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Comment from the World Bank concerning the Protection of IGO and INGO Identifiers in All gTLDs Policy Development Process
- To: comments-igo-ingo-recommendations-27nov13@xxxxxxxxx
- Subject: Comment from the World Bank concerning the Protection of IGO and INGO Identifiers in All gTLDs Policy Development Process
- From: iburghardt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 18 Dec 2013 14:52:33 -0500
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<p><font size="2" face="Calibri"><b><u>Comments from the World Bank to the GNSO
Council, December 18, 2013</u></b></font><br>
<br>
<font size="2" face="Calibri">The International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (the World Bank) is a public international organization that aims
to reduce poverty in middle-income countries and creditworthy poorer countries
by promoting sustainable development through loans, guarantees, risk management
products, and analytical and advisory services. Established in 1944 as the
original institution of the World Bank Group, the World Bank is structured like
a cooperative that is owned and operated for the benefit of its 188 member
countries.</font>
<p><font size="2" face="Calibri">The World Bank is a vital source of financial
and technical assistance to developing countries around the world. We are not a
bank in the ordinary sense but a unique partnership that dedicates its
resources to reduce poverty and support development. These resources are
donated in part by our member countries, and it is the World Bank’s aim
to be able to focus as much of these funds on poverty reduction and
development. </font>
<p><font size="2" face="Calibri">The World Bank joins and endorses the other
comments provided by the international organizations to the GNSO Council during
this comment period.</font>
<p><font size="2" face="Calibri">The GNSO recommendations fail properly to take
into account public policy concerns, the unique status and needs of IGOs under
international law, and longstanding and repeated GAC advice to ICANN. We
sincerely hope that the ICANN Board will not follow this same route.</font>
<p><font size="2" face="Calibri">The GAC has repeatedly informed the ICANN
board that it recognizes that IGOs, as entities created by governments under
public international law, are in an objectively different category to other
potential right holders. This is consistent with ICANN’s Articles
of Agreement, which promise that ICANN will comply with international law in
its activities. Moreover, because most IGOs are required by their member
nations to ensure that resources and efforts remain focused on their public
interest goals, as opposed to spending them on policing internet domain
registrations for frauds and misrepresentation, the GAC has repeatedly
explained to the ICANN Board the urgent need to provide special preventative
protections to IGO names and acronyms. In the context of the gTLD program, this
is true at both the top and the second levels. </font>
<p><font size="2" face="Calibri">The recent GNSO Council recommendation, while
accepting protections for full names at both the top and second levels, refuses
to grant such protections for the acronyms of IGOs. The recommendation
does not take into consideration that a vast majority of IGOs are far better
known by their acronyms than their full names. UNICEF, and the UN
itself, are well-known examples of such commonly-known acronyms. As a
result, abuse and fraud in connection with these acronyms is a significant risk
to the public mission of these IGOs. We note that ICANN protects its own
acronym by placing it on the gTLD reserved name list. The GNSO and GAC
acronyms are similarly not available for top-level registration. (gTLD
Applicant Guidebook, section 2.2.1.2.1). In the context of the DNS, it
defies basic logic to refuse protection for the commonly known acronyms of IGOs
while protecting their often lengthy full names, which create less risk of
confusion and abuse. </font>
<p><font size="2" face="Calibri">In the event that ICANN declines to follow
consistent GAC advice to the Board to ensure preemptive protections to IGO
names and acronyms, then the proposals made by the GNSO Council do not offer
adequate protection. Simply allowing IGOs access to the existing
Trademark Clearinghouse or dispute resolution fora for their acronyms does not
meaningfully reduce the risks posed to IGOs in the gTLD program</font><font
size="2" face="Times New Roman">.</font><font size="2" face="Calibri"> In
fact, for various reasons (immunities, lack of financial resources, etc.) not
all IGOs have registered their names or acronyms as trademarks under national
laws. Hence, the Trademark Clearinghouse would have to extend its current scope
of protection to the IGO names and acronyms listed on the GAC's "IGO List
dated 22/03/2013". Such protection would need to be granted for up to two
official or working languages per IGO, and regardless of whether the name and
acronym are registered as trademarks in certain countries or not.
In other words, no further clearance of these acronyms should be
required, and no registration or annual fee should be charged for the inclusion
of IGO acronyms in the Clearinghouse. This is consistent with the
GAC’s advice to ICANN after the Beijing meeting. Likewise, for the
URS and the UDRP, the GNSO has acknowledged that these mechanisms are not
adequate for IGOs due to their immunities, but also because of standing and
cost considerations. Hence, special provisions that take into account the
IGO’s unique nature should be implemented. </font>
<p><font size="2" face="Calibri">It is unfortunate that at a time when
ICANN’s engagement strategy professes to seek to evolve ICANN’s
working relationship with governments and IGOs, the GNSO Council is actually
undermining these efforts by failing to acknowledge the special needs and
circumstances of international organizations.</font>
<p><font size="2" face="sans-serif">Sincerely,</font>
<p><font size="2" face="sans-serif">Ingo Burghardt<br>
</font>
<p>
<p>
<table class="MsoNormalTable" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tr valign="top"><td width="420"><font size="1" face="Arial"><b>Ingo Burghardt,
Senior Counsel</b></font></td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td width="420"><font size="1" face="Arial">Legal Vice
Presidency</font></td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td width="420"><font size="1" face="Arial">The World
Bank</font></td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td width="420"><font size="1" face="Arial">1818 H Street,
N.W. Washington, D.C. 20433</font></td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td width="420"><font size="2" color="#FF0000" face="Wingdings
2">'</font><font size="1" color="#BFBF00" face="Arial"> </font><font
size="1" face="Arial">+1(202) 473-5837 </font></td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td width="420"><font size="2" color="#813F62" face="Wingdings
2">7</font><font size="1" face="Arial"> +1(202) 522-1596 </font></td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td width="420"><font size="2" color="#FF8100"
face="Wingdings">*</font><font size="1" face="Arial"> </font><a
href="mailto:iburghardt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx";><font size="1" color="#0000FF"
face="Arial"><u>iburghardt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx</u></font></a></td></tr>
</table>
<p><font size="3" face="serif"> </font></body></html>
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