[At-Large] [GTLD-WG] IRT working group report

Fri Jul 3 04:06:55 CDT 2009

I've registered for the London event to take place on 15th July ( 
http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-12jun09-en.htm )
and will essentially be defending this line: it is outside ICANN's mandate.
Anyone else planning to be in London?

Olivier

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Vanda Scartezini" <vanda at uol.com.br>
To: "'At-Large Worldwide'" <at-large at atlarge-lists.icann.org>
Sent: Thursday, July 02, 2009 8:58 PM
Subject: Re: [At-Large] [GTLD-WG] IRT working group report

> Bret
> You are right. I was there and remember all the issues (I am former
> president of Brazilian Patent Office and can easily   understand why WIPO
> couldn't at the time an can't now  move) I believe that the best
> contribution we can do is to suggest to WIPO to call for a new legal
> framework for the current system ( with more than 100 years) to fit into
> this new world. May last more than 2 years but once we have a better frame
> work  all we need to do  is follow international treats -  I don't believe
> we can find a good solution for this problem inside ICANN- is too far out 
> of
> our mandate.
> Best
>
> Vanda Scartezini
> POLO Consultores Associados
> &  IT Trend
> Alameda Santos 1470 cjs 1407/8
> 01418-903 Sao Paulo,SP.
> Fone + 55 11 3266.6253
> Mob + 5511 8181.1464
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: at-large-bounces at atlarge-lists.icann.org
> [mailto:at-large-bounces at atlarge-lists.icann.org] On Behalf Of Bret 
> Fausett
> Sent: Monday, June 01, 2009 8:52 PM
> To: gtld-wg at atlarge-lists.icann.org; At-Large Worldwide
> Subject: Re: [At-Large] [GTLD-WG] IRT working group report
>
> With regard to the IRT's GPML, those who have been around ICANN since
> the beginning will remember that this is the second time we have been
> down the "globally protected" path. Back in 2000, it was called
> "globally famous."
>
> Please see ICANN Board Resolution 00.17. It's quoted below.
>
> The Board then, as it should now, referred the issue to WIPO, which
> could not resolve it because it was too politically contentious. The
> only the thing that the ICANN IP interests -- who are not the same
> players as the worldwide IP interests -- have changed is that they are
> calling this "globally protected" and have devised a brightline test
> for what constitutes "globally protected."
>
> The fact that "globally protected" is easy to implement, however, does
> not make implementing it wise. The number of registrations selected is
> arbitrary, not agreed by the nations of the world as significant of
> anything at all, and still does not solve the political problems.
>
> In 2000, the political problems with "globally famous" were twofold.
> First, the trademark community itself couldn't decide whether it liked
> the idea because giving "super protection" to one class of marks
> necessarily meant that some marks were quite so super. Companies with
> strong national and transnational marks, but not necessarily globally
> famous marks, stated that they'd rather have no super protection than
> not be included in the supermark category. (You can already see
> comments complaining about the GPML from trademark owners on the IRT
> comment board.)
>
> A second issue, which we will see again with the so-called "GPML," is
> that giving special consideration to "globally protected" marks
> predominately benefits North American and Euro brands. It would
> largely exclude words like "UNITED" and "APPLE" and "MARS" from the
> TLD space, even making registering such words as an SLD the after
> effect of a UDRP-like process. People in parts of the world where
> United does not fly, where apples are the things that grow on trees,
> and where Mars is not a candy bar but a red dot in the evening sky
> will be limited in their use of language by Western labels. I
> appreciate that some folks will see nothing wrong with that, but it
> was politically contentious before, and I suspect it will be again.
>
> So those of you who weren't here in 2000, read the resolution below
> and ask yourself why, if ICANN asked WIPO to do this before, was it
> not done? The answer is that WIPO couldn't navigate the idea through
> the political swamp. And if WIPO, an intellectual property
> organization, couldn't do it, what makes anyone think ICANN can?
>
>      -- Bret
>
> P.S. Sometimes I think that I only stay involved in ICANN so I can be
> here when these history questions pop up. :-)
>
> --
>
> INFORMATION FROM WIPO
>
> The Board resumed discussion on Mr. Cohen's suggestion that WIPO be
> requested to prepare a list of globally famous trademarks. Several
> Board members expressed concern that ICANN should not affirmatively
> promote an agenda for the protection of famous trademarks; those
> matters are more appropriately dealt with by governments and
> intergovernmental organizations such as WIPO, rather than a technical
> coordination body such as ICANN. Although having a list prepared by
> WIPO might be helpful to ICANN in coordinating technical matters in a
> manner that does not unnecessarily clash with intellectual property
> rights, ICANN should not take the lead in formally requesting
> preparation of such a list. As a result, the Board agreed that it was
> more appropriate to simply note the utility of such a list, rather
> than making a formal request.
>
> Upon motion duly made and seconded, the Board unanimously approved the
> adoption of the following resolution:
>
>    Whereas, the World Intellectual Property Organization in its April
> 30, 1999 report to ICANN has offered to prepare a list of globally
> famous trademarks;
>
>    RESOLVED [00.17] that the Board notes such a list would be helpful
> to its assessment of proper action on expansion of the TLD space.
>
> http://www.icann.org/en/minutes/minutes-10mar00.htm
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