ICANN 50

London

Business Digest

Why a Business Digest?

This Digest is designed to serve as a non-exhaustive review of highlights of the International

Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) Public Meeting relevant to a variety

of businesses stakeholders affected by ICANN’s work, presented in business friendly

language. Please provide feedback and comments to the ICANN Business Engagement

Team at businessengagement@icann.org.

In order to keep interested businesses informed about ICANN’s work, Internet governance

and the business world’s participation, this business digest is complemented by two online

spaces meant to inform and exchange ideas on an ongoing basis with interested business

leaders: the Twitter feed @ICANN4biz and the LinkedIn group ICANN for Business. Feel free

to join, participate, debate, engage, and provide feedback.

Another way to learn about the work of ICANN is through infographic guides. A selection of

helpful infographics can be found at page 13 of this Business Digest.

Executive Summary

The ICANN 50 public meeting took place in London, 22-26 June 2014. With almost 4,000

online registrations and 3,115 checked-in participants, the event was the biggest meeting in

ICANN’s history.

This was the first ICANN meeting that was held in London, and the city’s status as a global

business hub reflected in impressive private sector participation numbers in the meeting: 621

participants self-identified as belonging to the business sector, and 210 of them were

attending an ICANN meeting for the first time.

These participation numbers were due to an array of factors, including the ongoing discussion

revolving around the United States’ government announcement of plans to transition

stewardship of the IANA functions - the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority that ICANN

coordinates - to the global multistakeholder community, and the organization of a few side

events in conjunction with the London meeting:

The Commonwealth Domain Name System (DNS) Forum 2014

The second At-Large Summit (ATLAS II)

The High-Level Government Meeting hosted by the UK government

Here are a few key takeaways from the meeting:

As was to be expected, much of the discussion during the meeting centered on the

IANA stewardship transition process and the enhancement of ICANN’s

accountability.

With the New generic Top Level Domain (gTLD) Program in its implementation

phase, name collision issues, TLD universal acceptance, and WHOIS were among the

main topics of discussion. ICANN 50 was the place for applicants and new registries

to discuss the evolution of the New gTLD Program with staff and hear about success

stories and business plans by new gTLD applicants.

Domain name industry related groups formed on the sidelines of ICANN are

spearheading new ways of interacting with the organization. With the conclusion of the NETmundial meeting and the High Level Panel on Global

Internet Cooperation and Governance Mechanisms the debate around Internet

governance is now focused on how to implement the lessons learned from those

processes.

Acronyms

ASCII – American Standard Code for Information Interchange

ATLAS II – Second At-Large Summit

BGC – The Boston Consulting Group

BCUC – Business and Commercial Users Constituency

BRG – Brand Registry Group

DNA – The Domain Name Association

ccTLD – Country code Top Level Domain name

CSG – Commercial Stakeholder Group

CTO – Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation

DNS – Domain Name System

DNSSEC – Domain Name System Security Extensions

EWG – Expert Working Group

GAC – Governmental Advisory Committee

GDD – Global Domain Division

GNSO- Generic Names Supporting Organization

gTLD – Generic Top-Level Domain name

IANA – Internet Assigned Numbers Authority

IDN – Internationalized Domain Name

IPC – Intellectual Property Constituency

ISPCP – Internet Service Providers and Connectivity Providers Constituency

LINC – Lebanon Internet Center

NTIA – National Telecommunications and Information Agency

SSAC – Security and Stability Advisory Committee

For more help with Acronyms in this report, please see the ICANN Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) Acronym Helper. .

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Local Beginnings: Spotlight on London and the Region The ICANN 50 opening ceremony included addresses from Ed Vaizey, Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries of the United Kingdom, Baroness Rennie Fritchie, Chair of Nominet, and Rt. Honorable Carwyn Jones, First Minister of Wales.

Mr. Vaizey shared some insights on how the UK government is making the country and environment for the Internet to thrive: tax relief for innovators and entrepreneurs, coupled with roll out of super fast broadband connection make the UK digital economy count for more than 8% of the total country GDP – more than any other G20 country.

