John Demco
Recent ICANN and Top-Level Domain Events – Here is a summary of some ICANN-related events which took place during the recent ICANN meetings in Singapore:
- The ICANN Board approved a program to introduce new generic top-level domains (gTLDs). A communications plan is under way. Applications will accepted from January 12, 2012 until April 12, 2012, with initial evaluation results expected in November, 2012.
- A new video, “Get Ready for the Next Big .Thing”, has been produced introducing the new gTLD program.
- An infographic was published showing the expected timeline of new gTLD program events.
- The meeting featured many useful sessions, with audio, video, transcripts, and session documents archived online.
- In its communiqué, ICANN’s Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) expressed concern that “several elements of its advice on important public policy issues … were not followed by the Board prior to the approval of the gTLD programme”, but also expressed “its willingness to continue to work constructively with the whole ICANN community on the new gTLD programme.”
- The contract with VeriSign to operate the .net registry was renewed for another six years.
-
Internet pioneer Steve Crocker was elected Board Chair. Rita Rodin Johnson
and outgoing Chair Peter Dengate Thrush concluded their terms on the Board,
and Chris Disspain and Bill Graham, a Canadian, were seated. -
Upcoming ICANN meetings are scheduled for Dakar, Senegal (October 23-28,
2011); San Jose, Costa Rica (March 11-16, 2012); Prague, Czech Republic (June
24-29, 2012); and Toronto, Canada (October 14-19, 2012). -
A number of organizations seeking to provide registry and consulting
services to new TLD applicants were present at the meetings.
Picks To Click
- CIRA has announced that Jonathan Zittrain, author of “The Future Of The Internet And How To Stop It”, will be a keynote speaker at the CIRA Annual General Meeting on September 20 in Vancouver.
- Jockey International, Inc. wins a dispute over jockey.ca.
Timeline
- Tue, Aug 2 – Mon, Aug 15: call for Member Nominees for CIRA Board election
- Thu, Aug 25 – Thu, Sep 8: shows of support for Member Nominees for CIRA election
- Tue, Sep 13 – Tue, Sep 20: online forum for CIRA Board of Directors election
- Tue, Sep 20: CIRA Annual General Meeting in Vancouver
- Wed, Sep 21 – Wed, Sep 28: CIRA Board of Directors election
- Sun, Oct 23 – Fri, Oct 28: ICANN meetings in Dakar, Senegal