Next Meeting
APTLD's next meeting will be held at the Amari Watergate Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand on 13 & 14 November 2006. The meeting will have two dominant themes - IDNs and Dealing with unprecedented growth (and facilitating such growth). Full details are available at www.aptld.org/meeting/2006/11_Bangkok/bangkok-meeting.htm.

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Instra Corporation launches Asia registry for Asia Pacific domain names
Instra Corporation, a domain name and telephone number mapping (ENUM) registrar, has launched the Asia Registry, a specialised domain name registration service covering Asia Pacific country code top-level domains (ccTLD). This coincides with announcements relating to Asia Pacific's .asia top level domain, which is expected to be as popular as the recent .eu for the European Union.
www.digitalmediaasia.com/default.asp?ArticleID=17399

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Melbourne IT rides the internet wave to riches
THE internet's surging power is reflected in the half-yearly results posted by domain name registry and web services company Melbourne IT.
www.theage.com.au/articles/2006/08/23/1156012609488.html

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Melbourne IT eyes lapsed domains
MELBOURNE IT will auction off the domain names of clients who allow their registrations to lapse as it looks for new ways to broaden its revenue base in the wake of its successful bid for Queensland internet company WebCentral.
australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,20225751%5e16123%5e%5enbv%5e,00.html

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Melbourne IT reports $7.1m profit
Melbourne IT reported a profit of $7.1 million for its half year ending June 30, following the sale of its Neulevel business, netting it a gain of $4.5 million for the period.
www.itnews.com.au/newsstory.aspx?CIaNID=36188

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MelbIT bid gets shareholder nod
SHAREHOLDERS in the Lucy Turnbull and Sean Howard-backed WebCentral Group have voted overwhelmingly in favour of Melbourne IT's $64 million takeover bid for the Queensland internet company.
australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,20198177%5e16123%5e%5enbv%5e,00.html

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Mass mail out by DomainName.com.au Pty Ltd (news release)
auDA has become aware that DomainName.com.au Pty Ltd is sending letters and/or faxes to some domain name registrants offering to arrange registration of the .com equivalent of the registrants com.au domain name for $225.
auda.org.au/consumeralert/ca-21082006/

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Domain name entrepreneur declared bankrupt
CONTROVERSIAL internet domain name entrepreneur Brad Norrish has been declared bankrupt, but the brother of his former business partner is still selling domain names. Domainwatch.org, a self-appointed watchdog of Mr Norrish's operations has warned businesses to keep a keen eye out for domain name marketing spam that closly resembles an invoice.
www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/07/10/1152383674987.html

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Rafferty's rules
THIS is an alert for the citizens of the wild west, otherwise known as Western Australia. We believe they are about to have in their midst one Blair Rafferty, proprietor of Domains Australia Pty Ltd, a company that recently came to the attention of auDA, the domain names administrator in Australia.
www.theage.com.au/articles/2006/08/22/1156012542788.html

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Domain name entrepreneur goes west
Domain name entrepreneur Blair Rafferty has a spectacular view from his office on the 50th floor of a Melbourne high-rise but doesn't seem to have enjoyed it. After receiving a shot across the bows last week from .au domain name administrator auDA, and an injunction from a New Zealand court, he appears to have moved to Perth and gone into the mobile phone business.
www.theage.com.au/articles/2006/08/21/1156012473234.html

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Rafferty's rules at work again in domain registration
auDA warned domain name registrants about letters and faxes offering registration of the net.au equivalent of registrants' com.au domain name for AU$225.
zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/Rafferty_s_rules_at_work_again_in_domain_registration/0,2000061791,39266688,00.htm

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auDA in new domain stoush
AUSTRALIA'S peak internet name authority auDA has marched into another regulatory stoush with another business linked to bankrupt former domain registrar operator Chesley Rafferty.
australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,20150135%5e15306%5e%5enbv%5e,00.html

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NetRegistry cries foul at failed WebCentral bid
Domain name registrar NetRegistry has rejected claims its failed bid to buy rival Melbourne IT's acquisition target WebCentral included too many uncertainties.
zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/NetRegistry_cries_foul_at_failed_WebCentral_bid/0,2000061791,39267208,00.htm

