Purpose (Brief): The IOC/RCRC Drafting Team (DT) requests community comment on the latest recommendations created for second level protections of names relating to the International Olympic Committee and the Red Cross/Red Crescent.
Public Comment Box Link: www.icann.org/en/news/public-comment/ioc-rcrc-recommendations-28sep12-en.htm
This ICANN announcement was sourced from:
www.icann.org/en/news/announcements/announcement-28sep12-en.htm
One of the four applicants for the .RADIO gTLD, BRS Media, is claiming âICANNâs Governmental Advisory Committee has a âdirect conflict of interestâ over the gTLD,â 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 âMorality 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.â The complaints, so far anyway, are only against gTLDs ICM Registry has applied for. But there are two .SEX applications â 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 âfor 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,â notes Dan Duval, one of Sedoâs legal staff.
âDecisions 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,â continues Duval.
Success by the IOC included âa 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.â
The article concludes suggesting registrants âsteer 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.â
The Paris based registry start-up Starting Dot submitted five applications for community-based new gTLDs as part of ICANNâs 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.
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
Purpose (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
The International Olympic Committee has written to ICANN stating its unhappiness with the new generic Top Level Domain process saying they “uniformly request – in the event that ICANN does proceed to launch an unlimited number of new gTLDs – that the Olympic trademarks, including OLYMPIC and OLYMPIAD, be placed on the reserved names list.” Continue reading Olympic Committee Thinks It's God And Gets Grumpy With ICANN Over New gTLDs
The International Olympic Committee has written to ICANN stating its unhappiness with the new generic Top Level Domain process saying they “uniformly request – in the event that ICANN does proceed to launch an unlimited number of new gTLDs – that the Olympic trademarks, including OLYMPIC and OLYMPIAD, be placed on the reserved names list.”In their opening paragraph the IOC also note they have “submitted eleven public comments to ICANN opposing its new gTLD program” and to date had not received a response.And if the IOC does not get what it wants, they say they “are prepared to employ all available legislative, regulatory, administrative and judicial mechanisms to hold ICANN accountable for damage caused to the Olympic Movement.”If the IOC had taken an interest in the process it would have undoubtedly realised that responding to every submission would be difficult and time consuming. But the IOC has form in being demanding.The IOC also notes they request – at least they did not say they “require” – “adequate rights protection measures necessary to quell an expected unprecedented level of cybersquatting and trademark infringement”. They are also grumpy these issues have been “relegated to consideration by the GNSO who they describe as having “no motivation to support effective trademark protection mechanisms and who actively aim to reduce accountability for intermediaries and legitimize cybersquatting.”The four page letter then waffles on with its usual list of complaints, expanding on the points above. They also claim the trademark clearing house is not an effective means of dealing with trademark infringements for them as the clearinghouse will only deal with “marks under existing treaties” that “undult discriminates against future Olympic Games, host cities and corresponding trademark rights.”The full text of the most recent letter to ICANN from the IOC is available at:
forum.icann.org/lists/5gtld-guide/pdfsTERbi7N96.pdf