ICANN Revises Plan For Web Changes
Amid fears from big brand owners about sweeping changes to the way top-level domains, such as .biz, .info, and .us, are assigned, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is expected to unveil on Wednesday a revised guidebook for their plan and a 155-page analysis of public comments that is intended to show the effect input from various stakeholders has had. A range of intellectual property stakeholders from Marriott to Verizon are afraid that ICANN's Web address expansion will force them to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to protect their identities from fraud and infringement.
"This won't be the last revision," ICANN Vice President Paul Levins said, noting the extent of this analysis is a first for his organization. "This is literally thousands of voices shaping the next layer of innovation on the Internet and we're documenting it for all to see," he said. Levins said there is more work to be done on trademark issues; security and stability; worries about increases in malicious conduct; and supply and demand examination. ICANN is committed to consulting with all stakeholders -- including the World Intellectual Property Organization -- to craft the right policy, he said. "We're not rushing this. We are listening and acting," he added.
ICANN released a draft proposal in October suggesting that any entity could apply for a domain as long as they could pay a fee of about $190,000. The application process is expected to start this year, with the first of hundreds of new domains potentially coming online late this year. Earlier this month, the Coalition Against Domain Name Abuse and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce hosted closed-door meetings with executives and Capitol Hill staffers to discuss how Congress could get involved in the debate. Read more of CongressDaily's coverage here (subscription required).
Update: ICANN has posted materials here.
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