Other” category at $5,000.
Other notable domain name sales include :
.COM
1346.com2014-06-1038000USD
tokin.com2014-06-1035000USD
heals.com2014-06-1016800USD
xmouse.com2014-06-1216000USD
allup.com2014-06-1015000USD
hotelnews.com2014-06-1215000EUR
jobboerse.com2014-06-1215000EUR
rawstore.com2014-06-129800USD
na7.com2014-06-099000USD
casino-casino.com2014-06-108500EUR
soorya.com2014-06-128000USD
ats-group.com2014-06-137000USD
verify360.com2014-06-106000USD
skycap.com2014-06-125000USD
deltafixtures.com2014-06-125000USD
sexdeal.com2014-06-105000USD
infringe.com2014-06-135000USD
travelgreece.com2014-06-104999USD
is-net.com2014-06-094800USD
orlandoparks.com2014-06-134775USD
boxito.com2014-06-104500USD
dermes.com2014-06-134000USD
osint.com2014-06-134000USD
wlpay.com2014-06-134000USD
urbanrx.com2014-06-103500USD
freakish.com2014-06-103375USD
roomlife.com2014-06-093295USD
1stposition.com2014-06-133250USD
movvo.com2014-06-113000USD
atlia.com2014-06-113000USD
goldencard.com2014-06-093000EUR
ccTLDs
quepasa.com.co2014-06-1210000USD
onlinekasino.de2014-06-119999EUR
email.in2014-06-129211USD
unique.me2014-06-128000USD
jahreswagen24.de2014-06-134500EUR
tron.co2014-06-134250USD
mymotel.de2014-06-123890EUR
downloads.to2014-06-133772USD
aywa.de2014-06-103500EUR
atomik.be2014-06-103499EUR
therapeutinnen.at2014-06-123000EUR
financial.me2014-06-113000USD
greenbeauty.de2014-06-132500EUR
canopylondon.co.uk2014-06-112400GBP
taktgefühl.de2014-06-122250EUR
epneus.com.br2014-06-102200USD
naturopathy.us2014-06-122200USD
hebeschiebetür.de2014-06-122010EUR
diaetshop.de2014-06-121950EUR
dekoratives.de2014-06-131800EUR
golfen.tv2014-06-101750EUR
cookido.de2014-06-101680EUR
freiwild.ch2014-06-111520EUR
mydentist.de2014-06-121500EUR
vogelfänger.de2014-06-121500EUR
reputable.co2014-06-121500USD
cicero.ch2014-06-121500EUR
aluminiumbleche.de2014-06-121250EUR
flipcover.de2014-06-111180EUR
plg.co.za2014-06-101150USD
plunge.in2014-06-121099USD
monvillage.pl2014-06-091000EUR
Other
opzionibinarie.net2014-06-113600USD
infomed.net2014-06-112600EUR
493.net2014-06-122462USD
convenience.net2014-06-112200USD
gospace.net2014-06-111547EUR
code.club2014-06-121500USD
vienna.estate2014-06-111499EUR
smartlife.org2014-06-101496USD
allaboutautism.org2014-06-131289USD
travelnews.net2014-06-111250USD
qgw.net2014-06-121000USD
funnyvideo.net2014-06-10990USD
nqw.net2014-06-12888USD
survivalkits.org2014-06-09785USD
uitzendinggemist.org2014-06-09750EUR
pornvideos.mobi2014-06-09750USD
Check out Sedo.com for more information
Nominet : Rules and Processes for .Cymru and .Wales Published
With .Cymru and .Wales coming in September, Nominet has recently published the rules and processes for their new domain names for Wales.
You can read the announcement after the jump:
“Our new domains for Wales are coming this September and we are publishing the rules and processes for .cymru and .wales today. We ran a three-month consultation on our proposals and we believe that the decisions we have made will create a strong policy framework for .cymru and .wales to develop and grow.
We have our own distinctive identity and culture in Wales, and of course our own language. We have worked closely with the Welsh Government every step of the way to ensure that these new domains are good for Welsh businesses, good for Wales and support the Welsh language online. So we are delighted to announce that not only will there be a restricted launch phase that will benefit businesses active in the Welsh market before the domains are opened up to everyone, but in a unique approach that has been developed especially for .cymru and .wales, both domain spaces will allow the registration of names that use the diacritic marks used in the Welsh language.
