What was it?

ICANN’s 36th international public meeting was the last of three held annually to conduct policy development and outreach. It was hosted by ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) and KISA(Korea Internet & Security Agency), a public agency that plays a major role in developing and researching the Internet in Korea.

The meeting was opened by three local dignatories: Mr. See Joong Choi, chairman of the Korea Communications Commission; Mr. Heung Kil Ko, Senator and Chairman of the Culture, Sports, and Tourism, Broadcasting and Communications Committee of the National Assembly; and Ms. Hee Jung Kim, president of KISA. 

Mr. See Joong Choi spoke about how the Internet was 40 years old, and the impact it has had in that time. He talked about how important IP addresses were as assets for the future and that they become a common resource for all. And he welcomed the introduction of IDNs as paving a “new way toward the future”.

Mr. Heung Kil Ko spoke about how Korea was a leader in the knowledge and information society, with 77.6 percent of its citizens online. He spoke of the importance of an efficiently and stably managed IP address system, as well as dealing with security threats such as hacking and phishing. The conference would hopefully lead to close ties between ICANN and Korea, he added.

Ms. Hee Jung Kim also heralded the introduction of IDNs, and welcomed a recent change in the agreement that ICANN has with the United States government as strengthening the autonomy of the IP addressing system.

There were 1,207 attendees to the conference from 111 different countries. The participants engaged in a wide range of discussions about the Internet’s domain name system and related issues.

Further information about the meeting, including presentations and transcripts, is available at http://sel.icann.org.

ICANN’s next international public meeting will take place in Nairobi, Kenya beginning on 7 March 2010.

What happened and what are the next steps?

Many meetings, workshops, public forums and informal discussions were held over seven days by the different stakeholders of the ICANN model:

• Business interests
• Civil society – – including the At-Large Summit of individual Internet user representatives
• Governments and government agencies
• Internet service providers
• Registrants
• Registrars
• Registries
• The technical community

Several key issues and themes evolved over the course of the meeting. They are summarized below.

Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs)

WHAT HAPPENED:  The most significant progress at the Seoul meeting was the approval of the “fast track”, which will see a limited number of internationalized domain names introduced to the Internet’s root possibly before the end of the year. To celebrate the occasion, a special evening reception was held on the Monday.

The fast track was formally approved by the Board on Friday, and although there remain concerns about their introduction, the Chairman noted it as an historic achievement and the vote was met with a standing ovation by the audience. Dozens of press articles from across the world also recognized the event.

For the first time, Internet users that speak something other than Western languages will be able to represent an entire Internet address in their own language.

NEXT STEPS: Applications to the fast track will open on 16 November.

MORE INFORMATION:

Official announcement of the approval: http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-30oct09-en.htm

Fast track webpage:
http://www.icann.org/en/topics/idn/fast-track/

New gTLDs

WHAT HAPPENED:  The third version of the Applicant Guidebook, as well as a range of other papers and explanatory memoranda, were produced for discussion at the meeting. A main session on the program was held on the Monday.

In particular, additional work was done on the “overarching issues” that need to be addressed before the introduction of new top-level domains (see below for more specific information).

ICANN staff revised the deadline to the opening application date for new gTLDs. Instead of giving a date, or quarter, the launch date will be dependent on community efforts to find solutions to the overarching issues. This approach prompted some in the community to argue that ICANN needed to demonstrate its determination to the process.

The result at the end of the week was a compromise solution, approved in a Board resolution, that asked staff to look into how to introduce a system for allowing “expressions of interest” to be shown in new gTLDs.  That process may allow for likely demand to be gauged and provide useful data to move some discussions from theoretical to pragmatic.

The Applicant Guidebook is out to public comment until 22 November.

Trademark Protection

The issue of how to protect trademarks in the event of a massive expansion in the domain name space continued to be an issue of much debate. A special session was held on the Wednesday to discuss the issue.

Following public comment on a report produced for the previous meeting in Sydney (the IRT report), possible solutions to the issue were reduced from four to two in a staff paper released prior to the meeting. Those solutions are: the creation of an IP Clearinghouse, or database of validated trademarks; and a Uniform Rapid Suspension process for use in clear-cut cases of trademark infringement.

That paper has been put to the GNSO for review.

Malicious Conduct

Two sessions on Monday afternoon addressed the concern that a large expansion of the domain name space will present new opportunities for abuse of the DNS, such as phishing, malware, the distribution of illegal content, and so on.

The broad concern is that with a large number of new companies entering the domain name market – both registries and registrars – that there will not be sufficient awareness of the problems of dealing with the criminal element online.

Summaries of the input received so far on this issue as well as a report by ICANN staff with proposed mitigation measures were posted for review prior to the meeting and a panel discussion dug further into both.

Security and Stability

A session on Wednesday focused on a report that review how the Internet’s current systems could scale to accommodate new Internet extensions, as well as other security related issues such as the introduction of a more secure form of the current system, called DNSSEC.

Broadly, there are some concerns that if a large number of extensions were introduced to the Internet at the same time, that the systems currently in place would not be able to cope.

There was some discussion about whether the report effectively recommended that new gTLDs would need to be delayed or spread out over time, although there was no agreement on that point and it remains for ICANN’s Advisory Committees in this area (RSSAC and SSAC) to review the report, public comments on the issue and report back to the community.

The root scaling report is out for public comment until 29 November.

Demand and Economic Analysis

Further economic analysis will be commissioned by ICANN in order to address outstanding concerns raised following review of the two previous economic studies.

NEXT STEPS: Feedback from the meeting, as well as comments sent to comment periods covering the third version of the Applicant Guidebook and papers related to the overarching issues, will be used to produce a fourth version of the guidebook for the Nairobi meeting in March.

Staff will review the possibility of introducing a system where potential gTLD applicants are able to provide “expressions of interest” in new Internet extensions in order to help the work move forward more effectively.

