Re: [council] Fake Renewal Notices

[Mason Cole <mcole@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Brian --

Many thanks for your question and please forgive my long delay in replying. 

By way of an update, several registrars have provided me with examples of fake 
renewal notices, which I have filed.  I had hoped to have some legal assistance 
in crafting a submission to the American and Canadian consumer protection 
authorities, but have not been able to do so.  I am happy to continue with this 
project (even as I will be leaving the council after the Buenos Aires meeting) 
-- would you or perhaps another attorney be willing to help put together a 
submission to consumer protection officials?  I would be pleased to finish this 
project off.

Thanks --

Mason

On Oct 10, 2013, at 11:49 AM, Winterfeldt, Brian J. wrote:

> Dear Mason:
>  
> I have a few questions with respect to fake renewal notices on behalf of the 
> IPC, and I am hopeful you will be able to provide the Council with an update 
> on the matter at your convenience.
>  
> By way of background, here is what the Council’s pending projects list most 
> recently provided:
>  
> At its meeting in July, the GNSO Council considered the report of the Fake 
> Renewal Notices DT 
> (seehttp://gnso.icann.org/issues/frn/fake-renewal-notices-updated-report-20jun12-en.pdf).
>  On the recommendation of the RrSG, a number of alternative approaches are 
> now being pursued to address this issue, including working with ICANN 
> Compliance, reaching out to the relevant local authorities and considering 
> whether it would be appropriate to address this as part of the RAA 
> negotiations. Mason Cole provided a status update by email in February (see 
> http://gnso.icann.org/mailing-lists/archives/council/msg14235.html). The 
> Council will consider at its next meeting whether to close this project.
>  
> And your latest update was as follows:
>  
> You may recall that the council investigated a PDP but ultimately decided to 
> reserve resources for such a PDP for other work, since the matter could be 
> dealt with more effectively by registrars communicating to relevant law 
> enforcement (particularly in North America).  Since that time I have been 
> collecting from registrars examples of fake renewal notices, which I will 
> provide to the attorney that works with our SG -- she will help us submit 
> them to the FTC in the US and other relevant law enforcement and consumer 
> protection agencies. 
>  
> I realize it's been a while since the council has been updated on this, but I 
> want to make sure we have as complete a case as possible when we approach the 
> authorities.  I anticipate doing so shortly and will of course update the 
> council when that step is complete.
>  
> My question is whether the RrSG was able to collect examples for fake renewal 
> notices and provide them to law enforcement agencies, as well as pursue 
> additional efforts on the matter.  Was there any report delivered on these 
> efforts?  And what specifically has been done to address fake renewal notices 
> or deceptive advertising practices from resellers?
>  
> We look forward to receiving an update from you on these inquiries.
>  
> Thank you,
>  
> Brian
>  
> Brian J. Winterfeldt 
> Head of Internet Practice
> Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP
> 2900 K Street NW, North Tower - Suite 200 / Washington, DC 20007-5118
> p / (202) 625-3562 f / (202) 339-8244
> brian.winterfeldt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx / www.kattenlaw.com
>  
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