| Michael van Eeden on Sat, 15 Feb 97 12:51 MET |
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| nettime: SEVEN NEW TOP LEVEL DOMAIN NAMES ARE ADDED FOR INTERNET ADDRESSES AND UP TO 28 NEW REGISTRARS PLANNED |
http://www.iahc.org/press-final.html > 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: > > for businesses, or firms > for businesses offering goods to purchase > .firm for entities emphasizing activities related to the > .store WWW > .web for entities emphasizing cultural and entertainment > .arts activities > .rec for entities emphasizing recreation/entertainment > .info activities > .nom for entities providing information services > 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. > > # # # # # # # # # > > Internet Society > 12020 Sunrise Valley Drive > Reston, VA 20191-3429 > TEL 703-648-9888 > FAX 703-648-9887 > E-mail [email protected] > http://www.isoc.org > http://www.iahc.org -- * distributed via nettime-l : no commercial use without permission * <nettime> is a closed moderated mailinglist for net criticism, * collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets * more info: [email protected] and "info nettime" in the msg body * URL: http://www.desk.nl/~nettime/ contact: [email protected]