Newsletter (May – Jun 2006)

Next Meeting
The next meeting of APTLD Members and Board will be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The dates are Thursday 14 – Friday 15 September 2006. Further details will be available soon, but the focus of the meeting will be on sharing information about Internationalised Domain Name deployment, as well as developing APTLD’s strategic plan and budget for 2007 and beyond. All members – current and prospective – are warmly invited to attend this meeting.

General Manager Appointed: Don Hollander

At its June 2006 meeting in Hong Kong, the APTLD Board approved the appointment of New Zealand based Don Hollander to the inaugural role of General Manager. Mr. Hollander was selected after an extensive global search which attracted literally hundreds of applicants.

Mr Hollander comes from a Technology Executive background, having been a CIO for several of New Zealand’s largest firms and the CEO of Samoa’s Computer Services Ltd (CSL), the operator of the .WS ccTLD. Mr. Hollander has also been very active in the technology focused not-for-profit sector, previously as Chairman of TUANZ (The Telecommunications Association of New Zealand) and currently as Chairman of the 2020 Communications Trust of New Zealand. He is also actively involved in UNESCO (NZ), the Pacific Internet Partnership, the Global Knowledge Partnership, and others.

“Don’s technical literacy, combined with his strong commercial skills and not-for-profit experiences provides APTLD with an excellent first General Manager”, says Chairman Peter Dengate-Thrush.

Don’s initial focuses will be growing the membership, improving the value of the APTLD’s physical meetings, and cementing the strong ties that APTLD already has with ICANN and other global and international stakeholders.

NetRegistry cops one from auDA
A recent administrative decision by auDA has left domain name registrar NetRegistry questioning the decision making processes of the industry body.
http://www.itnews.com.au/newsstory.aspx?CIaNID=33475

auDA carpets NetRegistry in domain dispute
The local .au Domain Administration (auDA), has flexed its muscles and deleted two domain names it considered in breach of its policies after local registration house, NetRegistry, refused to carry out the request.
http://www.arnnet.com.au/index.php/id;65921915;fp;2;fpid;1

auDA boss warns NetRegistry of possible suspension
When they wake up tomorrow morning, the management of one of Australia’s largest domain name registrars, NetRegistry, can expect a public citation for refusing to follow the directives of the Australian Domain Name regulator auDA.
http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/4567/937/

Domain dispute heats up
A POLICY dispute between a major domain name registrar company and the industry’s peak regulatory body auDA has escalated. auDA chief executive Chris Disspain said that the regulator would proceed with disciplinary action against NetRegistry for breaching the regulator’s .au name policy and its registrar agreement.
http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,19393648%5E15318%5E%5Enbv%5E,00.html

NetRegistry breaches Registrar Agreement (NEWS RELEASE)
auDA has cited NetRegistry for breaches of .au policy and the Registrar Agreement.
http://auda.org.au/news-archive/auda-08062006/

NetRegistry takes title of No. 1 provider of Australian domain names (news release)
NetRegistry registered 30% of all .com.au registrations in May, overtaking MelbourneIT whose 100% monopoly of this market has dropped to below 20% in less than 4 years.
http://netregistry.com.au/news/articles/95/1/NetRegistry-takes-title-of-No-1-provider-of-Australian-domain-names.html

Melbourne IT’s empire built on clicks and mortar
UNIVERSITY of Melbourne spin-off Melbourne IT, now the world’s fifth-largest domain name registrar, has reported “stable, sustainable and profitable growth” across all divisions.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/business/melbourne-its-empire-built-on-clicks-and-mortar/2006/05/23/1148150256584.html

Watchdog bans miners website names
Two domain names – http://www.brantwebb.com.au and http://www.toddrussell.com.au – have been deleted by Australian regulators over fears they were illegitimately created to cash in on the Beaconsfield Gold Mine rescue.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/breaking/watchdog-bans-miners-website-names/2006/05/11/1146940654850.html
http://theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,19099371-29277,00.html
http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/Beaconsfield_domain_names_deleted_by_authorities/0,2000061791,39256073,00.htm

auDA Foundation grants to beef up Australia’s Internet (NEWS RELEASE)
.au Domain Administration (auDA), the .au Domain Name Administrator, today announced the establishment of the auDA Foundation and called for submissions from eligible Internet-related projects for grants.
http://auda.org.au/news-archive/auda-12052006/

Picking the Right E-Name
How much is a domain name worth? Duan wujei in Chinese characters recently went for a whopping $30,000 US. The grab for popular addresses ending in dot-com is saturated in western countries. But there is still a lot of potential for domain names ending in dot-c-n.
http://en.chinabroadcast.cn/3130/2006/06/21/481@105126.htm

