ccTLD Constituency of the DNSO
Draft Version 4.0 - 25 May 1999
Principles
The following are the guiding principles for the organisation of the ccTLD Constituency. This document is based on the principles of openness, geographic diversity, inclusivity and simplicity, as expressed during the discussions at the initial ccTLD Constituency meeting held in Berlin.
1. The ccTLD Constituency
1.1. The ccTLD Constituency of the Domain Name Supporting Organisation, ('DNSO') is one of the initial constituencies of the DNSO.2. Members of the ccTLD Constituency
2.1 . Members of the ccTLD Constituency are those recorded managers of an ISO 3166 country code Top Level Domain Registry in the register maintained by IANA/ICANN. Managers may decline to join the ccTLD Constituency.2.2. Members are represented by an individual, preferably at a senior level, duly authorised by the ccTLD manager,.
3. The ccTLD Administration Committee
3.1. An Administration Committee shall manage the affairs of the ccTLD Constituency.3.2. The initial Administration Committee shall consist of representatives of the ccTLD regional organisations.
3.3. In addition, any grouping of 10 or more ccTLD members may self organise and nominate a representative to the Administration Committee.
4. Consensus
4.1. The ccTLD Constituency shall operate on the principle that decisions shall be made on the basis of consensus.4.2. The consensus process shall be managed by the ccTLD Administration Committee.
5. The ccTLD Names Council Members
5.1. Two members may nominate (i.e. propose and second) an individual as a candidate for election to the Names Council. Candidates may accept or decline such nomination.5.2. Each member shall have one (1) vote for the election of the Names Council.
5.3. The Single Transferable Voting system of Proportional Representation shall be used to elect the three Names Council members.
(N.B. This method of election from a slate of candidates nominated from around the world, and selected by an electorate from every country in the world, has the inherent advantage that the outcome is most likely to produce a geographically diverse set of Names Council members).5.4. Names Council members shall serve for one year and elections shall be held annually.
5.5. The above voting procedures shall be reviewed prior to the second election.
(N.B. A particular concern is that the election procedures shall result in the election of excellent candidates who reflect the geographical diversity of ccTLD Constituency).
6. Work of the ccTLD Constituency
6.1. The work of the ccTLD Constituency shall proceed following the rules of procedure to be established by the Constituency and managed by the Administration Committee.6.2. Where resolutions or recommendations require a poll of the membership, each ccTLD Constituency member shall have one (1) vote.
7. Funding the ccTLD Constituency
7.1. The ccTLD Constituency members may arrange any necessary funding for the constituency in a manner to be agreed by the Constituency.
8. Funding the DNSO
8.1. The ccTLD Constituency may share in the funding of the DNSO in a manner to be agreed by the Names Council and accepted by the ccTLD Constituency.
9. Participation in the DNSO General Assembly
9.1. The ccTLD Constituency members will participate in the DNSO General Assembly.
10. Open Transparent Processes
10.1. The ccTLD Constituency processes shall adhere to the principles of openness and transparency.10.2. Meetings of the ccTLD Constituency shall, as far as practicable, be open to the public.
11. Electronic Participation
11.1. The ccTLD Constituency shall operate using whatever electronic means are available for discussion and communication to ensure, as far as practicable, that neither location nor inability to travel disenfranchises any ccTLD.11.2. The ccTLD Constituency voting procedures shall require that all resolutions be confirmed by a secure (and where necessary confidential) electronic vote of the members.
12. Amendments
12.1. These ccTLD Constituency principles may be amended by a two-thirds majority of a vote of the ccTLD Constituency members.On behalf of the ccTLD Constituency meeting in Berlin.12.2. Upon a petition by at least 10% of the membership, the ccTLD Administration Committee shall put any matter to a vote of the whole Constituency.
Draft (May 25th, 1999)
0. Background
This document is intended to set out a framework for the structure and procedural rules of Commercial and Business Entities Constituency (Business Constituency) of the Domain Name Supporting Organization and is proposed to serve as the foundation for discussion among interested Business stakeholders.It is our intention to reach out to any other interested Business groups, Business organizations and individuals Businesses interests around the world and encourage them to participate in the process of Business Constituency formation (please see form if you wish to join).
I. Mission Statement and Purpose
1. The Business Constituency will form an integral part of the Domain Name Supporting Organization (DNSO) according to Article VI-b, Section 3 of the ICANN Bylaws.2. The purpose of the Business Constituency is to represent the views and interests of those stakeholders who use the Internet to conduct their business or part of it. This representation is limited to those entities that use the Network to develop their business, this business not being the main business of stakeholders for whom other DNSO constituencies have been created (such as business entities that primarily serve as registries, ISPs or registrars). Therefore, the Business Constituency is not intended to address specific aspects that may be considered business-related but which fall squarely within the mandate and purpose of other DNSO constituencies (such as intellectual property), unless such aspects directly affect affect important general business development issues. The Business Constituency is a constituency of customers of providers of network connectivity/transport, domain name and other services that enable the development of electronic business. It is therefore crucial that the Business Constituency remain independent from other constituencies whose primary role is to formulate views from the exclusive perspective of such service providers, as well as from other groups whose interests may not be aligned with business users.
