- Category: (replace this text with one of the following categories: Administration/Budget, Board, ccTLD, gTLD, IP, ICANN Structure, International Agreement, Root Zone)
- Topic: (replace this text with a keywords from title)
- Board meeting date: 27 May 1999
- Resolution number: 99.41, 99.42, 99.43, 99.44, 99.45, 99.46, 99.47, 99.48, 99.49
- URL for Board minutes/resolution: http://www.icann.org/en/minutes/minutes-27may99.htm
- Status: (replace this text with: Completed, Ongoing, Suspended)
Summary
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Text
Staff summarized the World Intellectual Property Organization's "Final Report of the WIPO Internet Domain Name Process" and the comments that ICANN received on its recommendations. (In advance of the meeting the Directors had an opportunity to consider a full summary of the comments received on the WIPO recommendations, attached as Exhibit B hereto.)
The report was summarized as consisting of three parts: one part recommends registrar practices (such as contact information requirements and pre-payment) to forestall intellectual property disputes; one part recommends a uniform administrative procedure for dispute resolution regarding "abusive registration" of domain names; and one part proposes prerequisites for moving forward with new gTLDs--including a proposed mechanism for excluding registration in new gTLDs of "globally famous or well-known" marks by non-mark owners. Staff noted that a large group of commentators took the position that ICANN should not act on any part of the report, but should instead refer it to the DNSO; another significant group of commentators urged ICANN to act quickly and to adopt as many of the recommendations as possible right away.
The staff noted that ICANN's Registrar Accreditation Agreement already requires most of the registrar practices called for in the first part of the WIPO report. It was also noted that the Agreement calls for registrars to adopt dispute resolution policies, and that accredited registrars are already working together to do so. Counsel noted that Network Solutions' registry-registrar contract also calls for registrars to have dispute resolution policies in place, and that registrars are anxious to have guidance on a uniform policy.
Staff noted that although many commentators expressed support for the concept of a uniform dispute resolution policy, some raised questions about the specific mechanism proposed by WIPO. In particular, concern has been raised about whether domain name holders who lost in the proposed administrative proceeding would have any effective way to challenge the outcome in court. The Directors discussed that the scope of the mechanism recommended by WIPO may be insufficient for registrars, as ICANN's agreement with accredited registrars calls for them to adopt a dispute resolution policy covering SLD-related disputes, not only abusive registrations. The consensus among the Directors was that the Board supported the general concept of uniform dispute resolution for gTLD registrars, but that the details should be referred for further study by the DNSO--under an expedited time-line designed to facilitate adoption of uniform policies by registrars as soon as possible.
Staff noted that the WIPO recommendations regarding an exclusion mechanism for "globally famous or well-known" marks were the most controversial--with several commentators arguing that they would provide mark owners with rights beyond those granted under trademark law. The consensus among the Directors was that this issue also should be considered further by the DNSO.
Upon motion duly made and seconded, the Board then unanimously approved the adoption of the following resolutions (Director Capdeboscq being absent):WHEREAS, in the White Paper the U.S. Government called on the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to develop recommendations regarding trademark disputes concerning domain names;
WHEREAS, on April 30, 1999, WIPO submitted a report to the ICANN Board containing numerous recommendations that resulted from an extensive consultative process;
WHEREAS, the first ICANN-accredited registrars (testbed registrars), are preparing to introduce competition in the provision of domain registration services and accordingly are required soon to implement dispute resolution policies;
RESOLVED (Resolution 99.41), the ICANN Board commends the WIPO on its report, which the ICANN Board finds represents a substantial and positive contribution to the analysis and discussion of issues concerning the relationship between the domain-name system and intellectual property rights;
FURTHER RESOLVED (Resolution 99.42), the ICANN Board notes that most of the recommendations in Chapter 2 of the WIPO report relating to best practices for registrars are closely similar to many of the elements of the Statement of Registrar Accreditation Policy adopted by the Board on March 4, 1999 and that the provisions of that policy are scheduled for review by the Board in the first half of 2000;
FURTHER RESOLVED (Resolution 99.43), the ICANN Board endorses the principle that a uniform dispute resolution policy should be adopted for Registrars in the .com, .net, and .org Top-Level Domains (TLDs);
FURTHER RESOLVED (Resolution 99.44), the ICANN Board encourages the testbed registrars to work together to formulate a model dispute resolution policy for voluntary adoption and directs the President to provide information and similar assistance to the testbed registrars in this regard;
FURTHER RESOLVED (Resolution 99.45), the ICANN Board refers the recommendations in Chapter 3 of the WIPO report (with associated annexes) to the ICANN Domain Name Supporting Organization (DNSO) for recommendations the DNSO, to be submitted to the ICANN Board by July 31, 1999;
FURTHER RESOLVED (Resolution 99.46), the ICANN Board requests that by July 31, 1999 the DNSO submit to the Board any other recommendations the DNSO may have concerning a uniform dispute resolution policy for registrars in the .com, .net, and .org TLDs;
FURTHER RESOLVED (Resolution 99.47), the ICANN Board requests all persons desiring to make written comments concerning a uniform dispute resolution policy for registrars in the .com, .net, and .org TLDs to submit those comments by August 20, 1999, in advance of the Board s meeting scheduled for August 24-26, 1999 in Santiago, at which time Board action on such a policy is hereby scheduled; and
FURTHER RESOLVED (Resolution 99.48), the ICANN Board refers the recommendations in Chapters 4 and 5 (with associated annexes) of the WIPO report to the ICANN DNSO for recommendations on the topics of those chapters, to be submitted to the ICANN Board at the earliest practicable time after the Board s meeting scheduled for August 24-26, 1999 in Santiago.
Implementation Actions
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- Responsible entity: (replace this text with the responsible entity: ICANN department, ICANN Community Structure, Board, U.S. Department of Commerce)
- Due date: (replace this text with Due Date)
- Completion date: (replace this text with Date action was implemented)
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- Responsible entity: (replace this text with the responsible entity: ICANN department, ICANN Community Structure, Board, U.S. Department of Commerce)
- Due date: (replace this text with Due Date)
- Completion date: (replace this text with Date action was implemented)
Other Related Resolutions
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Additional Information
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