Gay websites shut down in ‘clean-up’
A mainland internet domain-name registration company has purged several influential homosexual websites under pressure from police in a crackdown on “illegal content”.
http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article-eastasia.asp?parentid=47675
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon06/06/061606china.htm

CNNIC Launches Chinese Domain Names For Government Departments
Chinese domain name registration institution China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) has launched a special service for government departments to register their own Chinese-language domain names.
http://www.chinatechnews.com/index.php?action=show&type;=news&id;=4058

Registration of .cn domain name ranks the sixth in the world
According to the report on China’s Internet information and resources published by the State Council Informatization Office on Tuesday, . cn domain name registration ranks the sixth in the world.
http://en.ce.cn/National/Local/200605/18/t20060518_7006572.shtml
http://english.people.com.cn/200605/17/eng20060517_266488.html

Challenge to US control of website names
Fed up with the lack of an international system for internet addresses using non-western scripts, many countries are joining China in creating their own.
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/d0deca40-e21d-11da-bf4c-0000779e2340.html

.hk Chinese domain name soft launch
HKIRC announces the results of public consultation on .hk Chinese domain name soft launch and reserved .hk Chinese domain name categories. A total of 12 submissions are received and the public is generally in support of the proposed arrangement and reserved list.
http://hkdnr.hk/eng/consul/index.html

Domain Name Similar To Broadcast Channel’s Name Not Registrable (reg req’d)
The absence of policy whereby registered owners of trade mark are entitled to register its mark with ICANN on payment of fee with the stipulation that in case any person seeks to register a domain name consisting of the registered mark, no objection would be required to be obtained from the owner of the registered mark, similar to the one as in force in India by National Informatics Centre, was pointed by the Delhi High Court in Zee Telefilms Ltd & Ors. v. Zee, Kathmandu & Ors. (2006 (32) PTC 470(Del.)). ICANN, located in California, USA is the entity which oversees domain name registrations.
http://www.mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=39760

in: Courts and the market for IP services
Intellectual property rights policies and precedents have substantially changed in the past decade both in the context of the environment in which they operate and in their impact on society. The total IP services market in India is currently estimated at about Rs 350 crore annually.
http://www.rediff.com/money/2006/may/20guest.htm

“VIAGARA.IN” Goes Back To Pfizer
Pfizer filed an application for the grant of an interim injunction to restrain Altamash Khan and another party from using its registered trademark as under the domain name ‘viagra.in’ and URL www.viagra.in. Altamash Khan claims to have acquired the domain name for sale and not to launch his own website.
http://www.mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=38678

Translation of “JP Domain Name Registry Report 2005” Posted (news release)
JPRS posted English translation of “JP Domain Name Registry Report 2005.” This is an annual report for 2005, briefing that year’s activities performed by JPRS, in relation to its management and administration of .JP top-level domain.
http://jprs.co.jp/en/topics/060502.html

Local websites hit
MyCERT has detected 300 .my domain website defacements up till the end of May this year.
http://star-techcentral.com/tech/story.asp?file=/2006/6/8/technology/20060608121648&sec;=technology

Internet NZ to table concerns
Internet New Zealand is to raise concerns about the failed bid for an internet red light zone with ICANN.
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/411416/752888

Porn domain decision under fire
A New Zealand internet safety group is set to take on the worldwide authority on domain names over the scrapping of the controversial .xxx plan.
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/411419/761282

TWNIC Newsletter Content
Includes items on the .tw Domain Name Use survey; TWNIC 6th IP OPM closed; National IPv6 deployment programme update; 2006 TWNIC Internet Trend seminar; mydn.net.tw gathering; Taiwan IPv6 Summit in August; 3rd APRIA meeting in Taipei in August; APNIC 22nd OPM in September; and a TWNIC report on Legal Issues of Domain Name use by enterprises.

This content is available in .pdf format here (.pdf, 127kb).

Opportunities for high-class domain name “.vn”
For many people, domain names with “.vn” like google.com.vn and yahoo.com.vn are now familiar, but don’t know that these are national code domain names on the global Internet system.
http://english.vietnamnet.vn/tech/2006/06/582499/

ICANN Opens 26th International Meeting in Marrakech, Morocco
The ICANN announcement lists some of the highlights of the meeting in Morocco including Developments in the area of IDNs, A public meeting of the Security, Stability and Advisory Committee (SSAC) to discuss the consequences of domain name registration lapses in situations where another person registers a lapsed domain, and a workshop on the committee’s ongoing work to ensure the DNS is protected from certain types of attacks and Several meetings of ICANN’s Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC), including a meeting to discuss government perspectives on the public policy aspects of the WHOIS database and an open plenary session during which the GAC and ICANN Board members will participate in open dialogue on current issues.
http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-2-25jun06.htm

Talk dull but deep for Icann
With a web domain for pornography effectively off the agenda, next week’s meeting of the Internet’s governing body, Icann, will deal with drier but meatier issues such as the future of the organisation.
http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3711089a28,00.html

