[Gnso-igo-ingo-crp] Response from the IGO "small group"

[Mary Wong]

Dear WG members,

Please find attached the IGOs¹ response to the WG¹s questions that had been
sent to the small group of IGOs who have been engaged in discussing issues
concerning IGO protections (including the recommendations from the GNSO¹s
previous PDP on the topic) with the Board¹s New gTLD Program Committee, the
GAC and the GNSO Council.

You will note that the IGOs¹ explanation of the level and nature of
protection under Article 6ter of the Paris Convention comports with what was
discussed on our last WG call, i.e. that protection under 6ter is more
prohibitory in nature and does not necessarily depend on an IGO¹s having
acquired a national trademark registration in its name and/or acronym.
Rather, as we have noted since, the implementation by states of Article 6ter
means that third parties are prohibited from registering as trademarks (or
elements thereof) IGO names, acronyms, flags, armorial bearings and so on,
that suggest a connection between them and the IGO in question. While IGOs
may go further and proceed to register its name and acronym as a trademark
in various national jurisdictions, that would in many cases constitute
additional protections beyond those conferred by Article 6ter.

(To recap the last WG discussions, we have seen that countries such as the
United States and Australia implement their 6ter obligations by treating IGO
names and acronyms which have been properly notified to each state by WIPO
as particular types of marks, e.g. by assigning specific serial/sequence
numbers to them and by requiring that a trademark examiner refuse a third
party registration on grounds within the scope of 6ter, such as falsely
suggesting a connection with the IGO.)

In light of the IGO response and the WG¹s current discussions, staff will
consult with Petter and Phil as to how best to approach our work in the
lead-up to Singapore, where it is expected that the progress made by our WG
may be on the agenda for discussions between the GNSO and the GAC.

Thanks and cheers
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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