MORE INFORMATION:

The new gTLD program webpage contains the latest information as well as extensive background information on the whole process: http://www.icann.org/en/topics/new-gtld-program.htm

Root scaling study session:
http://sel.icann.org/node/7084

Trademark Protection session: http://sel.icann.org/node/7116

Malicious Conduct and new gTLDs session:
http://sel.icann.org/node/7117

Malicious Conduct and Consumer Protection:
http://sel.icann.org/node/7288

Registry/registrar separation session:
http://sel.icann.org/node/7083

New gTLD update session:
http://sel.icann.org/node/6739

Strategic Planning

WHAT HAPPENED: ICANN held its first strategic planning session for 2010 was held on Wednesday morning.

The strategic plan is the process by which the organization’s priorities are mapped out, feedback is received from the community, and all the input is pulled into an Operating Plan, from which the organization’s budget is decided and allocated.

The session was more interactive than previous years with an online survey asking people to rank the importance of various areas of work e.g. implement new gTLDs, strengthen accountability, etc.

The plan recognized four main areas of focus for ICANN: preserve DNS stability and security; promote competition, trust and consumer choice; excel in IANA and other core operations; maintain ICANN’s long term role in the Internet eco-system. Within these, no less than 18 projects were highlighted as being of strategic priorities over the next three years.

NEXT STEPS: A draft plan will be drawn up based on community feedback and provided to the Board for review. The plan will then be put out to public comment in early December, with the second set of feedback used to draw up a revised plan to be put before the Board for approval in February 2010.

MORE INFORMATION:

Strategic plan session: http://sel.icann.org/node/7103

Online survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=Auve9xOKvl0YbWhg1NLKmA_3d_3d

Affirmation of Commitments

WHAT HAPPENED: The Joint Project Agreement (JPA) that ICANN had with the US government concluded in September and was replaced by an Affirmation of Commitments.

Under that Affirmation, ICANN becomes accountable to the global Internet community and a series of reviews are outlined that help ensure a high degree of public, global accountability.

A special session was held on the Wednesday afternoon where the Chairman and CEO took questions about the Affirmation and also outlined a path forward for carrying out the reviews.

The Affirmation was also given an hour-long slot at the public forum on Thursday.

NEXT STEPS: The Affirmation outlines a number of reviews. An initial draft of how these might work will be produced following community feedback and presented at the next ICANN meeting in Nairobi.

MORE INFORMATION:

The Affirmation of Commitments: http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-30sep09-en.htm#affirmation

Affirmation session: http://sel.icann.org/node/7481

GNSO Improvements

WHAT HAPPENED: After years of hard work, the new GNSO Council sat for the first time in Seoul. There are now two main stakeholder groups: Contracted (made up of registries and registrars), and Non-Contracted (made up of commercial and non-commercial interests).

A new chair was chosen by both houses – Chuck Gomes – and he will work alongside two new vice-chairs: Olga Cavalli (Non-Contracted) and Stephane van Gelder (Contracted).

MORE INFORMATION:

The GNSO Improvements webpage:
http://gnso.icann.org/en/improvements/

The GNSO Council session: http://sel.icann.org/node/6708

Independent Reviews

WHAT HAPPENED: A number of sessions that covered the review of specific parts of ICANN were held during the week.

Currently, two bodies are in the implementation phase: GNSO and ALAC. The GNSO process was largely finished with the sitting of the new Council; whereas the ALAC met the Board’s Structural Improvements Committee to discuss the implementation of its changes.

Meanwhile, going through the Working Group stage (i.e. just before implementation) there is: the Nominating Committee; Board; and SSAC.

Other reviews ongoing included: RSSAC (just at the start of the working group period); ccNSO (just about to head into the review process); and ASO (terms of reference for its review being drawn up).

NEXT STEPS: The reviews will progress through the clearly defined processes in each case. More sessions will be held in Nairobi to discuss and review that progress.

MORE INFORMATION:

ALAC and Board SIC session:
http://sel.icann.org/node/7183

Nominating Committee review session
http://sel.icann.org/node/7094

Board review session: http://sel.icann.org/node/7252

SSAC review session:
http://sel.icann.org/node/7098

Board members and Councillors

Since this was ICANN’s annual general meeting, there was turnaround in Board and Council members.

In particular, Roberto Gaetano, Steve Goldstein, Wendy Seltzer and Thomas Roessler left the Board. From ALAC: Jose Ovidio Salgueiro, Fatimata Seye Sylla, Vanda Scartezini, Nguyen Thu Hue, and Sivasubramanian Muthusamy all ended their terms. And from the GNSO: Tony Harris, Philip Sheppard, Greg Ruth, Tony Holmes, Ute Decker, Cyril Chua, Carlos Affonso Pereira de Souza, Maggie Mansourkia, Jon Nevett, and Steve Metalitz all left the Council.

Special mention was given to leaving GNSO chair Avri Doria and leaving NomCom chair Tricia Drakes.

Peter Dengate Thrush was re-elected as chair of the Board, and Dennis Jennings as vice-chair.

Board Resolutions

The full set of Board Resolutions at the public meeting on Friday can be found online at http://www.icann.org/en/minutes/resolutions-30oct09-en.htm.

A transcript of the meeting can be found at: http://sel.icann.org/meetings/seoul2009/transcript-board-meeting-30oct09-en.txt

And video recordings of proceedings can be found in two parts at:
http://icann.na3.acrobat.com/p77419459/ and
http://icann.na3.acrobat.com/p19863704/

Other Matters

Pictures of the conference can be found at: http://www.icann.org/photos/

What was it?

ICANN’s 35th international public meeting is the first of three held annually to conduct policy development and outreach. It was hosted by ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), AusRegistry International, operator of Australia’s dot-au register, and auDA (.au Domain Administration), the policy authority and industry self-regulatory body for the dot-au domain space.

The meeting was opened by New South Wales’ premier Nathan Rees, and Senator Stephen Conroy, Minister for Broadband Communications and the Digital Economy.

Premier Rees spoke about the impact and importance of the digital revolution, the important role that ICANN plays with the Internet, and the possibilities that new generic top-level domains will open up.

