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ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers)


Self Description

November 2001: "The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is a technical coordination body for the Internet. Created in October 1998 by a broad coalition of the Internet's business, technical, academic, and user communities, ICANN is assuming responsibility for a set of technical functions previously performed under U.S. government contract by IANA and other groups. Specifically, ICANN coordinates the assignment of the following identifiers that must be globally unique for the Internet to function..."

Third-Party Descriptions

March 2012: "Efforts to take down websites for copyright infringement are likely to move beyond U.S.-based registries, with ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) promising to more closely cooperate with global law enforcement agencies and governments."

http://news.idg.no/cw/art.cfm?id=B2318066-9100-36AE-6DA668DCC8BE64C8

June 2009: 'Some intellectual property owners contend that ICANN has been less than prompt in responding to their complaints about registrars. "All the complaints to ICANN [about registrar misbehavior] have fallen into a black hole," Deutsche says.'

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9134610/

July 2009: "But the agreement that ended World War I was among the myriad topics raised at a meeting held by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers in New York on Monday to discuss its plan to add new top-level domains (the part of an Internet address after the period, like the proposed .eco and .nyc)"

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/14/brokering-peace-between-brand-owners-and-domainers/

June 2008: "Network Solutions suggested to ICANN the adoption of a per-transaction fee to try and rein in the practices of domain kiting and front running domain names in volume."

http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2008/06/20/fees-proposed-to-embitter-domain-tasting

February 2008: 'Kiting often goes hand in hand with another abusive practice, "domain tasting." A domain name is registered and monitored during the grace period to see if it gets sufficient traffic to pay for its registration fee. The domain owners then get refunds on the sites with low traffic. However, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is considering keeping a $0.20 fee it normally refunds as part of the registration process in order to stop tasting.'

http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/02/05/Dell-suit-reveals-lucrative-trade-in-domain-names_1.html

September 2007: A working group within ICANN is now reviewing proposals to determine whether to allow Whois, which houses the contact details of domain owners and administrators, to remain open to the public or to restrict access to only a few parties. Brands themselves may be left out of the loop, which would give typo squatting sites more time to make money and tarnish a company's image before being shut down.

http://www.clickz.com/3627161

May 2006: The Bush administration plans to renew its exclusive contract with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the U.S.-based nonprofit group that oversees key technical matters governing how computers communicate over the Internet.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/19/AR2006051901684.html

January 2005: The concept of capitalizing on trash traffic has been around for a while. In September 2003, VeriSign Inc., the Mountain View, Calif., company that operates the ".com" and ".net" Internet registries, launched a program called Site Finder that automatically redirected mistyped Web addresses to a VeriSign Web page with a search box and advertiser links. Site Finder sparked a furor among Web users who didn't like being forced to look at ads and technology enthusiasts who said VeriSign was abusing its role as a gatekeeper of Web addresses. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers the regulatory body for the Internet, forced VeriSign to shut down the service after a few weeks.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50115-2005Jan30.html

Relationships

RoleNameTypeLast Updated
Organization Head/Leader (past or present) Rod Beckstrom Person Mar 15, 2012
Organization Head/Leader (past or present) Vinton "Vint" G. Cerf Person Aug 29, 2006
Director/Trustee/Overseer (past or present) Prof. Susan P. Crawford Esq. Person Jun 22, 2011
Organization Head/Leader (past or present) Esther Dyson Person Aug 29, 2006
Research/Analysis Subject Prof. Ben Edelman J.D., Ph.D Person Mar 30, 2008
Advised by (past or present) Paul Hoffman Person Jun 25, 2007
Organization Head/Leader (past or present) Mr. M. Stuart Lynn Person

Articles and Resources

Date Fairness.com Resource Read it at:
Mar 14, 2012 Domain seizures for copyright infringement likely to go global

QUOTE: Efforts to take down websites for copyright infringement are likely to move beyond U.S.-based registries, with ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) promising to more closely cooperate with global law enforcement agencies and governments.

 Computerworld
Jul 14, 2009 Brokering Peace Between Brand Owners and Domainers (Bits)

QUOTE: the proposal [in the Icann meeting] by a group of intellectual property lawyers about how to handle domains with trademarks — there was at least one agreement from nearly all sides: The current approach, which is based on an arbitration proceeding, is broken.

 New York Times
Jun 25, 2009 Registrars under fire in domain disputes: Are domain registrars making money from cybersquatters at the expense of legitimate brands? If so, why isn't ICANN stopping it?

QUOTE: [Sarah] Deutsche says that all of the companies Verizon has sued for cybersquatting are domain-name registrars that have been accredited by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers...

 Computerworld
Jun 08, 2009 Paying too much for .com domains? One group blames VeriSign

QUOTE: A group of DNS registrars claims that VeriSign's exclusive contract to manage the .com registry is a product of lobbying, astroturfing, meeting stacking, and legal threats—and it has meant that .com domains cost twice what they otherwise would.

