[council] Call for Volunteers: New GNSO Policy Development Process Working Group to Review All Rights Protection Mechanisms in All gTLDs

[Glen de Saint Géry <Glen@xxxxxxxxx>]

https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-2016-03-21-en
Call for Volunteers: New GNSO Policy Development Process Working Group to 
Review All Rights Protection Mechanisms in All gTLDs
In Brief

The Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) Council seeks volunteers for a 
new Working Group that will conduct a Policy Development Process (PDP) to 
Review All Rights Protection Mechanisms (RPMs) in All Generic Top-Level Domains 
(gTLDs). The GNSO Council approved the PDP Working Group's 
Charter<http://gnso.icann.org/en/drafts/rpm-charter-26feb16-en.pdf> [PDF, 510 
KB] on 9 March 
2016<https://community.icann.org/display/gnsocouncilmeetings/Motions+9+March+2016>.

What This Team Will Do

1.      Conduct the PDP in two phases

This PDP Working Group is being chartered to conduct a review of all RPMs in 
all gTLDs in two phases as defined in the approved 
charter<http://gnso.icann.org/en/drafts/whois-ng-gtld-rds-charter-07oct15-en.pdf>
 [PDF, 524 KB]: Phase One will focus on a review of all the RPMs that were 
developed for the New gTLD Program (i.e. the Trademark Clearinghouse and 
associated notification and sunrise mechanisms, the Uniform Rapid Suspension 
procedure, and the Post-Delegation Dispute Resolution Procedures), and Phase 
Two will focus on a review of the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP).

At a minimum, in each Phase of this PDP, the Working Group will be expected to 
first assess the effectiveness of the relevant RPM(s), for which it should seek 
the input of experienced online dispute resolution providers and other subject 
matter experts, as appropriate. The Working Group is also expected to look at 
the interplay between and complementary roles of each RPM in seeking to more 
fully understand their overall functioning and effectiveness. Ultimately, the 
goal is for the Working Group to consider the overarching issue as to whether 
or not all the RPMs collectively fulfill the purposes for which they were 
created, or whether additional policy recommendations are needed, including to 
clarify and unify the policy goals.

In public comments to the UDRP Final Issue 
Report<http://gnso.icann.org/en/issues/udrp/udrp-final-issue-report-03oct11-en.pdf>
 [PDF, 2.69 MB], the RPM Staff 
Paper<http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/reviews/rpm/rpm-review-11sep15-en.pdf> [PDF 
2.5 MB], and the Preliminary Issue 
Report<https://www.icann.org/public-comments/rpm-prelim-issue-2015-10-09-en> 
for this PDP, various community groups and participants had identified a number 
of issues that they considered appropriate for review in a PDP. As such, the 
Working Group is expected to consider these community suggestions, which have 
been listed in the Working Group Charter, with further modifications, additions 
and deletions to be determined by consensus of the Working Group.

2.      Coordinate its work with other parallel efforts

The Working Group will monitor the progress of and, where appropriate, 
coordinate with, other ICANN groups that are working on topics that may overlap 
with or otherwise provide useful input to this PDP. These other efforts include 
the Competition, Consumer Trust and Consumer Choice Review Team, the Trademark 
Clearinghouse Independent Review and the GNSO's PDP Working Group on New gTLDs 
Subsequent Procedures. In this regard, the GNSO Council directed that a GNSO 
community liaison be appointed by the two GNSO PDP Working Groups. Further, as 
the manager of the policy development process, the GNSO Council is to be kept 
informed about the various coordination efforts so that in case of conflict 
between these groups, the Council may take the appropriate action to align the 
different work processes.

At the conclusion of Phase One of its work, the Working Group is expected to 
assess the need for modification to its Charter and, if appropriate, submit a 
request to the GNSO Council accordingly for the subsequent phase(s) of its work.

How This Team Will Work

ICANN Working Groups use transparent, open processes. The meetings of this PDP 
Working Group will be recorded and transcribed, and the recordings and 
transcriptions will be available to the public. The mailing list for the 
Working Group will be archived publicly. The group will collaborate using a 
public workspace for draft materials and all final work products and milestones 
will be documented on the WG's 
wiki<https://community.icann.org/display/RARPMRIAGPWG/Review+of+all+Rights+Protection+Mechanisms+%28RPMs%29+in+all+gTLDs+PDP+Working+Group+Home>.
 The PDP WG is expected to follow the GNSO Working Group 
Guidelines<http://gnso.icann.org/en/council/annex-1-gnso-wg-guidelines-08apr11-en.pdf>
 [PDF, 350 KB] as well as the GNSO PDP 
Manual<http://gnso.icann.org/en/council/annex-2-pdp-manual-16feb16-en.pdf> 
[PDF, 300 KB].

How to participate

There are two ways to volunteer:

  *   Individual Members - anyone interested can volunteer to join the PDP 
Working Group as a member, regardless of whether they are members of the ICANN 
community. Members are expected to actively contribute to mailing list 
conversations as well as meetings - it is anticipated that the Working Group 
will at a minimum meet on a weekly basis via teleconference. Members are 
expected to provide essential input to the process. Members will be required to 
provide a Statement of Interest 
(SOI<https://community.icann.org/display/gnsosoi/New+SOIs>).
  *   Mailing list observers - for those who are merely interested in 
monitoring the Working Group's deliberations, it is possible to sign up as a 
mailing list "observer" which offers read-only access to the mailing list. 
Mailing list observers will not be permitted to post, will not receive 
invitations to the meetings of the Working Group and will not have to complete 
a Statement of Interest. At any point in time, a mailing list observer can join 
the WG as a member simply by informing the GNSO 
Secretariat<mailto:gnso-secs@xxxxxxxxx?subject=Call%20for%20volunteers>.