Senator Conroy spoke about the Australian government’s plan to build a high-speed broadband network connecting everyone in the country, using fiber to reach 90 percent of homes and businesses, and wireless and satellite technology to reach the remaining 10 percent.

There were 1,054 attendees to the conference from 106 different countries. The largest group came from the United States (286), followed by local hosts Australia (224). The participants engaged in a wide range of discussions about the Internet’s domain name system and related issues.

Further information about the meeting, including presentations and transcripts, is available at http://syd.icann.org.

ICANN’s next international public meeting will take place in Seoul, South Korea, beginning on 25 October 2009.

What happened and what are the next steps?

Many meetings, workshops, public forums and informal discussions were held over seven days by the different stakeholders of the ICANN model:

• Business interests
• Civil society – – including the At-Large Summit of individual Internet user representatives
• Governments and government agencies
• Internet service providers
• Registrants
• Registrars
• Registries
• The technical community

Several key issues and themes evolved over the course of the meeting. They are summarized below.

New gTLDs

WHAT HAPPENED: The four “overarching issues” that need to be addressed before the introduction of new top-level domains were the focal point of the meeting. Those four issues are: trademark protection; malicious conduct; security and stability; and demand and economic analysis – more details on each below.

There was also a more general update session on the new gTLD program on the Monday morning that outlined the most recent documents and changes made to them following the second public comment period of the Applicant Guidebook.

Trademark Protection

The issue of how to protect trademarks in the event of a massive expansion in the domain name space was the most visible of the four overarching issues.

The authors of a report (IRT report) that proposed a number of solutions to the issue outlined their findings in numerous sessions and received feedback from the community. A main session on Wednesday afternoon also addressed the issue.

Three suggestions were the centre of most of the debate: the creation of a globally protected marks list, where a trademark registered across the world was given special rights to block domain registrations with that trademark in; an IP clearinghouse, where trademark holders are able to submit their information once in a common format and it be used across all gTLDs; and a uniform rapid suspension (URS) process that would enable a domain to be suspended if its registrant did not respond to a trademark holder’s request within a specific time period.

Malicious Conduct

A session on Wednesday afternoon addressed the concern that a large expansion of the domain name space will present new opportunities for abuse of the DNS, such as phishing, malware, the distribution of illegal content, and so on.

The broad concern is that with a large number of new companies entering the domain name market – both registries and registrars – that there will not be sufficient awareness of the problems of dealing with the criminal element online. As a result, there is an effort underway to find the best solution to pre-empt future problems without introducing unnecessary controls.

Security and Stability

A session on Wednesday focused on the Security, Stability and Resiliency Plan for ICANN as an organization, which was recently put out for public comment.

Demand and Economic Analysis

Two economic analysis reports were published a few weeks prior to the Sydney meeting and a special session held on the Monday to cover, in particular, the issue of registry-registrar separation.

ICANN introduced the registrar market shortly after its inception in order to produce greater competition in the domain name system. The approach was effective, reducing the cost of domain names to the user and greatly increasing consumer choice. With the expansion of the domain name space, however, the community has been reviewing whether the existing system where registrars and registries are kept strictly apart remains the optimal approach.

NEXT STEPS: Feedback from the meeting, as well as comments sent to recent comment periods covering both revised excerpts of the Applicant Guidebook and papers related to the overarching issues, will be used to produce a third version of the guidebook for the Seoul meeting in October.

The first applications for new generic top-level domains are expected to be received in the first quarter of 2010.

MORE INFORMATION:

The new gTLD program webpage contains the latest information as well as extensive background information on the whole process:
http://www.icann.org/en/topics/new-gtld-program.htm

Trademark Protection and Malicious Conduct session:
http://syd.icann.org/node/3788

Security, stability and resiliency session:
http://syd.icann.org/node/4234

Economic analysis session:
http://syd.icann.org/node/4237/

Economic analysis reports:
http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-06jun09-en.htm

New gTLD update session:
http://syd.icann.org/node/3902

 

IDN Fast Track

WHAT HAPPENED: A session on the Monday afternoon gave the latest information and updates on the IDN Fast Track process.

The session focused on the ongoing implementation efforts of the Fast Track and covered details such as the application process, the relationship between the IDN ccTLD managers and ICANN, financial contributions, and IDN Tables and variant management.

In terms of documentation, the latest version of the Implementation Plan was published prior to the meeting, as well as three papers that identified open issues where further input from the community is needed.  A public comment process was opened prior to the meeting and closed on 15 July.

An introductory session to IDNs was also given on the Sunday before the meeting.

NEXT STEPS: Feedback from the meeting, as well as comments sent to the public comment period on the Implementation Plan and papers will be used to produce a revised version of the Implementation Plan.

Remaining tasks include: production of an online application form; IDNA implementation; finalizing the evaluation process; formation of a stability panel; and finalizing a linguistic process.

The aim is to finalize the Implementation Plan in time for the Seoul meeting in October.

MORE INFORMATION:

The Fast Track webpage contains the latest information on the process as well as extensive background information:
http://www.icann.org/en/topics/idn/fast-track/

You can also view the broader IDN program webpage at:  http://www.icann.org/en/topics/idn/

Monday Fast Track session:
http://syd.icann.org/node/4076

Fast Track implementation plan public comment period:
http://www.icann.org/en/public-comment/public-comment-200907.html#fast-track

IDN introductory session:
http://syd.icann.org/node/3747

Operating Plan and Budget for FY2010

WHAT HAPPENED: The Operating Plan and Budget was outlined during a Monday session, concluding six months of work and repeated community consultation. The budget was approved by the Board during its public meeting on the Friday.

In broad terms, the budget expects revenue of $63.6 million, with operating expenses of $54.4 million (a 4.9 percent growth over 2009 and in line with a promise not to grow more than five percent). There will be a contribution to the reserve of $4.9 million.

Full details of where ICANN will spend the money and where it comes from were outlined during the session and are also available on line.