 Ars Technica
Jun 20, 2008 Fees Proposed To Embitter Domain Tasting: Network Solutions backs ICANN provision on mass domain deletions

QUOTE: Network Solutions suggested to ICANN the adoption of a per-transaction fee to try and rein in the practices of domain kiting and front running domain names in volume...If adopted, not only should the measure curtail a lot of the kiting and tasting taking place, but it should hamper the front running efforts of registrars. Network Solutions took heat in January over its front running of domains, a practice they claim was in place to stop domain tasters.

 WebProNews
Feb 05, 2008 Dell suit reveals lucrative trade in domain names

QUOTE: Dell has accused the typosquatter defendants in its lawsuit of typosquatting and domain tasting and is claiming their profits as well as $100,000 per infringing domain used

 InfoWorld
Sep 28, 2007 Whois Directory, a Tool for Brand Defenders, May Be Veiled

QUOTE: The Whois directory can be a critical tool for companies to identify and shut down typo squatters, cyber squatters and phishers...A working group within ICANN is now reviewing proposals to determine whether to allow Whois, which houses the contact details of domain owners and administrators, to remain open to the public or to restrict access to only a few parties.

 Clickz.com
Aug 23, 2007 What's in a name? Tell that to those arguing the toss over .xxx

QUOTE: The .xxx domain proposal was widely viewed as a bad idea, impressively drawing broad opposition from disparate groups such as censors, civil libertarians and the adult entertainment industry. It was difficult to find an informed proponent for it who did not somehow stand to profit from the monopoly income it would create.

 Guardian Unlimited
Apr 09, 2007 Cybereye | Should DHS get the keys to the kingdom?

QUOTE: The issue of who holds signing keys has until recently been pretty much an academic one. DNSSEC has been around since 1999, but — largely because of scalability problems — it had been impractical to deploy until a revised version of the scheme was approved in 2006. DHS has a program to encourage the use of DNSSEC, but the Internet community has been slow to adopt it. A good part of the problem is the chicken-and-egg conundrum. DNSSEC has to be widely deployed before there is any advantage to it, and there is no incentive to deploying it if there is not an immediate advantage. But that might be changing, with the U.S. government leading the way, as DNSSEC becomes a requirement under the Federal Information Security Management Act.

 Federal Citizen Information Center (FCIC)
Aug 17, 2006 Internet Domain Agency Renews U.S. Contract

QUOTE: Icann’s relationship with the United States government has been a continuing source of friction for other countries, some of which protest that the link politicizes what is essentially a neutral global computer network.

 New York Times
May 23, 2006 Domain Wars Rage On

QUOTE: The company lobbying for a porn-only section of the Net is suing. At issue: Does the U.S. exert ideological pressure on Web regulators?

 BusinessWeek
May 20, 2006 U.S. Renews Contract for Oversight Of Internet: Commerce Dept. Role Scrutinized

QUOTE: The decision may revive international debate about the Commerce Department's role overseeing ICANN's work, a source of resentment among countries such as Iran, Saudi Arabia and Brazil. That puts the Bush administration in something of a bind as it tries to balance the demands of U.S. lawmakers adamant that the United States retain its oversight with those of other countries that want more of a say.

 Washington Post
Jan 31, 2005 Broken Links Lined With Gold for Paxfire

QUOTE: If you're using Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser, you're likely to be redirected to a Microsoft page with a search box for its MSN Search service. Soon, you could be directed instead to a page containing a search box -- but one provided by your Internet service provider...

 Washington Post
Mar 14, 2002 Should Geeks, Or Governments, Run the Net?

QUOTE: "The original noble 'experiment' – and it was noble – to see whether a purely private entity could successfully manage a critical global resource simply will not work..."

 Washington Post
Nov 01, 2001 Web Addresses Sprout New Suffixes, Needed or Not

QUOTE: ...the first of seven new extensions, called top-level domains, are finally appearing online, giving businesses and consumers new options when registering Web addresses.

 New York Times
Aug 09, 2001 Data's Validity Faulted in Net Registration System

QUOTE: The introduction of Internet addresses ending with the new ".info" extension has come under attack for an advance registration period...

 New York Times
Jul 30, 2001 Suit Filed in Registration of Domain Names

QUOTE: Internet users upset about the process for registering addresses with the new dot-biz extension have complained that the system is being run like a lottery...

 New York Times
Nov 15, 2000 Questions Arise About Internet's Public Records

QUOTE: some privacy advocates now question requirements that the site owners disclose their personal contact information.

 CNN (Cable News Network)
Jan 01, 1111 Help! I've Lost My Domain Name!

QUOTE: ...any Website that's been successful, and has built up tens or hundreds of incoming links, is a prime candidate for domain speculators should the name ever be deleted.

 Ecommercebase.com