Baroness Fritchie also discussed the thriving UK digital economy. Launched in 1985, Nominet is the oldest country code registry, and it is host to the online presence of more than 3 million UK businesses. In order to cater to the tech savvy audience among the 36 million Britons who use the Internet every day, Nominet opened registrations for shorter .UK domain names (as opposed to .CO.UK, .ORG.UK, or .ME.UK). Registrations for .UK names reached the 50,000 mark in the first 24 hours of availability – the very first one being famous comedian Stephen Fry - and 100,000 by July 3rd, 2014.

First Minister Jones thanked ICANN and Nominet for the possibility to build a Welsh home online with the new gTLDs .WALES and .CYMRU which will support ‘brand Wales’ and boost recognition overseas helping to attract inward investment, promote Welsh exports and grow the Welsh economy. He also announced plans by the Welsh government to introduce fast broadband to 96% of households and the installment of an Internet Exchange point in Cardiff.

Here are some other interesting Internet figures about London and the UK:

The Internet economy currently accounts for around 8.3% of British GDP according to the Boston Consulting Group’s study, The Connected World. Not only is this a larger percentage than any other G20 nation, but this figure is expected to hit 12.4% by 2016 making the Internet economy larger than almost any other single economic sector including financial services, construction, and education.

83% of UK households now have access to the Internet. 73% of adults bought goods and services online in 2013, almost 20% more than in 2008.

According to research by the accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young, London's Tech City has topped the chart for new business generation in the UK, launching over 15,000 startups in the last year alone. Research by Oxford Economics predicts that London’s digital tech sector is expected to create an additional £12 billion ($20 billion) of economic activity and 46,000 new jobs in the UK capital over the next decade.

Research by South Mountain Economics forecasts that over the next decade, London’s digital tech sector is expected to grow at an average rate of 5.1 % per year, a faster rate than Silicon Valley.

The ICANN Europe team organized a session to discuss the ongoing development of an ICANN Engagement Strategy for Europe.

The business engagement team worked closely with the regional engagement team and regional representatives of the CSG constituencies to conduct strategic outreach and preparation for the meeting. You can listen to the pre-ICANN 50 webinar for business newcomers, designed to explain what happens at an ICANN meeting and which business sector constituencies are active in policy development, here.

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Welcome Ceremony and President’s Opening Session Roundup

The ICANN 50 opening ceremony saw the intervention of a variety of speakers and guests.

Common themes of their addresses were the appreciation of the advancements brought to

the multistakeholder model by the Global Multistakeholder Meeting on the Future of Internet

Governance (NETmundial) and the recent processes ignited by the US National

Telecommunications and Information Agency (NTIA) announcement of plans to transition

stewardship of the IANA functions to the global multistakeholder community.

ICANN Board Chair Steve Crocker opened the

ceremony and took the time to acknowledge the

work of the ICANN community, and to specifically

thank Raul Echeverria and Lesley Cowley for their

roles as Executive Director of the Latin America and

Caribbean Network Information Centre (LACNIC) and

CEO of Nominet respectively. Avri Doria was also

presented with the first ICANN Multistakeholder

Ethos Award, an accolade that recognizes those

ICANN participants who have deeply invested in

consensus-based solutions and the importance of

ICANN's multistakeholder model to Internet

governance.

Additionally, Dr. Crocker applauded the work of the Accountability and Transparency Review

Team 2 (ATRT2) and announced that the Board would pass a resolution adopting all the

recommendations included in the report. Finally, Crocker also talked about the WHOIS

Review process and acknowledged the work of the Expert Working Group (EWG) on gTLD

Directory Services, whose final report was published days before the start of the London

meeting, on June 6th, and which will undergo an extended period of examination.

The main speakers at the ceremony were Ed Vaizey, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State

for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries of the United Kingdom and Baroness

Rennie Fritchie, Board Chair of Nominet, the .UK Internet registry. As previously mentioned

the Rt. Honorable Carwyn Jones, First Minister of Wales, also took the stage.