3. The specific goal of the Business Constituency is to ensure that DNSO decisions are at a minimum consistent with the imperatives of the development of business through the internet. This includes in particular business's need for continued or enhanced stability and security of the Internet insofar as this relates to those aspects of Internet governance that fall within ICANN's mandate.
II. Organizational Structure and Elections
A. MEMBERS
1. The following may become members of the Business Constituency:a. Any association representing or organization comprised of for-profit corporations whose primary goals include representation of the business and/or business development interests of their members, which may be individual companies or business associations/organizations. Associations or organizations whose specific goals are to represent of the interests of registries, registrars or ISPs or those whose specific interests are to defend the Intellectual Property rights of their associates cannot have full member status but may become observers. Observers do not have voice or voting rights and cannot serve in any representative capacity on behalf of the Business Constituency.
b. Any legally recognized for-profit business enterprise that has been delegated a domain, that uses the Internet to conduct for-profit business and that has been in business for at least one year. Legally recognized for-profit business enterprises that have been in business for less than one year and companies whose predominant business is to be a registry, a registrar or an ISPcannot have full membership status, but may become observers.
2. In case of doubt about a prospective member complying with the requirements to be a member, the application will be reviewed by a Credentials Committee organized according to clause III of this Charter.
3. An individual (representative of a member) may not represent more than one member of the Business Constituency.
B. OFFICERS
1. The Business Constituency shall have:a. a secretariat that will be elected by and among its members for a period of two years at a time. The secretariat will assure that all procedures are followed, that all necessary means to conduct the business of the constituency are available and that independent elections take place in due time for the secretariat as well as for other officers.
Its functions will include:
(i) Reviewing applications for membership in the Business Constituency and, where appropriate, referring these to the Credentials Committee.
(ii) Carrying out the administrative functions associated with the operations of the Business Constituency, including the arrangement of meetings, preparation and publication of minutes, maintenance of an appropriate mechanism suitable for facilitating contact and dissemination of information among all members of the Business Constituency and other secretariat functions required for the adequate functioning of the Business Constituency.
(iii) Facilitating and, where appropriate, formulating membership consensus on policy issues for the purpose of advising the Business Constituency representatives on the Names Council.
(iv) Assessing and collecting membership fees (see IV).
b. Three Names Council representatives who will be elected for a period of two years by the Business Constituency in accordance with sub (C) of this article. Once elected, they will act in the Names Council solely as representatives of the Business Constituency. They will use their best efforts to represent the interests of the constituency, and will collaborate with the other members of the Names Council to produce the best possible DNSO proposals for ICANN.
(i) In order to assure geographical diversity, not two Names Council representatives may belong to organizations whose major place of business is in the same region. Organizations or associations with less than 50% of their business in, or members from, one given region (no region has more than 50% of its members) will not be considered as part of a given region, but as members of a separate group also considered. In the case of multinational companies, the corporate international headquarters will be considered as the major place of business. Considered as regions are: 1) North America 2) Latin America, including Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and south America 3) Europe 4) Africa 5) Asia 6) Pacific 7) International Organizations.
(ii) In order to assure sectoral balance consistent with the Business Constituency's mission and purpose described under I, at most one Names Concil representative may belong to or represent an identifiable business sector.
(iii) No person may serve as a Business Constituency representative to the Names Council for more than two successive terms. A term of service as an Interim representative of the Business Constituency to the Names Council shall not be considered a successive term for the purposes of this section.
C. ELECTIONS OF NAMES COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVES
1. The election process will be initiated by a nomination period of one week. All members of the Business Constituency may nominate one person for the Names Council. This process (including receiving nominations and communicating the names of the nominees to all members of the constituency at the end of the nomination period) will be initiated and managed by the secretariat.2. Immediately following the nomination period, the secretariat will open an election period of one full week, during which it will receive votes from members of the constituency through e-mail and acknowledge receipt. Immediately following the election period, the secretariat will publish a full overview of votes naming voters as well as the candidates of their choice. No delegation of vote will be permitted in the election of either Names Council representatives or ICANN directors.