NEXT STEPS: Now the Operating Plan and Budget is approved, ICANN will shortly begin its Strategic Plan process until January. The Strategic Plan will then be used to create the Operating Plan and Budget for FY2011.

There will be several periods of public comment during the process for community input and review, all of which will be announced on the front page of the ICANN website.

MORE INFORMATION:

The Financial webpage contains full information about ICANN’s budget as well as links to other resources:
http://www.icann.org/en/general/financial.html
 
Monday session on the Operating Plan and Budget:
http://syd.icann.org/node/3809

Improving Institutional Confidence (IIC)

WHAT HAPPENED: A report that provided detailed proposals following the year-long improving institutional confidence (IIC) consultation was published prior to the Sydney meeting for review.

The report was the focus of a session on Wednesday. Two proposals in particular were the focus of attention, both requiring bylaw changes. One would allow the community to request review of a Board decision through a majority vote, and the second would establish an independent review body for Board decision.

Other changes, including looking for ways to improve participation across Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees, a staff code of conduct, and the production of executive summaries of documents, were highlighted in a number of Board resolutions on the Friday.

NEXT STEPS: The proposed bylaw amendments have been put out for public comment until 25 September. The other changes will be developed by either staff, the CEO, or a new Board-GAC working group and put out to the community for review.

MORE INFORMATION:

Information about the documents, the public comment periods, the regional meetings and the Implementation Plan can be found on dedicated IIC webpages at: http://www.icann.org/en/jpa/iic/

Wednesday IIC session:
http://syd.icann.org/node/3871

Public comment period on bylaw changes:
http://www.icann.org/en/public-comment/public-comment-200909.html#iic-bylaws

DNSSEC Interim Solution

WHAT HAPPENED: A few weeks before the start of the Sydney meeting, ICANN outlined an interim solution for digitally signing the root zone. The solution sees ICANN working with the US government and VeriSign to help secure the domain name system through the use of the DNSSEC protocol.

A session was held on Wednesday that went through that solution as well as through broader issues with respect to the rollout and use of DNSSEC.

NEXT STEPS: ICANN will work with the US Department of Commerce and VeriSign on the interim solution with the goal of a signed root zone as soon as feasible in 2009.

MORE INFORMATION:

Announcement of interim solution:
http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-2-03jun09-en.htm

DNSSEC session:
http://syd.icann.org/node/3791

Joint AC/SO meeting

WHAT HAPPENED: Representatives of ICANN’s Advisory Committees and Supporting Organizations, as well as ICANN Chief Operating Officer Doug Brent met to discuss issues of joint interest.

A single-page summary of the event was produced the next day and discussed within the different groups during the week.

Broadly, the meeting concluded that there was significant frustration and exhaustion due to the volume of work. A lack of visibility of the impact that volunteer input has on decision making, particularly for Board decisions, was also highlighted.

Other issues raised included: that the purpose, roles and responsibilities of volunteers, staff and Board are not clear; levels of trust are low; the Board operates at too operational a level; and the current processes are not scalable, particularly as the organization continues to grow and internationalize.

Possible solutions to these issues were also discussed and included: prioritization of the workload; better scoping of issues at the start of policy processes; improved accessibility to issues by providing summaries; and improved contact between groups.

NEXT STEPS: The meeting summary will be posted for community review and discussion and use to inform further discussions at all levels of the organization in an effort to find and implement solutions to the issues raised.

MORE INFORMATION:

The ACSO session:
http://syd.icann.org/node/3808

New Board members and CEO

Two new Board members took their seats at Sydney, and a new CEO for the organization was named.

Ray Plzak and Mike Silber joined the Board, replacing Demi Getschko and Dave Wodelet. Rod Beckstrom was named as the new CEO and replaced Paul Twomey, who will stay on in the role of Senior President until the end of 2009.

The Board webpage provides more information: http://www.icann.org/en/general/board.html

Board Resolutions

The full set of Board Resolutions at the public meeting on Friday can be found online at http://www.icann.org/minutes/resolutions-26jun09.htm.

A transcript of the meeting can be found at: http://syd.icann.org/files/meetings/sydney2009/transcript-board-meeting-26jun09-en.txt

A short summary of resolutions is given below.

Board minutes highlights

• 2010 budget and operating plan approved
• A ban on the use of redirection of DNS records for all gTLD registries i.e. registries won’t be allowed to display anything but an error message if someone types in a domain name that hasn’t been registered
• A new working group of the Board and GAC to review the GAC’s role within ICANN
• The publication of two proposed bylaw amendments to improve accountability: one to allow the community to vote for a review of a Board decision; and a second to established an independent review body.
• A series of initiatives from the Improving Institutional Confidence consultation: look for ways to improve participation across Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees; a staff code of conduct; the production of executive summaries of documents.
• Introduction of a new CEO
• Staff to work on GNSO stakeholder charters and present them for decision by the Board at its July meeting; the new GNSO Council to be seated in Seoul
• Staff to produce a new version of the Applicant Guidebook, incorporating feedback from the meeting where appropriate, in time for the Seoul meeting in October
• Structural Improvements Committee (SIC) and staff to work on new GNSO constituency applications and provide recommendations as soon as practicable; SIC recommendations for the review process – including an expansion of the timeframe for review cycles from three to five years – to be published for public comment
• Dot-pro registry given permission to allocate single and two-characters domains
• Seoul official chosen for next meeting
• Working group created to look at the issue of specifications for the internationalization of registration data i.e. allowing for Whois records to be produced in more languages and scripts 
• Charter approved for working group to review ICANN’s geographic regions
• Changes in Board Committee membership
• Working group for ccNSO review approved
• Changes to SSAC membership approved
• Acknowledged receipt of At Large Summit Final Declaration as well as the final report of the ALAC review
• Thanks to: Paul Twomey for his work as CEO; the local hosts, scribes, interpreters and other people that help the meeting run effectively; the IRT team for their report on trademark protection; the sponsors and community.

