Hi all

This is the final domain news for 2003. Have a great
christmas and new year, for those celebrating. And thanks
for those who gave comments and sent news throughout the
year - it's most appreciated.

Take care and I look forward to providing the news in 2004.
The news will resume in the week commencing 5 January.

Cheers
David

ICANN approves six user community groups
In a first step toward giving individual users a voice in
how the Internet is run, the Internet Corporation for
Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has approved six
community user groups in three regions.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/03/12/17/HNicanngroups_1.html

ICANN - New sTLD Application
The following six sections comprise the text portion of the
sTLD Application Process. After reviewing these materials,
if you decide to apply for a new sTLD in accordance with
these instructions please write stld-password§icann.org and
provide your contact details including your name, business
affiliation, and detailed contact information (including
your email address). After receipt of this information you
will be assigned a username and password. Entering your
username and password will enable a web-based application
that contains links to text entry boxes, where you may
submit the relevant responses and save your entered
information pending final submission.

http://www.icann.org/tlds/new-stld-rfp/new-stld-application-parta-15dec03.htm

ICANN Releases Request for Proposal for Sponsored Top Level
Domain Names
ICANN is inviting applications from all parties wishing to
apply for new sTLDs. Interested parties can view the
Request for Proposal (RFP) on ICANN's website.

http://www.icann.org/announcements/announcement-15dec03.htm

ICANN Certifies "At-Large Structures" in Europe,
Asia-Pacific and Latin America: Involvement of Global
Individual User Community Increasing in ICANN
In an important step towards fulfilling the Internet
Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers' (ICANN's)
objective to have informed, structured participation of the
individual Internet user community ("At-Large"), six
organizations in three geographic regions have received
"At-Large Structure" certification.

http://alac.icann.org/announcements/announcement-16dec03.htm

Public Participation in ICANN: A Study and a Response
The Berkman Center maintains a long-standing interest in
Internet governance. One key question in the debate is,
"Who decides?" Since its founding in 1998, the Internet
Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has
experimented with novel forms of decision-making, which
involve to a greater or lesser extent the Internet user
community.  This experimentation by ICANN offers a rich
case study of Net governance.
 http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/home/icann_papers

ICANN to Fend Off ITU with Global Expansion
The Internet Corp for Assigned Names and Numbers is set to
quickly expand outside its native US into the four corners
of the globe, president Paul Twomey revealed during a UN
summit last week that looked at the issue of internet
governance. During his address at the World Summit on the
Information Society, an International Telecommunications
Union-organized event in Geneva, Twomey told the assembled
senior global government officials that ICANN welcomed
their input.

http://www.cbronline.com/currentnews/9b3469a0c49acabe80256dfe003b1947

Speech by Dr Paul Twomey, President and CEO, ICANN
Plenary of the World Summit for the Information Society

http://www.icann.org/correspondence/twomey-to-wsis-11dec03.htm

ICANN: RAA sections: WHOIS services, data collection,
display, accuracy
Registrar Accreditation Agreement sections dealing with
WHOIS services, including data collection, display and
accuracy.

http://gnso.icann.org/issues/whois-privacy/raa-whois-16dec03.shtmlUN
to look at WWW governance

GNSO Council Teleconference Agenda: 18 December 2003
 http://gnso.icann.org/meetings/agenda-gnso-18dec03.shtml

GNSO Council Meeting Minutes
 * 20 November 2003 Teleconference
 http://gnso.icann.org/meetings/minutes-gnso-20nov03.shtml
 * 2 December 2003 Teleconference
 http://gnso.icann.org/meetings/minutes-gnso-02dec03.shtml

Whois Task Force Meeting Minutes (16 December 2003)
 *  Task Force 1 held 2 December 2003

http://gnso.icann.org/meetings/minutes-dow1tf-02dec03.shtml
 * Task Force 2 held 1 December 2003

http://gnso.icann.org/meetings/minutes-dow2tf-01dec03.shtml
 * Task Force 2 held 8 December 2003

http://gnso.icann.org/meetings/minutes-dow2tf-08dec03.shtml
 * Task Force 3 held 1 December 2003

http://gnso.icann.org/meetings/minutes-dow3tf-01dec03.shtml
 * Task Force 3 held 10 December 2003

http://gnso.icann.org/meetings/minutes-dow3tf-10dec03.shtml

UN to look at WWW governance
The unruly Internet escaped new controls at a UN summit in
Geneva last week, but 175 countries pledged to look again
at who should govern the web when they reconvene in Tunis
in two years time.
 http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1009970.htm

Internet escapes shackles, question of new rules set for
2005
The unruly internet escaped new controls at a UN summit in
Geneva last week, but 175 countries pledged to look again
at who should govern the web when they reconvene in Tunis
in two years' time.

