Domains.COM and.ORG should belong to Runet
The program to create new top-level domains from the very beginning was accompanied by contradictions and conflicts of interest. This is a completely normal situation, since domains are a limited resource and you have to fight for it. However, some contradictions are reaching the interstate level and affecting global issues of Internet governance.
Cyrillic domains .COM and.ORG can create an important precedent that affects the national interests of Russia on the Internet. Is the statement too loud? Let's see.
Trademark and not only
')
Since June 2012, ICANN International has made well-founded objections to individual requests for new top-level domains. The grounds for such objections can be divided into three main groups: 1) the domain name is misleading; 2) the application violates exclusive rights; 3) the application conflicts with the public interest.
On March 13, 2013, Webnames.ru submitted official objections to applications for Cyrillic domains. COM and. ORG. The violation of the exclusive rights to the respective trademarks registered with Webnames.ru acted as the formal basis. However, the situation involves much deeper interests than the protection of the rights of the Russian right holder. In principle, we are talking about the primacy of the application of Russian law in Russia.
The fact is that the registration of Cyrillic domains. KOM and.ORG began in Russia in 2001, long before ICANN delegated the first non-Latin domain zones, among which was the domain. RF. The initiator of creating domains in Russian was Webnames.ru, which used i-DNS.net technology. By the way, it is this technology of string representation in Punycode that later formed the basis of all the standards that ensure the operation of modern multilingual domains (IDN). At the dawn of the emergence of Cyrillic domains, users had to install on their computer a free plug-in program that sent requests through an alternative root server system.
The first few months of registration with .COM and.ORG showed great interest in Cyrillic domains, and over the course of several years, thousands of users received domain names in these zones.
It is important to note that Webnames.ru was de facto at the forefront of Russian-language domains in Russia. Relying on the development of the Cyrillic Internet, the company for 12 years clearly adhered to the chosen course.
And who claims to be domains.COM and.ORG? Opponents of Webnames.ru in this dispute are Western companies - VeriSign Sarl and Public Interest Registry. One of the applicants is a new company, recently registered in Switzerland; the second applicant is the existing registry of the Latin version of the disputed domain .ORG. Both companies have nothing to do with the Russian segment of the Internet.
Cyrillic domains and national interest
I think everyone will agree that Russian users will become the main “buyers” of domain names in the zones. And also, perhaps, Ukrainians, Belarusians and other “Cyrillic brothers”. It is clear that in Russia domain names in the Russian language acquire special value.
The terms of the New gTLD program, which will bring hundreds of new top-level domains to the world, do not include such a thing as national interest. Thus, Russian-language domains may be under the control of any foreign companies that are guided solely by commercial interests.
A question that logically follows from the objection filed: in whose interests should the domains be written with the symbols of national languages ​​(IDN)? Why Cyrillic domains, which will obviously be popular in RuNet, can not work in the interests of Russia?
National interests are also affected by the procedure for the consideration of objections. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is authorized to consider objections. At the same time, its arbitrators will not be guided by the international practice of settling trademark disputes, but by the rules adopted by ICANN. All participants who applied for new top-level domains had to agree in advance with such a review procedure. For example, the evaluation criteria established by ICANN suggest that the claimant must confirm the use of the trademark in order to exercise its right to legal objection. Russian legislation does not contain such a requirement.
Another interesting detail is that ICANN reserves the right to refuse to register a domain-brand, even if the trademark is completely legitimate and meets all the standards adopted in Russia. It turns out that the fate of domains sovereignty of Russia on the Internet is connected with the fate of domains .COM and.ORG. Judge for yourself: the laws of the state of California that governs ICANN can be put above the laws of the Russian Federation and any other state.
Threat to Russia's Internet sovereignty?
The objection about applications for domains .COM and.ORG, filed by Webnames.ru, raises a number of serious issues at the state level. Among them - the boundaries of national sovereignty on the Internet. For the Russian state, it is a chance to demonstrate interest in managing the national domain space.
The upcoming dispute over applications for the domain .COM and.ORG is able to create a precedent for the rule of rules adopted by ICANN over Russian law, and a priori, even before the Russian court has the opportunity to make its own decision on this matter.
Obviously, this situation goes beyond the trademark dispute. The national interests of ICANN are represented by a Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC), and Russia is actively participating in its work. To designate one's own position with regard to domains.COM and.ORG is quite a logical step against the background of a noticeable desire of major powers for independence in matters of Internet governance, at least within the national segment of the Network. This trend was clearly observed during the conference of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), which caused a stir in the end of last year.
This is a public interest in the domain space management, therefore Webnames.ru company has sent an official letter to the Ministry of Communications and to the Plenipotentiary of Russia to the GAC. The New gTLD program marks a revolutionary stage in the development of domain space, and it is very important that this revolution turns for the Cyrillic Internet and Russian users with new opportunities, not new losses.