Other Matters

You can view edited videos of the conference’s main events as well as full videos of events in the main ballroom and the ccNSO at: http://syd.icann.org/video

Pictures of the conference can be found at: http://www.icann.org/photos/

The Briefing Note is published on the Mexico City meeting website and linked to on its front page. We republish it here:

What was it?
ICANN’s 34th international public meeting is the first of three held annually to conduct policy development and outreach. It was hosted by ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), the Mexican Internet Association (AMIPCI), the Network Information Center (NIC) Mexico, and the Internet Society (ISOC) Mexico.

The meeting was opened by Vice Minister of Communications of Mexico, Gariela Hernandez, who spoke about the positive impact that information technologies have on productivity, competitiveness, and the living conditions of ordinary people.

1219 people attended from over 100 different countries. For the first time, the largest number of attendees – 275 – came from the host country (excluding meetings held in the United States). The participants engaged in a wide range of discussions about the Internet’s domain name system and related issues.

Further information about the meeting, including presentations and transcripts, is available at http://mex.icann.org.

ICANN’s next international public meeting will take place in Sydney, Australia, beginning on 21 June 2009.

What happened and what are the next steps?
Many meetings, workshops, public forums and informal discussions were held over seven days by the different stakeholders of the ICANN model:

• Business interests
• Civil society
• Governments and government agencies
• Internet service providers
• Registrants
• Registrars
• Registries
• The technical community

Several key issues and themes evolved over the course of the meeting. They are summarized below.

New gTLDs

WHAT HAPPENED: A 90-minute Q&A session was held on the Monday, in which ICANN staff outlined changes made in the second version of the Applicant Guidebook and the community was given the opportunity to ask questions and make comments as the new gTLD process progresses.

Briefings were also given to ICANN’s Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees by ICANN staff, and an update on the whole process given on the Friday. A Branding and new gTLDs session was held on the Monday afternoon, and new gTLDs formed the bulk of discussions during the Public Forum on Thursday.

The Directors approved the establishment by staff of an Implementation Recommendation Team (IRT) comprised of an internationally diverse group of people to develop and propose solutions to the over-arching issue of trademark protection in connection with the introduction of new generic top level domain names (gTLDs).

“The Board has clearly heard and believes strongly that the concerns of trademark holders must be addressed before this process is opened for applications,” said Chairman Peter Dengate Thrush. “The establishment of this team, is an attempt to get proposed solutions from the people with skill in trademark protection and other issues.”

The IRT will be comprised of people who put forward solutions in the first public comment period on the new gTLD Applicant Guidebook.

NEXT STEPS: Feedback from the meeting, as well as comments sent to the second public comment period (which closes on 13 April 2009) will be used to produce a third version of the guidebook.

Additional study and consultation is required on several overarching issues: trademark protection and possible abuses; DNS stability; and Economic analysis of the effect of new gTLDs on the marketplace. A number of other precise areas of change for the next version of the Guidebook were outlined in a staff update on the Friday.

The Implementation Recommendation Team (see above) has been asked to draft a report by 24 April for comment and to produce a final report no later than 24 May so it can be considered at ICANN’s Sydney meeting in June.

The first applications for new generic top-level domains are expected to be received in December 2009 at the earliest or in the first quarter of 2010.

MORE INFORMATION is available on ICANN’s new gTLDs page (http://www.icann.org/en/topics/new-gtld-program.htm). This web page includes the draft Applicant Guidebook, accompanying explanatory memoranda, an FAQ, along with many additional resources.

Full details on the Q&A session can be found here: http://mex.icann.org/node/2610
A staff update on the new gTLD process can be found here: http://mex.icann.org/files/meetings/mexico2009/new-gtlds-staff-updates-06mar09.pdf

The second public comment period for the Applicant Guidebook can be found here: http://www.icann.org/en/public-comment/#dagv2

IDNs and IDN Fast Track

WHAT HAPPENED: The latest version of the Implementation Plan was outlined, as well as three papers that identified open issues where further input from the community is needed to complete implementation.

Introductory sessions on the topic were given in English and Spanish on the Sunday, and a further session explaining the changes made to the Implementation Plan was run on the Monday. Briefings were also given to ICANN’s Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees by ICANN staff. IDNs were one of the main topics of discussion at the Public Forum on Thursday, and an update on the whole process given on the Friday.

The Fast Track was discussed extensively in the GAC and ccNSO and was the subject of formal resolutions by both organizations, as well as by the ICANN Board at its public meeting on Friday.

NEXT STEPS: Feedback from the meeting, as well as comments sent to a public comment period on the Implementation Plan and papers (which closes on 6 April 2009) will be used to produce a revised version of the Implementation Plan. The Board requested that the Implementation Plan be finalized for its last meeting of 2009.

MORE INFORMATION is available at http://www.icann.org/en/topics/idn/

Monday IDN session: http://mex.icann.org/node/2629.
Board and GAC session: http://mex.icann.org/node/2638
Board public meeting: http://mex.icann.org/node/2689
GAC communiqué: http://gac.icann.org/web/communiques/gac33com.pdf
ccNSO website: http://ccnso.icann.org/

A staff update on the IDN and Fast Track process can be found here: http://mex.icann.org/files/meetings/mexico2009/idns-staff-updates-06mar09-en.pdf

The public comment period for the Fast Track can be found here: http://www.icann.org/en/public-comment/#update-idn-cctlds

RAA Amendments

WHAT HAPPENED: The GNSO Council approved a wide range of amendments to the Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA) – the contract that ICANN has with the companies that register generic top-level domains. The Board then asked the amendments to be put out to a 30-day comment period.
The 17 amendments cover four broad categories:

• New enforcement tools – new Registrar Audit and a group liability provision amongst other things.
• Registrant protections – shining a light on the risks of proxy registration.
• Consistent minimum standards of service for all registrars.
• A modernizing of the agreement to get up-to-date with the domain name market.

The full amendments, and a history of the amendment process, are online at: http://www.icann.org/en/topics/raa/

The GNSO also decided to draft a registrants rights charter and identify further amendments to the RAA.

