Daily Wrap: Opposition To Google, Amazon gTLDs; Iranian Group Pressures ICANN/RIPE On Internet Disconnection; Canadian Lodges ICANN Cybersquatting Complaint & Olympic gTLD Protections

A number of those involved in the domain name industry, led by Michele Neylon of Ireland’s Blacknight, are planning to complain to ICANN about dozens of single-registrant new gTLD applications filed by Google and Amazon, reports Domain Incite.

The report notes the “signatories of a new letter are bothered by plans by these companies and others to hold dictionary word gTLDs for their own exclusive use, not allowing regular internet users to register domains.”

So far the letter has been signed by 13 people, many of whom work for registrars.

Another Domain Incite report notes “ICANN wants to try to put the unresolved issues surrounding the Uniform Rapid Suspension system to bed and is planning a meeting in a couple of weeks time to solicit community input.”

There have also been calls for Iran to be disconnected from the internet to impede its activities.

According to a New York Times report, “United Against Nuclear Iran, an advocacy group that helped pressure a global banking communications network to expel sanctioned Iranian banks, said it had undertaken a new effort to force the authorities who assign international Internet addresses to block sanctioned Iranian entities and persons from access to the Web.”

The group has sent letters to ICANN and RIPE NCC that claim the organisations “may be in violation of Iran sanctions and that by disconnecting Internet access, ‘the dictatorial regime of Iran would be severely impeded in pursuing its illegal and amoral activities.’”

ICANN did not respond to the Times’ requests for comment, but RIPE, based in Amsterdam, said in a statement on their website that “RIPE NCC is in contact with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ensure that we operate in accordance with Dutch law and all applicable international sanctions. Our advice from the Ministry has been that the RIPE NCC is not in violation of these sanctions. However, we will investigate in cases where new information is provided to us and we will ensure that changing circumstances do not place the RIPE NCC in violation of sanctions.”

And in another Domain Incite report, “ICANN and several domain name companies have been slapped with a bizarre, virtually incomprehensible anti-cybersquattng lawsuit in Virginia.”

“Canadian Graham Schreiber, registrant of landcruise.com, has beef primarily with CentralNic — the UK-based company that sells third-levels domains under us.com, uk.com and the like — and one of its customers.”

Schreiber has apparently “discovered that a British individual named Lorraine Dunabin — who has a UK trademark on the word Landcruise — had registered both landcruise.co.uk and landcruise.uk.com.”

And then “having failed to take the .co.uk using Nominet’s Dispute Resolution Service (repeatedly referred to in the complaint as UDRP), Schreiber has instead filed this lawsuit to accuse Dunabin of ‘Dilution, Infringement [and] Passing off’ by registering the .uk.com.”

In another Domain Incite report, “ICANN’s board of directors has set itself a deadline [of 31 January] to come to a decision on special new gTLD protections for the International Olympic Committee and Red Cross.”