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Qld Labor wins website shutdown
THE ALP has won a Queensland Supreme Court injunction to shut down a defamatory website about Premier Peter Beattie and former party members.
australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,20169330%5e16123%5e%5enbv%5e,00.html

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Proposed .au Internet Domain Review (news release)
The Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Helen Coonan, today announced a review into the policy, administrative and regulatory arrangements that underpin the operation of the .au Internet domain.
www.minister.dcita.gov.au/media/media_releases/proposed_.au_internet_domain_review

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auDA's members overwhelmingly approve constitutional changes (news release)
The overwhelming vote in support of changes to auDA's constitution at yesterday's EGM marked a positive step forward for the Internet in Australia according auDA's CEO, Chris Disspain.
auda.org.au/news-archive/auda-15082006/

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Domain name wars not yet over in Australia
While Australia never suffered the extreme examples of Internet domain mania seen in the US, it seems many local registrars are still prepared to go to extreme lengths to secure desirable domains.
zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/Domain_name_wars_not_yet_over_in_Australia/0,2000061791,39266447,00.htm

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Linux conference domain faces uncertain future
A proposed review of little-used second-level domains by auDA has left a cloud hanging over the domain for Australia's biggest Linux conference.
zdnet.com.au/news/software/soa/Linux_conference_domain_faces_uncertain_future/0,2000061733,39266489,00.htm

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WIPO decision on yellowbook.com.au & yellowbook.net.au - Telstra Corporation Limited v. Mandino Pty Ltd
The disputed domain names and are registered with Bottle Domains. Telstra filed a complaint to WIPO, but lost.
arbiter.wipo.int/cgi-bin/domains/search/CaseCatReport?case=DAU2006-0006

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Small is big as the web goes local
FROM Bathurst to Beecroft and Broome, community groups will for the first time be able to set up geographic website names to help their areas. Last year Australians bought thousands of commercial geographic internet domain names, and now 22,000 community versions - www.bathurst.nsw.au, for example - are available for non-profit groups.
www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/08/08/1154802890322.html

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Connect West breaches Registrar Agreement (news release)
auDA has found that Connect West failed to properly manage domain name renewals during June and July.
auda.org.au/news-archive/auda-04082006/

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auDA to open Board meeting to the public (news release)
Internet users interested in the future of the Australian Internet will be able to attend auDA's first public Board meeting
auda.org.au/news-archive/auda-03082006/

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auDA reviews domain expiry, renewal and deletion policy (news release)
auDA invites comment and feedback on the policy and process for handling domain name renewals and deletions.
auda.org.au/news-archive/auda-24072006/

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auDA looks to expand its turf
The Australian domain name regulator will seek to expand its powers beyond basic domain administration in an extraordinary general meeting to be held in mid-August.
zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/auDA_looks_to_expand_its_turf/0,2000061791,39263773,00.htm

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Chinese domain name sells for $160,000
A sale of Chinese Internet domain names netted more than $160,000 on Friday in what organizers said was the biggest such auction yet in the computer-crazy country.
edition.cnn.com/2006/TECH/internet/08/18/china.domain.name.reut/

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Companies rush for Chinese domain names
More than 100 Shenzhen companies registered Internet domain names in Chinese characters with the government-run China Internet Information Center (CNNIC) yesterday after a forum on the protection of Chinese domain names.
newsgd.com/citiesandtowns/shenzhen/news/200607260042.htm

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China climbs cybersquatting rankings (reg req'd)
China now has the fourth highest number of alleged cybersquatters in domain name dispute resolution procedures, according to WIPO statistics
managingip.com/default.asp?page=9&PubID=198&SID=642880

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The prospects for Chinese domain names
Recently, the State Council promulgated the catalog of first batch of state-level non-material cultural heritages, and altogether 518 heritages of ten categories including folk literature and folk music are included in the catalog. Meanwhile, the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage has been included in the NPC 2007 legislation agenda. It has become a common sense for people to protect the non-material cultural heritages of our nation.
en.ce.cn/Insight/200607/04/t20060704_7602215.shtml

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China Betting on IPv6 and First Mover Advantage
The United States' reluctance to invest in IPv6 makes it more likely that China will be in a position to gain the first-mover advantage it seeks.
www.circleid.com/posts/china_ipv6_first_mover_advantage_olympics_2008/

