The World Intellectual Property Organization, which operates the dominant domain name – trademark dispute resolution service, has ripped off someone else's trademark with a domain name registration. The discovery was made by US patent and trademark lawyer John Berryhill, known for defending domain name registrants against UDRP claims.
Revenge of the .xxx domain?
In what may prove to be the biggest sleeper Internet governance issue of the year, ICM Registry has publicly posted its filings for the Independent Review Panel that will decide whether ICANN acted improperly in rejecting its application for a .xxx domain. ICM Registry participated in ICANN's 2004 round of “sponsored” top level domain additions. Its application to run a top level domain reserved for adult content provoked a global controversy when the Bush Administration, responding to a mass mobilization from its base of religious conservative groups, pressured ICANN to reverse its June 1, 2005 vote that the .xxx domain met its eligibility criteria. ICANN's Board eventually killed the application in March of 2007.
This is the first usage of ICANN's Independent Review Process. The ruling in this case will have major implications for ICANN's accountability and the continuing controversy over the role of the U.S. government in ICANN's affairs.
One Good Outcome from the Wall Street Journal – Google Flap
The Wall Street Journal published an article alleging that Google was trying to arrange a “fast lane for its own content” with telecom carriers and contending that Google and Professor Lessig were in the midst of changing their position on network neutrality policy. The WSJ reporters received a lot of flak for the piece – justifiably so. The WSJ’s sudden interest in the topic seemed more like an attempt to poison the well as the Obama Administration and its net neutrality-friendly team ascends to power. There is one useful outcome of this incident, however.
New Publication: Regional Address Registries, Governance and Internet Freedom
Leading up to IGF 2008 in Hyderabad the IGP is releasing a second publication, Regional Address Registries, Governance and Internet Freedom. This paper looks at the Regional Internet Address Registries (RIRs), which are private, nonprofit and transnational governance entities that evolved organically with the growth of the Internet to manage...
11.2008 Regional Address Registries, Governance and Internet Freedom
[Abstract] Drafter: Milton Mueller, Brenden KuerbisConcurring: Michel van Eeten Regional Internet Address Registries (RIRs) are private, nonprofit and transnational governance entities that evolved organically with the growth of the Internet to manage and coordinate Internet Protocol addresses. The RIR's management of Internet address resources is becoming more contentious and more...
ICANN web site is blocked in Egypt
I am in Cairo for the ICANN meeting. My hotel is far away from any free internet access, so I attempted to use the ($10/day) hotel service. The first thing I did was try to access the ICANN site to check the meeting schedules. I was shocked: a page came...
Inaugural Address: “The Future of Freedom on the internet: Security, Privacy and Global Governance”
Milton Mueller, appointed as professor to the Chair of Security and Privacy of Internet Users within the Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management at the Delft University of Technology will present an Inaugural Address, "The Future of Freedom on the internet: Security, Privacy and Global Governance" on Friday, 17 October...
The FCC Comcast decision and Net Neutrality
Wednesday the U.S. Federal Communications Commission released the text of its Order sanctioning Comcast, a U.S. provider of broadband Internet access over cable lines, for selectively targeting and interfering with connections of peer-to-peer (P2P) applications. The Commission concluded “Although Comcast asserts that its conduct is necessary to ease network congestion, we conclude that the company’s discriminatory and arbitrary practice unduly squelches the dynamic benefits of an open and accessible Internet and does not constitute reasonable network management.”
Internet rights should be more prominent in IGF
There’s some concern that basic human rights to free expression, privacy, and other civil liberties might be getting pushed too far away from the center of the UN Internet Governance Forum’s (IGF) meeting agenda. The IGF will meet in Hyderabad, India the first week of December this year, and the...
Job Posting: Program Officers (2), Global Internet Freedom Program, Freedom House – Washington, DC
Freedom House is an independent non-governmental organization that supports the expansion of freedom in the world. Freedom House functions as a catalyst for freedom through its analysis, advocacy, and action. Freedom House seeks a Program Officer for its Global Internet Freedom program. The Program officer will work with the Senior...
