HOTREC, the European association of hotels, restaurants and cafes has filed four community objections with the ICC. They're concerned about several of the "closed generic" applications for .hotel and derivatives of the string. With that in mind they've filed against the following: Application # 1-1016-75482 for HOTELS by Booking.com B.V. Application # 1-1249-36568 for … [Read more...] about European Hotel Association Files Objections Against .Hotel Applications
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ICANN Launch New WHOIS Inaccuracy System
ICANN's Compliance team put the new WHOIS inaccuracy reporting system live earlier today. (Oddly enough Google alerts picked up on the new page!). The new system should make reporting issues easier for all parties involved ie. reporters, ICANN and the affected registrars. They're also including generic information on how registrants may update their own domain … [Read more...] about ICANN Launch New WHOIS Inaccuracy System
More DotConnectAfrica Fun And Games
If you've been following the ICANN new TLD program over the last couple of years you'll probably be aware of some of the applications and the applicants. However in the case of the competing bids for the .africa string the competitors, or at least one of them, has brought more "colour" to the proceedings than most of the other applicants combined. DotConnectAfrica (DCA) … [Read more...] about More DotConnectAfrica Fun And Games
ICANN Beijing Schedule Published
The full schedule for the 46th ICANN public meeting in Beijing has been published. The schedule starts on the Thursday with GAC meetings and runs until Thursday's Public Forum. As is common with ICANN meetings the days are long, with many meetings scheduled to start before 8am local time. If you're not attending in person you'll be able to follow the meeting online, as … [Read more...] about ICANN Beijing Schedule Published
Registrar Negotiating Team Issues Statement On RAA
Last night ICANN published a version of the RAA and related documents for public comment. While the Registrar Stakeholder Group's negotiating team (RrSG NT) have been in talks on and off with ICANN staff for the last 18 months the publication of the documents at this time is felt to be premature by the RrSG NT. Here's the official statement: Registrar Stakeholder Group … [Read more...] about Registrar Negotiating Team Issues Statement On RAA
ICANN Terminates Two More Registrars
In the last couple of days ICANN has terminated two more registrars for breaching their contracts - CI Host (PDF) and Power Brand Center (PDF). CI Host seems to have vanished. Their listed website no longer works and the contact details that ICANN had for them are no longer valid - the offices are now occupied by another company! Using archive.org I was able to grab a … [Read more...] about ICANN Terminates Two More Registrars
Barnes & Noble Weigh In On Amazon’s New TLDs
Some pretty big companies are beginning to show an active interest in ICANN's new TLD project. The most recent of them is bookseller Barnes & Noble. The letter, which is available both on the ICANN website and below, is quite narrow and pointed in its scope and focusses on the perceived competition issues with Amazon's bids for several "closed … [Read more...] about Barnes & Noble Weigh In On Amazon’s New TLDs
5 Reasons Why Closed Generic New gTLDs Should Be Opposed
I'm on the record multiple times over the last few months for my opinions on "closed generics". I first posted about it here back in June of last year: Big Brands Trying To Corner Generic Namespaces? Since then I've sent several letters to ICANN (supported by many others) and have been quoted and referenced in several articles on the subject including Politico.com: … [Read more...] about 5 Reasons Why Closed Generic New gTLDs Should Be Opposed
Going To ICANN 47 Durban? Check The Hotel Restrictions!
ICANN's first public meeting of 2013 will be held in Beijing in April, but they've opened registration for the subsequent one in Durban, South Africa in July. The July meeting - ICANN 47 - will be held in Durban International Convention Centre with hotel accommodation available in the surrounding area. However attendees need to be careful when booking as the cancellation … [Read more...] about Going To ICANN 47 Durban? Check The Hotel Restrictions!
ALAC To Submit Objection Against .health
ICANN's ALAC plans to submit an objection against .health Why? Their rationale is as follows: Objection statements on community grounds will be drafted for the applications for .health given that the four tests for community objection grounds were passed. ALAC were also examining a few other strings including: .nyc .patagonia .amazon However they did not feel … [Read more...] about ALAC To Submit Objection Against .health