The report is now posted for public comment until June 29 (a few days after the Sydney meeting ends). Our ability to influence how the Board treats this report will depend at least partly on how clearly and to the point we can make a case for a different approach to what is being recommended. By "we" I mean individuals, groups within At-Large, or ALAC. Although not shared by all, there is a strong desire amongst a large part of ICANN to make new gTLDs available (and particularly IDN TLDs). It is clear that to do this, the issues related to IP rights cannot be completely ignored. So advice on the IRT report should not just be a blast against the process, but preferably a substantive critique of the proposals with alternatives if possible. Alan At 31/05/2009 01:20 PM, Evan Leibovitch wrote:
Patrick Vande Walle wrote:
To be honest, I am not naive enough to expect anything else from this group. Still, I think it is ALAC's task to express its concerns. We have to make clear to the board that we do not stand behind this report, both on :
* how this has been hurried through and short-circuited most of the community * the proposals in the report.
Exactly. We really have only one channel open to us, and that is through the ability to address the board directly.
We are able to make clear the total lack of real public involvement in this and ensure that the Board understands the report to be the POV of a single constituency rather than a community consensus.
I am reminded at this point of the comments made in a message by Alan when the first concerns arose about the lack of consumer perspective in the IRTP:
I pointed out to Steve Metalitz, IPC President, that the Board motion creating the IRT call for "internationally diverse group of persons with knowledge, expertise, and experience in the fields of trademark, consumer protection, or competition law, and the interplay of trademarks and the domain name system" and that based on the membership list, it was not clear how the consumer protection aspect was addressed. His answer is below:
"I believe that several members of the IRT qualify as having knowledge, expertise and experience in consumer protection law. For instance, both Kristina Rosette and J. Scott Evans have experience handling consumer protection issues that come before the Federal Trade Commission. Mark Partridge also has experience with consumer protection cases under state law and has served as an arbitrator in such cases. Kiyoshi Tsuru has counseled clients and litigated cases on consumer protection matters, and has trained consumer protection officials on Internet issues. So I believe that area of expertise is represented on the IRT, although of course I would also encourage consumer protection organizations to comment and provide their perspectives on the work product of the IRT, beginning with the draft report that the Board has directed the IRT to release on April 24. I hope that this helps in responding to the question that has been posed to you."
There is no question to me that the public interest has been utterly deceived by this process. The fact that veterans within At-Large are aware of such ongoing deception (and come to expect it as standard practise) does not negate its harmful effect.
- Evan
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