3. Names Council representatives will be elected by the largest number of votes processed as follows:
a. All nominees from the same region as the person with the largest number of votes will be eliminated. From the resulting list, all nominees from the same region as the person with the second number of votes will be eliminated. The three people at the top of the remaining list will be elected as representatives of the Business Constituency to the Names Council.
b. If the list of nominees contains only members from two regions, the two nominees with the largest number of votes will be considered. If they are from the same region, the third person elected will be the one with the largest number of votes from the other region present, otherwise the third person elected will be the one with the third highest number of votes.
c. If the list of nominees contains only persons from one region, the three nominees with the largest number of votes will be elected.
d. In case of a tie that affects the results of the election, a new election will be held among the two nominees in the tie.
e. If, at any stage of the election process described above, an individual working for or representing an identifiable business sector is elected, all other representatives or individuals working for or representing that same business sector will be eliminated from the election process.
D. ELECTIONS FOR THE SECRETARIAT
1. With the exception of the election of the first secretariat, which will be elected by the end of September 1999, candidates for election as secretariat will be nominated at the same time as the candidates for the Names Council, and also voted at the same time and according to the same procedure where relevant. The largest number of votes will elect the secretariat.
2. The secretariat will be a member of the Constituency, and not a person.
3. Business constituency members may put themselves forward as candidates
to assume secretariat functions either as individual entities to assume
all secretariat functions as set out hereinafter, or jointly with other
members with a view to allocating such functions among them. Nominations
for secretariat must include a budget for running the secretariat.
III. Procedure for substantive decision-making. Subsidiary and support bodies
1. For each policy work item arising from the need to provide support to the business constituency representatives on the Names Council, the secretariat shall call for volunteers to sit on a research committee whose mandate shall be tied to the work item in question. This invitation for volunteers shall be accompanied by a set of specific criteria to ensure that members of research committees have a knowledge of, and experience with, issues relevant to the work of the DNSO that is appropriate for the purpose for which the research committee is created. The secretariat shall publish the names of volunteers who are finally appointed, together with their credentials. The secretariat shall circulate any recommendations produced by such research committees among the members of the Business Constituency for consultation. This process shall be repeated until consensus has been achieved, always within the time frame of DNSO decisions, which may require a quick decision..2. The secretariat shall use their best efforts to give small and medium-sized enterprises an adequate voice in all Business Constituency work processes. These efforts may include, but not be limited to, the organization of democratic elections for representatives of organizations of small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) to sit on an SME Consultative Committee whose advice shall be solicited on substantive policy work items.
3. Within two weeks from the election of a secretariat, it shall appoint for a period of two years a Credentials Committee, consisting of three members from three different regions of the world.
4. Delegation of vote will be permitted in any teleconference organized by the Business Constituency to discuss or decide on any issue. Nevertheless, if 10% of the members consider that an issue should be voted by e-mail, then the e-mail vote will invalidate any decission taken in a teleconferences. No vote delegation will be permitted in e-mail votes.
IV. Membership Fees and Funding
1. Business Constituency funding requirements shall be fulfilled through membership fees that are raised in such a way as to ensure that no unreasonable barriers are created for membership in the Business Constituency for commercial/business entities or business organizations or any kind or size.
2. In the initial launch of the DNSO, in order to establish an operating budget, it shall be possible to accept one-time only contributions from business/commercial entities and business organizations, in lieu of membership fees, and credited toward such fees.
Final Application for Recognition of the gTLD Registry Constituency
The Generic Top Level Domain (gTLD) Registry constituency consists of
non-governmental entities directly responsible as registries for gTLD zones
in the Domain Name System. Since the NSI Registry is currently the only
constituent of the gTLD Registry constituency (serving .com, .net, and
.org), it is unnecessary at this time to elaborate a structure and process
and, also for that reason, we request that the Board waive application
of any geographic diversity requirements to this constituency at this time.
However, NSI is committed to the notion of increasing the gTLD's and encourages
ICANN to make such expansion a top priority. The constituency will propose
further procedures when additional constituents are added. NSI Registry
plans in the meantime to maintain an open site and moderated list for the
purpose of publishing and discussing DNSO policies and positions. Following
recognition, the gTLD Registry constituency will submit a list of selected
members of the Names Council representing the gTLD constituency, to serve
until such time as procedures are changed to reflect the addition of new
constituents.
/signed/
Donald Telage, Ph.D
Senior Vice President
Network Solutions Registry
(NSIRegistry.net)
Re: The Revised Application of the Intellectual Property
Constituency ("IPC") for recognition as the organization to serve in the
role of, and represent the interests of, the Trademark, Intellectual Property
and Anti-Counterfeiting Interests Constituency of the DNSO
Dear ICANN Board Members:
Set forth below is the Revised Application of the Intellectual Property Constituency (respectively, "IPC" and "IPC’s Application") for recognition as the organization to serve in the role of, and represent the interests of, the Trademark, Intellectual Property and Anti-Counterfeiting Interests Constituency (hereinafter, referred to as the "IPC") before ICANN’s Domain Name Supporting Organization ("DNSO").