If you’re a holder of a trademark, you should act now to give yourself the best possible chance to secure the corresponding domain name, by submitting it to the Trademark Clearing House before the end of July. Everything you need to know about the trade mark process is here. Don’t worry if you don’t have a trademark though – if you are a business operating in Wales, there will be a further opportunity to secure domain names that match your business name or brand. To register your interest, click here.
We would like to thank everyone who responded and who helped us to develop our proposals. We have published an analysis of the responses we received and a policy statement setting out our conclusions following the December 2012 consultation.
Key policy points for .cymru and .wales:
Domain Resellers who sell the domain names to the public will be required to stock both .wales and .cymru domain names providing equal status to Wales’s two languages and the two domain names. There will be a restricted launch phase that will benefit businesses active in the Welsh market before the domains are opened up on a first come, first served basis.
Individuals, companies and organisations will be able to choose to register their domain name in either .cymru or .wales or both.
An innovative partnership has been set up with Gwynedd Council’s Galw Gwynedd to offer bilingual call centre support to Welsh and English speaking callers. Nominet will also publish a voluntary Welsh Language Scheme.
In a unique approach that we have developed especially for these domains, both domain spaces will allow the registration of names that use the diacritic marks used in the Welsh language to mirror non-diacritic domain names.
For the full policy go to http://ourhomeonline.org.uk/about-us/policy
Commenting on the announcement, Ieuan Evans, Chair of the Nominet Wales Advisory Group said: “The new .cymru and .wales domains are an exciting opportunity for Wales to reach its full potential online by creating a platform for Brand Wales to become recognised worldwide. We are absolutely committed to making these domains work for everyone in Wales and that they empower people to create and use Welsh language content.”
Jo Golley, leading Nominet’s Wales team says: “Publication of our policy document is the next step in our drive to give Wales an exciting new online platform on which to build the Welsh brand. Having worked for over two years with the Welsh Government and key Welsh businesses and organisations we are confident that we are now well placed to deliver domains which are more relevant to Wales.
“Today we have further been able to clarify our commitment to the Welsh language. The extensive technical measures we have put in place to allow diacritic marks to be used have been taken with the full intent of enabling people to use the range and subtlety of the Welsh language online. These important steps will enable a massive increase in Welsh language domain names on the internet.”
Norwegian Domain Names Available for Everyone Starting Today
Starting today, June 17,2014, anyone in Norway will be able to register their own .NO domain name.
Up until now, only businesse and other organisations were able to register a .NO domain name.Individuals had to register a .Priv.No domain name.
In order to register your .NO domain name, you have to :
– Must be over 18
– Be entered in the People’s Register with a Norwegian postal addres and birth number
You will be able to have up to five .NO domain names.
Check out EuroDNS here to register you .NO domain name.
ICANN 50 In London Set For Unprecedented Attendees
The upcoming ICANN meeting to be held in London is set to be one of the largest ever for the number of participants with 2,200 people pre-registered.
The meeting, ICANN’s 50th Public Meeting will be held in London from 22 to 26 June. The historic meeting will bring together international stakeholders from government, business, civil society, technical organizations and research institutions to discuss a wide variety of issues, including:
- The transition of the stewardship of some key Internet technical functions from the U.S. government to a global multi-stakeholder body.
- ICANN’s accountability and globalization strategies.
- The role of ICANN in the global Internet ecosystem.
- An exploration of the continued momentum of the New generic Top-Level Domain Program.
Moreover, the At-large Summit II Working Group (ATLAS II) will begin meeting on Saturday 21st June, exploring the future of multistakeholderism and the globalization of ICANN. The At-Large groups are made up of a wide range of representatives from around the world, and primarily is the voice of the end-use around the world into the policies that govern the Domain Name System.
To officially kick-off ICANN50, Board Chair Dr. Stephen Crocker and President and CEO Fadi Chehadé will address attendees during a welcome session on Monday, 23 June at 08:30 BST (07:30 UTC).
To see the full schedule of events and meetings taking place during ICANN 50, go to london50.icann.org/en/schedule-full.