The Internet’s CEO signs up for three more years
Paul Twomey has signed a three-year extension to his employment contract it was announced this morning in Marrakech.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/06/26/twomey_new_contract/

Aussie is ICANN’s first corporate affairs chief
Paul Levins has been named by ICANN to the newly created role of executive officer and vice president – corporate affairs, one of thee appointments announced by the global Internet body.
http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/4748/127/

Domain for mobile devices hits the Web
The domain, .mobi, is designed to spur use of the Internet on mobile devices — but some fear it will have the opposite effect
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1035_22-6075779.html

.xxx registry sues US government
The company behind the unsuccessful bid for a new .xxx domain for internet pornography, ICM Registry, has embarked on a legal fight-back.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/05/19/icm_sues_us_government/

XXX Litigation Looms by Milton Mueller
The XXX drama isn’t over. Today ICM Registry announced that it would file a reconsideration request with ICANN and a judicial appeal to challenge redactions and omissions from the internal US government documents released to it under a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. These could prove to be opening moves in a more extended round of litigation.
http://www.circleid.com/posts/xxx_litigation_looms/

Will the internet die in September?
ICANN Marrakech There will be much to discuss at ICANN’s Marrakech meeting which kicks off this Saturday, but one question rises about all others: what will happen to the internet on 30 September 2006? ICANN has its own agenda to discuss, but that agenda and what people actually want to discuss are a little different. As is the fundamental issue that everyone at that meeting should be talking about. This is our account of what is likely to happen, why, and what it all means. First off, here are the specific items on the ICANN check list:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/06/22/icann_marrakesh_preview/

U.S. unprepared for Net meltdown, blue chips warn
The United States has never experienced a massive Internet outage, but a coalition of dynamic chief executives said Friday that the nation must do more to prepare for that prospect.
http://news.com.com/U.S.+unprepared+for+Net+meltdown%2C+blue+chips+warn/2100-7348_3-6087470.html

Dot-xxx decision exposes flaws in Net governance by Michael Geist
Later this month ICANN meets in Marrakech, Morocco for its first global meeting since the organization rejected a proposal to establish a new dot-xxx domain name extension.
http://www.canada.com/topics/technology/story.html?id=d7da1a2b-6724-4305-8f8b-b3279e0e2ad1&k;=80778

Germany registers 10 millionth .de domain
Germany has registered its 10 millionth domain name, making the .de top-level domain the second largest in the world following dotcom.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/06/28/denic_ten_million_domains/

.uk registrations hit 5 million with hosepipebanbuster.co.uk (news release)
Nominet is celebrating reaching the five million mark for .uk domain name registrations.
http://www.nominet.org.uk/digitalAssets/6753_5m_domain_name_registrations.pdf

Property boom shifts online
The real estate boom isn’t over – it has simply shifted online with market speculators now buying, selling and renting virtual properties. The practise of “domaining” may not be new, but it has recently evolved in such a dramatic fashion that it will form one of the key discussions points at a high-level internet conference in Marrakesh this week.
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2006/06/26/1151174111335.html

FTC Issues Statement on Whois Databases (news release)
The Federal Trade Commission today told a meeting of ICANN that access to the Whois databases is “critical to the agency’s consumer protection laws, to other law enforcement agencies around the world, and to consumers.” Whois databases are online information directories that contain contact information about website operators. Access to the databases is in question because one of ICANN’s advisory bodies recommended limiting access to Whois data to “technical purposes only.”
http://ftc.gov/opa/2006/06/icann.htm

Whois data a key weapon in fraud fight, FTC says
The Federal Trade Commission has made a pitch for open access to Whois, saying the databases are a key weapon in its fight against spyware and other Internet fraud.
http://news.com.com/2100-7348_3-6088651.html
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6088651.html

Most domains fraudulently registered
Over 90% of domain names registered in May were not paid for, according to Bob Parsons, chief executive of pre-IPO registrar GoDaddy.com Inc.
http://datamonitor.com/~998451495a56436bb7c0ee2bec46d201~/ (continued next line)
industries/news/article/?pid=CD3AC016-9A10-4511-8CB8-B0D9EB1250ED&type;=NewsWire

Present at the creation
Vinton Cerf was one of the founding fathers of the internet and has continued to take an active role in its development
http://economist.com/science/tq/displayStory.cfm?story_id=7001923

us: Domain registrars in court
Domain name registrar Web.com filed a patent infringement lawsuit on Monday against rival GoDaddy.com. The lawsuit alleges that GoDaddy’s Deluxe Hosting Plan infringes on Web.com’s patent called “Synchronized Server Parameter Database,” which allows customers to have remote access to a control panel that is part of the Web hosting service.
http://news.com.com/2110-1030_3-6085599.html