Other guests that addressed the opening ceremony included:

Imad Hoballah, Board Member of the Lebanon Internet Center (LINC)

Dr. Hoballah described the achievements of LINC. This multistakeholder, bottom-up

organization launched on 3 June 2014, and it is tasked with managing the Lebanese

ccTLD .LB, as well as developing and improving the local Internet network, and

building the capabilities of local society in this growing industry.

Lu Wei, Minister of Cyberspace Affairs Administration of China

Minister Lu shared some of the impressive statistics about Chinese Internet

penetration and digital economy growth: more than 600 million users, 1.2 billion

mobile users, 500 million Weibo users, 500 million WeChat users, 4 million websites,

e-commerce turnover of £1 trillion which contributes to more than 10% of the

country’s economic growth. The minister also voiced support for participation of all

stakeholders in Internet governance.

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ICANN President and CEO Fadi Chehadé provided an update on ICANN’ operations, which

mainly covered five points:

1. IANA Transition

On 14 March 2014 NTIA announced its intent to transition stewardship of the IANA functions

to the global multistakeholder community. NTIA asked ICANN, as the IANA functions

contractor and global coordinator for the DNS, to convene a multistakeholder process to

develop a proposal for the transition. The result of this process was the publication of a

Process to Develop the Proposal and Next Steps on 6 June 2014. This document established

the creation of a Coordination Group composed of 27 members from 13 parts of the Internet

community to determine the best course forward to transition IANA stewardship functions.

The first face-to-face meeting of the Coordination Group took place in London from 17-18

July 2014 at the Hilton London Metropole Hotel.

The IANA functions stewardship transition process is interrelated with discussions about

enhancing ICANN accountability. On 6 May 2014, ICANN published a document for public

comment, initiating the discussion on Enhancing ICANN Accountability. This Accountability

Process is envisioned to be coordinated by the ICANN Accountability Working Group,

comprised of community members as well subject-matter experts in a range of areas.

Learn More:

Visit the NTIA IANA Functions' Stewardship Transition microsite for resources and

information about the process.

Read the transcript or listen to the recording of the ICANN 50 sessions:

Enhancing ICANN Accountability

Transition of NTIA's Stewardship of the IANA Functions

2. Globalization and Hardening of ICANN’s Organization and Operations

Fadi laid out the key strategy points for

globalizing ICANN which include expanded

outreach and service channels, engagement

touch-points, and community-driven

language localization.

A clear success story of ICANN’s operations

globalization is the Contractual Compliance

department, which now offers 24-hour

support across the globe, in 9 languages, and

with standardized processes.

Other key points tackled by the CEO were:

3. Expert Working Group on gTLD Directory Services,

4. Evolution of Global Domain Division, and

5. Internet Governance.

These topics are covered more in-depth elsewhere in the digest.

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Global Domain Division Operations

The work of the Global Domain Division (GDD) of ICANN is important to companies who have

applied for new gTLDs, and also to those companies contemplating applying for one in a

future round. Companies contemplating evolving their online presence by registering new

names under gTLDs available to them also follow their work closely.

With over 300 new gTLDs delegated to the root of the Internet, the London meeting provided

a venue for applicants and new registries to discuss the evolution of the New gTLD Program

with ICANN staff, and to hear about best practices for running registries. For the first time

GDD had an information booth at the meeting locations as a single gathering spot to help

attendees connect with appropriate GDD team members and schedule appointments.

For a brief description of each session, read the blog post, “ICANN 50: London – Global

Domains Division (GDD) Sessions” by Akram Atallah, President of ICANN's Global Domains

Division.

Learn More: GDD and the New gTLD Program

GDD Webinars

ICANN hosts a variety of webinars on New gTLD Program topics. View the

recordings, listen to the audio and/or download the presentations and Q/A

documents. You can also find out when upcoming webinars will take place.

Announcements

Get the most current information on the New gTLD Program, including Contracting

statistics.

New gTLD Program Statistics

A snapshot of applications as they pass through Program phases. Updated weekly.

Topics of particular interest include: new gTLDs success stories, universal acceptance of all

TLDs, and name collision. Each of these topics is described below.

