The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) marked the 1oth anniversary of the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) yesterday with a conference that “brought together over 200 stakeholders from around the world”.
I was not invited.
I guess I’m not a “stakeholder”.
I wonder if anyone from the domainer community got an invite to this conference, although I’m pretty sure the answer is no.
Domain holders are appearently not stakeholders.
According to WIPO, the conference “”sought to take stock of the UDRP experience and draw lessons with a view to informing other processes relating to the future of the Domain Name System (DNS) and in the broader context of Intellectual Property (IP).””
“”Since December 1999, the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center has administered over 16,000 proceedings under the UDRP or UDRP-related policies.””
The forward-looking conference was opened by WIPO Director General Francis Gurry (recorded message and the full Conference program and speaker list is available here
On this milestone anniversary, Gurry said “I think what we can say after ten years of the UDRP is that it has been a very successful experiment” because it fulfilled a need and it led to a predictable legal system.
Looking to the future, he said the UDRP is a “dynamic instrument” and welcomed discussion on the challenges ahead.
“”Conference presentations and discussions were led by IP counsel, UDRP and DNS stakeholders, WIPO domain name panelists, and authorities and individuals concerned with the implementation of dispute resolution mechanisms, including ICANN.””
“””Presentations covered three main themes, namely the development of UDRP jurisprudence and practice, new dispute resolution mechanisms for ICANN’s planned significant expansion of the DNS, and the emergence generally of conflict between online “identities” and trademark rights as well as issues of accountability of intermediaries.”””
“””WIPO representatives raised the possibility of opportunities for complainants to express “an intent to file”, including to facilitate identification of respondents in cases involving privacy shields. They also discussed the possibility for respondents to express early consent to transfer, or to indicate an intent to participate in the UDRP proceedings through the filing of a response.”””
“””Other WIPO concepts include form complaints in anticipated default cases, as well as panel decisions on a summary basis in obvious cases of this type, all subject to adequate safeguards for preserving party equality and respondent participation.
Participants also discussed the role information technology has played in the UDRP domain name dispute resolution process and identified likely areas of development in this area.”””
“”Several presenters, including ICANN officials, brand owners, Internet experts and WIPO Center staff, addressed ICANN’s initiative to introduce potentially large numbers of new generic Top Level Domains (New gTLDs).”””
“””This highly topical subject generated significant interest among participants, and covered WIPO’s advice to safeguard the legitimate interests of trademark owners and other good faith DNS actors during this program’s application (pre-delegation) and subsequent operational (post-delegation) phases.”””
“””Participants took advantage of open discussion periods to pose questions to presenters and share their concerns on these and other topics concerning the Internet, including the extent of potential registry duties to address trademark infringement in their name spaces.””
Sounds like quite the party, too bad domainers were not invited to represent their interests.
Domainers were present – your assumption is incorrect!
Cyrus
What domainers were present and did they get to make a presentation of their position at the conference?
John Berryhill was a speaker…
What caught my eye was where he said this was a successful experiment. Nice to know that they get to we and our valuable assets are lab rats to them
(UDRP … lead to a) “predictable legal system.”
An oxymoron of the highest degree.
Sorry Mike, but I DID receive an invitation. Couldn’t go as I’m getting ready for T.R.A.F.F.I.C. NEW YORK, but it sounded pretty interesting.
Well Glad Mr. Berryhill got to go.
ICA President and Sedo COO and General Counsel Jeremiah Johnston was in attendance.
He and I will be discussing what transpired, particularly in relationship to the ongoing debate about trademark and other rights protections in new gTLDs, as I prepare to attend and participate on behalf of domainers in the final ICANN meeting of the year which is being held in Seoul during the last week of October.
Sorry, Mike – how about a bit of humility for once in your life?
“Well Glad Mr. Berryhill got to go.”
Paul Keating was there as well. Ari Goldberger was planning to be there, but was unable as a result of other circumstances.
This wasn’t an “invitation” event. WIPO holds a three-day UDRP seminar every year, and I have been encouraging people to attend for a while, which is why Jeremiah Johnston and others have begun to attend. The “Ten Year” program was tacked onto the beginning of the annual seminar, and I’ve been pestering WIPO for several years to include representatives of domain registrants in these programs.
Mike, keep an eye on the WIPO Events calendar (http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/events/). When the details are posted for next October’s seminar, I’ll send you a note and look forward to seeing you there.
Presentation materials have been posted at:
http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/events/workshops/2009/10yrs-udrp/program/index.html