[Discussion-igo-rc] External Legal advice on applicable local law for the protection of the legal rights of IGOs

Sat Apr 29 16:21:47 UTC 2017

Thanks for pointing that out, Bruce.

I believe that some US consumer protection laws also provide for private enforcement rights, although whether any might arguably be applicable to IGO names and acronyms is a different question.

If a legal inquiry is initiated I believe it should not only identify relevant laws but evaluate how common such statutes are across national jurisdictions and the extent to which they are similar in approach. While there are variations in national trademark laws, the concept of trademark law is universal across all national jurisdictions (if there are any exceptions they are certainly outliers and the exceptions that prove the rule). Trademark law also has overarching international agreements such as the Madrid Treaty and Article 6ter of the Paris Convention. I know of no similar international agreements in such areas as consumer protection or unfair competition.

In closing, I would again caution that ICANN should think long and hard about setting the precedent of  providing any dispute resolution system as an alternative to judicial redress for any category of law other than trademark. Names are clearly a part of ICANN's remit, and the potential clash between domain names and trademarks justifies the existing RPMs. Such justification is arguably absent from other categories of laws.

Best, Philip

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-----Original Message-----
From: discussion-igo-rc-bounces at icann.org [mailto:discussion-igo-rc-bounces at icann.org] On Behalf Of Bruce Tonkin
Sent: Friday, April 28, 2017 10:08 PM
To: discussion-igo-rc at icann.org
Subject: Re: [Discussion-igo-rc] External Legal advice on applicable local law for the protection of the legal rights of IGOs

Hello Phil,

>>   That is, if it found that some nation's consumer protection regime arguably establishes protections for IGO names and acronyms separate from trademark law, but the enforcement mechanism is solely regulatory, that should not be the basis for proposing a new IGO-focused CRP. The UDRP and URS exist to provide alternatives to litigation, and ICANN should definitely not be in the business of creating a right to initiate an administrative dispute where there is no corresponding right to initiate litigation.

Just taking the Australian example - Competition and Consumer Act 2010 is administered by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which is a regulator, but it also gives some rights for private action.

It am not aware of whether it gives any specific rights to IGOs compared to other organizations or individuals, but it could probably handle the situation where consumers were being mislead by the mis-use of an IGO name and abbreviation.

Regards,

Bruce Tonkin

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