New gTLD Stories

While most sessions at ICANN meetings are concentrated on policy and operational matters,

the session on New gTLD Stories served the purpose of having a candid discussion with new

gTLD applicants about their vision around their TLDs, business plans, challenges, and the

future of the domain name industry in general.

Speakers included Dirk Krischenowski of dotBERLIN, Jordyn Buchanan from Google, and

David Green from KPMG.

For the private sector, some of the takeaways from the discussions are that new gTLDs

create the opportunity to increase visibility, deepen brand recognition and build trust

amongst consumers.

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TLD Universal Acceptance

From the start of the Internet through 2000 the number of TLDs was small and the format of

domain names was simple. All domains ended with one of a number of common endings like

.COM or a two-letter country code like .DE. Since 2001, new types of domains have been, and

are being, introduced:

ASCII TLDs of more than 3 letters long (think of .INFO); and

since 2010, TLDs comprised of non-Latin characters (such as ".рф").

Additionally, with the ICANN Board's approval of the new gTLD program in 2011 the door has

opened for more frequent additions of legitimate top-level domains.

Software developers concerned with speed, safety and user friendliness have made choices

that restrict new names being used through, for example, limiting the top-level domains a

user can specify via drop-down box or including a static list of what is considered to be a valid

top-level domain. Given these checks "burned into the code" and the less frequent updates,

new names face acceptance problems.

The cooperation of software vendors, open source tool developers, Internet services

providers, web site developers and others is required so that these new TLDs are available to

all that would use them. There are three concerns to address:

Removing the "false positive" in filters preventing the use of new TLDs,

The ability to render (see and write) all names in the native script,

Achieve the intended level of safety and convenience in a rapidly changing DNS.

To this end, on 18 June 2014 ICANN published a roadmap for the Universal Acceptance

Initiative, which is open for public comment until 8 August 2014.

Learn More: Universal Acceptance

TLD Universal Acceptance public session at ICANN 50

Public comment page for the Universal Acceptance of TLDs Draft Roadmap.

TLD Universal Acceptance Home

This community wiki page will be updated to reflect the history and progress on this

topic. To submit questions or contribute additional material that may be helpful in

further work on this, please send an email to tld-acceptance@icann.org.

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Name Collision

Companies and their network operators should be aware that their internal networks may be

affected by the delegation of new gTLDS, if networks have been configured in a way that

makes them susceptible to Name Collision. A name collision occurs when an attempt to

connect to a name extension used in a private name space (e.g., on an internal network, use

of a non-delegated Top-Level Domain or a short, unqualified name) results in a query to the

public DNS. When the administrative boundaries of private and public namespaces overlap,

searches for Internet addresses may generate unintended or harmful results.

In May 2013, ICANN commissioned a study to explore the scope and risk of name collision in

relation to new gTLDs. A series of proposals and public comment periods followed, resulting

in the New gTLD Collision Occurrence Management Plan, the selection of a lead for creating

a "Name Collision Occurrence Management Framework," in cooperation with the

community, and the publication of Alternate Path to Delegation Reports for all but 25 new

gTLD strings. The alternate path to delegation gives applicants the possibility to proceed

without waiting for their Name Collision Occurrence Assessment by adopting conservative

collision mitigation measures and initially blocking a selection of domains while the

assessment is conducted.

On 26 February 2014, ICANN published an independent report by JAS Advisors titled

“Mitigating the Risk of DNS Namespace Collisions.” The report offered a set of concrete

recommendations on how to mitigate potential risks of domain name collisions. The JAS

report was open for Public Comment until 21 April 2014.

On 10 June 2014, ICANN announced the publication of the final "Mitigating the Risk of DNS

Namespace Collisions Phase One" report, which incorporated public comments on the

original documents as well as recommendations from the Security and Stability Advisory

Committee (SSAC) SAC066 Report: SSAC Comment Concerning JAS Phase One Report on

Mitigating the Risk of DNS Namespace Collisions.

This final iteration of the report was discussed during a public session at ICANN 50 and will be

submitted to the New gTLD Program Committee (NGPC) of the ICANN Board for approval.

Learn More: Name Collision

Name Collision information and resources hub on the ICANN website.