The IPC’s Application represents a merger of the applications submitted by Michael Heltzer and Bret Fausett, on behalf of their respective groups. Jay Fenello represented the application submitted by Bret Fausett. The elected interim officers and DNSO Names Council representatives of the IPC (as presented in the New York Document) who were present in Berlin, represented the application submitted by Mike Heltzer. These representatives of their respective applicant groups agreed to merge their applications at the May 25, 1999 meeting held in Berlin during the time set aside by ICANN for the meeting of constituency applicants. Each applicant group was seeking recognition from ICANN’s Board to serve in the role of the constituency category, entitled "the Trademark, Intellectual Property and Anti-Counterfeiting Interests Constituency." (It is respectfully requested that ICANN rename this constituency the IPC for simplicity of reference.)
The present document, entitled the IPC Application, or "Berlin Document,"
has been modified from the New York Document, submitted by Mr. Heltzer
on May 5, 1999 in the following manner: (1) The New York Document was renamed,
the "Berlin Document," the title Background at I was re-titled, "Background
and History," and I.D was modified to make appropriate verb tense changes
and I.E. was added to reflect the additional applicable history for this
document; (2) The section on the Mission Statement and Purpose, at II.B.1,
was modified to state, in relevant part, " . . . and to ensure that these
views and interests [i.e., of the IPC constituents],
including minority views, reflected in the recommendations by the Names
Council . . .;" (3) The section on Organizational Structure and Interim
Decision Making, at III.F.1.c.iii, expands the mandate of the Interim IPC
Council to add "and more fully exploring membership criteria and weighted
voting;" (4) the section on Voting, at VI.A now includes explicit references
to the nomination process, so that this section reads "nomination and
voting" in two places and at the end thereof, the following sentence was
added: "This structure [i.e., the nomination and voting structure] shall
endeavor to ensure the best likelihood of geographic diversity in the Names
Council Representatives.;" and, (5) the list of members as indicated
in the text and the Appendix has been changed to add the Domain Name Rights
Coalition ("DNRC") as an IPC member and in addition, the names of the District
of Columbia Bar Association ("DCBA"), the International Federation of Phonographic
Industry ("IFPI"), International Property Law Association of Chicago ("IPLAC")
, the New York Intellectual Property Law Association ("NYIPLA") and the
Recording Industry Association of America ("RIAA"), were added with an
(*) to indicate that these organizations have submitted formal written
requests to the undersigned. It should be added here that we have also
received many less formal requests and inquiries concerning membership
and expect to receive even more if and when the IPC’s Application is accredited.
If and after the IPC is accredited, the IPC Council will begin review of
membership applications to join the constituency.
Lastly, we note that Eric Brunner submitted an application to ICANN on behalf of the Indigenous Intellectual Property Constituency. Although Mr. Brunner was not present in Berlin, he contacted and spoke with some of the undersigned by telephone yesterday in Berlin. While we have not been able to complete our discussions with him due to the press of time, we are prepared to work with him and the interests that he represents within the IPC.
Subject to accreditation by the ICANN Board, the IPC is ready to begin its operations.
Respectfully submitted by the IPC representatives attending the ICANN Berlin meeting,
Jonathan Cohen, FICPI, jcohen@idealaw.com
President of the IPC, and Interim Names Council
Representative
Mike Kirk, AIPLA, mkirk@aipla.org
Treasurer of the IPC
Joan McGivern, ASCAP, jmcgivern@ascap.com
Secretary of the IPC,
Ted Shapiro, (tshapiro@mpaa.org) by proxy for Tod Cohen, MPA, tcohen@mpaa.org,
Interim IPC Names Council Representative
Susan Anthony, INTA, Susan.Anthony@wcom.com,
Interim IPC Names Council Representative
Dr. Ian Kaufman, AIPPI-US
Helmut Sonn, Honorary President, FICPI
Attachments: Berlin Document, with IPC list
Berlin Document
Organizational Document of the Intellectual Property Constituency of the DNSO
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Appendix
IP Constituency Interim Officers
| President | Jonathan Cohen | FICPI | jcohen@idealaw.com |
| Executive V.P. | Steve Metalitz | IIPA | metalitz@iipa.com |
| V.P. | David Tatham | ECTA | tathan@dial.pipex.com |
| Treasurer | Mike Kirk | AIPLA | mkirk@aipla.org |
| Secretary | Joan McGivern | ASCAP | jmcgivern@ascap.com |
IP Constituency Interim Names Council Representatives
| Tod Cohen | MPA | tcohen@mpaa.org |
| Jonathan Cohen | FICPI | jcohen@idealaw.com |
| Susan Anthony | INTA | Susan.Anthony@wcom.com |
All appointments subject to accreditation by the ICANN Board.