NEXT STEPS: The amendments will shortly be put out to a 30-day public comment period by the Board, and the GNSO Council and ICANN staff will be advised of the registrants rights charter and possible further RAA amendments before 31 July 2009.

MORE INFORMATION:
RAA staff update: http://mex.icann.org/files/meetings/mexico2009/raa-amendments-staff-updates-06mar09-en.pdf
RAA amendments webpage: http://www.icann.org/en/topics/raa/

Improving Institutional Confidence (IIC)

WHAT HAPPENED: The President’s Strategy Committee published its draft Implementation Plan with a set of proposed recommendations on how to improve institutional confidence in ICANN ahead of the conclusion of the Joint Project Agreement (JPA) in September 2009. This revised document was the result of extensive community consultations during 2008, and it was produced for information, not decision. The ultimate decision will be taken by the Board.

The Mexico City meeting saw widespread discussion of these documents. A special session was held on Wednesday and the issue was also discussed at the At Large Summit and within a number of supporting organizations and advisory committees.

NEXT STEPS: The Board will consider the Improving Institutional Confidence report at its next meeting on 23 April 2009. At that meeting, the Board will consider whether to ask staff to do more detailed implementation work. There will be a public comment period of 60 days, beginning shortly after the Mexico City meeting.

MORE INFORMATION: Information about the documents, the public comment periods, the regional meetings and the draft Implementation Plan can be found on dedicated IIC webpages at: http://www.icann.org/en/jpa/iic/
Wednesday IIC session: http://mex.icann.org/node/2809

At-Large Summit

Representatives of over 90 At-Large Structures representing ICANN’s global individual Internet user community came together at ICANN’s Mexico City meeting in the At-Large Summit held between 28 February and 4 March 2009.

The Summit was a unique gathering of the representatives of individual Internet users participating in ICANN. Organized as an integral part of the 34th ICANN International Meeting in Mexico City, the Summit featured:

• Two General Sessions of all participants;
• Thematic sessions and workshops on issues that concern individual Internet users worldwide led by At-Large community members;
• Five policy-focused working groups produced statements on important subjects to the whole ICANN community; and many other events.

Full details of the Summit, including the Summit’s final Declaration, can be found online at http://www.atlarge.icann.org/summit.

GNSO Improvements

WHAT HAPPENED: Progress continued on structural and operational changes to ICANN’s main policy-making body. Early meetings on Saturday and Sunday focused on operational and process work team efforts. Another team discussed resolution of transition issues to seat the newly structured GNSO Council.

Several new stakeholder group charters were submitted by the community throughout the week and a consolidated public comment forum was initiated for comments on those proposals. The community heard from proponents of the Cybersafety, City TLD and Consumer constituencies. A formal petition from the CyberSafety constituency was also posted for community comments. At its Friday meeting, the Board directed the ICANN staff to identify potential changes to existing GNSO constituency charters and to suggest specific changes to help them conform more closely to ICANN bylaw principles.

NEXT STEPS: The work teams covering different aspects of the improvements will continue to move forward with calls and meetings in the coming weeks. The community will have opportunities to comment on the proposed charters for new GNSO stakeholder groups as well as the petition for the new CyberSafety constituency.

MORE INFORMATION: http://www.icann.org/topics/gnso-improvements/

Independent Reviews

The independent review process requires each of ICANN’s Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees to undergo review every few years to make sure that the organization as a whole continues to serves the needs of the global Internet community.

WHAT HAPPENED: There are six reviews going on at the moment, and one will be started in the upcoming future. Starting with the most advanced to the least advanced: GNSO, NomCom, ALAC, Board, RSSAC, SSAC and ccNSO. The advancement of each of these reviews was presented during specific meetings in Mexico.

The GNSO advanced its implementation of changes; the Nominating Committee review will be soon updated for publication for public comments; ALAC review is accepting last public comments before finalization. The Board review is solliciting public comments into the working group discussion; and the RSSAC and SSAC reviews will soon enter the working group stage. The terms of reference for review of the ccNSO is nearly finished.

NEXT STEPS: The reviews will continue to advance through working group work, public comments and community response and review.

MORE INFORMATION:
Dedicated reviews webpage: http://www.icann.org/en/reviews/
Staff update on reviews: http://mex.icann.org/files/meetings/mexico2009/organizational-reviews-staff-updates-06mar09-en.pdf

Board Resolutions

The full set of Board Resolutions at the public meeting on Friday can be found online at http://www.icann.org/en/minutes/resolutions-06mar09.htm.

A transcript of the meeting can be found at: http://mex.icann.org/files/meetings/mexico2009/transcript-board-meeting-06mar09-en.txt
A short summary of resolutions is given below.

• GNSO Constituency Renewals: Acknowledged submissions from six existing constituencies and asked for staff analysis and follow-up submissions, as needed, by the Sydney meeting.
• IPv4 Allocation Policy: Ratified the global policy for handing out the last available IPv4 address blocks
• IDN ccTLD Fast Track: Asked that the Implementation Plan be made available for consideration prior to the last Board meeting of 2009. Directed staff to outline costs to ICANN of country code top-level domains, including IDN ccTLDs.
• Trademark Protection for new gTLDs: Created a new Implementation Recommendation Team to develop and propose solutions to the overarching issue of trademark protection in connection with the introduction of new gTLDs. A draft report to be ready by 24 April 2009.
• Geographic term protection for new gTLDs: Applicant Guidebook to be revised to give greater specificity on the scope of protection at the top level for the names of countries and territories. Staff to exchange letters with the GAC to find a solution before end of May.
• RAA Amendments: ALAC and GNSO thanked for their work and advice. The GNSO-approved amendments to be put out to public comment for 30 days.
• Board Committees: The Charters of four new Board Committees (IANA, Public Participation, Risk and Structural Improvements) approved and the Board Governance Committee given the tasks of the dissolved Conflicts of Interest Committee and Reconsideration Committee.
• Ombudsman Framework: Posted for public comment.
• President’s Strategy Committee Report: The Improving Institutional Confidence consultation report posted for comment for 60 days.
• Timely posting of materials: The Public Participation Board Committee asked to develop a plan to have all major meeting material available two weeks before a meeting starts.
• At Large Summit: Acknowledged receipt of the Summit’s Declaration and congratulated At Large community.
• Thanks: Given to Milton Mueller, Demi Getschko, Dave Wodelet, the scribes, local hosts, event teams, sponsors and Mexican government.

