Sunday, May 10. 2009
As I explained after last week's GNSO Council meeting, ICANN is planning to publish a 3rd version of its Draft Applicant Guidebook (DAG) and then the final version before the year is out.
The timing is as I outlined: 3rd DAG in September, final version before the end of the year. ICANN has just confirmed this in an announcement in which it also gives a planned date for the start of the first round of applications for new gTLDs.
This is the date everyone has been waiting for. Unfortunately, no precise date has been given yet, but ICANN says it expects to be able to open the first round in the first quarter of 2010.
This timetable has been hinted at several times in the past few weeks but it is the first time ICANN has officially confirmed it.
Sunday, May 10. 2009
ICANN's Implementation Recommendation Team (IRT) was set up following the Mexico meeting in March to address potential issues for trademark holders in the implementation of new gTLDs.
The IRT has already come up with several proposals:
- IP Clearinghouse, Globally Protected Marks List and other top and second rights protection mechanisms;
- Draft Uniform Rapid Suspension System (URS) Procedure;
- Post delegation dispute resolution mechanisms at the top level;
- Thick Whois model requirements for new TLDs; and
- Use of algorithm in string confusion review during initial evaluation.
Working to an extremely tight schedule so that it can provide a final report in time for ICANN's next meeting (Sydney at the end of June), the IRT is set to publish that report on May 24. A comment period is currently underway, with a first deadline set for May 6. Anyone wishing for their comments to be considered by the IRT in its final report had to meet this deadline.
As the leading corporate registrar in France, INDOM is extremely mindful of trademark and IP issues. Our team of IP professionals prepared a comment which was submitted on May 5 and which can be read here.
We hope the IRT will find our comments useful as they continue their excellent work in the run-up to their final report.
|
