US Gets Threatening Over ICANN’s New Internet Domain Plan 06/05/2011 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments US Assistant Secretary for Commerce Larry Strickling said yesterday the Obama administration expects all issues to be resolved before the internet is opened to a large number of new top-level domains. And he hinted that the US might reconsider the special role of the internet coordination body if it does not comply.
ICANN Suggests Moving Internet From US Control 27/03/2011 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments Comments on the future of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) – which makes the underlying changes to the internet – are slowly trickling in at the US National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), with five days to go to the end of a consultation period. In its comments, the body managing the IANA functions for the United States suggests moving control of those functions out of longstanding, singular US control.
IP Enforcement Permeates ICANN, US Internet Policy 13/03/2011 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The push for ever more far-reaching intellectual property enforcement in the domain name system was heavily criticised at a conference of the Non-Commercial Users’ Constituency (NCUC) of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) Friday. The NCUC conference on “Internet Governance and the Global Public Interest” took place one day before the first constituency meetings of the 40th ICANN meeting in San Francisco (13-18 March).
Governments, ICANN Still Deep In Negotiations Over New Internet Domains 07/03/2011 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment BRUSSELS – In an arm-wrestling exercise, governments and the Board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) last week tried to reach common ground on intellectual property rights protection and governments’ ability to intervene with applications for new top-level domains that they see as “sensitive” or “vulnerable” like .nazi, .gay or .bank.
Veto Power For Governments Against Any Internet Domain Name? 08/02/2011 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments The United States Department of Commerce National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is proposing possible veto power for governments against applications for new top-level domains. NTIA is asking for a change to domain name system management that would allow governments to object to any proposed internet address for any reason, which has not surprisingly stirred debate among some observers, including in Europe.
2011: Renewed Fights Over Internet Control In A Post-Wikileaks World 19/01/2011 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments For many experts in internet governance the future of the multi-stakeholder model is the top issue in 2011. The participation of governments, technical experts, industry and civil society in discussions about how best to organise – and regulate – society on the net is at stake.
Calls At UN For An International Body To Prevent Internet Control 15/12/2010 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Opinions were divided in a United Nations consultation yesterday in New York on enhanced cooperation of public policy issues pertaining to the internet, whether two bodies on the issue are needed.
What If There Were An Application For Dot Wikileaks? 09/12/2010 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 5 Comments What would happen if the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) received an application for a .wikileaks top level domain name (TLD) next year, under its new system of opening up the internet for domains? It could make an interesting example of how well the complex system to apply for new TLDs works and how much political intervention is possible in the system. At the 39th ICANN meeting in Cartagena, Colombia this week, the self-regulatory body is trying to finalise issues in the published Final Applicant Guidebook – and it is governments and trademark owners that are calling for more time and more procedures.
Dawn Of WIPO Industrial Design Treaty Talks; Internet As Trademark Danger Zone 07/11/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment World Intellectual Property Organization members this week took early steps toward the possibility of a treaty to facilitate the registration of industrial designs, and urged WIPO to continue addressing potential new challenges to trademarks from the impending expansion of domain names on the internet.
UN And Internet Governance, Next Four Years: Better Cooperation Or Bigger Role? 27/10/2010 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments After three weeks of negotiations, member countries and the secretariat of the United Nations International Telecommunication Union hailed the consensus and success of the 2010 Plenipotentiary Conference, which sets the ITU work programme for the next four years. But even through the final rounds of applause, the tensions about how much the internet features in the core mandate of the Union remained audible.