Abstract: "After years of discussion and thought, gTLDs are being
expanded. They will allow for more innovation, choice and change to a
global Internet presently served by just 21 generic top-level domain
names:" ICANN
In a world with over 1.6 billion Internet users, the expansion of
generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs) continues to be a key issue for legal
right holders and Internet users generally. Originally, expansion of
gTLDs was largely motivated by the recognition that there is a conflict
between domain names and trade mark owners with similar marks which
belong to different geographical locations, or to different goods and/or
services classification. This expansion has, in the past, been
relativity "controllable". However, in June 2008, the board of the
Internet Cooperation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) approved the
concept of introducing new gTLDs in unlimited numbers. This development
is significant to legal right holders in many ways, and is expected to
create further controversy in an unsettled area of law, that of property
rights over domain names and their relationship with other legal
rights.
This paper reviews the manner in which ICANN is handling the gTLDs
expansion from a legal right holders' perspective. The paper will
examine the application of the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution
Policy (UDRP), arguing that over the past ten years the UDRP has
exhibited significant inconsistencies in the making of decisions, and
that the issues of interpretation of the policy and the use of precedent
can only be resolved by a unitary appeal procedure. ICANN's new
proposal of introducing a Uniform Rapid Suspension System (URS) is still
pending consideration, and it is unknown at this juncture whether this
will be used in conjunction with the UDRP or otherwise.
To download this paper in full, go to:
ssrn.com/abstract=1433768
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