Cyrillic domains .COM and.ORG can create an important precedent that affects the national interests of Russia on the Internet. Is the statement too loud? Let's see.
Trademark and not only
')
Since June 2012, ICANN International has made well-founded objections to individual requests for new top-level domains. The grounds for such objections can be divided into three main groups: 1) the domain name is misleading; 2) the application violates exclusive rights; 3) the application conflicts with the public interest.
On March 13, 2013, Webnames.ru submitted official objections to applications for Cyrillic domains. COM and. ORG. The violation of the exclusive rights to the respective trademarks registered with Webnames.ru acted as the formal basis. However, the situation involves much deeper interests than the protection of the rights of the Russian right holder. In principle, we are talking about the primacy of the application of Russian law in Russia.
The fact is that the registration of Cyrillic domains. KOM and.ORG began in Russia in 2001, long before ICANN delegated the first non-Latin domain zones, among which was the domain. RF. The initiator of creating domains in Russian was Webnames.ru, which used i-DNS.net technology. By the way, it is this technology of string representation in Punycode that later formed the basis of all the standards that ensure the operation of modern multilingual domains (IDN). At the dawn of the emergence of Cyrillic domains, users had to install on their computer a free plug-in program that sent requests through an alternative root server system.
The first few months of registration with .COM and.ORG showed great interest in Cyrillic domains, and over the course of several years, thousands of users received domain names in these zones.
It is important to note that Webnames.ru was de facto at the forefront of Russian-language domains in Russia. Relying on the development of the Cyrillic Internet, the company for 12 years clearly adhered to the chosen course.
And who claims to be domains.COM and.ORG? Opponents of Webnames.ru in this dispute are Western companies - VeriSign Sarl and Public Interest Registry. One of the applicants is a new company, recently registered in Switzerland; the second applicant is the existing registry of the Latin version of the disputed domain .ORG. Both companies have nothing to do with the Russian segment of the Internet.
Cyrillic domains and national interest
I think everyone will agree that Russian users will become the main “buyers” of domain names in the zones. And also, perhaps, Ukrainians, Belarusians and other “Cyrillic brothers”. It is clear that in Russia domain names in the Russian language acquire special value.
The terms of the New gTLD program, which will bring hundreds of new top-level domains to the world, do not include such a thing as national interest. Thus, Russian-language domains may be under the control of any foreign companies that are guided solely by commercial interests.
A question that logically follows from the objection filed: in whose interests should the domains be written with the symbols of national languages ​​(IDN)? Why Cyrillic domains, which will obviously be popular in RuNet, can not work in the interests of Russia?
National interests are also affected by the procedure for the consideration of objections. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is authorized to consider objections. At the same time, its arbitrators will not be guided by the international practice of settling trademark disputes, but by the rules adopted by ICANN. All participants who applied for new top-level domains had to agree in advance with such a review procedure. For example, the evaluation criteria established by ICANN suggest that the claimant must confirm the use of the trademark in order to exercise its right to legal objection. Russian legislation does not contain such a requirement.
Another interesting detail is that ICANN reserves the right to refuse to register a domain-brand, even if the trademark is completely legitimate and meets all the standards adopted in Russia. It turns out that the fate of domains sovereignty of Russia on the Internet is connected with the fate of domains .COM and.ORG. Judge for yourself: the laws of the state of California that governs ICANN can be put above the laws of the Russian Federation and any other state.
Threat to Russia's Internet sovereignty?
The objection about applications for domains .COM and.ORG, filed by Webnames.ru, raises a number of serious issues at the state level. Among them - the boundaries of national sovereignty on the Internet. For the Russian state, it is a chance to demonstrate interest in managing the national domain space.
The upcoming dispute over applications for the domain .COM and.ORG is able to create a precedent for the rule of rules adopted by ICANN over Russian law, and a priori, even before the Russian court has the opportunity to make its own decision on this matter.
Obviously, this situation goes beyond the trademark dispute. The national interests of ICANN are represented by a Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC), and Russia is actively participating in its work. To designate one's own position with regard to domains.COM and.ORG is quite a logical step against the background of a noticeable desire of major powers for independence in matters of Internet governance, at least within the national segment of the Network. This trend was clearly observed during the conference of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), which caused a stir in the end of last year.
This is a public interest in the domain space management, therefore Webnames.ru company has sent an official letter to the Ministry of Communications and to the Plenipotentiary of Russia to the GAC. The New gTLD program marks a revolutionary stage in the development of domain space, and it is very important that this revolution turns for the Cyrillic Internet and Russian users with new opportunities, not new losses.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/174253/
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