Other Matters
You can view edited videos of the conference’s main events at: http://mex.icann.org/video

Pictures of the conference can be found at: http://www.icann.org/photos/

ICANN’s 32nd international public meeting was one of three held annually to conduct policy development and outreach. It was hosted by ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) and Agifem, a non-profit organization made up of several French Internet companies and organizations.

The meeting was opened by the Eric Besson, France’s Minister of State for forward planning, assessment of public policies, and development of the digital economy.

1,672 people participated from 166 different countries, making this ICANN’s biggest ever meeting. The participants engaged in a wide range of discussions about the Internet’s domain name system and related issues.

Further information about the meeting, including presentations and transcripts, is available at http://par.icann.org/.

ICANN’s next international public meeting will take place in Cairo, Egypt, beginning on 3rd November, 2008.

What happened and what are the next steps?

Many meetings, workshops, public forums and informal discussions were held over six days by the different stakeholders of the ICANN model:
• business interests
• civil society
• governments and government agencies
• Internet service providers
• registrants
• registrars
• registries
• the technical community

Several key issues and themes evolved over the course of the meeting. They are summarized below.

NEW gTLDs

ICANN’s Board of Directors took a significant step forward on the introduction of new generic top-level domains (new gTLDS – extensions to the domain name system in addition to, for example, .COM or .INFO). The Board approved the policy recommendations on new gTLDs developed by the GNSO, ICANN’s policy development arm for the generic name space. The Board directed ICANN staff to further develop and complete a detailed implementation plan.

New generic top-level domains were a featured topic of conversation during the meeting. The week began with a dedicated two-and-a-half-hour interactive session where experts from different industries and sectors around the world shared a diversity of views about the potential changes to the Internet as the New gTLD Program is launched. The workshop was presented with MARQUES, the Association of European trademark owners, which represents trademark owners’ interests before EU and other international bodies.

ICANN staff updated the community on how new gTLDs may be implemented, including a timeline and recent steps taken to address potential disputes. Similar updates were presented to the various stakeholders including the GNSO Council.

New gTLDs were also discussed at the Public Forum, later in the week. During the meeting, a number of suggestions for new gTLDs also emerged. The discussions on new gTLDs were the subject of worldwide and widespread press coverage including by BBC, CNN, NBC, Les Echos, Business Week, Le Monde, Liberation, The Times of London, the Financial Times, and other media outlets all over the world.

More information is available on ICANN’s new gTLDs page (http://www.icann.org/topics/new-gtld-program.htm). This web page includes a factsheet on the topic written in plain language and accessible to a general audience.

Next steps:
The Board approved the policy recommendations on new gTLDs, drawn up by the GNSO, and directed ICANN staff to further develop and complete a detailed implementation plan.

Before the new gTLD introduction process is launched, the Board will be given a final version of the implementation proposals of the proposed process after a community review.

More information:
More information can be found online at: http://www.icann.org/topics/new-gtld-program.htm

IDNS AND IDN FAST TRACK

Much of the discussion about Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) during the Paris meeting centered on the work of the IDNC Working Group (IDNC WG). The IDNC WG was chartered by the Board at its November 2007 meeting. Its participants were appointed by the following supporting organizations and advisory committees of ICANN: the Country Code Names Supporting Organization (ccNSO), GNSO, Government Advisory Committee (GAC), At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC) and Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC).

The group has been working on the issue of an accelerated introduction of IDNs (the “fast track”) where specific, non-controversial country-code top-level domains in non-Latin scripts could be approved and added to the Internet’s root without having to wait for the full approval process to be finalized.

The IDNC WG released its draft final report on the feasibility of this approach for public comment two weeks prior to the Paris meeting. The report provided a number of high-level recommendations and received broad approval from the ccNSO and the GAC.

On the broader topic of IDNs, the Director of the IDN Program, Tina Dam, gave updates to the Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees, describing progress on technical and other IDN implementation issues. IDNs were discussed at the Public Forum, and a progress update was also given on the final day of the meeting.

Of particular interest was how finalization of the IDNA protocol revision would impact top-level IDN domains, in particular when and how they will be introduced.

Next steps:
The Board asked the IDNC WG final report to be posted for public comment and asked staff to produce a detailed report on implementation issues, following consultation with the community, in time for the next meeting in Cairo in November 2008.

More information:
More information can be found online at: http://ccnso.icann.org/workinggroups/idnc-charter.htm and at http://icann.org/topics/idn

IMPROVING INSTITUTIONAL CONFIDENCE

The Paris meeting saw the release of three documents from the President’s Strategy Committee (PSC) outlining a new “Improving Institutional Confidence” public consultation.

This consultation’s aim is for the community to discuss possible changes to ICANN in the lead up to the completion of the JPA in September 2009. This work has been led by the PSC whose role is to provide advice to the Board.

The three documents – Improving Institutional Confidence in ICANN, Transition Action Plan and Frequently Asked Questions – were used as the basis for a two-hour discussion session. During a public meeting on the issue, the PSC explained how the consultation would work and how people could find out more information at each stage. The issue was also given a dedicated timeslot in the Public Forum.

The documents are currently out for public comment (closing on 31 July).

Next Steps:
The consultation process outlined in the Transition Action Plan will be followed. The entire community is encouraged to read the documents and send their comments in before 31 July.

The documents will then be revised and put out for additional comment in September 2008 in preparation for further discussions at the Cairo meeting in November. A final report by the PSC will be provided to the Board in December.