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India, China Come Together for IPv6
In a significant development, the IPv6 Forum India, a non-profit, non-governmental registered organization, has reportedly signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the China IPv6 Council. The association is particularly crucial as it is expected to enable knowledge sharing and deployment of IPv6 in both countries.
techtree.com/techtree/jsp/article.jsp?article_id=75302&cat_id=643

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Traders cautioned on using 'Basmati' name
The Agricultural and Processed Foods Export Development Authority has warned the trade against the possibility of the geographical indication `Basmati' becoming a "generic" name usable by any trader as a result of the failure of traders to adhere to the labelling guidelines. ... APEDA has also appealed to traders not to use the word Basmati as part of their corporate names/trading styles/domain name.
thehindu.com/2006/08/13/stories/2006081305391300.htm

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Hong Kong Internet Expert Pindar Wong Joins Public Interest Registry Board
Public Interest Registry (PIR) announced today that the Internet Society has appointed Internet pioneer Pindar Wong to the PIR board.
www.circleid.com/posts/pir_hong_kong_internet_expert_pindar_wong/

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Commission warns firms about domain name scam
An Australian-based company has been trying to dupe New Zealand businesses into paying for domain names they don't need, warned the Commerce Commission today.
stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3758533a13,00.html

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Commission warns public about domain registration invoices (news release)
The Commission is warning New Zealand businesses about a mass mail-out by an Australian-based business trading as NZ Domain Registration Ltd.
www.comcom.govt.nz//MediaCentre/MediaReleases/200607/commissionwarnspublicaboutdomainre.aspx

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Net story on way
The non-profit society that runs the country's internet is going back to its roots, commissioning a history of the net in New Zealand. Project administrator Susi Fookes says InternetNZ is open to many approaches, from authoritative professional histories to a wiki where the public contributes the content. The wiki approach would cost about $6000, she says.
stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3740858a28,00.html

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Dot TK Registry Launches Auction Domain
Dot TK, the registry for .TK Internet Domain Names, announced today the launch of Dot TK Auction Domain - a new tool for Internet users to promote their online auction or product on the Internet.
www.webhostdir.com/news/articles/shownews.asp?id=16520

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Public allowed to register .vn domains
Both domestic and international organisations have been able to register internet domain names ending in .vn from 4.30pm on Monday, says the Viet Nam Internet Network Information Centre.
vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=01BUS170806

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Banks lag in securing domain names
Recently opened registrations for Vietnamese .vn internet domain names have seen more than 100 domains registered with website addresses of large local banks, but many of these domains have been registered by businesses not involved in banking, according to the Viet Nam Internet Network Information Centre (VNNIC).
vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=01BAN230806

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Vietnamese banks lose domain names
More than 100 second-level domain names ending in .vn used by Vietnamese banks have been registered for re-selling by non-banking entities, said the Vietnam Internet Network Information Centre (VNNIC).
english.vietnamnet.vn/tech/2006/08/604441/

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Net's ruling body renews US links
The US looks set to maintain its role as ultimate supervisor of the net's addressing systems until 2011. The US Department of Commerce has signed a five-year deal with administrative body Icann that renews the body's role overseeing net domains.
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4799137.stm

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ICANN Posts Proposed Registry Agreement for Designation of the .ASIA Registry (announcement)
On 18 July 2006, ICANN's Board of Directors approved the posting for public comment of the proposed registry agreement between ICANN and DotAsia Organisation Limited. If approved by the ICANN Board, the agreement would designate DotAsia as the registry operator for the newly designated .ASIA registry.
icann.org/announcements/announcement-28jul06.htm

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ICANN to Cut U.S. Apron Strings?
An agreement that gives the U.S. sway over Web addresses and domain names will soon expire, but Uncle Sam seems reluctant to cede control: The era of U.S. government oversight of the infrastructure that makes the Internet run is destined to end. Eventually. At stake is the oversight of the infrastructure and processes by which Internet protocol address and the Web site domain names that correspond to them are assigned. Currently that's the job of a nonprofit private entity called ICANN, created in 1998 and overseen by the U.S. Commerce Department. The plan back then was to privatize Internet oversight by 2000. That date has moved several times.
businessweek.com/technology/content/jul2006/tc20060728_701788.htm