IP organizations of the IPC as of May 25, 1999 are:
American Bar Association - Intellectual Property Law Section - “ABA-IPL”
American Intellectual Property Law Association - “AIPLA”
Asian Patent Attorneys Association - “APAA”
American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers - “ASCAP”
Broadcast Music, Inc. - “BMI”
District of Columbia Bar Association – (“DCBA”)(*)
Domain Name Rights Coalition - “DNRC”
European Communities Trade Mark Association - “ECTA”
Federation Internationale des Conseils en Propriete Industrielle -
“FICPI”
International Federation of Phonographic Industry – “IFPI”(*)
International Intellectual Property Alliance - “IIPA”
International Property Law Association of Chicago (“IPLAC”)(*)
International Trademark Association - “INTA”
Association of European Trade Mark Owners - “MARQUES”
Motion Picture Association - “MPA”
New York Intellectual Property Law Association (NYIPLA”)(*)
Recording Industry Association of America – “RIAA” (*)
(*) By written application to be reviewed by IPCC
Descriptions of IPC Members as of May 25, 1999
American Bar Association Intellectual Property Law Section (“ABA-IPL”)
The ABA-IPL is composed of approximately17,000 members in the United
States and abroad. Its members are patent, trademark, and copyright
attorneys. The ABA-IPL is a leading voice in the field of intellectual
property.
American Intellectual Property Law Association (“AIPLA”)
The AIPLA is primarily a U.S. based bar association with nearly 10,000
members engaged in private and corporate practice, in government service,
and in the academic community. The AIPLA represents a wide and diverse
spectrum of individuals, companies and institutions involved directly or
indirectly in the practice of patent, trademark, copyright, and unfair
competition law, as well as other fields of law affecting intellectual
property. The AIPLA has active members in more than 20 countries
as well as over 400 foreign affiliates from some sixty countries and monitors
and comments on developments in IP law and practice in commercially important
countries around the world.
The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (“ASCAP”)
ASCAP is the oldest musical performing rights society in the United
States and holds the largest repertory of U.S. copyrighted musical works.
It is a voluntary membership association with more than 82,000 members,
representing owners of all genres of musical works. ASCAP is affiliated
with fifty-eight foreign performing rights societies. ASCAP licenses on
a non-exclusive basis the non-dramatic public performances of the repertory
of its members and its affiliated societies to those individuals and entities
which desire to make public performances of that music. ASCAP’s licensees
include, but are not limited to, commercial and non-commercial television
and radio stations, concert halls, sports arenas and teams, hotels and
airlines as well as colleges and universities and websites. ASCAP
has always taken, and is committed to taking, an active role in representing
and defending the public performance rights of its members internationally
and domestically. ASCAP’s President and Board Chair, Marilyn Bergman,
just completed four years of service as the President of “CISAC” (the Confederation
Internationale de Societies de Auteurs et Composeurs), which is an international
confederation of almost all national performing rights organizations, and
ASCAP’s general counsel, Fred Koenigsberg, served as one of the private
sector representatives to the WIPO Diplomatic Conferences.
Asian Patent Attorneys Association (“APAA”)
APAA was formed in 1969 with the three foundation members, Japan, Korea,
and Taiwan. The Association has now extended to include membership
from within the Asian region with 14 countries now represented and has
a total individual membership in excess of 1400.
The Association has as its main objective, to promote the intellectual
property law systems within the region and to foster ties of mutual understanding
between those practicing intellectual property within the Asian region.
Broadcast Music, Inc. (“BMI”)
Founded in 1940, BMI is an American performing rights organization that
represents more than 200,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers
in all genres of music. Through its music performance and reciprocal
agreements, it grants businesses and media legal access to its repertoire
of more than 3,000,000 musical works from around the world. BMI is
an active participant in international organizations focusing on intellectual
property issues. BMI licenses the public performance of its repertoire
on radio, television, cable, the Internet and other media and in other
businesses and establishments.
District of Columbia Bar Association (“DCBA”)(*)
The DCBA is an association of lawyers representing both domestic and
foreign clients in intellectual property, trade and policy matters before
various courts and before the executive and legislative branches of the
U.S. government.
Domain Names Rights Coalition (“DNRC”)
The DNRC represents the interests and views of entrepreneurs, small
businesses and individuals on the Internet. The DNRC works for national
and international policies which are fair and equitable to all users of
the Internet, and which promote the Internet as a global medium of communication
and free speech.
European Communities Trade Mark Association (“ECTA”)
ECTA is an association of some 1,500 trade mark professionals and attorneys
whether in industry or in private practice. Full members have to
be practising in one of the fifteen countries of the European Community,
but membership is also open to affiliates and associates from nearly a
hundred other countries throughout the world.
