Tag Archives: Olympic Games

Cybersecurity

Daily Wrap: Christians Oppose Sex (gTLDs), .RADIO Conflicts And IOC’s Amazing UDRP Success

One of the four applicants for the .RADIO gTLD, BRS Media, is claiming “ICANN’s Governmental Advisory Committee has a ‘direct conflict of interest’ over the gTLD,” reports Domain Incite. The issue comes about from another applicant, the European Broadcasting Union, having observer status at the GAC.

It is well known that many Christians publicly oppose anything to do with sex, and this opposition has transferred to the new gTLD arena with Domain Incite reporting “Morality In Media, one of the groups that fought the approval of .xxx for years, has launched a letter-writing campaign against the proposed .sex, .porn and .adult top-level domains.” The complaints, so far anyway, are only against gTLDs ICM Registry has applied for. But there are two .SEX applications – the second is from Internet Marketing Solutions Limited, while there is also an application for .SEXY.

The International Olympic Committee has been busy not only preparing for the London Olympics in a few weeks, but also “for domain owners, and anyone else, who uses a word or phrase that could be construed as being sponsored by the IOC or any of its affiliates,” notes Dan Duval, one of Sedo’s legal staff.

“Decisions dealing with the 2012 Olympics have shown that World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) panels are willing to broaden their interpretation of the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) beyond traditional trademark rights, especially when dealing with domains containing any word that could be associated with the Olympics,” continues Duval.

Success by the IOC included “a WIPO panel forced the transfer of mylondon2012.com to the London Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG). The owner registered the domain in 2005, the same day the IOC announced the location of the 2012 Summer Olympics.”

The article concludes suggesting registrants “steer clear of domains containing words or combinations of words that could result in the forced transfer of such domains to the IOC, as with a domain as seemingly harmless as mylondon2012.com.”

The Paris based registry start-up Starting Dot submitted five applications for community-based new gTLDs as part of ICANN’s new gTLD programme. The TLDs are .ARCHI, .BIO, .SKI, .DESIGN and .IMMO and will use the registry system of the German based provider KSregistry GmbH as technical framework. Starting Dot is a new registry managing a portfolio of new industry-related TLDs that was founded in Paris in October 2011.

Domain Name Disputes

London Olympics Cracks Down On Websites Selling Unauthorised/Fake Tickets

A hitlist of 30 websites and 970 individuals – many linked to organised crime – are being targeted in an investigation into the sale of unauthorised or fake tickets for the London Olympics that start at the end of July.According to a report in The Guardian, all of those targeted are outside the United Kingdom. The investigation, called Podium, results from a “dossier of information from a Sunday Times investigation containing evidence that Olympic officials and agents were prepared to sell thousands of tickets for up to £6,000 each.””One of the greatest threats to ticketing comes from international websites purporting to sell seats. Some may be selling unauthorised tickets illegally or committing fraud by selling tickets that do not exist.”None of the 30 websites have domain names registered in the UK.For more information on the investigation in The Guardian, go to:
www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/jun/19/olympic-tickets-police-black-market

ICANN and Governance, New gTLDs

ICANN Public Comment: Proposal to Protect International Red Cross and International Olympic Committee Names at the Top Level in New gTLDs

ICANN logoPurpose (Brief): Public comment is being sought by the IOC/RC Drafting Team established by the GNSO Council on an expedited basis as a matter of urgency on a proposal developed in collaboration with the GAC and the IOC/RC Drafting Team to implement certain protections for Red Cross/Red Crescent and International Olympic Committee names at the top level commencing with the first round of New GTD applications.

It is recognized that that the time frame is exceptionally short because of the time constraints imposed by the closing of the new gTLD application window on April 12, 2012, and the new working relationship between the GNSO community and the GAC. It should also be noted that these recommendations may be the subject of possible action by the GNSO Council on 14 March 2012 at the ICANN Meeting in Costa Rica.

Public Comment Box Link: www.icann.org/en/news/public-comment/ioc-rcrc-proposal-02mar12-en.htm

ICANN and Governance

Beijing Olympics To Trump London On IPv6 Adoption

Supporters of the adoption of IPv6 had been hoping that the London Olympics in 2012 would follow the 2008 Beijing Olympics where “the Chinese government boasted proudly of the way it was using IPv6 for its network infrastructure” reports the Wall Street Journal.But sadly this is not to be with a spokesperson for the London 2012 organisers saying:
Such is the scale of technology required for Olympic Games, it tends to be tried and tested. We work closely with our technology partners to ensure that we have operational certainty across the project. As such we will be using IPv4 for London 2012.The move has disappointed those working towards IPv6 adoption such as Axel Pawlik, managing director of the European not-for-for-profit internet registry Ripe NCC.”Adopting IPv6 would be a great opportunity for London to lead by example and to leave a lasting technology legacy for the city as well,” Mr. Pawlik said. “The cost would be negligible in the context of other expenditure on stadiums and so on.”Pawlik also noted that it is unlikely there will be any IPv4 addresses still available by the time of the London Olympics.In Beijing, according to Mr. Pawlik, IPv6 was used for everything from high-definition video to security systems and traffic-congestion monitoring using sensors fitted to 15,000 Beijing taxis. “If London doesn’t adopt it, this really will be an economic opportunity missed,” he said.To read this Wall Street Journal report in full, see:
blogs.wsj.com/tech-europe/2011/09/26/london-wont-follow-beijings-lead-on-net-addresses/

Cybersecurity

Olympics Committee Social Media Guidelines For London 2012 Include Domain Names

There are not many organisations in the world that are as vociferous in their control of their trademarks as the International Olympic Committee. With the London Olympics scheduled for 2012, the IOC has issued social media guidelines for participants and other accredited persons.

The guidelines also refer to domain names that include “the word ‘Olympic’ or ‘Olympics’ or any similar words related thereto (or any foreign language equivalents thereof) are not allowed unless approved by the IOC beforehand.”

The IOC gives the example of[myname]olympic.com which would not be permitted while [myname].com/olympic would be allowed, but only during the period of the Olympic Games during which these Guidelines are applicable. The guidelines also note that “participants and other accredited persons may not create stand-alone Olympic-themed websites, application or any other feature to host coverage of the Olympic Games.”

On social media such as Twitter and Facebook, the control continues. The guidelines state “the IOC encourages participants and other accredited persons to post comments on social media platforms or websites and tweet during the Olympic Games, and it is entirely acceptable for a participant or any other accredited person to do a personal posting, blog or tweet. However, any such postings, blogs or tweets should be in a first-person, diarytype format and should not be in the role of a journalist – i.e. they must not report on competition or comment on the activities of other participants or accredited persons, or disclose any information which is confidential or private in relation to any other person or organisation. A tweet is regarded in this respect as a short blog and the same guidelines are in effect, again, in first-person, diary-type format.

“Postings, blogs and tweets should at all times conform to the Olympic spirit and fundamental principles of Olympism as contained in the Olympic Charter, be dignified and in good taste, and not contain vulgar or obscene words or images.”

For the guidelines in full, click here [PDF].