Who Are the Major New gTLD Applicants? Part 2 : Uniregistry

"Simple you said"? This is the approach FFM and Uniregistry have in common. A potential Registrant must go to his Registrar, follow a Sunrise Period process if he needs it, and with a few clicks, buy it at the right price. Then, the job is done! The new and mandatory Trademark Clearinghouse registration process is a good (and very expensive) idea but it adds many steps to registering a domain name: if the number of Sunrise registrations is so low...there is a reason for this. One recent news: Uniregistry will be launching its own Registrar soon. Surprisingly, Uniregistrar.com is registered to… Uniregistry.

Read the article on CircleId.

Slides of the latest ICANN new gTLD Webinar

Applicant Update Webinar: Information on evaluation progress and program developments.

Topics include:

• Initial Evaluation;
• Objections & Dispute Resolution;
• GAC Advice;
• Contracting;
• Pre-Delegation Testing;
• Name Collision;
• Trademark Clearinghouse;
• Community Priority Evaluation;
• etc.

Download the slides, click here.

« .vin » « .wine»: Internet domain names’ battle continues

No concrete response from the candidates to the wine sector

In Durban on 18 July, the GAC had given one month to the wine sector and to the candidates of the ".wine" and ".vin" strings to find an agreement. None of the three candidates has engaged with the sector to find concrete solutions and, moreover, political pressure was exerted to prevent an agreement to be reached. Given these circumstances, the European wine sector calls upon ICANN for more time and asks that the strings not to be assigned to the candidates until an agreement has been found. The European wine sectors asks ICANN and the GAC to be firm and continues to threaten to boycott these strings and to take legal action.

The extension of strings related to the wine sector is still a matter of debate. After expressing strong reservations in April on the ".wine" and ".vin", the GAC in Durban (18 July) gave a month to the wine sector and to the 3 candidate companies to find an agreement. 

Since, the wine sector has made considerable efforts to interact with the candidates to find a solution to protect Geographical Indication (GI) wine names. A month has passed and all the candidates have given very vague answers to wine producers; none wanting at this stage to find concrete solutions. This is also the result of strong political pressure that are exerted to prevent an agreement to be reached. EFOW, the European federation of origin wines, has sent a letter to the ICANN Board asking for more time and to suspend all procedures leading to the extension of ".wine" and ".vin" strings until an agreement between the parties is found.

EFOW recalls that it will support the extension of these domain names as soon as rules ensuring the protection of GI wine names will be defined. "The wine sector has strongly benefited from trade globalization and the development of the Internet. Nevertheless, there needs to be a minimum set of rules" says the President of EFOW, Mr. Riccardo Ricci Curbastro. "We know that some actors do not share this point of view and work to prevent the definition of rules, including the respect of Intellectual Property Rights. The success of these domain names relies heavily on the support of the sector. We are open to dialogue.

However, if we are not listened to, we will not doubt to call for a boycott of these domain names and to take legal action". The wine sector expects a strong signal from ICANN and the GAC.

".VIN" et ".WINE": EFOW et CNAOC souhaitent soutenir les bonnes candidatures

Lors de la dernière réunion de l'Icann à Durban en juillet, le GAC avait donné un mois au secteur du vin et aux candidats aux ".vin" et ".wine" pour s'entendre. Constatant qu'aucun des 3 candidats n'a accepté de dialoguer de solutions concrètes et que des pressions ont été exercées pour empêcher la recherche d'un accord, le secteur européen du vin demande à l'Icann de donner un délai supplémentaire aux candidats et de ne pas attribuer ces noms de domaine tant qu'un accord n'aura pas été trouvé. Les producteurs de vins appellent l'Icann et le GAC à faire preuve de fermeté et continuent de menacer de mettre en place un boycott et d'engager des poursuites judiciaires.

L'attribution des noms de domaine de premier niveau liés au secteur du vin continue de faire débat. Après avoir exprimé en avril de vives réserves sur l'attribution des noms « .vin » et « .wine », le GAC lors de la réunion de l'Icann à Durban le 18 juillet dernier a donné un mois au secteur du vin et aux 3 sociétés candidates pour s'entendre. Le secteur européen du vin a déployé de nombreux efforts depuis pour engager un dialogue et trouver une solution permettant de protéger les noms des vins d'origine. Un mois s'est écoulé et les producteurs constatent que les seules réponses qui leur sont faites sont des réponses de principe et qu'aucun des candidats n'accepte à ce stade d'aller plus loin. Cette situation est à rapprocher des pressions politiques qui sont exercées pour empêcher la conclusion d'un accord. Les organisations européennes et françaises représentantes les vins d'origine, EFOW et CNAOC, viennent d'adresser ce jour un courrier aux dirigeants de l'Icann. Elles demandent qu'un délai supplémentaire soit donné aux candidats et que l'attribution des noms de domaine ".vin" et ".wine" soit suspendue tant qu'un accord n'aura pas été trouvé entre les parties.