Federation Internationale des Conseils en Propriete Industrielle (“FICPI”)
FICPI is an organization made up of over 4000 members from over 70 countries
all of whom are experienced intellectual property practitioners.
The international group and its national associations regularly participate
in national and international discussions in relation to all aspects of
intellectual property.
The International Federation of Phonographic Industry (“IFPI”)(*)
IFPI is the worldwide voice of the recording industry. Founded
in Rome in 1933, IFPI has been active in developing and presenting the
views of the world's major record companies, as well as those of hundreds
of independent record companies, in numerous forums around the world. Currently,
IFPI counts over 1,200 record companies, located in 70 countries, among
its members. In addition, the national record industry associations
of 44 countries are members of IFPI. IFPI is a strong supporter of intellectual
property, as its members depend on the strong protection of copyright and
trademark in order for them to invest in and distribute recorded music
around the world. Consistent with this position, we strongly advocate
the protection of copyright and trademark in on-line environments where
the dangers to authors and rights owners from the lack of such protection
are so severe. We have therefore followed the recent developments
in the field of domain registration, including the WIPO process, with great
interest and support the goals of these undertakings.
International Intellectual Property Alliance (“IIPA”)
IIPA works closely with the U.S. trade representative in the annual
reviews on whether acts, policies or practices of any foreign country deny
adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights or fair
and equitable market access for U.S. persons relying on intellectual property
protection. IIPA is involved in the development of the TRIPs agreements
and the Intellectual Property Chapter of NAFTA. IIPA is a non-governmental
organization participating in copyright discussions in WIPO and is also
involved in regional initiatives such as the Free Trade Area of the Americas
and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation.
International Property Law Association of Chicago (“IPLAC”)(*)
IPLAC consists of over 900 members who are engaged in the practice of
intellectual property law. Among the missions of the IPLAC is to
“aid in the development of the patent, trademark and copyright laws, the
administration thereof, and the procedures in connections therewith.”
Because of the importance of domain names and the Internet in the field
of intellectual property, the IPLAC are extremely interested in the activities
of ICANN.
The International Trademark Association (“INTA”)
INTA is a 120-year-old not-for-profit membership organization. Since the Association’s founding in 1878, membership has grown from 17 New York-based manufacturers to approximately 3,700 members from the United States and 119 additional countries.
Membership in INTA is open to trademark owners and those who serve trademark
owners. Its members are corporations, advertising agencies, professional
and trade associations, and law firms practicing trademark law. INTA’s
membership is diverse, crossing all industry lines and spanning a broad
range of manufacturing, retail and service operations. All of INTA’s
members, regardless of their size or international scope, share a common
interest in trademarks and a recognition of the importance of trademarks
to their owners, to the general public, and to the economy of both the
United States and the global marketplace.
The Association of European Trade Mark Owners (“MARQUES”)
The objectives of MARQUES are to assist European based brand owners
in the selection, management and protection of their trade marks and to
create a forum for the free exchange of ideas and information providing
a platform for the representation of their interests. They have approximately
450 members in 75 countries.
The Motion Picture Association of America (“MPA”)
The Motion Picture Association of America acts domestically as the voice
and advocate of seven of the largest producers and distributors of filmed
entertainment. MPAA’s counterpart, the Motion Picture Association
(MPA) serves the same purpose on an international basis. Founded
in 1922 as the trade association for the American film industry, the MPAA
has broadened its mandate over the years to reflect the diversity of the
expanding motion picture industry. Today these associations represent
major producers and distributors of entertainment programming for television,
cable, home video, and looking into the future for delivery systems not
yet imagined. Among its principle missions, the MPAA directs an anti-piracy
to protect, through copyright and other laws, films in 72 countries around
the world.
New York Intellectual Property Law Association (NYIPLA”)(*)
One of the oldest intellectual property bar associations in the United
States whose more than one thousand members are actively engaged in the
protection of intellectual property assets in the U.S. and abroad.
Recording Industry Association of America (“RIAA”)(*)
RIAA is a trade association that represents the companies that create,
manufacture or distribute approximately 90 percent of the sound recordings
in the U.S. With $14 billion in domestic sales and foreign sales
of over $16 billion, U.S. recorded music represents approximately 60 percent
of the world's consumption of music. The U.S. recording industry
employs hundreds of thousands of workers at a variety of levels and produces
a foreign trade surplus. RIAA maintains a large legal and investigative
staff to fight against all forms of music piracy and is associated with
local recording industry groups around the world to extend this fight.
One of its principal missions is to ensure that copyright legislation remains
adequate in light of a rapidly changing technological environment, and
that appropriate conditions exist to foster creativity in music through
increased investment, production, and distribution.
