RE: [registrars] What is involved in WIPO II

["Tim Ruiz" <tim@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Bob,

 

I, for one, oppose any attempt to expand WIPO to cover country names, their
acronyms, and IGOs. Could the Gov't of Turkey then come after me for using
the domain TurkeyTime.com? If these become covered under WIPO there will be
a tail spin of dispute activity that is going to sidetrack all of us
unnecessarily for a very long time.

 

Tim

 

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-registrars@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:owner-registrars@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Robert F. Connelly
Sent: Thursday, December 18, 2003 1:39 AM
To: Registrars Constituency
Subject: [registrars] What is involved in WIPO II

 

Dear Registrars: 

Some months ago, I was appointed to the WIPO II Assistance Group. (See
footnote 2, below) This is an initial comment on the process.

The names of the study members was announced just before the Carthage
meeting of ICANN.  Suddenly, prior to the time that our designated Chair
organized the Group, there was a fire storm of agenda (hidden and open) on
the WIPO2 mailing list.  I would characterize it like Don Quixote galloping
off in all directions:-(

Here are my comments on what I consider to be the substance of the debates:

1. Attention has been focused upon the publicity about WIPO II.  Most of the
light has been focused upon combatting abusive use of domains composed of
the 1. names of sovereign countries and, 2., the names and acronyms of
International Governmental Organisations.  

2. Supposedly, abuses would be subject to UDRP challenges.

3. However, the expansion of UDRP could be subject to *binding* arbitration.
Some members of the discussion warn that such would put ICANN in the
position of being a judicial tribunal superior to national courts.

As your representative on the WIPO II Assistance Group, I am persuaded to
oppose any attempt to move the UDRP from voluntary to mandatory arbitration.

Now, for comments on what *is* included in WIPO II.

1.  Country names may be protected in a variety of languages. 

The six UN languages are as follows:  Arabic, Chinese, English, French,
Russian and Spanish.  It is not clear whether names in Arabic, Chinese and
Russian may be challenged if the ASCII renderings of those names are to be
protected.  (At some date, we will need to consider the expanded scope when
IDN domains are in the root -- such as they are *today* for .com and .net;-)

As for the names of countries in their local languages,  it is clear that
guidance is needed for country names on non roman characters and Asian
ideographs.  For example, would the romanization of Japan's own names,
"Nihon" and "Nippon", but subject to protection and challenge UDRP
challenge?

2.  IGOs include names such as ITU, UNESCO, etc.  But what about UTI, the
French rendering of ITU?  I presume it till also be protected, though it
does not appear in the list, Footnote 1, below. 

An expanded list of organisations subject to protection is added at the
bottom of this message, courtesy of Dr. Froomkin:

What about future implications?  What about proactive protection of these
ASCII strings?  As registrars, I believe we would prefer for it to be done
by the registries, such as was done by Afilias prior to the .info Landrush.
That is, by blocking "registrations" in the .info database.  Some registries
would disagree.

Regards, BobC

Footnote 1:

There follows a necessarily limited list of large international
organizations, grouped together by continent. Each institution is followed
by a list of its official languages. Not all of those languages are
necessarily used at all meetings. Another point to be borne in mind is that
international organizations are grouped into larger "systems" i.e. the UN
system, the co-ordinated institutions sector, the European Union
institutions. Each system has its own official languages: Arabic, Chinese,
English, French, Russian and Spanish in the case of the UNO; English and
French in the coordinated institutions (CE, ESA, OECD, NATO, WEU); Danish,
Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish
and Swedish for the European Union institutions.




AFRICA:


  
  
ADB (African Development Bank), Abidjan   
English, French   
  
ECA (Economic Commission for Africa), Addis-Ababa 

UNO 
English, French (occasionally Spanish)   
  
HABITAT (United Nations Division for Human Habitat), Nairobi 

UNO 
Arabic, English, French, Russian, Spanish   
  
OAU (Organization of African Unity), Addis-Ababa   
Arabic, English, French   
  
UNEP (United Nations Environment Program), Nairobi 

UNO 
Arabic, English, French, Russian, Spanish   
  




AMERICAS:


  
  
ECLAC (Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean), Santiago de
Chile 

UNO 

English, French, Spanish   
  
IADB (Interamerican Development Bank), Washington   
English, French, Portuguese, Spanish   
  
ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization), Montreal   
English, French, Russian, Spanish (also Arabic and Chinese)   
  
IMF (International Monetary Fund), Washington   
Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish   
  
INTELSAT (International Telecommunications Satellite Organization),
Washington   
English, French, Spanish   
  
