http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-3-03oct11-en.htm Draft Final Report of the Internationalized Registration Data Working GroupComment Period Deadlines (*)Important Information LinksPublic Comment BoxOpen Date:3 October 2011To Submit Your Comments (Forum)Close Date:17 November 2011Time (UTC):23:59View Comments SubmittedSection I: Description, Explanation, and PurposeICANN is seeking public comments on the draft Final Report [PDF, 437 KB] of the joint SSAC-GNSO Working Group on Internationalized Registration Data (IRD-WG). This draft Final Report studies the feasibility and suitability of introducing display specifications to deal with the internationalization of registration data and finds that it is feasible to introduce submission and display specifications to deal with Internationalized Domain Name Registration Data and recommends a series of next steps that could be undertaken to address further the technical and policy issues identified in this report, including a recommendation that the GNSO Council request an Issue Report on the policy questions raised in this report. Following the close of this comment period, the IRD-WG, will discuss and consider all of the comments received and prepare a Final Report, which will then be considered by both chartering organizations, the SSAC and the GNSO Council.Section II: BackgroundOn 26 June 2009 the Board of Directors of the Internet Corporate for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) approved a resolution (2009.06.26.18: http://www.icann.org/en/minutes/resolutions-26jun09.htm#6) requesting that the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) and the Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC), in consultation with staff, convene an Internationalized Registration Data Working Group (IRD-WG) comprised of individuals with knowledge, expertise, and experience in these areas to study the feasibility and suitability of introducing display specifications to deal with the internationalization of registration data.The Board further directed the IRD-WG to solicit input from interested constituencies including country code top level domain (ccTLD) operators and the Country Code Names Supporting Organization (ccNSO) during its discussions to ensure broad community input. Subsequently, the SSAC and the GNSO formed the IRD-WG to study the feasibility and suitability of introducing specifications to deal with the submission and display of internationalized registration data.The IRD-WG produced an Interim Report requesting community input on several questions relating to possible models for internationalizing Domain Name Registration Data. See http://gnso.icann.org/issues/ird/ird-wg-final-report-15nov10-en.pdf[PDF, 686 KB]. Now the IRD-WG has provided a draft Final Report in response to the Board's request. The IRD-WG interprets the Board's request as two broad issues and related questions:Suitability issues:Is it suitable (or desirable) to internationalize Domain Name Registration Data?If so, what data element is suitable to be internationalized?Is it suitable to introduce submission and display specifications to deal with the internationalization of Registration Data?Feasibility issues:Is the current WHOIS system capable of handling the query and display of internationalized Domain Name Registration Data?Is it feasible to introduce submission and display specifications to deal with internationalized Domain Name Registration Data?The draft Final Report discusses terminology, background on Domain Name Registration Data, data elements, WHOIS protocol, and current practices by gTLD and ccTLD registries and registrars. In addition, the draft Final Report finds that it is feasible to introduce submission and display specifications to deal with internationalized Domain Name Registration Data and recommends a series of next steps that could be undertaken to address further the technical and policy issues identified in this report, including a recommendation that the GNSO Council request an Issue Report on the policy questions raised in this report. The Issue Report would consider whether it is desirable to translate contact information to a single common language or transliterate contact information to a single common script, and who should bear the burden and would be in the best position to address these issues. ICANN staff is seeking comments on this draft Final Report, particularly its findings and recommendations: http://gnso.icann.org/issues/ird/ird-draft-final-report-03oct11-en.pdf[PDF, 437 KB]Section III: Document and Resource Links26 June 2009 the Board of Directors of the Internet Corporate for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) approved a resolution (2009.06.26.18: http://www.icann.org/en/minutes/resolutions-26jun09.htm#6) directing the establishment of the IRD-WG.IRD-WG Interim Report [PDF, 686 KB]IRD-WG draft Final Report [PDF, 437 KB]Section IV: Additional InformationNoneStaff Contact:Julie HedlundEmail:julie.hedlund@icann.org Kind Regards, Benedetta Rossi BC Secretariatwww.bizconst.orgsecretariat-bc@hotmail.com