Contact GDD-Communications@icann.org to receive the Name Collision Information kit.

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Security & Stability Matters The SSAC held their public session on June 26. Patrik Fältström, SSAC Chairman, discussed their latest report: SAC066: SSAC Comment Concerning JAS Phase One Report on Mitigating the Risk of DNS Namespace Collisions. He also discussed the work of the SSAC Work Party on the IANA functions stewardship transition.

SAC066

On 11 June 2014 the SSAC published a comment on the JAS Phase One Report "Mitigating

the risk of DNS Namespace Collisions: A Study on Namespace Collisions in the Global

Internet DNS Namespace and a Framework for Risk Mitigation." The SSAC comment

identifies eight issues and makes recommendations in relation to each of them. The following

recommendations fall into two categories: those related to operational considerations, and

those related to strategic considerations.

You can read a detailed report on the recommendations in the latest ICANN Policy Update.

DNSSEC

Companies can help enhance security of the Internet by deploying Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC), because these extensions are more effective when universally implemented. Registries, registrars, registrants, hosting companies, software developers, hardware vendors, government, businesses and agencies with an Internet presence, and Internet technologists and coalitions all have responsibility for the success of this massive effort.

By implementing DNSSEC, you can:

Help mitigate the risk of your customers becoming victims of cyber crime.

Help protect your brand and customers.

Mitigate risk.

Maintain customers’ trust and loyalty.

Attract and retain security-focused customers.

Protect your core business by enhancing trust in the Internet.

Build your reputation as an organization that is on the forefront of Internet security and cares about protecting customers.

Open the door to using the DNS for new types of secure data transactions1

The SSAC conducted its usual sessions on the DNSSEC:

DNSSEC for Everybody -- A Beginner's Guide DNSSEC Workshop

For a complete list of SSAC Reports and Advisories click here.

1 See more on the Verisign website: https://www.verisigninc.com/en_US/innovation/dnssec/dnssec-implementation/index.xhtml

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Domain Name Industry Developments

Brand Registry Group

The Brand Registry Group (BRG) held a public session on Sunday 22 June 2014. The session was designed to introduce the membership organisation to current ‘.brand’ applicants and those awaiting the second round of gTLDs. Members of the BRG, who must meet a set criteria (including ownership of trademark rights and the intent at time of application to run the applied for string as a ‘.brand’ and not sell open registrations at the second level), include Alibaba, Amazon, BBC, Deloitte, Gucci, LEGO Juris, Microsoft, Philips, Richemont, Shell, Virgin Enterprises and Yahoo!. The session was a venue to discuss issues such as Specification 13, which the BRG played a crucial role in defining and drafting, membership, and the nature of the Group’s relationship with ICANN.

Specification 13 is an amendment to the 2013 Reigstry Agreement that provides limited accommodations to registry operators of TLDs that qualify as “.Brand TLDs.” For example, a .Brand TLD would not face the same requirements as other registries related to their relationship with registrars. As many as one-third of all new gTLD applications might qualify as .Brand TLDs.

Learn More: BRG Specification 13

ICANN Updates Specification 13 Process and Application Form

Summary and Analysis of Specification 13 Public Comments

Update on Registry Agreement Specification 13

Read the blog posts by Cyrus Namazi, VP, Domain Name System (DNS) Industry

Engagement for ICANN.

Specification 13 FAQ

Domain Name Association

The Domain Name Association (DNA) is the first‐ever industry trade group to represent the

interests of the entire domain name industry and will promote, advance and support the

common interests of the industry with regards to the provisioning, expanded adoption and

use of domain names. The DNA membership is diverse in terms of geography and in terms of

business segments and expertise represented.

During the ICANN 50 meeting, Kurt Pritz, Executive Director of the DNA, and Adrian Kinderis,

Chairman of the DNA, together with various members of the association representing

different sectors, gave a presentation to the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) of

ICANN. The purpose of the session was to introduce the Association as a valuable source of

industry information, marketplace information, technical information, to inform policy

discussions. The main topics that were covered in the meeting were trademark protection

and the IANA stewardship transition.

