ICANN Seeks Comments on .XXX Process Options - ICANN has posted for public comment a report and flowcharts of possible process options concerning the .xxx TLD application by ICM Registry. Also, ICM has written another letter to ICANN indicating that "the Board should vote to execute the registry agreement ... without further delay." However, while the ICANN process report lays out various options in some detail, it explicitly "does not include an option for the ICANN Board to allow ICM and ICANN to go directly to contract negotiations", giving an indication of the gap between the parties. Comments on the report are being solicited until May 10.

More IDN ccTLD Requests Progressing - ICANN has announced that IDN ccTLD applications from China, Hong Kong, Palestinian Territory, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and Tunisia have successfully passed the string evaluation phase. These join requests from Egypt, the Russian Federation, United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia already in progress.

Picks To Click

• Registrars Network Solutions and Go Daddy have ceased doing .cn registrations.
• Byron Holland comments on the ICANN DNS-CERT proposal.
• InternetNZ has announced that on July 1 the wholesale .nz fee will drop from $18 to $15 annually.
• The adult industry trade association Free Speech Coalition opposes ICM Registry's .xxx TLD application.

Timeline

• Fri, Apr 2: last day for applications to the ICANN Nominating Committee
• Fri, Apr 2: last day for comments on Introduction of IDN ccTLDs interim paper
• Wed, Apr 14: last day for comments on two ICANN DNS security proposals
• Mon, May 10: last day for comments on report on .xxx process options
• Sun, Jun 20 - Fri, Jun 25: ICANN meetings in Brussels, Belgium
• Thu, Jul 1: registry fee increases for .com/.net take effect
• Tue, Sep 21: CIRA Annual General Meeting
• Wed, Sep 22 - Wed, Sep 29: CIRA Board of Directors election

VeriSign Celebrates 25 Years of .COM - VeriSign has marked the 25th anniversary of the .com domain. On March 15, 1985, symbolics.com was the first .com domain name to be registered.

Showusyour.ca Voting Under Way - Voting is under way until Friday, March 26 on video entries to CIRA's showusyour.ca contest.

Canon To Apply For .CANON - Canon has announced that it will apply for the .canon top-level domain name under ICANN's forthcoming new gTLD process. This has resulted in speculation about other corporations following suit.

Picks To Click

• Creditors of the holder of the sex.com domain have brought plans for auctioning the name to a halt.
• The agenda of the March 22 meeting of the CIRA Board of Directors has been posted.
• The first .org domain name, mitre.org, was registered in July, 1985.

Timeline

• Mon, Mar 29 - last day for comments on two ICANN DNS security proposals
• Fri, Apr 2: last day for applications to the ICANN Nominating Committee
• Fri, Apr 2: last day for comments on Introduction of IDN ccTLDs interim paper
• Sun, Jun 20 - Fri, Jun 25: ICANN meetings in Brussels, Belgium
• Thu, Jul 1: registry fee increases for .com/.net take effect
• Tue, Sep 21: CIRA Annual General Meeting
• Wed, Sep 22 - Wed, Sep 29: CIRA Board of Directors election

ICANN Meetings In Nairobi Conclude - Among the many announcements and resolutions during the ICANN meetings in Nairobi on March 8-12 were the following:

• The ICANN Board decided to withdraw a proposal for formal Expressions Of Interest (EOI) which would have been carried out in advance of the new gTLD application process.
• The Board resolved that there will be strict registry/registrar separation in the new gTLD process, with no co-ownership allowed. Also if a policy becomes available from the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO), it will be considered for adoption.
• In support of trademark protection, the Board decided to include provisions for an Intellectual Property Clearinghouse, a Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS) system, and also a Post Delegation Dispute Resolution Procedure (PDDRP) in the next version of the new gTLD Draft Applicant Guidebook.
• Progress was made on several aspects of IDN TLDs, including the possibility of IDN gTLDs with fewer than three characters, IDN variants, and synchronized IDN ccTLDs for countries with more than one official language or script.
• Concerning the Independent Review Panel's finding against the ICANN Board's handling of the .XXX TLD application, it was resolved to produce and post for public comment a report of possible process options.

Information about all of the meeting sessions is available at the ICANN Nairobi website.

Picks To Click

• The ccNSO wrote to ICANN CEO and President Rod Beckstrom expressing concern over his "inflammatory comments to governmental representatives" concerning the security of the DNS. Beckstrom made the comments in Nairobi at a joint meeting of the ICANN Board and the Governmental Advisory Committee.
• Monday, March 15 is the last day to enter the showusyour.ca contest.
• The .UK registry is conducting a consultation on the release of one- and two-character and other reserved .uk domain names.
• The website for the upcoming Brussels ICANN meetings is now available.

Timeline

• Mon, Mar 15 - last day for showusyour.ca contest entries
• Mon, Mar 29 - last day for comments on two ICANN DNS security proposals
• Fri, Apr 2: last day for applications to the ICANN Nominating Committee
• Fri, Apr 2: last day for comments on Introduction of IDN ccTLDs interim paper
• Sun, Jun 20 - Fri, Jun 25: ICANN meetings in Brussels, Belgium
• Thu, Jul 1: registry fee increases for .com/.net take effect

ICANN Meets This Week In Nairobi, Kenya - ICANN meetings in Nairobi, Kenya are taking place through Friday, March 12. Two of the main topics are: the status of the new gTLD process including the Expressions of Interest proposal, and consideration of the recent finding against ICANN concerning its 2007 rejection of the .XXX domain application. Remote participation services are available.

Picks To Click

• "Good Practices Guide for Deploying DNSSEC", from the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA).
• FreemantleMedia North America Inc. wins a dispute over americanidol.ca.
• Mexico's .mx domain has reached 400,000 domain registrations.

Timeline

• Sun, Mar 7 - Fri, Mar 12: ICANN meetings in Nairobi, Kenya
• Mon, Mar 15 - last day for showusyour.ca contest entries
• Mon, Mar 29 - last day for comments on two ICANN DNS security proposals
• Fri, Apr 2: last day for applications to the ICANN Nominating Committee
• Fri, Apr 2: last day for comments on Introduction of IDN ccTLDs interim paper
• Sun, Jun 20 - Fri, Jun 25: ICANN meetings in Brussels, Belgium
• Thu, Jul 1: registry fee increases for .com/.net take effect