Les organisations rappellent qu'elles sont prêtes à soutenir ces noms de domaine à partir du moment où seront prévues des règles permettant de protéger les noms des vins d'origine. "S'il y a un secteur qui sait ce que sont les avantages de la mondialisation des échanges et du développement d'Internet, c'est le nôtre. Mais cela ne peut pas se faire sans un minimum de règles" déclarent les présidents d'Efow et de la Cnaoc, Riccardo Ricci Curbastro et Bernard Farges. "Nous savons que certains ne partagent pas ce point de vue et œuvrent pour empêcher la définition de règles assurant notamment le respect des droits de la propriété intellectuelle. Le succès de ces noms de domaine repose en très grande partie sur le soutien du secteur. Nous sommes toujours disponibles pour le dialogue. Mais nous sommes aussi prêts si nous ne sommes pas entendus à appeler à un boycott de ces noms de domaine et à engager des procédures judiciaires". Les organisations attendent désormais un signal fort de l'Icann et du GAC.

Rappel du contexte:

L'attribution de noms de domaine de premier niveau ".vin" et ".wine" par l'Icann soulève de vifs débats dans le secteur du vin. Les producteurs de vins d'origine reprochent en effet aux 3 candidats de ne prévoir aucune règle de protection des noms des vins pour la vente de noms de domaine de second niveau (ex "bordeaux.vin"; "rioja.wine"; "chianti.wine" etc). Ils dénoncent les risques que cela ferait peser sur le consommateur (tromperie avec la vente sur des sites comportant des noms d’appellation de vins n'ayant aucun lien avec la région, détournement de notoriété avec utilisation des noms de grands vins, contrefaçon etc) et sur les opérateurs du secteur (racket avec rachat de noms de domaine). Le débat plus large qui est posé est celui du respect de la propriété intellectuelle sur Internet.

.Pharmacy Program Analyst (job description)

Function:

Our Association is developing the new .PHARMACY domain name registry, or generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD), to provide a secure and trustworthy online space for legitimate Internet pharmacies and related entities in the interest of protecting global public health. The .PHARMACY gTLD Program Analyst will play a key role in the launch and administration of the .PHARMACY registry operation.

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree preferred. The ideal candidate will have five or more years of professional experience in Internet technology and business administration, with strong knowledge of the Internet domain name system and related infrastructure. Strong organizational skills and proficiency in Windows Office Suite required. Previous association and project management experience desired. Experience in international health care regulation and fluency in multiple languages a plus.

Responsibilities:

• Work with Association management, its .PHARMACY gTLD advisory committees, and other stakeholders to maintain global standards for the new .PHARMACY registry.
• Develop and maintain policies and procedures for the registry operation.
• Maintain ongoing communication with outside venders (e.g., domain name registrar, back-end registry support, gTLD consultant, Internet pharmacy screening service, data escrow service) as necessary to support program operations.
• Maintain registry data.
• Compile periodic summery reports for Association management.
• Monitor program workflow; identify and resolve causes of delays, and prepare proposals to prevent future delays.
• Coordinate with US and international regulatory bodies on behalf of Association to ensure that domain name registrants, as well as the registry itself, are compliant with applicable laws and regulations.
• Keep abreast of relevant ICANN policy issues to support Association’s participation in ICANN subcommittee meetings.
• Interact professionally and cooperatively with Association members, customers, and staff to answer questions about programs and services and forward more serious concerns to the department manager or the appropriate senior staff member.
• Respond to all internal and external customers inquires within 24 to 48 hours.
• Assist the Policy and Communications Project Manager in planning, implementing, and monitoring the budget related to the gTLD program.
• Assist the Policy and Communications Project Manager in special projects as assigned.
• Assist in the preparation of quarterly gTLD program briefings for Executive Committee reports.

To apply, see here.

Interview of Frank Shilling (Uniregistry.com)

Check for more the list of applications on Uniregistry.com. Want to work abroad, check here then?

Slides of the new gTLD Applicant Webinar

Agenda:

• Initial Evaluation Program Status;
• Initial Evaluation Results;
• Customer Service Center Status;
• Pre-Delegation Testing (PDT);
• Rights Protection Mechanisms;
• Public Interest Commitments (PIC);
• Program Timeline;
• Pre-Beijing New gTLD Program Update Webinar.

Download the latest presentation (PDF document) here (Date of the Webinar: 6 March 2013).

Some applicants applied twice for the same TLD

I had noticed an applicant applied twice for the same domain name extension (new gTLD). Participating in this discussion, I learn there are more.

Why would someone apply twice for the same Top-Level Domain? When the cost of submitting an application is USD 185 000, it cannot be a mistake.

Two applications were submitted for:

• .MLS
• .SHOP
• .MERCK

I did not check for more (it is possible there are more) but it appears these 3 were submitted as Standard and Community applications. I believe the reason for this is to ensure the application would be won by the applicant.

Could there be another strategy behind?