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WSIS & GOVERNANCE
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Rice pressured EU over internet control
It was billed as a row which could have spelled the
end of the internet as we know it. But now it has
emerged that a strongly-worded letter from the US
secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, could have been
instrumental in preventing a diplomatic catfight over
who controls the internet.

http://technology.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,16559,1659589,00.html

CONFERENCE: Internet Governance - the way forward
The WSIS in Tunis resulted in the decision to
establish an Internet Governance Forum. The decision
taken by parties at the WSIS indicates WHAT the Forum
should do and WHO should be involved (multistakeholder
approach). However, it remains to be seen HOW the
Forum will be organised. This conference aims to
provide an initial mapping, through addressing
questions such as: (see...)
 http://diplomacy.edu/Conferences/IG/

The cold war on computers
The ICANN was saved from overthrow by a compromise at
the WSIS in Tunis.
 http://wildcat.arizona.edu/papers/98/233/03_1.html

WSIS Past, Present And Future
THE WSIS has come and gone after several years of
intense debate and discussions and now what remains to
be seen is action and results.
 http://allafrica.com/stories/200512050396.html

A blog discussion on "the letter that won the internet
governance battle"
When WSIS ended, just a few weeks ago, the Internet
was still governed by ICANN, an American agency. Yes,
the Internet Governance Forum was announced during the
summit, but that international group will focus on
discussing cyber-security, not act as a governing
body. The U.S. maintained control over the Web. One of
the reasons the status quo remained in place may have
been a letter Condoleezza Rice wrote to Jack Straw, UK
Foreign Minister and President of the European Union.
The letter focused on the EU's suggestion that an
independent entity be formed by the UN to govern the
Internet. And now  this letter can be read by
everyone. It is an interesting glimpse into political
dealings that many will find fascinating. What do you
think about the letter? Or the governance debate?

http://blog.fastcompany.com/archives/2005/12/05/to_the_letter.html

Blog discussion on "I Think ICANN"
Does the internet belong to America, or to the world?
That is the essential question being asked by the UN.
They are seeking to have the Internet Corporation of
Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the body that
governs internet addresses, absorbed into the UN's
International Telecommunications Union. Why? Because
UN countries do not like the fact they can't influence
the internet (such as President Bush stopping .xxx
domains from being established). They also dislike not
being able to tax commerce on the internet.

http://blog.fastcompany.com/archives/2005/10/20/i_think_icann.html

YALE ISP CONFERENCE ON ACCESS TO KNOWLEDGE
"The Yale Law School Information Society Project (ISP)
and the International Journal of Communications Law &
Policy (IJCLP) announce their third interdisciplinary
writing competition and a call for papers in
conjunction with the Access to Knowledge (A2K)
Conference taking place on April 21-23, 2006 at Yale
Law School. We invite students, scholars, policy
makers, activists and practitioners to submit papers
for the writing competition and/or for publication by
the IJCLP. Key issues to be considered include, among
others: the economics of A2K in a digital environment;
A2K indexes and measurement techniques; the
limitations to A2K; digital libraries and archives;
government investment in information production;
government procurement policies; open source software;
the WIPO Broadcast Treaty; access to education and
scientific knowledge; universal service in
telecommunications; the digital divide; digital rights
management; open access journals. Submissions for the
writing competition must be received by noon EST,
February 15th, 2006. For more information, see:
 http://www.ijclp.org

****************
DOMAIN NAMES
****************
Asia Recognized; Porn in Limbo 
The quasi-governmental organization that oversees the
internet has tentatively approved a ".asia" domain to
unify the Asia-Pacific region, but the group has
delayed a decision on whether to move forward with a
".xxx" zone for pornography sites.
 http://wired.com/news/business/0,1367,69766,00.html
 http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=1379287

http://smh.com.au/news/breaking/icann-approves-asia-domain/2005/12/06/1133631222459.html

http://theage.com.au/news/breaking/icann-approves-asia-domain/2005/12/06/1133631222459.html