In addition, there will be opportunities to provide input through public 
consultations and public comment processes that the PDP Working Group is 
expected to organize.

How to Join

If you are interested in joining the Working Group either as an individual 
participant or mailing list observer, please fill in the sign up 
form<http://goo.gl/forms/sMAaNujZdB> or send the Word 
document<https://community.icann.org/download/attachments/58729953/Review%20of%20all%20Rights%20Protection%20Mechanisms%20in%20all%20gTLDs%20PDP%5B1%5D.docx?version=2&modificationDate=1458138472316&api=v2>
 [DOCX, 72 KB], filled in, to the GNSO 
Secretariat<mailto:gnso-secs@xxxxxxxxx?subject=Call%20for%20volunteers>.

All members and observers will be listed on the PDP Working Group's wiki page.

Next steps

The GNSO Council directed that this call for volunteers be circulated as widely 
as possible in order to ensure broad representation and participation in the 
Working Group. it is anticipated that the Working Group will convene online for 
the first time in early April 2016. Following that, regular online meetings 
will be scheduled in accordance with the Working Group's work plan, which it is 
expected to develop as one of its first tasks.

Further information and preparation

For those interested in volunteering for this effort, you are strongly 
encouraged to review the following materials prior to the first meeting of the 
PDP WG:

  *   The Final Issue 
Report<http://gnso.icann.org/en/issues/new-gtlds/rpm-final-issue-11jan16-en.pdf>
 [PDF, 1 MB]
  *   The approved 
charter<http://gnso.icann.org/en/drafts/rpm-charter-26feb16-en.pdf> [PDF, 510 
KB]
  *   Materials available at the Working Group's online wiki 
workspace<https://community.icann.org/display/RARPMRIAGPWG/Review+of+all+Rights+Protection+Mechanisms+%28RPMs%29+in+all+gTLDs+PDP+Working+Group+Home>

Background

The question of who legally has rights to, or is the legitimate holder of, a 
domain name can be open to dispute. In relation to domain name disputes 
concerning the registration and use of legally protected trademarks, the 
Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy 
(UDRP)<https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/help/dndr/udrp-en> is the longest 
standing alternative dispute resolution procedure. As a result of the New gTLD 
Program, several new rights protection mechanisms (RPMs) were developed to 
mitigate potential risks and costs to trademark rights holders that could arise 
in the expansion of the gTLD namespace, which included certain safeguards to 
protect registrants who engage in legitimate uses of domain names: the Uniform 
Rapid Suspension System 
(URS)<https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/urs-2014-01-09-en>; the Trademark 
Clearinghouse 
(TMCH)<https://newgtlds.icann.org/en/about/trademark-clearinghouse> and the 
associated availability through the TMCH of Sunrise periods and the Trademark 
Claims notification service; and the Post-Delegation Dispute Resolution 
Procedures 
(PDDRPs)<https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/tm-pddrp-2013-10-31-en>. Prior 
to the launch of the New gTLD Program, on 3 October 2011 ICANN staff had 
published a Final Issue Report on the current state of the UDRP. The 
recommended course of action in that UDRP Final Issue 
Report<http://gnso.icann.org/en/issues/udrp/udrp-final-issue-report-03oct11-en.pdf>
 [PDF, 2.69 MB] was not to initiate a PDP at the time, but to hold off 
launching any such PDP until after the new URS had been in operation for at 
least eighteen (18) months. In addition, the September 2015 revised RPM Staff 
Paper<http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/reviews/rpm/rpm-review-11sep15-en.pdf> [PDF 
2.5 MB] had explicitly noted that some of the concerns identified by the 
community for consideration as part of a review of the RPMs might be 
appropriate topics for policy development work. The UDRP has not been subject 
to comprehensive review. There has also not been a full review of all the RPMs 
developed to date by ICANN, to consider whether or not they are collectively 
achieving the objectives for which they were created.

In preparation for this PDP, a new Preliminary Issue 
Report<http://gnso.icann.org/en/issues/new-gtlds/rpm-prelim-issue-09oct15-en.pdf>
 [PDF, 1.4 MB] was published for public 
comment<https://www.icann.org/public-comments/rpm-prelim-issue-2015-10-09-en> 
on 9 October 2015. A Final Issue 
Report<http://gnso.icann.org/en/issues/new-gtlds/rpm-final-issue-11jan16-en.pdf>
 [PDF, 1.2 MB] was subsequently published on 7 October 2015, including links to 
all public comments received, along with a draft charter for the PDP 
WG<http://gnso.icann.org/en/drafts/rpm-charter-26feb16-en.pdf> [PDF, 510 KB]. 
The final charter was approved by the GNSO Council on 9 March 
2016<https://community.icann.org/display/gnsocouncilmeetings/Motions+9+March+2016>,
 enabling the formation of a GNSO working group of community volunteers to 
conduct this PDP.

More information can be found on the activities webpage for GNSO PDP Review of 
All Rights Protection Mechanisms in All 
gTLDs<http://gnso.icann.org/en/group-activities/active/rpm> and the Working 
Group's online wiki 
workspace<https://community.icann.org/display/RARPMRIAGPWG/Review+of+all+Rights+Protection+Mechanisms+%28RPMs%29+in+all+gTLDs+PDP+Working+Group+Home>,
 which includes the charter, community input provided during the public comment 
period, and an extensive library of foundational materials to inform the 
Working Group's deliberations.

As this will be a complex multi-phase PDP, anyone interested in helping to 
shape the review of all RPMs in all gTLDs are encouraged to volunteer for this 
Working Group

________________________________


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