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United States cedes control of the internet - but what now?
In a meeting that will go down in internet history, the United States government last night conceded that it can no longer expect to maintain its position as the ultimate authority over the internet.
www.theregister.com/2006/07/27/ntia_icann_meeting/

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Can US Control Over the Web be Untangled?
The US government has renewed its contract with the Internet overseeing company ICANN to manage technical functions for the Internet's DNS. ICANN has been granted exclusive rights, for no consideration, to run the so-called IANA function until 2011, although the contract is subject to annual review and renewal.
www.sda-asia.com/sda/features/psecom,id,524,srn,2,nodeid,4,_language,Singapore.html

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Aussie steps into ICANN hot seat
Australian corporate affairs specialist, Paul Levins has been appointed as the first VP of corporate affairs for ICANN.
www.itwire.com.au/content/view/4964/127/

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Governments to decide future of net - Major shift in power in ICANN
ICANN Marrakech In an historic shift of power, international governments will this week argue that they should take the lead role in "public policy" issues on the Net - effectively deciding the future course of much of the internet.
www.theregister.co.uk/2006/06/28/gac_icann_communique/

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Highs, lows and sickos - The unspoken side of the Morroccan meeting
ICANN Marrakech ICANN Marrakech is over, save the board meeting. And this fact was - as it always is - sufficient reason for everyone to head to the bar and mull things over while consuming (un)healthy quantities of booze.
www.theregister.co.uk/2006/06/30/icann_blog_marrakech_friday/

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Arguments and gunfire - It's dangerous in here (ICANN@Marrakesh)
ICANN Marrakech It's difficult to know if there is anything more frustrating than being unable to get on the internet at an ICANN meeting, but then I'm certain that the greengrocers of Georgia or undertakers of Uxbridge have an anecdote or two to put that in shadow.
www.theregister.co.uk/2006/06/29/marakesh_day_two/

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Bad music and full mouths - Muddling through in Morocco
ICANN Marrakech: "Cause baby, I feel wonderful tonight..." The man singing this is lying. He doesn't feel wonderful at all. He feels like a musician who has been reduced to playing old-favourites to a small bunch of indifferent tourists, sat tapping away behind two sythesisers, only one of which he ever plays, but both of which are bathed in bright pink light. Welcome to Marrakech.
www.theregister.co.uk/2006/06/28/marrakech_blog_one/

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Divided by a common language
The internet is a global revolution in communication - as long as you use letters from the western alphabet. Kieren McCarthy on the growing pressure for a net that recognises Asian, Arabic and Hindi characters, too
technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,1830481,00.html

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ITU-T unveils Internationalized Domain Names Resource Site
Study Group 17 (Security, languages and telecommunication software) has been instructed by Resolution 48 of the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (Florian-polis, 2004) to study Internationalized Domain Names (IDN). It is considered that implementation of IDN will contribute to easier and greater use of the Internet in those countries where the native or official languages are not represented in IRA (International Reference Alphabet) characters.
http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/newslog/ITUT+Unveils+Internationalized+Domain+Names+IDN+Resource+Site.aspx

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340,282,366,920,938,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 new web addresses created by internet chiefs ... so we won't run out of space soon, then
TO THE lay observer it seems like an infinite network of computers, servers and cables stretching around the globe. But the worldwide web is filling up. So quickly, it turns out, that programmers have had to devise a new one. Of the internet addresses available, more than three quarters are already in use, and the remainder are expected to be assigned by 2009. So, what will happen as more people in developing countries come online? The answer is IPv6.
technology.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,20411-2270472,00.html

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Internet governance - growing issue for InternetNZ
The question of internet governance in New Zealand is an increasing issue within InternetNZ, with a discussion document on relations with the government due to be placed before the next meeting of the society's council later this month.
computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/0/79F8745031F58C66CC2571C7000351AE

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India should be active in Internet governance: expert
Though India is a recognised IT power, it has done little when it comes to global Internet governance, according to an expert who has appealed to Indian professionals to be more active in this crucial area.
www.newkerala.com/news4.php?action=fullnews&id=2963

