IP CONSTITUENCY
SPEAKING UP: IPC FIGHTS FOR gTLD PROTECTION
Although there continues to be a strong feeling in many Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) communities that there is no public demand for the programme, and no proven public need, ICANN’s board of directors has decided to move forward with the new generic top-level domain (gTLD) programme.
Te introduction of an ‘unlimited’ number of new gTLDs is likely to create a ‘land rush’—in the top and second levels—of previously unheard-of proportions. Te clear winners in this situation are those in the domain name business, namely, those who will become ‘back-end’ registrars for the many new gTLDs, and the registries which will have hundreds of new gTLDs in which to sell domains. Also, some will sweep up as many
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desirable domains in new gTLDs as possible— including those which contain trademarks—and then try to re-sell them for a considerable profit. Te Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) is available as a defence to this practice, as is court action, but if the sale of the domain name is properly priced, many brand owners will choose to pay, as
it is quicker,
cheaper and certain, and the domain purchasers know this.
Many brand owners are concerned that they will need to create or increase costly domain name defensive positions in new gTLDs because of a few unscrupulous registrants and the less- than-satisfactory rights protection mechanisms built in to the programme. A year hence, it will
Trademarks Brands and the Internet Volume 1, Issue 2
be interesting to examine the collective cost to brand owners who were forced to seek defensive registrations in new gTLDs against the net gain by various registrars and registries. It will also be interesting in two or three years’ time to see whether many new gTLDs are successful for the purpose sought.
So, with these concerns in mind, who is speaking for, and defending the position of, brand owners at ICANN?
The Intellectual Property Constituency
Te Intellectual Property Constituency (IPC) is one of six constituencies of the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) of ICANN,
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