Public Comment
Draft Final Report on Protection of IGO and INGO Identifiers in All gTLDs
Open Date
20 September 2013 23:59 UTC
Close Date
11 October 2013 23:59 UTC
Staff Report Due
1 November 2013 23:59 UTC
Brief Overview
The Generic Names Supporting Organization ("GNSO") Policy Development Process Working Group is tasked with addressing the issue of Protecting the identifiers of certain International Governmental Organizations ("IGOs") and International Non-Governmental Organizations ("INGOs") in all gTLDs and they have published its draft Final Report for public comment.
Section I: Description and Explanation
In its draft Final Report the PDP WG provides background information on the issues related to the protection for certain International Governmental Organizations (IGO) and International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGO) (including the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement ("RCRC") and International Olympic Committee ("IOC")) identifiers. The report also includes a summary of the Working Group's deliberations with respect to the issues defined in the WG's Charter.
Most importantly, the Recommendations section of this draft Final Report presents a list of proposed policy recommendations currently being considered by the PDP WG, for the protection of certain IGO and INGO identifiers in all gTLDs. The proposed policy recommendations for the protection of certain IGO and INGO identifiers presented in this draft Final Report are delineated by the organizations seeking protection and within each sub-set, both top and second level protections are considered. Current WG consensus levels, per the GNSO Working Group Guidelines, are also included with each recommendation.
The IGO-INGO WG is specifically looking for input to Section 5 of this draft Final Report:
- Recommendations per Organization (RCRC, IOC, IGO, INGO), Sections 5.1 to 5.4
- General recommendations, Section 5.5
- Principles of implementation on incumbent gTLDs, Section 5.6
- Exception procedures, Section 5.7
Section II: Background
For a detailed background and history of the issue on whether to protect certain IGO and INGO identifiers including the RCRC and IOC prior to the initiation of this PDP, please see the Final GNSO Issue Report on the Protection of International Organization Names in New gTLDs [PDF, 674 KB]. The Issue Report was initiated as a result of a recommendation by the GNSO Drafting Team formed to provide a GNSO Council response to the Board and GAC on the protection of IOC and RCRC names in new gTLDs. After community review, the scope of the Final GNSO Issue Report included an evaluation of whether to protect the names of both international government and non-government organizations at the top level and second level in all gTLDs.
At its October meeting last year, the GNSO Council considered the Final GNSO Issue Report on the Protection of International Organization Names in New gTLDs, and approved a motion to initiate a Policy Development Process ("PDP") for the protection of certain international organization names and acronyms in all gTLDs. The Working Group ("WG") was formed on 31 October 2012 and the WG Charter was approved by the GNSO Council on 15 November 2012. The decision was taken in this context to subsume the issues of the IOC and Red Cross Red Crescent designations and names under the new PDP WG process.
As part of its deliberations, the PDP WG was required under the WG Charter to consider the following questions:
- Whether there is a need for special protections at the top and second level in all existing and new gTLDs for the names and acronyms of the following types of international organizations: International Governmental Organizations (IGOs) protected by international law and multiple domestic statutes, International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs) receiving protections under treaties and statutes under multiple jurisdictions, specifically including the Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement (RCRC), and the International Olympic Committee (IOC). In deliberating this issue, the WG should consider the following elements:
- Quantifying the Entities to be Considered for Special Protection
- Evaluating the Scope of Existing Protections under International Treaties/National Laws for IGO, RCRC and IOC Names
- Establishing Qualification Criteria for Special Protection of International Organization Names
- Distinguishing Any Substantive Differences Between the RCRC and IOC From Other International Organizations
- If there is a need for special protections at the top and second level in all existing and new gTLDs for certain international organization names and acronyms, the PDP WG is expected to develop policy recommendations for such protections. Specifically, the PDP WG should:
- Determine whether the current special protections being provided to RCRC and IOC names at the top and second level of the initial round of new gTLDs should be made permanent for RCRC and IOC names in all gTLDs and if not, develop specific recommendations for the appropriate special protections for these names.
- Develop specific recommendations for appropriate special protections for the names and acronyms of all other qualifying international organizations.
Comments Closed
Report of Public Comments