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UN Secretary-General Convenes Internet Governance Forum
The Secretary-General of the United Nations has announced the convening of the Internet Governance Forum, to be held in Athens on 30 October - 2 November 2006. The Secretary-General's message is available in all UN languages
www.itu.int/osg/spu/newslog/UN+SecretaryGeneral+Convenes+Internet+Governance+Forum.aspx

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Why We Need to Find Solutions on Internet Governance As Soon As Possible By Konstantinos Komaitis
Internet Governance is the buzzword, especially over the past couple of years, with debates and negotiations taking place almost with the same intensity and pathos of delicate issues, such as terrorism. But Internet Governance is a delicate issue. At the beginning, there was the web that made everything better... Life was good and exciting. That was Internet 1.0. But consider Internet 2.0, currently in development. No longer an egalitarian utopia, it has become much like the rest of our society -- divided by class, geography, culture, religion and politics. And its growing fragmentation threatens us all -- because we will be asked to take sides.
www.circleid.com/posts/solution_internet_governance_as_soon_as_possible/

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Development Agenda for Internet Governance-Call for a Framework Convention on the Internet
'Development agendas' in WTO and WIPO mark a new era in global policy spaces, whereby the rights of the global south are being asserted. However, the governance of new ICTs, chiefly the Internet, remains a nebulous zone, with practically no global policy frameworks. As these ICTs reconstitute reality around us in so many different ways, of which we keep discovering more every passing day, their governance is an important area. As they say, in ICTs 'architecture is policy' and 'code is law'. And, more and more of it is being written every passing day, perhaps irrevocably, deciding the contours of an emerging world for us, but without our participation in these decisions. IT for Change submitted the following paper to Internet Governance Forum as an input for its first meeting in Athens in October 2006.
itforchange.net/mambo/content/view/126/1/

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How Could the Internet be Governed: Perspective from Bulgaria by Veni Markovski
In the last few years there have been many discussions on how the Internet is governed, and how it should be governed. The whole World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) ended talking about this problem. It caused exchange of letters between the US Secretary of State and the European Union presidency.
www.circleid.com/posts/internet_governed_perspective_from_bulgaria/

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Small countries have more .eu domain registrations - Report
Countries with small populations have a higher number of .eu domain name registrations, reports market research firm IPwalk.
www.dmeurope.com/default.asp?ArticleID=17253

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Registrars accused of stockpiling 74,000 .eu domains
The organisation responsible for administering the .eu domain extension is suing 400 US-based registrars, accusing them of stockpiling 74,000 domain names through three UK-registered 'front' companies
news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/webservices/0,39020378,39279618,00.htm

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Suspension of .eu domains draws support
The recent decision by .eu domain name operator Eurid to suspend 74,000 .eu addresses, after claiming they had been registered unfairly, has won support from industry.
www.itweek.co.uk/itweek/news/2161410/suspension-eu-domains-draws

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10 millionth .DE domain name
Germany has registered its 10 millionth domain name, making the .DE TLD the second largest in the world following dotcom.
domaintimes.net/newseng.php?mhnews_id=306&mhnews_newsid=10159&mhnews_page=1

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Staking a claim on domains beyond dot-com
In the $1 billion market for Web addresses, country-specific domain names are the latest sector to heat up. By some estimates, the market for registering and trading domain names could reach $2.5 billion this year.
money.cnn.com/2006/08/29/technology/nextbigforeign.biz2/

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ICANN Confirms: Tiered Pricing Not Forbidden in New .BIZ, .INFO and .ORG Contracts by George Kirikos
Vint Cerf/ICANN confirm my interpretation of .biz/info/org proposed contracts-tiered/differential domain pricing would not be forbidden
www.circleid.com/posts/icann_tiered_pricing_tld_biz_info_org_domain/

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Tiered pricing coming to top-level domain names?
Imagine, you've built a great website, and are on top of the world due to all the incoming visitors and sales revenues. Your competitors envy you, as do your neighbours. Your online brand has become very valuable, and when people think of widgets, the first website that comes to mind is your site. Life is good. You open the mail, though, and see a renewal notice for your domain name that is $75,000/yr, instead of the $10/yr that you were used to. You call up your registrar, thinking "this must be a typo". But, instead, you are told, "due to the success and high value you are receiving from your domain, the renewal fee really is $75,000/yr."
lse.co.uk/ShowStory.asp?story=JH264060B

