FW: Press Release on the IAHC Report
Dan Kohn (dan@teledesic.com)
Wed, 5 Feb 1997 13:11:22 -0800
>-----Original Message-----
>From: major@linus.isoc.org [SMTP:major@linus.isoc.org]
>Sent: Wednesday, February 05, 1997 10:39 AM
>To: members.5@linus.isoc.org
>Subject: Press Release on the IAHC Report
>
>SEVEN NEW TOP LEVEL DOMAIN NAMES ARE ADDED FOR
>INTERNET ADDRESSES AND UP TO 28 NEW REGISTRARS PLANNED
>
>
> WASHINGTON, DC, February 4, 1997 -- The number of
>names available to specify Internet locations, such as web sites
>and email addresses, will increase and more firms will be allowed
>to act as registrars for the names, under a plan announced today
>by the International Ad Hoc Committee (IAHC).
>
> Internet users will have 7 new generic Top Level
>Domains (gTLDs), in addition to the existing ones (.com, .net,
>and .org), under which they may register Internet names, when
>the plan is implemented. The new gTLDs and the intended fields
>of use are:
>
> .firm for businesses, or firms
> .store for businesses offering goods to purchase
> .web for entities emphasizing activities
> related to the WWW
> .arts for entities emphasizing cultural and
> entertainment activities
> .rec for entities emphasizing
> recreation/entertainment activities
> .info for entities providing information
> services
> .nom for those wishing individual or personal
> nomenclature
>
> In addition, up to 28 new registrars will be
>established to grant registrations for second-level domain
>names under the new gTLDs. The new registrars will be selected
>by lottery from applicants who fulfill specific requirements
>established by the IAHC. All the new gTLDs will be shared among
>the new registrars, meaning that each registrar may effect registration
>of second-level domain names under all the new gTLDs. It is intended
>that the three existing gTLDs (.com, .net, and .org) would also be
>shared upon conclusion of the cooperative agreement between Network
>Solutions, Inc. (NSI) and the United States National Science Foundation
>(NSF), which allows NSI to act as the registrar for those gTLDs.
>
> The plan announced today is a result of efforts by
>an international group named to resolve questions critical to the
>current and future growth of the Internet. The eleven-member
>International Ad Hoc Committee, chaired by Donald M. Heath,
>president and CEO of the Internet Society, received input from
>individuals, organizations and government agencies from around
>the world.
>
> To guide future registrar developments, an association
>comprising all the registrars, the Council of Registrars (CORE), to
>be established under Swiss law will create and enforce requirements
>for registrar operations. These requirements are spelled out in a
>separate legal instrument to which each registrar must agree.
>
> The IAHC plan includes the establishment of a non-
>regulatory policy framework in the form of a Memorandum of
>Understanding (MoU) which both the public and private sector will
>be invited to sign. The MoU will provide a mechanism for signatories
>to advise on future policy evolution of the global Internet domain
>name system.
>
> "I am pleased that the Secretary General of the
>International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has agreed in principle
>to act as the depository of the MoU and to periodically publish an
>updated list of its signatories," Heath said in releasing the IAHC
>report. "The structure we have established for the operation and
>oversight of domain name administration insures that we will have
>stability and continuing input from a broad spectrum of organizations
>and individuals."
>
> Heath pointed out that the IAHC will continue to
>function for the period until the new registrars are named and the
>MoU has entered into force. At that time, the IAHC will change to
>act as the committee to conduct oversight of CORE until a permanent
>gTLD DNS Policy Oversight Committee (POC) is established to perform
>that function. The POC will determine, in consultation with CORE
>and a gTLD DNS Policy Advisory Body (PAB), the evolution of gTLDs,
>registrars, and any fees that CORE may collect from its members,
>the registrars, for services it may perform.
>
> The POC and CORE will be advised by the gTLD DNS
>Policy Advisory Body (PAB) that will consist of all of the
>signatories to the MoU and will provide input and recommendations
>for general policy matters relating to gTLDs and the Domain Name
>System (DNS). Signatories will include representatives from
>governments, independent governmental organizations, non-government
>organizations, and industry.
>
> An earlier draft proposal by the IAHC had recommended
>a mandatory 60 day waiting period before activation of new domain
>names, in order to alleviate what is considered to be a major
>source of instability in the DNS, namely widespread piracy of
>famous trademarks by certain domain name holders. In the final
>report, that recommendation has been replaced by a more comprehensive
>solution that addresses the needs of all classes of stakeholders. In
>addition to making the 60 day waiting period optional for registrants,
>the final report institutes a system for dispute settlement involving
>on-line mediation, mandatory arbitration (if a domain name challenger
>chooses to initiate arbitration), and a fast-track on-line
>administrative domain name challenge procedure.
>
> The administrative domain name challenge procedure
>would be conducted on-line, and would allow an intellectual
>property right holder to petition a panel of international
>experts to determine if a second-level domain name violates the
>policy that a domain name which contains an internationally known
>trademark may only be held by the trademark owner. The dispute
>settlement procedures would be administered under the aegis of the
>World Intellectual Property Organization Arbitration and Mediation
>Center, located in Geneva.
>
> "During the public comment period, we received over
>4000 submissions from the interested public, including 100
>submissions from organizations around the world and we are very
>pleased with the acceptance and broad consensus that we have
>achieved in this process," Heath stated. "To attain its fullest
>potential, the Internet requires true self-governance. The
>Internet Society's role is to facilitate that requirement," he
>added.
>
> The IAHC is a coalition of participants from the
>broad Internet community, working to satisfy the requirement for
>enhancements to the Internet's global Domain Name System (DNS).
>Organizations naming members to the committee include: Internet
>Society (ISOC), Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), Internet
>Architecture Board (IAB), Federal Networking Council (FNC),
>International Telecommunication Union (ITU), International
>Trademark Association (INTA), and World Intellectual Property
>Organization (WIPO). The full text of the IAHC report is being
>published at the Internet site: http://www.iahc.org.
>
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