J Scott Evans of Yahoo! told the INTA Daily News that, while the business community remains divided over whether new gTLDs should be launched, trademark owners need to be prepared: “If it does happen, we need to have precautions in place.”
Evans is a member of ICANN’s Implementation Recommendation Team (IRT), which is due to submit its final report on rights protection mechanisms to the ICANN Board on May 24. The 18-member IRT published draft proposals last month, and has already received some 50 comments online and during meetings in San Francisco last week. Members say the final report will include “substantial changes” based on this feedback.
Tomorrow, members of the IRT will take part in a special panel discussion in Conference Center Ballroom 6A from 1:15 pm to 2:45 pm, where they will provide an update on the IRT’s work and the latest proposals. INTA members are welcome to ask questions and make comments at the session.
Once the final report is submitted on May 24, the ICANN Board is likely to seek further comments via its website and at the ICANN meeting in Sydney in June. Consultations will also be held in London on July 6 and New York on July 9. Nick Wood of Com Laude, who is a member of the IRT, said: “INTA members are strongly encouraged to come to these in person.” He added that Australian practitioners in particular should consider attending the Sydney meeting.
ICANN has identified trademark protection as one of four issues that need to be addressed before new gTLDs are launched. After the Sydney meeting, the Internet governance body is expected to publish a third Guidebook on the new gTLDs, with final decisions on the rollout process due to be made at its meeting in Seoul, Korea in October. If the process is approved, the number of gTLDs could be expanded from the present 21 to several thousand.
“What matters with the ICANN Board is hearing from brands that resonate with them in their daily lives,” said Evans. “We need to tell them that up until now brand owners have policed the Internet. But we don’t have any more time, patience or money to do so.”
“If trademark owners don’t make their voices heard, their absence will be noted,” added Caroline Chicoine of Fredrikson & Byron, who chairs the IRT.