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How Much Do You Think a .ORG, .BIZ, or .INFO Domain Costs? By John Levine
Whatever you think the answer is (typically about ten bucks), the answer is likely to change radically for the worse, based on new contracts that ICANN is planning to approve. On July 28th ICANN posted proposed new contracts for .ORG, .BIZ, and .INFO, for a public comment period that ends four days from now, on the 28th. There's a lot not to like about these proposed contracts, but I will concentrate here on two related particularly troublesome areas, pricing and data mining.
www.circleid.com/posts/how_much_org_biz_info_domain_costs/

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ax: Åland gets to rel.ax at last
The .ax top level internet domain for the autonomous Åland (pronounced: oh-land) archipelago in the Baltic Sea was taken live earlier this month.
www.itweek.co.uk/vnunet/news/2162974/aland-gets-rel-ax

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Microsoft puts cybersquatters on notice
Microsoft on Tuesday launched a new offensive against cybersquatters who allegedly gain illegal profits from thousands of Web sites, such as WindowsLiveTutorial.com and HaloChamp.com, that include the company's trademarked names.
news.com.com/2100-1030_3-6108326.html

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USA still dominates the Internet
Two-thirds of all domain names are hosted in the United States. This corresponds to almost twelve times as many domain names as Germany in second place.
www.ipwalk.com/general/show_news/id/34

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VeriSign June/July Digital Branding Bulletin
Includes stories on New White Paper Explores Impact of Recent DNS Attacks; .FR - Individuals Can Register Domain Names Starting June 20; .NO - Registry Issues Alerts to Registrants Who Do Not Meet Requirements; .PK - Second-Level Launch Now Expected in Late June; .VN - Second-Level Live Launch Now Expected in July; * Recent Sales Illustrate Growing Global Interest in ccTLDs; and Domain Name Registration Statistics.
www.verisign.com/Resources/Digital_Brand_Management_Services_Resources/Digital_Branding_Bulletin/page_038172.html

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Accused 'cybersquatter' predicts domain drought
A company accused of both cybersquatting and hoarding domain names without paying for them has predicted that "domain names may soon run out completely."
cbronline.com/article_news.asp?guid=4EFB00BF-D653-461E-B4E8-7FCC52080182

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Web surfers rejoice: Ronaldinho is back
Brazilian soccer star Ronaldinho won back the rights to a Web site address including his name, successfully tackling a serial cybersquatter.
www.signonsandiego.com/sports/20060729-9999-lz1s29galry.html

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Cruise handed domain name victory
Arbitrators have ruled that a "cyber squatter" misused a web address containing Tom Cruise's name which must be returned to the actor.
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5212350.stm

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us: FTC Calls for Openness, Accessibility in Whois Database System (news release)
The Federal Trade Commission today told the U.S. House of Representatives that access to Whois databases - the directories that contain information about Web site operators - are "critical to the agency's consumer protection mission, to other law enforcement agencies around the world, and to consumers." In Commission testimony before the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit of the House Committee on Financial Services, Eileen Harrington, Deputy Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection, said improvements should be made to the current Whois database system and the databases should be "kept open, transparent, and accessible."
ftc.gov/opa/2006/07/whoisdb.htm

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A Fundamental Look at DNSSEC, Deployment, and DNS Security Extensions by Geoff Huston
In looking at the general topic of trust and the Internet, one of the more critical parts of the Internet's infrastructure that appears to be a central anchor point of trust is that of the Domain Name Service, or DNS. The mapping of "named" service points to the protocol-level address is a function that every Internet user relies upon, one way or another.
www.circleid.com/posts/dnssec_deployment_and_dns_security_extensions/