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/12/15/1071336854512.html

The End of the Experiment
An abstract from John Palfrey's recent paper that takes a
critical look at ICANN's attempt in cultivating global
Internet democracy.
 http://www.circleid.com/article/398_0_1_0_C

WSIS Leaving More Questions Than Answers
Two things are important to stress. First, nothing was
decided in this meeting, and no actions will be taken until
the next meeting in 2005. Secondly, and more importantly,
as with anything the devil is in the details. Given the
vagueness of the documents available, there are few
reliable conclusions that can be drawn from the
summit...Before any judgments can be made about the
effectiveness, or feasibility of the ideas outlined in the
Plan of Action more concrete information is needed. The
details of these plans are currently unknown to the
Internet community at large, and may even be unknown to the
members of the WSIS. Based on the information that is
available it appears the Plan of Action needs to be thought
through a little more thoroughly.
 http://www.circleid.com/article/397_0_1_0_C

A Psychoanalysis of Corporate Domain Names and Branding -
Part I
A corporate name of any merged entity, at best, is really
an outcry from the deep bottom of a corporation, all in
search of attention and in pursuit of fame and glory.
Whether you read a corporate brand name in a column, see it
in a phone book, hear it on a radio, TV or come across it
on the web, the name is always, a real show-off with a
desperate mission to seek all the attention it can get.
 http://www.circleid.com/article/399_0_1_0_C

Spat Over Control of URLs Points To Need for Change in
Internet Governance
The way some people tell it, the Internet was broken for
three weeks in late September and early October. Did you
notice? Usually, when a user types in a URL with a domain
name that does not exist – whether due to a spelling
mistake, an expired site registration, or a wrong guess –
the DNS server returns an error message: “Sorry, this
domain name does not exist.”
 http://www.localtechwire.com/article.cfm?u=6386

China is big but not advanced in cyberspace
As of the end of November 2003, the number of Internet
users topped 78 million in China, increasing of 32 per cent
from the beginning of year; the number of computers
connected to the Internet exceeded 30 million sets,
increasing 44 per cent; the number of domestic websites
exceeded 500,000, posting an increase of 35 per cent.
Meanwhile, the number of current network addresses in use
hit 40 million, rising 25 per cent; the number of top-level
domain names registered in China reached 286,000,
increasing 59.3 per cent.
...
With regard to the number of hosts with top-level domain
names worldwide, hosts with the domain name of.CN number
only a little more than 200,000, which is only 0.1 per cent
of the world's total, ranking the 35th place.
 http://en.ce.cn/insights/t20031217_254002.shtml

Resident registry network vulnerable to hacker attacks
Hackers can break into Japan's online resident registry
network and change personal data on the registry, Nagano
Gov Yasuo Tanaka said Tuesday.
 http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=4&id=282353

Dutch web host aided porno typosquatter
Dutch web hosting company PGW Internet Solutions aided
cyber scammer John Zuccarini in directing children looking
for Disneyland, Harry Potter or Bob the Builder to explicit
porn sites instead. The Register discovered that thousands
of Zuccarini’s websites - including adaptac.com,
gorgewbush.com and Bobthebiulder.com - were hosted from the
Netherlands by PGW and its adult hosting company
XXXextreme.nl.
 http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/34534.html

Wigs, bandanas & sex for the holidays?
Wigs, bandanas, Santa suits, adult entertainment, religious
ministries.... you name it and the Internet's got it for
you just in time for Christmas. With online retail sales
looking red hot this holiday, it's not surprising that
anyone who has anything to sell is scrambling to get a
parking spot on the Web. You can buy this Raquel Welch
"Tress" wig for $99.25 on wigs.net. Monte Cahn, CEO of
Internet domain registrar Moniker.com, said the frenetic
pace of domain registrations in the past 60 days alone is
unlike anything the company has seen since it was founded
back in 1996.