(*) By written application to be reviewed by the IPCC.
- End- of document-
INTRODUCTION
The undersigned hereby apply to become the ISPs' and connectivity providers' Constituency Group ("ISP Constituency" or "Constituency"), pursuant to the Domain Name Supporting Organization Formation Concepts, adopted 4 March 1999 by ICANN's Board of Directors. The undersigned hereby commit to fulfill the duties and responsibilities of the Constituency and to implement appropriately the policies set forth in this application.or that might be adopted subsequently by ICANN, the Names Council or the Constituency membership pursuant to the Articles and Bylaws.
MISSION
The ISP Constituency will form an integral part of the Domain Name Supporting Organization (DNSO). The Constituency's goal is to fulfill roles and responsibilities that are being created by relevant ICANN and DNSO bylaws, rules or policies as ICANN proceeds to conclude its organization activities. These responsibilities include the election of three members to the Names Council and to ensure that views of Internet Service Providers and Connectivity Providers are appropriately communicated and understood. It will be particularly attentive to the needs and concerns of such providers, which will also be balanced with the public interest. The ISP Constituency is committed to wide membership participation and open, transparent procedures and practices.
DEFINITIONS
For the purposes of this Application ISPs and connectivity providers are entities that comply with the following criteria, namely
1. they are in the business of operating Name Servers as a service for 3rd parties other than companies affiliated with the respective provider and
2. they
a. operate an Internet backbone network based on TCP/IP or
b. provide transit to either Internet users or 3rd party's Internet content.
MEMBERSHIP
The ISP Constituency will be represented primarily through Associations recognized as qualified to represent a broad range of commercial interests within the framework of the above definition. In addition, Business and commercial entities can apply for membership if they
Membership in the ISP Constituency is open to all entities that meet the foregoing criteria, regardless of their involvement in any other DNSO constituency or ICANN Supporting Organization. Requests for membership in the ISP Constituency shall not be refused on the sole ground that the applying entity is a member in another DNSO constituency or ICANN Supporting Organization.
GOVERNING BODY
The ISPE shall make all final decisions and administer the normal operational activities.
Each member may designate one representative to the ISPE. If the ISPE determines that an otherwise non-qualifying entity's membership is essential to the ISP Constituency, it may admit a delegate of such entity. However such admission shall not be valid for longer than one year.
Decisions on membership in the ISP Constituency and ISPE shall be made without unreasonable delay, and at the latest within three months after receipt of the application. If the ISPE is hampered in reaching a decision, it shall submit the case to the Names Council for its opinion. If a decision on membership is not taken within this three-month period, the applicant shall be entitled to appeal to the Names Council. Any decision by the ISPE to refuse membership will be subject to review by the Names Council according to a process to be determined by the ISPE.
The designation of a delegate on the ISPE shall begin with the determination by the ISPE that the organisation appointing the delegate is a member of the ISP Constituency.
Membership in the ISPE shall end in the event of
The termination of membership in the ISP Constituency and ISPE shall be determined by resolution of the ISPE. In the case of involuntary termination, the affected member shall not have a vote and the ISPE shall explain the reasons for its decision fully in writing and shall provide reasonable advance notice to the entity whose membership will be determined.
OFFICERS
The ISPE shall elect a chairman and two deputies ("the officers") from among the delegates of its qualified members. In the event of a tied vote, lots shall be drawn. The chairman and the deputies shall also represent the interests of the ISP Constituency on the Names Council.
In order to assure geographical diversity, not two officers may belong to organizations whose major place of business is in the same region.
The term of office for each officer is 24 months, staggered so that every 12 months officers shall be elected. The initial chairman shall hold office for 24 months, and the initial deputies shall hold office for 12 months. The officers may not be elected for more than two successive periods. Re-election is only possible after an intervening period of one year.
If an officer resigns from the ISPE or is removed upon a two-thirds majority of voting members and on application by at least three delegates, a successor shall be elected within three months. The new officer shall assume the responsibilities of the former officer for the remaining period of office.
MEETINGS, VOTING, ARTICLES
The ISPE shall meet as required to conduct the business of the constituency or on request by 20% or more of the delegates, either physically or by tele- or videoconference. Physical meetings may be combined with tele- or videoconferences.
Each delegate shall have one vote. Decisions shall be taken by simple majority of the delegates entitled to vote, unless otherwise determined by the applicable Articles and Bylaws of the ISP Constituency and the provisions governing these.
Amendments to the Articles of the ISP Constituency must be approved by a 2/3 majority of the delegates entitled to vote. The initial ISPE shall adopt the first Articles within three months by simple majority, which may only deviate from the principles contained in the application if the majority required for an amendment to the Articles is met. Until the first Articles are adopted, the relevant provisions of this Application shall apply directly.