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Jefferson Rebuffed - The United States and the Future of Internet Governance by VIKTOR MAYER-SCHOENBERGER & MALTE ZIEWITZ, Harvard University - John F. Kennedy School of Government (KSG Working Paper)
Abstract: Over the last several years, many have called for an internationalization of Internet governance in general, and Internet naming and numbering in particular. The multi-year WSIS process that culminated in November 2005 was intended to create momentum in such direction. The United States has long resisted such internationalization, fearing in particular the growing influence of China and similar nations. In September 2005 the European Union put forward a proposal which would have offered a constitutional moment for Internet governance by suggesting internationalization based on fundamental values of the Internet community. The swift rejection of the proposal by the US was surprising, both from a tactical as well as - in light of its own constitutional history - a substantive viewpoint. In this article we describe the main features of the European proposal and what it might have created. We evaluate four possible arguments explaining US rejection: delegation of power, objective rights, public choice, and de-legitimization of international regimes.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=902374

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New Governance and Legal Regulation: Complementarity, Rivalry or Transformation by DAVID M. TRUBEK & LOUISE G. TRUBEK - University of Wisconsin (published: Univ. of Wisconsin Legal Studies Research Paper)
Abstract: New approaches to regulation have emerged to deal with inadequacies of traditional command and control systems. Such new governance mechanisms are designed to increase flexibility, improve participation, foster experimentation and deliberation, and accommodate complex multi-level systems. In many cases these mechanisms co-exist with conventional forms of regulation. As new forms of governance emerge in arenas regulated by conventional legal processes, a wide range of configurations is possible. The purpose of this paper is to provide a preliminary mapping of such relationships using examples drawn from the European Union and the United States. When the two processes are consciously yoked together in a hybrid form, we might speak of a real transformation in the law. In other cases, the two systems may exist in parallel but not fuse together in a single system. Where both systems co-exist, there are numerous possible configurations and relationships among them. Thus, one might simply be used to launch the other, as when formal law is used to mandate a new approach. Or, they might operate independently yet both may have an effect on the same policy domain. Finally, in some areas one system may take over the field, ether because new governance methods replace traditional law altogether, or because opposition to innovation halts efforts to employ new approaches.
 

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Domain name protection in Hong Kong: flaws and proposals for reform by GRACE CHAN (published: International Journal of Law and Information Technology)
Abstract: In Hong Kong, domain name disputes are governed by a policy that is heavily influenced by that of the US-based Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (`ICANN`), which is designed to protect interests of some trademark owners at the expense of some domain name registrants. The root cause of Hong Kong`s adherence to US Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy lies in the physical architecture of the domain name system itself, which is US-controlled. Hong Kong may improve protection for domain name registrants by amending the Hong Kong Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy to make it more registrant-friendly than it currently is. In the longer run, however, Hong Kong`s ultimate power to decide on its own domain name dispute policy may involve moving away from the superior authority of the A root. A concurrent and less drastic step to improve the situation would be to clarify the ability of domain name registrants to register their domain names under trademark law.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=915212

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The Constitutional Failing of the Anticybersquatting Act by NED SNOW - University of Arkansas (published: Willamette Law Review)
Abstract: Eminent domain and thought control are occurring in cyberspace. Through the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA), the government transfers domain names from domain-name owners to private parties based on the owners' bad-faith intent. The owners receive no just compensation. The private parties who are recipients of the domain names are trademark holders whose trademarks correspond with the domain names. Often the trademark holders have no property rights in those domain names: trademark law only allows mark holders to exclude others from making commercial use of their marks; it does not allow mark holders to reserve the marks for their own use. The property transfer is thus not based on existing property rights that a trademark holder has in the domain name. Instead, the ACPA facilitates the property transfer based on the thoughts of a domain-name owner. The ACPA requires only that a domain-name owner have acquired a domain name through trafficking, where traffic is defined to include any means of acquisition; and that a domain-name owner have a bad-faith intent, where bad faith is determined by unfettered judicial discretion and where the actionable intent may exist at any time (not merely the time of acquisition). In short, if a domain-name owner has somehow acquired a domain name, or in other words, is in possession of it, and if that owner then thinks bad-faith thoughts, the government may appropriate the domain name for a third party's use. This basis for transferring property -- thought and the expression thereof -- violates basic tenants of First Amendment law. The transfer is without permissible justification. The government controls thought through eminent domain.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=901061

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Cisco's The Internet Protocol Journal - June 2006
Geoff Huston describes numerous research proposals related to TCP and discusses lessons learned by operators and researchers involved with this protocol.
cisco.com/web/about/ac123/ac147/about_cisco_the_internet_protocol_journal.html

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