Daily Update: ICANN’s .AFRICA Delegation Problems Continue; .KIDS Isn’t A Community and Chinese Perspective of Domain Disputes

DotConnectAfrica LogoThey won’t give up. They have little support within Africa, yet DotConnectAfrica (DCA) has not given up hope they will win the rights to operate the .africa gTLD

DotConnectAfrica LogoThey won’t give up. They have little support within Africa, yet DotConnectAfrica (DCA) has not given up hope they will win the rights to operate the .africa gTLD.

In the latest instalment, a Californian court has granted a Preliminary Injunction for DCA in a case against ICANN and the ZA Central Registry. What it means is they will be able to continue litigation over the gTLD application that has already been rejected twice.

“District judge Gary Klausner ruled yesterday that the litigation waiver all applicants had to sign when they applied may be unenforceable,” reported Domain Incite.

“‘The Court finds substantial questions as to the Release, weighing toward its unenforceability,’ he wrote.”

“California law says that such waivers cannot stop people being sued for fraud, and fraud is what DCA is alleging.”

“Combined with previous revelations in the .africa case – where ICANN’s staff were shown to have unduly influenced the process, covered up the fact and then denied having done so – the decision represents yet another mark against the nonprofit which hopes to take over the task of allocating all internet names and numbers from the US government later this year,” reported The Register in another report.

More details are available in both reports. But what it means is that DCA has at least some hope of gaining the rights to operate the gTLD.

And on another gTLD application, this time for .kids, the “DotKids Foundation has comprehensively lost is .kids Community Priority Evaluation,” reports Domain Incite.

“The company’s CPE results came out at the weekend, showing a score of 6 out of the 16 available points, a long way short of the 14-point passing score.”

“Like other ‘community’ new gTLD bids before it, .kids failed because the Economist Intelligence Unit panel decided that the application was an attempt to create a community rather than represent an existing one.”

And ever wondered about the Chinese perspective on domain name disputes? If so, Lung Tin Intellectual Property Agent may have come to save you! They’ve published on Lexology “What Do You Need to Know About Domain Name Disputes? from the Chinese Perspective”.