ICANN: Initial Report on Protection of IGO and INGO Identifiers in All gTLDs

Purpose (Brief):Â

The Generic Names Supporting Organization (“GNSO“) Policy Development Process Working Group tasked with addressing the issue of Protecting the identifiers of certain International Government Organizations (“IGOs”) and International Non-Governmental Organizations (“INGOs”) in all gTLDs has published its Initial Report for public comment.

Current Status:Â

The GNSO Policy Development Process Working Group (“PDP WG“) on the Protection of IGO and INGO Identifiers in all gTLDs has published this Initial Report and is soliciting community input on the proposed policy recommendation options currently under consideration by the PDP WG. This Initial Report has also been submitted to the GNSO Council on 14 June 2013.

Next Steps:Â

Following the review of and taking into account the public comments received during this Public Forum, the PDP WG will continue its deliberations on the proposed policy recommendation options in view of reaching consensus on a set of policy recommendations, which if reached, will be included in a draft Final Report. The draft Final Report with the final policy recommendations will be published for public comment. The PDP WG will take into account any input received and submit a Final Report to the GNSO Council for further action.

Detailed Information

Section I: Description, Explanation, and Purpose:

In its Initial Report the PDP WG provides background information on the issues related to the protection for certain IGO and INGO (including the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement (“RCRC”) and International Olympic Committee (“IOC”)) identifiers. The report also includes a summary of the Working Group’s deliberations with respect to the issues defined in the WG‘s Charter.

Most importantly, sections 4.3 through 4.7 of this Initial Report present a list of proposed policy recommendation options currently being considered by the PDP WG, for the protection of certain IGO and INGO identifiers in all gTLDs. The proposed policy recommendation options for the protection of certain IGO and INGO identifiers presented in this Report (including the option to provide no special protections) are delineated between top and second level domains.

The proposed policy recommendation options for the protection of the organization’s identifiers in all gTLDs presented in this report do not represent a consensus position by the Working Group members; but rather, are options which the Working Group is considering. The objective of this Initial Report is to present the proposed policy recommendation options currently under consideration to solicit feedback from the community on these recommendations. Specifically, the Working Group would welcome comments from community members on the following questions:

Which recommendation option(s) for the protection of certain IGO and INGO (including RCRC and IOC) identifiers at the top and/or second levels as listed in Sections 4.3 to 4.7 would you support? Please provide a rationale.
If you do not support any of the recommendation options, please suggest any reasonable alternatives as delineated between top and second-level protections you may have. Please also provide a rationale.

Section II: Background:

For a detailed background and history of the issue on whether to protect certain IGO and INGO identifiers including the RCRC and IOC prior to the initiation of this PDP, please see the Final GNSO Issue Report on the Protection of International Organization Names in New gTLDs [PDF, 675 KB]. The Issue Report was initiated as a result of a recommendation by the GNSO Drafting Team formed to provide a GNSO Council response to the Board and GAC on the protection of IOC and RCRC names in new gTLDs. After community review, the scope of the Final GNSO Issue Report included an evaluation of whether to protect the names of both international government and non-government organizations at the top level and second level in all gTLDs.

At its October meeting last year, the GNSO Council considered the Final GNSO Issue Report on the Protection of International Organization Names in New gTLDs, and approved a motion to initiate a Policy Development Process (“PDP“) for the protection of certain international organization names and acronyms in all gTLDs. The Working Group (“WG“) was formed on 31 October 2012 and the WG Charter was approved by the GNSO Council on 15 November 2012. The decision was taken in this context to subsume the issues of the IOC and Red Cross Red Crescent designations and names under the new PDP WG process.

As part of its deliberations, the PDP WG was required under the WG Charter to consider the following questions:

Whether there is a need for special protections at the top and second level in all existing and new gTLDs for the names and acronyms of the following types of international organizations: International Governmental Organizations (IGOs) protected by international law and multiple domestic statutes, International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs) receiving protections under treaties and statutes under multiple jurisdictions, specifically including the Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement (RCRC), and the International Olympic Committee (IOC). In deliberating this issue, the WGshould consider the following elements:
- Quantifying the Entities to be Considered for Special Protection
- Evaluating the Scope of Existing Protections under International Treaties/National Laws for IGO, RCRC and IOC Names
- Establishing Qualification Criteria for Special Protection of International Organization Names
- Distinguishing Any Substantive Differences Between the RCRC and IOC From Other International Organizations
If there is a need for special protections at the top and second level in all existing and new gTLDs for certain international organization names and acronyms, the PDP WG is expected to develop policy recommendations for such protections. Specifically, the PDP WGshould:
- Determine whether the current special protections being provided to RCRC and IOC names at the top and second level of the initial round of new gTLDs should be made permanent for RCRC and IOC names in all gTLDs and if not, develop specific recommendations for the appropriate special protections for these names.
- Develop specific recommendations for appropriate special protections for the names and acronyms of all other qualifying international organizations.