Domain name price hikes come under fire
A dispute over the cost of Internet domain names has spilled over onto Capitol Hill, where allegations of monopolization and unreasonable price hikes surfaced in a congressional hearing on Wednesday.
http://news.com.com/2100-1030_3-6081336.html
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6081336.html

Domain ‘kiting’ threat on the rise
The proliferation of temporary websites being set up by criminals is a growing threat, according to web security firm MessageLabs.
http://www.pcmag.co.uk/vnunet/news/2157582/disposable-domain-security

Cybersquatting on the increase: report
Website owners need to be more vigilant in monitoring the use of their domain names, a leading Irish solicitors firm has warned.
http://www.electricnews.net/frontpage/news-9699160.html
http://www.pcw.co.uk/itweek/news/2157217/domain-name-disputes-increase
http://www.itweek.co.uk/itweek/news/2157217/domain-name-disputes-increase

Who is really behind the internet?
Back when the internet was a gleam in the eye of the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the question of control was easy. The people that controlled it were the people that built it, and they could be counted on the fingers of two hands.
http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2006/05/30/216112/Who+is+really+behind+the+internet.htm

30 mln .com domains registered monthly, 90% of them dropped
Every month, around 30 mln .com domain names are registered, but over 90% of these are never paid for, ipWalk reports.
http://blogs.zdnet.com/ITFacts/index.php?p=10806

conference: The Internet: Governance and the Law
The conference will be held from 25-27 April 2007 in the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum and at the Clinton School of Public Service. It is anticipated that President Clinton will participate on the first day of the conference. The first morning of the conference (Thursday) will offer a private tour of the Presidential Library. Following a luncheon at the Presidential Library, an afternoon working session, focusing on public policy issues, will be held at the Library. Legal issues will be treated during full day sessions on Friday and Saturday at the adjacent Clinton School of Public Service. More information by emailing cils@cils.org or
http://cils.net/conferences/confdetailsGrid.php?ConferenceID=183&&PHPSESSID;=e85dd812d408fb95e754f89265327185

Big holes in net’s heart revealed
Simple attacks could let malicious hackers take over more than one-third of the net’s sites, reveals research. The finding was uncovered by researchers who analysed how the net’s addressing system works.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4954208.stm

Governing the Egalitarian Core of the Internet by Christoph Engel
Abstract: Few would claim that regulators, or academics working on regulatory policy, have neglected the Internet. However, most of their work is attracted by the global character of the Internet. Admittedly, this is a serious challenge to regulation, but it is not the only, and probably not even the most disquieting one. In the regulatory discourse, short shrift is given to the fact that the Internet originated in the egalitarian culture of American university computer labs. Its architecture was shaped during that period. Up to the present day, many key functions for Internet management are held by people coming from that culture. This paper argues that the egalitarian challenge to Internet governance has been largely overlooked. The challenge is serious, but not unmanageable. Nevertheless, regulators must use appropriate concepts to understand the challenge. A subfield of sociology, cultural theory, is particularly instrumental for that purpose. In order to address the challenge, regulators must use a set of governance tools that deviates considerably from standard regulatory responses.
http://www.ijclp.org/10_2005/ijclp_webdoc_06_10_2005.htm

The wealth of networks : how social production transforms markets and freedom by Yochai Benkler (527p)
Information, knowledge, and culture are central to human freedom and human development. How they are produced and exchanged in our society critically affects the way we see the state of the world as it is and might be; who decides these questions; and how we, as societies and polities, come to understand what can and ought to be done. For more than 150 years, modern complex democracies have depended in large measure on an industrial information economy for these basic functions. In the past decade and a half, we have begun to see a radical change in the organization of information production. Enabled by technological change, we are beginning to see a series of economic, social, and cultural adaptations that make possible a radical transformation of how we make the information environment we occupy as autonomous individuals, citizens, and members of cultural and social groups. It seems passe´ today to speak of “the Internet revolution.” In some academic circles, it is positively nai¨ve. But it should not be. The change brought about by the networked information environment is deep. It is structural. It goes to the very foundations ofhow liberalmarkets and liberal democracies have coevolved for almost two centuries.
http://www.benkler.org/Benkler_Wealth_Of_Networks.pdf

jp: “Report of IPv6 Transition Field Trial” – towards a ubiquitous network society –
In order to realize a ubiquitous network society where everything and everyone will be interconnected by enabling a smooth transition of the entire Internet infrastructures from IPv4 to IPv6, MIC carried out model verification experiments including verification of effectiveness of IPv6 in various application environments and reliability of the IPv4 – IPv6 transition models. MIC releases the report of IPv6 Transition Field Trial to the public.
http://www.soumu.go.jp/joho_tsusin/eng/Releases/Telecommunications/news060428_1.html