GNSO to Weigh-in on Domain Trademark Issues by December — ICANN Asks

GNSO given two months to weigh-in on intellectual property issues for fresh top level domain names.

ICANN President & CEO Rod Beckstrom and Chairman of the Board Peter Dengate-Thrush have sent a letter to Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO), asking it to weigh-in on intellectual property issues related to fresh top level domain names by December 14.

The letter (pdf) explains proposals put forth for protecting the rights of intellectual property owners during and following the introduction of fresh top level domain names. ICANN is asking GNSO to confirm (or suggest otherwise) that these protections meet GNSO’s earlier recommendation that “strings must not infringe the existing legal
rights of others that are recognized or enforceable under generally accepted and internationally
recognized principles of law.”

In explaining the two month window for response, Beckstrom and Dengate-Thrush wrote:

The Board requests the GNSO to complete this work in two months from the publication date of this letter (14 December 2009). This timeframe reflects the Board’s desire to close on this issue and launch
the fresh gTLD process – and is comparable to that suggested for other efforts.