You can follow the DNA on slideshare and twitter or visit the DNA website and the

accompanying educational website www.whatdomain.org.

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GAC Advice

The ICANN 50 GAC Communiqué was issued on 26 June 2014.

The GAC affirmed its commitment to engaging with the current processes dealing with

transition of US Government stewardship of IANA and strengthening ICANN accountability

by expressing the intention to nominate members for participation respectively in the

coordination group and working group.

Other main topics covered in the Communiqué include:

Specific new gTLDs applications, particularly controversial strings such as

.WINE/.VIN, .SPA, and .AFRICA.

Protection of IGOs/INGOs names, specifically for the Red Cross and Red Crescent

names.

Protection of geographic names in future new gTLD processes.

Communication of public interest-related issues of WHOIS.

Human rights and democratic values.

A detailed analysis of the GAC Communiqué can be found in the ICANN 50 Report by the

Council of European National Top Level Domain Registries (CENTR).

You can read the entire document here: London GAC Communiqué.

To view the content of all other GAC meetings click here.

Internet Governance Landscape

With the work of the Global Multistakeholder Meeting on the Future of the Internet

Governance (NETmundial) and of the High-Level Panel on Global Internet Cooperation and

Governance Mechanisms now over, the ICANN meeting served as an opportunity to reaffirm

the processes and principles affirmed through these efforts, which promote a distributed

Internet cooperation ecosystem.

An Internet Governance session was held to have a dialogue on preparations and priorities for

the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Istanbul, the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference (PP-14)

in Busan, and the WSIS Review Process and other relevant events.

One of the panelists in the session was Anne Bouverot, Executive Director of the GSM

Association (GSMA), the association of mobile operators and related companies devoted to

supporting the standardizing, deployment and promotion of the GSM mobile telephone

system. She noted how the future of the Internet and mobile are interconnected. She

encouraged and welcomed more collaboration between the two ecosystems. Ms. Bouverot

also expressed strong support towards the globalization of the IANA stewardship functions.

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Constituencies’ Corner As always, the GNSO Commercial Stakeholder Group (CSG) and its constituencies held active

discussions on an array of ICANN topics. The CSG represents the views of business users and

connectivity providers; its mission is to ensure ICANN policy and ICANN contracts are

consistent with the development of an Internet that is a safe place for business-to-business

and business-to-consumer transactions and communications to take place based on high

levels of business, user and consumer confidence.

In an almost unprecedented demonstration of multistakeholder consensus, during the ICANN

50 Public Forum all the GNSO groups and constituencies unanimously endorsed a joint

statement in support of the creation of an independent accountability mechanism "that

provides meaningful review and adequate redress for those harmed by ICANN action or

inaction in contravention of an agreed upon compact with the community." You can read the

full statement here.

Commercial and Business Users Constituency (BC)

The BC meeting featured an in depth discussion and review of the final Report of the EWG on

gTLD Directory Services with Susan Kawaguchi, member of the BC and the EWG. Sr. Director

of the ICANN Project Office Carole Cornell stopped by to discuss how her team is working to

deliver ICANN's strategic objective of organizational excellence and the method used to

document processes, develop success factors, set targets, and produce management

information dashboards. The final part of the session was centered on the topics of the IANA

functions stewardship transition and enhancing ICANN’s accountability. Open issues about

new gTLDs were also of utmost importance for the BC during the meeting’s week,

particularly name collision and sunrise periods.

To learn more about these issues relevant to all businesses with a presence on the Internet,

visit www.bizconst.org contact info-bc@icann.org.

Intellectual Property Constituency (IPC)

The IPC session included a number of briefings from ICANN staff on topics ranging from

contractual compliance, to implementation of the New gTLD Program, and preparations for

the upcoming GNSO review. The session concluded with discussions on improvements

needed for the next new gTLD round to better protect intellectual property, IPC outreach to

potential new members, pending matters before the GNSO council, and drafting of the joint

statement referenced above on ICANN independent accountability. The IPC also held a

members-only meeting in London and participated actively in all meetings of the CSG.

