Lawrence Strickling, assistant secretary at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), wrote to Icann yesterday to express his concerns about brands being unaware of existing protection measures and stakeholders not knowing enough about the programme.
His letter, which follows two Congress hearings on gTLDs in December 2011, also asks Icann to resolve problems over Whois, the Registrar Accreditation Agreement and contract compliance by the end of 2012.
Writing to Icann chair Steve Crocker, Strickling said Icann may have to “phase in” new gTLDs once it becomes clear in April how many gTLDs have been applied for. His comments follow concerns voiced last month by Senators and House Representatives, who said the initiative would cause consumer confusion if the number of gTLDs was not capped.
Strickling then said that the NTIA, working with stakeholders and other government representatives in the GAC, would evaluate whether more trade mark measures were required at the second-level.
Successful gTLD applicants can offer additional protection mechanisms to those in the Applicant Guidebook such as the Trademark Clearinghouse, but additional measures are not mandatory.
Strickling then criticised Icann on two points, saying it had not clearly explained existing rights protection mechanisms and had not sufficiently publicised the programme.
“In meetings we have held with industry over the past few weeks, we have learned that there is tremendous concern about the specifics of the program that may lead to a number of unintended and unforeseen consequences and could jeopardise its success.”
While he didn’t explain how it should act, Strickling said Icann must minimise the perceived need among trade mark holders to register defensively at the top level – before the application window closes. He said brand owners had not fully appreciated how they can avoid filing costly defensive registrations.
Strickling, who recently said parties asking the US government to halt the process provided “ammunition” to other governments trying to step in, claimed stakeholders were still unclear about the process.
At Icann’s Dakar meeting in October 2011, the board approved adding $900,000 to the then $805,000 budget. Icann appointed PR firm Burson-Marsteller to advertise the campaign, while chief executive Rod Beckstrom said he has visited 18 countries since September to raise awareness of gTLDs.
And after outlining his concerns, Strickling said he wanted Icann to resolve three further issues this year.
First, he wants Icann to adopt proposals from law enforcement officials, who want registrars to introduce tougher measures such as providing details of registrants using privacy services. Icann hopes to amend the Registration Accreditation Agreement at its meeting in March.
Second, Strickling urges Icann to address “apparent deficiencies in the implementation of Whois policy”. He expects the board to act on a working group’s recommendations by June and introduce a clearer policy.
And finally, echoing concerns made the US Federal Trade Commission, Icann should ensure that registries and registrars comply with their contracts to a stronger degree. This would be achieved by employing more staff, Strickling said.