ICANN Changes Course on '.XXX' Domain
ICANN has had its hands full lately dealing with a
number of flare-ups as it tries to keep its various
constituencies -- including domain registrars and
members of the Internet-using public -- happy with how
it conducts business.

http://technewsworld.com/story/rwAzTRHYYgT2pP/ICANN-Changes-Course-on-XXX-Domain.xhtml

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,9075-1899588,00.html

http://iht.com/articles/2005/12/05/business/domains.php

http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/internet/12/06/tech.porn.domain.reut

ICANN Meeting blog: Indecision and insults
Vancouver According to my computer's calendar, I have
been in Vancouver for three days. And according to a
search on the Internet, I have written six stories
about events at the ICANN conference here.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/12/05/vancouver_blog_one/

ICANN Concludes 24th International Public Meeting in
Vancouver
During the meeting, productive discussion took place
between ICANN?s Board and the Governmental Advisory
Committee (GAC) concerning the role of the GAC in
light of the WSIS discussions. In the lead-up to the
Vancouver meeting, ICANN?s Chairman proposed that
discussions take place in Vancouver concerning
measures that could be taken to make cooperation with
the GAC more effective, including ensuring the
participation of developing countries.

http://www.circleid.com/posts/icann_concludes_24th_international_public_meeting_in_vancouver/

Is a Domain Name Property?
In an article by Sheldon Burshtein, published in the
Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice, the
author examines the view on whether domain names are
properties.

http://www.circleid.com/posts/is_a_domain_name_property/

ICANN - flying solo in 2006?
Next year could be the year in which new models of
internet self-government really come into their own,
according to the president of ICANN.

http://commentwire.com/article_news.asp?guid=713BAF28-DF3E-42EB-A2C4-3EBAA553659E

Investigations into ICANN transparency continue
A new lobbying body calling itself itself the Campaign
for ICANN Transparency (CFIT) has expanded its
investigation into the internet overseeing
organisation with a freedom of information request
served on the US Department of Commerce.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/12/05/cfit_foia_request/

FNIC releases registrants' guide for '.fr' domain
French domain regulator AFNIC has released a legal
claimants' guide regarding '.fr' domain names. With
the guidelines, AFNIC intends to make registrants of
.fr domains more aware of their responsibilities,
particularly in domain disputes.
 http://www.dmeurope.com/default.asp?ArticleID=11854

Promoting ccTLDs in Africa
African businesses and agencies operating on the
internet should promote their ccTLDs instead of paying
foreign companies for .com, .net or .org addresses,
said registry managers attending the ICANN meeting in
Vancouver.
 http://allafrica.com/stories/200512050815.html

VeriSign adds Australia to Internet server network
VeriSign announced that it has added a server cluster
in Sydney that will increase the speed and reliability
of the Internet by allowing domain names to be
resolved locally instead of using one of the company's
international servers.

http://zdnet.com.au/news/hardware/soa/VeriSign_adds_Australia_to_Internet_server_network/0,2000061702,39226175,00.htm

http://smh.com.au/news/breaking/australia-gets-second-root-name-server/2005/12/06/1133829585892.html

http://theage.com.au/news/breaking/australia-gets-second-root-name-server/2005/12/06/1133829585892.html

http://www.finanznachrichten.de/nachrichten-2005-12/artikel-5699462.asp

ICANN: Next Steps on Proposed .com Settlement
On 21 October 2005, ICANN announced proposed
settlement terms between ICANN and VeriSign, including
a proposed new .COM agreement. Since then, ICANN has
been conducting extensive public consultations on the
proposed settlement. At its 24th International Public
Meeting in Vancouver this week, the ICANN Board has
been engaged in consultations with the ICANN community
on this topic, among others.

