[council] Trademark Clearinghouse "Strawman Solution" - Public comment 30 November - 21 December 2012

[Glen de Saint Géry <Glen@xxxxxxxxx>]

http://www.icann.org/en/news/announcements/announcement-30nov12-en.htm
Trademark Clearinghouse "Strawman Solution"
Comment/Reply Periods (*)

Important Information Links

Comment Open:

30 November 2012

Comment Close:

21 December 2012

Close Time (UTC):

23:59 UTC

Public Comment 
Announcement<http://www.icann.org/en/news/announcements/announcement-30nov12-en.htm>

Reply Open:

22 December 2012

To Submit Your Comments (Forum)<mailto:tmch-strawman@xxxxxxxxx>

Reply Close:

11 January 2013

View Comments Submitted<http://forum.icann.org/lists/tmch-strawman/>

Close Time (UTC):

23:59 UTC

Report of Public Comments

Brief Overview

Originating Organization:

ICANN Staff

Categories/Tags:


 *   Top-level Domains
 *   Intellectual Property

Purpose (Brief):


The Trademark Clearinghouse facilitates the protection of trademark rights 
during the initial allocation and registration periods for domain names in new 
generic top level domains (new gTLDs). All new gTLD registries will be required 
to use Clearinghouse data to ensure that a set of mandatory trademark rights 
protection mechanisms are applied to all new domain registrations occurring in 
at least the first 90 days of domain registration.

Following discussions at the Toronto meeting, ICANN met with a group of 
stakeholder representatives to complete implementation discussions on the 
Trademark Clearinghouse and its associated rights protection mechanisms. Among 
other subjects, these implementation meetings addressed the recent IPC/BC 
proposal for Improvements and Enhancements to the RPMs for new 
gTLDs<http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/program-status/correspondence/metalitz-to-pritz-17oct12-en.pdf>
 [PDF, 68 KB].

Out of discussions evaluating the merits of these recommendations, the group 
produced at a strawman solution to address the concerns of affected 
stakeholders. This strawman solution is being posted for public comment.

One element of the IPC/BC proposal that was not included in the strawman 
solution concerned a proposal for a "Limited Preventative Registration" 
mechanism, which attempts to address concerns related to solutions to the 
second level defensive registration issue that did not achieve consensus among 
the participants in the implementation meetings. Although this revised proposal 
is not included in the strawman solution, this proposal is also being posted 
for public comment to determine whether it should also be considered along with 
the strawman solution.

Current Status:

The Strawman Proposal is the result of collaboration among the participants of 
the post-Toronto TMCH implementation meetings. The Limited Preventative 
Registration Proposal is developed by and supported by the BC/IPC. In addition 
to the public comment period, ICANN is also seeking policy implementation 
guidance from the GNSO Council in relation to both of these proposals.

Next Steps:

Comments will be summarized and analyzed, and revisions to the relevant 
procedures may be considered based on the feedback received in this public 
comment period and from the GNSO Council.

Staff Contact:

Karen Lentz

Email:

karen.lentz@xxxxxxxxx<mailto:karen.lentz@xxxxxxxxx?subject=More%20information%20on%20the%20%20Trademark%20Clearinghouse%20Strawman%20Solution%20public%20comment%20period>

Detailed Information

Section I: Description, Explanation, and Purpose


Out of the recent Clearinghouse implementation discussions, a strawman solution 
has been produced to balance and address the concerns of affected stakeholders. 
This strawman solution is being posted for public comment. This includes:

 *   A requirement for 30 days notice in advance of each new gTLD sunrise 
period.
 *   An extension of the required Trademark Claims service to the first 90 days 
of general registration.
 *   A lightweight "Claims 2" period of 6-12 months that is an additional 
fee-based option for rights holders.
 *   Inclusion of domain names previously determined to have been abusively 
registered or used in both Trademark Claims services.

One element of the IPC/BC proposal that was not included in the strawman 
solution concerned a proposal for a "Limited Preventative Registration" 
mechanism. This revised mechanism is proposed by the IPC/BC to address concerns 
related to solutions for second level defensive registrations that did not 
achieve consensus among the participants in the implementation meeting. The 
Limited Preventative Registration proposal is also being posted for public 
comment to determine whether it should be considered along with the strawman 
solution.

Section II: Background


The Trademark Clearinghouse facilitates the protection of trademark rights 
during the initial allocation and registration periods for domain names in new 
generic top level domains (new gTLDs). All new gTLD registries will be required 
to use Clearinghouse data to ensure that a set of mandatory trademark rights 
protection mechanisms are applied to all new domain registrations occurring in 
at least the first 90 days of domain registration. These mechanisms are 
described in the Applicant 
Guidebook<http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/applicants/agb> for new gTLD applicants.

Following discussions at the Toronto meeting, ICANN met with a group of 
stakeholder representatives to complete implementation discussions on the 
Trademark Clearinghouse and its associated rights protection mechanisms. Among 
other subjects, these implementation meetings addressed the recent IPC/BC 
proposal for Improvements and Enhancements to the RPMs for new 
gTLDs<http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/program-status/correspondence/metalitz-to-pritz-17oct12-en.pdf>
 [PDF, 68 KB].

Section III: Document and Resource Links


Public Comment is being sought on the following documents:

 *   Summary of TMCH Strawman 
Solution<http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/about/trademark-clearinghouse/strawman-solution-29nov12-en.pdf>
 [PDF, 254 KB]
 *   Description of the IPC/BC Proposal for Limited Preventative 
Registrations<http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/about/trademark-clearinghouse/ipc-bc-proposal-lpr-30nov12-en.pdf>
 [PDF, 26 KB]

Section IV: Additional Information


 *   
http://blog.icann.org/2012/11/building-a-secure-and-reliable-trademark-clearinghouse/
 *   http://blog.icann.org/2012/11/trademark-clearinghouse-update/
 *   
http://blog.icann.org/2012/11/a-follow-up-to-our-trademark-clearinghouse-meetings/
 *   
http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/program-status/correspondence/metalitz-to-pritz-17oct12-en.pdf
 [PDF, 68 KB]
 *   http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/about/trademark-clearinghouse
 *   http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/applicants/agb




(*) Comments submitted after the posted Close Date/Time are not guaranteed to 
be considered in any final summary, analysis, reporting, or decision-making 
that takes place once this period lapses.


Glen de Saint Géry
GNSO Secretariat
gnso.secretariat@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://gnso.icann.org