More information:
More information is available online at: http://icann.org/jpa/iic

INDEPENDENT REVIEWS

The independent review process requires each of ICANN’s Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees to undergo review every few years to make sure that the organization as a whole continues to serves the needs of the global Internet community.

There are several independent reviews currently underway or soon to be launched. The Board of Directors is also undergoing an independent review in 2008. The Paris meeting saw a number of updates on the current reviews.

GNSO
The GNSO’s review has been completed and it is now in the implementation stage. The Board approved all but one of the recommendations developed by a special Board working group to improve the effectiveness of the GNSO’s policy activities, structure, operations and communications. Recommendations to be implemented include:
• use of a working group model for future policy development
• a revised policy development process
• enhancements to the different constituencies that make up the GNSO
• improved communications.

The Board deferred its final decision on one recommendation – restructuring the GNSO Council – and decided to give the GNSO one last chance to submit a consensus recommendation on how to structure the Council before it makes its final decision in the next few weeks. The Board requested that the GNSO convene a small working group to submit a consensus recommendation on Council restructuring no later than 25 July. The group is to include one member from each constituency, one of the current Nominating Committee appointees, and one member from each liaison-appointing advisory committee (if that advisory committee so desires).

In a related development, the GNSO Council postponed a vote on a top-level GNSO Improvements Implementation Plan and called for a 21-day public comment forum on the document. That open public comment forum closes on 18 July 2008.

ALAC
Two public sessions and two informal sessions were held to discuss a report from the ALAC’s independent reviewers. The Board’s ALAC review working group held its first sessions. The draft report is currently out for public comment.

Board of Directors
The Boston Consulting Group was selected as the consultant to perform the independent review of the Board of Directors.

Nominating Committee
A working group created by the Board Governance Committee is working on recommendations following the independent evaluators’ report on the Nominating Committee.

Others
The Board established three working groups to review future independent review reports. They will cover: the Board, the DNS Root Server System Advisory Committee (RSSAC), and the Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC).

Next steps:
The reviews will continue to progress through each step in the review process. Updates will be provided at the Cairo meeting in November.

More information:
More information including links to each of the reviews and public comments pages can be found online at: http://www.icann.org/reviews/

REGISTRAR ACCREDITATION AGREEMENT

More progress was made on improvements to protections for registrants provided through the Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA – the contract ICANN holds with companies that register domain names on behalf of registrants).

15 revised changes and amendments were published in a report currently out for public comment (the comment period closes 4 August 2008). The amendments were outlined in meetings with individual Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees, as well as a dedicated one-and-a-half-hour public workshop. RAA amendments also had a specific timeslot for discussion during the Public Forum, and were further outlined at the final day’s report session.

There are four categories of amendment to the RAA:

• Enforcement tools, including graduated sanctions, liability and audit provisions
• Protections for registrants, including possible improvements to data escrow and the ability to make resellers comply with RAA obligations
• A more stable registrar marketplace, including training for registrar operators
• Modernizing the agreement, bringing it up to date with changes in the use and reuse of domain names

Next steps:
The amendments will be revised following input during the public comment period and then shared with the Board, who will determine the next steps.

More information:
More information can be found online at: http://www.icann.org/topics/raa/

MEETINGS REVIEW

A paper covering possible changes to ICANN meetings themselves was put to the community in a number of different sessions, including several Supporting Organization and Advisory Committee meetings, the opening day public forum, mid-week Public Forum, and the closing-day reports session.
There were two main recommendations in the paper:

• that ICANN move from three to two meetings a year; and
• that one of those meetings be held in a “hub” city.

There was a broad range of views and discussion on both points, as well as discussion of the change to the Paris schedule which saw the meeting end a day earlier on Thursday, rather than on Friday.

Next steps:
The meetings paper is out for public comment until 10 July and will be revised following feedback from the community.

More information:
More information can be found online at:
http://www.icann.org/public_comment/#meeting-consultation-2008

IPv6

A number of information sessions on the new Internet Protocol were held in order to the make community more aware of support issues and to outline ways forward.

The ALAC, ccNSO, Registry and Registrar constituencies were also addressed by experts on this topic during their own meetings. Business leaders were given an overview as part of the Business Access Agenda. IPv6 was also discussed during the Public Forum.

The GAC heard from several individuals and organizations, including the OECD and the Names Resource Organization, about current trends and the challenges to IPv6 deployment worldwide.
More information:

A factsheet written in plain and clear language has been produced: “IPv6 – The Internet’s vital expansion – October 2007”. It explains the protocol upgrade to a non-technical audience and is available here: http://www.icann.org/announcements/factsheet-ipv6-26oct07.pdf

BUSINESS ACCESS AGENDA

For the first time, a specific agenda and series of targeted meetings and discussions were held for business leaders in an effort to engage business more effectively within ICANN’s processes.
The agenda included briefings on the most significant topics facing ICANN at the moment, including new gTLDs, IDNs and IPv6, and a meeting with the Board of Directors. It was organized in cooperation with the E-Business, IT and Telecoms Commission of the International Chamber of Commerce.

OTHER ISSUES

• The Board approved a recommendation by the GNSO to tackle “domain tasting”.
• The FY09 ICANN operating plan and budget of $57.1m were adopted by the Board.
• Approval was given to a plan by PIR (the Public Interest Registry) to add the security protocol DNSSEC to the .org registry.
• An “At Large Summit” was approved to enable representatives of Internet user groups (At-Large Structures) to meet together within the next year, most likely at the Mexico City meeting in March 2009.
• The SSAC published a number of new reports and survey results relating to security and stability of the Internet. (http://www.icann.org/committees/security/)
• A number of policy development processes were started or advanced at the GNSO including Fast Flux and inter-registrar transfers.
• The GAC reiterated its strong support for a number of studies into the use and abuse of Whois data, and asked for clarification from the Board on whether studies would depend on the outcome of the GNSO Council’s decision. The GNSO Council created a working group to review recommendations for Whois studies.