[Rt4-whois] FW: WIPO attendance at ICANN meeting in SFO?

[Olof Nordling]

Emily, Lynn, all,
I received the below reply from Erik Wilbers/WIPO, for your information. In a subsequent dialogue he made clear that this is the input they can provide to you for the SFO meeting - or otherwise expressed: no opportunities for an in person presentation this time.
All the best
Olof

From: Wilbers, Erik [mailto:Erik.Wilbers at wipo.int]
Sent: Monday, March 07, 2011 7:53 PM
To: Olof Nordling
Cc: Alice Jansen; Roache-Turner, David; Beckham, Brian
Subject: WIPO attendance at ICANN meeting in SFO?

Dear Olof,

Thank you for your query, which reaches us not only amidst record case filings but also in times of sudden acceleration of various ICANN rights protection mechanism determinations in the lead-up to its San Francisco meeting later this week.

As UDRP initiator and provider, and generally from an intellectual property point of view, the WIPO Center believes that the WhoIs is a very important theme.  Without mentioning other possible avenues for enforcement, the WhoIs is the foundation for fair, accurate and predictable proceedings and the reliability of information contained therein is key.

Working within the present WhoIs constraints, the WIPO Center has developed elaborate procedures (based on public WhoIs data and registrar verification replies to specific provider questions) to enable UDRP users and panels to have access to the appropriate information for informed pleadings and decisions.  With privacy and proxy services in use in an estimated (by ICANN) 25% of registrations overall, and (based on observed WIPO figures) approximately 20% of UDRP cases filed with WIPO (which has processed 20,000 UDRP cases to date), the need for all UDRP stakeholders for some certainty on the issues is real and pressing.   We feel it should not be for WIPO, its panels, parties and UDRP stakeholders generally to continue to find interim solutions for a matter that is or should be addressed in ICANN's own Registrar Accreditation Agreement as a basis for compliance and enforcement at the level of the Registration Agreement.

In addition to devising a responsible UDRP WhoIs mechanism, WIPO has made serious contributions to a number of ICANN processes with a view to improving the timely verification of UDRP party names and contact information for UDRP notification and communication purposes.  This includes in particular requested input made to (and presentations at previously-convened ICANN meetings concerning) ICANN's envisaged Registrar Best Practices Guidelines over the past two years, which we understand is still a project under ICANN consideration.

As ICANN knows, we see a need for a uniform standard/mechanism for registrant "disclosure" in the WhoIs in cases involving privacy and proxy registration services.  While acknowledging that some positive initial steps have been taken, we think that if ICANN is serious about tackling the myriad challenges implicit in the use of privacy and proxy registration services, it needs to do so both through encouraging uniform registrar and privacy service disclosure practice, as well as at the level of the WhoIs itself.  This could also come to involve registries, in the thicker WhoIs model being considered.  Moving responsibility for the thicker WhoIs data to a higher level could also make implementing any uniform approach on privacy and proxies that much more workable.  Such uniformity is likely to become even more desirable following any New gTLD launch, as the number of registries and registrars are both likely to exponentially increase.

Please feel free to take our previous contributions and this reply as the WIPO Center's contribution to the presently planned further discussion.  Where good-faith submissions translate into concrete results, we would be pleased to make further contributions at that point.

In the interim, it always a pleasure to see you.

With best wishes,

Erik Wilbers
Director
WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center

________________________________
From: Olof Nordling [mailto:olof.nordling at icann.org]
Sent: lundi, 14. février 2011 13:44
To: Wilbers, Erik
Cc: Alice Jansen
Subject: WIPO attendance at ICANN meeting in SFO?
Dear Erik,
Will you and/or any of your colleagues from WIPO come to the ICANN meeting in San Francisco in March?
As you may know, the Reviews according to ICANN's Affirmation of Commitments are ongoing and the WHOIS Review Team will have a sequence of meetings in SFO. That team would appreciate an opportunity to meet with WIPO to discuss your experience of WHOIS in conjunction with UDRP cases. Does that sound like something doable for you or your colleagues?
I hope it is - and I'm looking forward to seeing you in San Francisco!
Very best regards
Olof
-------------------
Olof Nordling
Director, Services Relations
Branch Manager, ICANN Brussels office
ICANN
6 Rond Point Schuman, Bt.5
B-1040 Brussels, Belgium
Tel.: +32.2.234 7872
Mobile: +32.475.420805
Fax: +32.2.234 7848
E-mail: olof.nordling at icann.org
www.icann.org<http://www.icann.org>


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