[bc-gnso] FW: ICANN Week in DC

[Phil Corwin <psc@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Great to see all of you who were in Singapore/hope you all made it home safe 
and sound.

FYI---


http://www.internetcommerce.org/ICANN_Week_DC

DC Trains Laser Focus on ICANN. IANA, and NTIA - ICA Counsel to Speak On U.S 
Role in Internet Governance

The calm is over, and the storm may be about to begin. Congress is back from 
recess and not one but two Congressional Committees are about to hone in on the 
implications of the NTIA's March 14th announcement of its intention to 
surrender its IANA functions contract counterparty status with ICANN by 
September 2015.
Meantime, an exhausting ICANN meeting has just concluded in Singapore, at which 
much more was learned about the import of that decision and the complexities of 
implementing it (more on that in a separate post-jetlag post). Everything 
ICANN-related, including the Internet governance status of business in general 
and domainers in particular, is up for grabs and at risk for at least the next 
eighteen months.
This is ICANN week in Washington. Besides those two Hill hearings, two major 
think tanks are also holding ICANN-related programs.
Here's the lineup:
First, on Wednesday, April 2, the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property 
and the Internet of the House Judiciary Committee will explore the question of 
"Should the Department of Commerce Relinquish Direct Oversight Over 
ICANN?<http://judiciary.house.gov/index.cfm/hearings?ID=027833A0-0028-42E2-A14B-B9C8BA2576A6>"
 at 10 am Eastern Time. While the witness list is not yet available, the 
Subcommittee is likely to focus on whether NTIA has the legal power to make 
this decision absent Congressional authorization -- and the potential fallout 
for Internet free speech and trademark and copyright protection.
The following day, the Communications and Telecommunications Subcommittee of 
the House Energy and Commerce Committee will consider "Ensuring the Security, 
Stability, Resilience, and Freedom of the Global 
Internet"<http://energycommerce.house.gov/hearing/ensuring-security-stability-resilience-and-freedom-global-internet>
 . This is the Subcommittee with direct NTIA oversight, and the hearing may be 
contentious. The star-studded witness list consists of:
The Honorable Larry Strickling
Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information Administration
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
U.S. Department of Commerce

The Honorable David A. Gross
Partner
Wiley Rein, LLP

Mr. Fadi Chehadé
President and CEO
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers

Mr. Steve DelBianco
Executive Director
NetChoice

Ms. Carolina Rossini
Project Director, Latin American Resource Center
Internet Governance and Human Rights Program
New American Foundation
Also on Thursday, the influential Information Technology and Innovation 
Foundation will hold a program on "Bully or Bodyguard? Assessing the Proper 
Role of the United States in Internet 
Governance<http://www.itif.org/events/bully-or-bodyguard-assessing-proper-role-united-states-internet-governance>".
 ICA's Counsel will be one of the presenters. The complete speaker's list is:
Robert D. Atkinson
President, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
Moderator

Phil Corwin
Founding Principal, Virtualaw LLC (and ICA Counsel)

Steve DelBianco
Executive Director,  NetChoice

Eli Dourado
Research Fellow, Mercatus Center

Finally, on Friday, the respected Hudson Institute will host "A Discussion with 
the Hon. Lawrence Strickling about the future of 
ICANN<http://www.hudson.org/events/1144-a-discussion-with-the-hon-lawrence-strickling-about-the-future-of-icann42014>".
 Coming just after his Hill appearance, this should be a most interesting 
session.
Thanks to the wonders of the Internet, all these events will be webcast live so 
that you can be an eyewitness to history.




Philip S. Corwin, Founding Principal
Virtualaw LLC
1155 F Street, NW
Suite 1050
Washington, DC 20004
202-559-8597/Direct
202-559-8750/Fax
202-255-6172/cell

Twitter: @VlawDC

"Luck is the residue of design" -- Branch Rickey

________________________________
No virus found in this message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com<http://www.avg.com>
Version: 2014.0.4354 / Virus Database: 3722/7271 - Release Date: 03/30/14