FUNDING
Each member of the ISP Constituency shall pay whatever sum the Executive Committee determines is necessary to cover the costs of participating in the DNSO through this constituency. If the ISPE decides later to authorize individual memberships, the dues of such membership shall reflect the full cost of providing membership benefits and services. Financial arrangements may be made at the discretion of the ISPE to assist financially non-profit trade associations from developing regions of the world.
INITIAL MEMBERSHIP AND INTERIM OFFICERS
The undersigned will become members of the ISP Constituency without need for a separate application. Representatives of this application's signatories shall form the initial ISPE upon notification that the ICANN Board has approved its application.
Until the articles of the ISP Constituency have been approved every
qualifying entity may apply for membership in writing demonstrating the
qualification as set out above. The Chairman shall pass the application
on to the members of the ISPE. The officers will determine thath the criteria
have been met following a two weeks period upon submisstion to the ISPE.
If at least three members disagree with the applicant to become a member,
the decision will be postponed until ratification of the articles.
The undersigned hereby appoint the following interim officers holding office until the articles have been adopted:
Tony Harris
Hirofumi Hotta
(replacing Siegfried Langenbach, who resigned in the course of the ICANN open meeting in order to facilitate geographical diversity)
Michael Schneider
Signed:
CIX (Commercial Internet Exchange)
ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute)
EuroISPA (European Internet Service Providers Association)
NTT (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
IAWH (International Association of Web Hosts)
ASIMELEC (Asociatión Multisectorial de Empresas Espanolas de Electrónica)
Deutsche Telekom AG
Eurotel GmbH
France Telecom
EcomLAC
CABASE (Cámara Argentina de Bases de Datos y Servicios en Línea
Telia
BT (British Telecom)
World-Net
Interland Inc.
pi.se
CSL Computerservice Langenbach GmbH
Knipp Medien und Kommunikation oHG
CAIP (Canadian Association of Internet Providers)
ISP/C (Internet Service Providers' Consortium), subject to ISP/C's approval of the application as amended by the signatories present
I Mission and Purpose
1.The Registrar Constituency of the Domain Name Supporting Organization ("DNSO") is one of the initial constituencies of the DNSO, according to Article VI-b, Section 3 of the ICANN Bylaws.
2. The purpose of the Registrar Constituency is to represent the views and interests of professional domain name registrars within the DNSO in all matters and issues of its responsibility according to ICANN bylaws.
3. A registrar is an entity that acts as a (technical and operational) interface between domain name holders ("registrants") and a TLD registry, pursuant to a right to write records to the registry database providing registration services for the public as a business enterprise. Registrars directly submit to the registry zone file information and other data for each of their customers in a given TLD.
4. Registrars are different from registry or registrar resellers, which can provide some value-added registration services, as registrars directly interface with TLD databases operated by registry administrators.
5. The Registrar Constituency shall not act as a Registrar Trade Association
nor represent collective registrar views or interests in any other forum
than DNSO/ICANN. As registrars are the basic component for competition
in the domain-name registration market, the Registrar Constituency shall
refrain from facilitating, promoting or otherwise allowing collusion or
other anti-competitive behavior among registrars.
II Membership
1. Initial Members of the Registrar Constituency
Eligible as Initial Members of the Registrar Constituency are the entities accredited as Registrars by ICANN, those entities intended to be accredited by ICANN, and Network Solutions.
Ninety (90) days following the conclusion of the testbed stage, Initial Members of the Registrar Constituency will be limited to entities accredited as Registrars by ICANN.
2. Additional Members of the Registrar Constituency
The Registrar Constituency encourages and welcomes the participation
of registry and registrar resellers, agents and other entities providing
domain-name registration services but failing to qualify as a Registrar,
as well as organizations representing these categories, within the Registrar
Constituency as non-voting, observer-status members.
III Organisation and Structure
4. The Registrar Names Council Members
1. Registrar Constituency members shall have one vote per member, irrespective of the size or the number of domain names registered.
2. Registrar Constituency members will have the ability to vote via a proxy arrangement.
3. Observers shall have no voting rights.
V Funding
1. The Registrar Constituency members shall arrange any necessary finance for the constituency in a manner to be agreed by the Constituency.
2. The Registrar Constituency shall participate in the DNSO funding
in the way decided by the Names Council
VI Registrar Constituency Processes.
1. The Registrar Constituency shall adhere to the open and transparent process requirements as stated by ICANN. It shall also comply with ICANN-established conflict-of-interest, dispute resolution and review policies,
2. Registrar Constituency meetings will normally be held when possible by electronic means. Once a year a physical meeting shall be arranged, in conjunction with DNSO and/or ICANN-related meetings.