OAS (Organization of American States), Washington   
English, French, Portuguese, Spanish   
  
PAHO (Pan American Health Organization), Washington   
English, Spanish (also French and Portuguese)   
  
UNO (United Nations Organization), New York   
Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish   
  




ASIA: 


  
  
ESCAP (Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific), Bangkok 

UNO 
Chinese, English, French, Russian   
  
SPC (South Pacific Commission), Noumea   
English, French   
  




EUROPE:


  
  
CE (Council of Europe), Strasbourg 

Coordinated institutions 
English, French (sometimes Dutch, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish and,
occasionally, Eastern European languages)   
  
CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research), Geneva   
English, French   
  
CEU (Commission of the European Union), Brussels 

EU 
Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese,
Spanish, Swedish   
  
CICR (International Red Cross Committee), Geneva   
French (Arabic, English, Farsi, German, Spanish)   
  
ECJ (European Court of Justice), Luxembourg 

EU 
Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese,
Spanish, Swedish   
  
EP (European Parliament), Luxembourg, Brussels and Strasbourg 

EU 
Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese,
Spanish, Swedish   
  
EPO (European Patent Office), Munich   
English, French, German   
  
ESA (European Space Agency), Paris 

Coordinated institutions 
English, French, German and sometimes Italian   
  
EUROCONTROL, Brussels   
English, French, German, and sometimes Dutch, Greek, Hungarian, Portuguese,
Turkish, Spanish, Italian and a Scandinavian booth   
  
FAO (United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization), Rome 

UNO 
Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish   
  
IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), Vienna 

UNO 
Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish   
  
IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural Development), Rome 

UNO 
Arabic, English, French, Spanish   
  
ILO (International Labour Office), Geneva 

UNO 
Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese, Russian, Spanish   
  
IMO (International Maritime Organization), London 

UNO 
Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish   
  
ITU (International Telecommunications Union), Geneva 

UNO 
Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish   
  
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), Brussels 

Coordinated institutions 
English, French (Russian)   
  
OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), Paris   
English, French 

Coordinated institutions 
  
OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe), Vienna   
English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Russian   
  
UNESCO (United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organization), Paris 

UNO 
Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish   
  
UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization), Vienna   
Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish 

UNO 
  
UNO (United Nations Organization), Geneva, Vienna 

UNO 
Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish   
  
UPU (Universal Postal Union), Berne   
Arabic, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish   
  
WCU (World Customs Union), Brussels   
English, French, sometimes Arabic, Russian and Spanish   
  
WEU (Western European Union), Brussels, Paris   
English, French (occasionally Dutch, German, Italian, Spanish)   
  
WHO (World Health Organization), Geneva 

UNO 
Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish   
  
WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization), Geneva 

UNO 
Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish   
  
WMO (World Meteorological Organization), Geneva 

UNO 
Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish   
  
WTO (World Tourism Organization), Madrid   
English, French, Russian, Spanish   
  
WTO (World Trade Organization), Geneva   
English, French, Spanish  

Footnote 2:

6 October 2003 


    President Appoints Joint Working Group for WIPO-2 Process Issues

   Dr. Paul Twomey, ICANN's President, is pleased to announce a Joint
Working Group concerning the results of
   the WIPO Second Internet Domain Name Process (WIPO-2 Process). The
President was directed to appoint a
   Joint Working Group resulting from a Board Resolution of 2 June 2003
(text of resolution provided below) and
   consultation with the Generic Name Supporting Organization (GNSO) and its
constituencies, the Governmental
   Advisory Committee (GAC) and the At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC).

   The Joint Working Group is tasked with analyzing the practical and
technical aspects of implementing WIPO-2
   Process recommendations in a manner consistent with ICANN's mission, and
the implications for the Uniform
   Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP).

   The Joint Working Group shall initially consist of the following
individuals:

   GNSO Members - Philip Sheppard, Commercial and Business Users
Constituency; Michael Froomkin,
   Non-Commercial Users Constituency; David Maher, gTLD Registries
Constituency; Mike Heltzer, Intellectual
   Property Interests Constituency; Robert F. Connelly, Registrars
Constituency; and Maggie Mansourkia, Internet
   Service and Connectivity Providers Constituency.

   GAC Members - Vanda Scartezini (BR), Christian Wichard (WIPO). Lena
Carlson (SE). Jean-Christophe
   Chouvet (FR), Olive Chikankheni (Malawi), Richard Hill (ITU) and Martin
Boyle (UK)

   ALAC Members - Sebastian Ricciardi (Argentina) and Wendy Seltzer (USA)