[council] Request for extension of time for Preliminary Issue Report on Rights Protection Mechanisms

[Mary Wong]

Dear Councilors,

Staff would like to request that the GNSO Council consider extending the
timeline for the preparation and delivery of the Preliminary Issue Report
that had been requested by the Council in December 2011, on the "current
state of all rights protection mechanisms (RPMs) implemented for both
existing and new gTLDs, including but not limited to the UDRP and the URS,
to be ³delivered to the GNSO Council by no later than eighteen (18) months
following the delegation of the first new gTLD² (see
http://gnso.icann.org/en/council/resolutions#201112 for the relevant GNSO
Council resolution). This request meant that the Preliminary Issue Report
will be due in or around March 2015, given that the first new gTLD delegated
under the New gTLD Program occurred in October 2013.

Since the Council¹s passage of the above-mentioned resolution, which was
prior to the delegation date of the first new gTLD, several developments
have occurred that in the view of staff merits the Council¹s considering
postponing the delivery date of the Preliminary Issue Report for another six
(6) months, i.e.extending the deadline to October 2015. We now know, for
example, that one year after the delegation of the first new gTLD, over 400
new gTLDs have been delegated and about 150 URS complaints filed, with 1
appeal so far. A draft Work Plan was also published in September 2014,
detailing the scope and nature of the various assessments that are being and
will be done prior to the launch of the next round, including those
concerning RPMs (see
http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/program-status/reviews-assessments-draft-work-p
lan-22sep14-en.pdf for the full document).

As outlined in the Work Plan, the proposed data gathering and analysis of
the RPMs implemented for the New gTLD program will include the following
(see page 13 of the Work Plan):
* Compilation and analysis of statistics provided by third-party providers
(for example, geographic distribution of Clearinghouse records, outcomes of
URS proceedings);
* Coordination among service providers and ICANN to identify the issues and
questions most raised in customer service submissions; and
* Soliciting feedback from users of the effectiveness of these processes to
meet rights protection objectives
Policy staff has been consulting and coordinating with our GDD colleagues on
the timing of each of these assessments, since they are expressly intended
to also identify potential issues for policy development work, including
providing information for the Preliminary Issue Report noted above. We are
informed that a draft paper on RPM implementation is expected to be
published shortly for community discussion, including at the upcoming ICANN
Public Meeting in Singapore.

In addition, as also noted in the Work Plan, the GAC¹s May 2011 advice to
the ICANN Board in respect of a review of the Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH)
is currently being scoped, and we are informed that the intention is to
complete the review by mid-2015 (see
https://archive.icann.org/en/topics/new-gtlds/gac-comments-new-gtlds-26may11
-en.pdf for the GAC¹s request).

In light of the above-mentioned developments, and in view of the ongoing
work of the community (including the GNSO community) on a number of policy
issues as well as on the broader issues of the IANA stewardship transition
and ICANN accountability, staff therefore believes that extending the
timeline for the requested Preliminary Issue Report by six (6) months will
allow that Report to take on board the results of the various assessment
exercises as well as consider a further number of URS filings and results.
The hope is that this will provide the GNSO Council and community with more
concrete data and specific information that will assist in your
consideration of next steps in relation to RPM review for both existing and
new gTLDs.

We will be happy to provide further information should you or your groups
have any questions. The Council may also wish to discuss this on its next
call, if desired. In any case, please let us know whether you have any
concerns or objections to this request.

Thanks and cheers ­ and best wishes to you and yours for a very happy 2015!
Mary

Mary Wong
Senior Policy Director
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names & Numbers (ICANN)
Telephone: +1 603 574 4892
Email: mary.wong at icann.org



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