You can learn more about the IPC and its work by visiting www.ipconstituency.org.

Internet Service Provider & Connectivity Providers Constituency (ISPCP)

The ISPCP addressed a number of developments, including its ongoing concerns about name

collisions, universal acceptance of TLDs, and the implications of IDN Variant TLDs. The

session also included discussion on the transition of the stewardship of IANA functions,

ICANN accountability, and Internet governance.

Outreach activities were also part of the ISPCP meeting agenda, specifically plans to hold

events within major international gatherings such as the World Congress on Information

Technology 2014 (WCIT 2014) to be held in Guadalajara, Mexico at the end of September, as

well as Futurecom 2014 in São Paolo, Brazil in October.

To read more about ISPCP activities, visit www.ispcp.info or contact secretariat@ispcp.info.

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Additional Information

Commonwealth Domain Name System (DNS) Forum 2014

The Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) hosted the Commonwealth

DNS Forum 2014 in collaboration with ICANN, the UK domain name registry Nominet and

the Public Interest Registry, operators of the .ORG domain. The Forum was designed to help

the stakeholders from across the Commonwealth to examine issues such as the economic

potential of the domain name industry, issues surrounding local content generation and

utilization, opportunities for investment and innovation, and the role of multistakeholder

partnerships to develop public policy.

ATLAS II

The second At-Large Summit (ATLAS II) was held 21-26 June 2014 in London. The goal of

ATLAS II was to provide the opportunity for 153 At-Large Structure (ALS) representatives—

many of whom have never attended an ICANN meeting—to experience an ICANN public

meeting, to learn the issues, and to work together with other end users on topics that they

have chosen to address. The theme for ATLAS II was "Global Internet: The User Perspective"

and read the ATLAS II Final Declaration here.

You can learn more at atlas.icann.org.

High-Level Government Meeting

110 representatives of 75 governments as well as representatives from 11 intergovernmental

organizations participated in a High-Level Government Meeting hosted by the UK

government on Monday 23 June 2014. The event was meant as a way for high-level

government officials to have a space to discuss and fully understand ICANN-related issues.

You can watch a video of the highlights of the Meeting here.

EWG on gTLD Directory Services

Broadly speaking, WHOIS and registration services refer to information that is maintained

and made publicly available on people or organizations that register for domain names. In

December 2012, ICANN announced the creation of an EWG on next-generation gTLD

registration directory services, as a first step in fulfilling the ICANN Board’s directive to help

redefine the purpose and provision of gTLD registration data.

The Final Report of the EWG on gTLD Directory Services was published on 6 June 2014. In it,

the EWG proposes an unprecedented "paradigm shift" to a next generation Registration

Directory Service (RDS).

Learn More: EWG

Sessions:

Expert Working Group on gTLD Directory Services Final Report Overview

EWG Final Report Discussion Session

EWG Lead Facilitator Jean-Francois Baril talks about the Final Report on the Next

Generation Registration Directory Service.

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Stay Connected and Engage

Fellowship Application Round for ICANN 52 Marrakech

The ICANN Fellowship Program seeks participants from developing regions and countries of

the world, in order to help create a broader base of knowledgeable constituents who will

become the voice of experience in their regions. The program will start accepting applications

for the ICANN 52 meeting in Marrakech, Morocco on 8 August 2014, and we encourage

participation of people from the private sector: apply here. This application period will remain

open until 19 September 2014.

ICANN Online Learning Platform

ICANN Learn was launched during ICANN 48. This free and open online learning platform is

meant to provide a space to provide introductory information for new participants and to

share institutional knowledge, in order to increase the base of informed ICANN stakeholders.

ICANN Learn needs input and feedback to ensure the platform is as useful as possible.

Go to learn.icann.org, create an account, enroll in a few courses, and start learning.

Learn More:

Monthly update on ICANN Policy Developments.

ICANN Newsletters and alerts.

Follow us on social media:

Twitter: @ICANN4biz.

LinkedIn group: ICANN for Business.

SlideShare.

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Helpful Infographics (click to enlarge)

IANA Functions Trademark Protection

Domain Name Industry