Domains: ICANN calls for overhaul of the registration and accreditation process

[mandy]

ICANN has now called for an overhaul of the entire registration and accreditation process, and given the first look at what the future of the relationship between ICANN, the registrars, and domain holders might look like...

The most important issue - some kind of escrow system to hold data in trust in the event that there is a dispute about who the owner is - has apparently already been accepted as necessary by ICANN, and even bolder proposals, involving possibly even a new entity to address these disputes directly, are also on this impressive list of potential reforms...

Transfer policy - What elements of the transfer policy need to be reformed? Should registrants have an alternative to their current registrar for the issuing of authcodes and the unlocking of them? Should ICANN or another entity be able to do this?...

full article: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/03/22/...registrar/

[mandy]

From the ICANN meeting:

Internationalization of Domain Names (IDNs)

The IDNs have been superficially uncontroversial but subtly troubling to all involved.

The Unicode that will replace the generic Latin script that currently forms the basis of all internet domains is in order, but the concerns of the trademark crowd about domain squatting and general trademark dilution once again reared up. Concerns about overly similar TLD strings, cultural sensitivities, and the problem of differing trademark protection rights in different jurisdictions all proved vexing. Some countries base trademark on usage, others give priority rights to whoever registers the mark first, regardless of whether it's in use or not. Some jurisdictions don't give trademark protection to non-commercial users...

full article: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/03/30/...y_meeting/