http://money.cnn.com/2003/12/15/news/companies/holiday_newdomain

.us - Law firm sues man for 'squatting' on Web site name
A Minneapolis law firm representing several companies that
allege their names were used by a South St. Paul man to
divert traffic to his abortion-opposition Web site has
filed its own suit against the man.
 http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/4270198.html

USA Triathlon wins domain name lawsuit
The National Arbitration Forum granted ownership of the
Internet domain name ‘usatriathlon.com' to USA Triathlon
following a lawsuit against Hong Kong-based Proto Web Co.
In the Nov. 17 decision a panel of three arbitrators ruled
that the Proto Web Co. must cease operating a Web site
located at www.usatriathlon.com and ordered the domain name
be transferred from Proto Web to USA Triathlon.
 http://www.insidetri.com/news/fea/1959.0.html

.us - Law firm sues St. Paul man over alleged
"cybersquatting" by anti-abortion activist
A South St. Paul man, who's already been in court several
times over allegations he illegally used trademarked
Internet domain names to divert traffic to his
anti-abortion Web site, faces a new lawsuit.

http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/7502058.htm
 http://www.kaaltv.com/article/view/39816/

Report: Dutch Web Host Aided Typo-squatter
US law enforcement officials revealed this week that John
Zuccarini, who pleaded guilty to registering thousands of
misleading domain names in order to redirect children to
adult sites, was aided by Dutch Web hosting company PGW
Internet Solutions (pgw.nl), according to a report
published Tuesday by the Register.
 http://thewhir.com/marketwatch/dut121703.cfm

Challenges of Intellectual Property Protection And IT
Matrix Solicitors points out that in Nigeria, laws relating
to intellectual property rights are particularly relevant
in determining how the economy will meet the challenges of
the technologically dependent global economy created by the
Internet.
 http://allafrica.com/stories/200312160183.html

Domain name industry bounces back
"The market for domain resales is up 23 percent versus
2000, and new domain registration and transfers are
reaching an all-time high. Additionally, a record number of
domains are being activated - creating new online
businesses." says Monte Cahn, chief executive officer for
Moniker.com, "In late 1999 we sold the domain autos.com for
$2.3 million and believe the market is ripe for new sales
at this or greater levels. We are currently listing several
domains, including Shanghai.com, that are worth hundreds of
thousands of dollars based on the interest they're
generating."

http://www.multireg.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=260

Lindows.com Ordered to Change Name
Judges in Finland and Sweden have given Microsoft what it
has twice been denied in the U.S.: preliminary injunctions
barring Linux vendor Lindows.com from using the Lindows
name.
 http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,113860,00.asp

http://www.silicon.com/management/government/0,39024677,39117334,00.htm

`D' is for disputes that shape our lives
Court cases affected spam, copyright, music and much more
in 2003.
...
G is for Governance of the Internet, which took centre
stage in Montreal in June as Canada played host to its
first Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
meeting. The body is responsible for administering the
domain name system. Later in the year, ICANN's position was
thrown in doubt as governments around the world agreed at
the World Summit on the Information Society to create a
working group to examine the future of Internet governance.

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1071443408466&call_pageid=968350072197&col=969048863851

What's.in.a.cyber.name
They are among our most personal and frequently used
possessions. Names identify us to the world, starting from
our birth certificates and stretching to our obituaries.
Some discontented people adopt their middle names or
re-christen themselves legally. Others pick up nicknames
that take on a sort of common-law status, knocking the
actual given name into obscurity.
 http://www.columbian.com/12172003/life/100478.html

RegisterFly Offers New.net Domains
Web hosting and domain registrar RegisterFly.com
(registerfly.com) announced on Wednesday that it is
offering domain name registrations for New.net (new.net)
domain extensions. Pasadena, California-based New.net is
the registry for descriptive domain extensions such as
.sport, .club, and .family.
 http://thewhir.com/marketwatch/reg121703.cfm
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Sources include Quicklinks (www.qlinks.net) and BNA
Internet Law News (www.bna.com/ilaw)".

=====
David Goldstein
 address: 2/4 Dundas Street
             COOGEE NSW 2034
             AUSTRALIA
 email: Goldstein_David§yahoo.com.au
 phone: +61 418 228 605 - mobile; +61 2 9665 0015 - home

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