Comments by the Universal Postal Union (UPU) on the Initial Report on the IGO-INGO Access to Curative Rights Protection Mechanisms Policy Development Process

[GUILHERME ricardo <ricardo.GUILHERME@xxxxxxx>]

Dear Sirs,

As one of the members of the "small group" of international intergovernmental 
organizations (IGOs), the Universal Postal Union (UPU) associates itself fully 
with the comments already made by WIPO, OECD, UN, NATO, ICAO, IADB, EBRD, IAEA, 
WTO, UNIDO, Council of Europe, EPO, World Bank, WHO and CERN, and urges ICANN 
to finally take the necessary steps to respect the unique legal and functional 
nature of IGOs.

In that regard, we would once more emphasize the fact that the protection 
afforded to IGO names and abbreviations under international law and various 
domestic statutes stems from public policy considerations and goes beyond the 
mere concept of "trademarks", especially since such IGO designations are, as a 
matter of principle, not subject to the trademark registration requirements 
outlined in ordinary national, regional and international intellectual property 
frameworks (without prejudice to the possibility for an IGO to voluntarily 
register its name and abbreviation as a trademark, or to register any other 
trademark within the scope of its activities and projects).

Moreover, the UPU must express its clear and unambiguous opposition to certain 
allegations that arbitration procedures would constitute "denial of due 
process" or that arbitration would reflect a "playing field [that] is tilted 
unfairly" in favour of IGOs or tainted by "poor judgement" on the part of 
arbitrators. Indeed, the unsubstantiated character of these allegations can be 
easily demonstrated by the fact that even the UPU itself was the subject of 
negative rulings arising from the .EPOST and .MAIL objection cases under the 
New gTLD Program.

In fact, it is evident from the relevant international law provisions 
applicable to IGOs that each organization shall make provision for appropriate 
modes of settlement (i.e. arbitration) in the light of their immunity from 
every form of domestic legal process. Such allegations also seem to ignore the 
fact that, even in a hypothetical scenario where an IGO expressly decides to 
waive its immunity, such a waiver shall never extend to any measure of 
execution.

In the light of the above, we would strongly urge ICANN to carefully consider 
and appropriately deal with the long-standing, legitimate concerns expressed by 
various IGOs over the last years, and to adopt, without further delay, a fair 
and effective mechanism that shall recognize the unique status of IGOs in the 
DNS.

Cordially yours,

Ricardo Guilherme Filho
Lawyer, LL.M., MILE
Director
Legal Affairs Directorate

T +41 31 350 35 25
F +41 31 350 31 10

Universal Postal Union
International Bureau
Weltpoststrasse 4
Case postale
3000 BERNE 15
SWITZERLAND
www.upu.int<http://www.upu.int/>



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