http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-05dec05.htm

ICANN concludes 24th International Public Meeting in
Vancouver with action on Governmental Advisory
Committee evolution and Internationalised Domain Names
Over 700 delegates from 109 countries gathered in
Vancouver, Canada to participate in ICANN's 24th
International Meeting. These meetings, open to anyone
interested in participating, constitute an essential
part of ICANN's global Internet Community
consensus-development and outreach efforts.

http://icann.org/announcements/announcement1-05dec05.htm

ICANN: Public Comment Forum for Terms of Reference for
New gTLDs
The ICANN bylaws require a public comment period of 20
days following the initiation of a gNSO
Policy-Development Process (PDP).

http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-06dec05.htm

ICANN GNSO Request for Comments  
As part of the GNSO's Policy Development Process, a
public comment period is mandatory. A list of current
PDP issues with open comment periods are listed below.
 http://gnso.icann.org/comments-request/

ICANN GNSO Issues Report on the Introduction of New
Top Level Domains
It is recommended that the GNSO launch a focused
policy development process, in close consultation with
the broader ICANN community including the Government
Advisory Committee (on the public policy aspects of
new toplevel domains) and the ccNSO (on
internationalized domain names). The report proposes
draft Terms of Reference for this work.

http://gnso.icann.org/issues/new-gtlds/gnso-issues-rpt-gtlds-05dec05.pdf

au: CPA and Melbourne IT in alliance (reg req'd)
IP management company CPA and internet specialist
Melbourne IT are to work together to provide an online
brand management service.

http://www.managingip.com/default.asp?page=9&pubID=198&SID=601759&ISS=21054&LS=EMS58927

Dvorak on .XXX and ICANN
John C. Dvorak: "If ICANN cannot resist pressure from
clich?d theopolitical zealots, then the chances of the
organization maintaining control of the
Internet?instead of handing control over to an
international consortium of United Nations
connivers?is nil. This episode marks the beginning of
the end for the Internet. It does not bode well for
ICANN, an organization that I supported until now."

http://blog.lextext.com/blog/_archives/2005/12/5/1436422.html

IPR64: The Sense and Sensibility of ICANN Vancouver by
Bret Fausett
Most participants in last week's ICANN meeting claimed
it was a great meeting. The ICANN Board was listening
to the community and engaged in the issues of the day.
I'm left scratching my head.

http://blog.lextext.com/blog/_archives/2005/12/5/1436236.html

Welcome to SingleLetters.us. (another blog!)
Icann the auctioneer,so it maybe if they get there way
to auction off the single letter dot com names to the
highest bidder. Icann a entity to oversee the well
being of the internet is looking for the quick buck.
 http://singleletters.us/

Keep U.S. in charge of Internet
More than two decades ago, as a graduate student at
Penn State, I used an old typewriter to write my
master's thesis. In those days, few people considered
the computer an appropriate tool for working or for
communication.

http://coshoctontribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051206/OPINION02/512060336/

Europe to Get Its Own Domain Name
A new .eu Internet address is being launched on Dec.
7, aimed at providing web sites a pan-European
identity. Authorities expect a rush from EU companies
and organizations during the first phase of
registration.

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,1799723,00.html

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/12/07/eu_domains_released/

http://go.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=10505155

Payment Data closes on sale of bills.com domain name
Payment Data Systems Inc. completed its previously
announced sale of its bills.com domain name and
trademark to Freedom Financial Network LLC. The local
company received $950,000 in connection with the sale.

http://sanantonio.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/stories/2005/12/05/daily16.html

Internet porn domain name decision postponed
The group that oversees Internet domain sites has
again postponed a decision on a controversial ".xxx"
domain for sex sites, the head of the organisation
said on Monday.

http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=31&art_id=qw1133853661124B232

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Sources include Quicklinks <http://qlinks.net/> and
BNA Internet Law News <http://www.bna.com/ilaw/>.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

(c) David Goldstein 2005

David Goldstein
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