The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) board has approved the 2013 registry agreement (RA), allowing trademark holders to protect their rights.
A trademark clearing house will now be set up that will serve as a one stop shop to protect trademark holders and provide a rapid and efficient way of taking down infringing domain names.
The approval will further provide a procedure where trademark rights holders can assert claims directly against a registry operator of domain name where he has played a role in the abuse.
Operators will also be required to have a single point of contact responsible for handling complaints.
“New gTLDs are now on the home stretch. This new Registry Agreement means we’ve cleared one of the last hurdles for those gTLD applicants who are approved and eagerly nearing that point where their names will go online,” said Chris Disspain, a member of ICANN’s new gTLD program committee.
Akram Atallah, president of the ICANN’s generic domains division, said the approval is to ensure greater security protections and stability of the domain name system.
This will mean more stringent rules for operators as they will be required to implement Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) which will reduce so-called “man-in-the-middle” attacks and spoofed DNS records.
There will be an enhanced WHOIS service at the registry level with a common interface, and more rapid search capabilities, facilitating efficient resolution of malicious activities.
“We’re getting to the point now where new gTLD applicants can see the finish line,” said Atallah.
“Much like the 2013 Registrar Accreditation Agreement approved by the Board last week, this new Registry Agreement is the culmination of input from a wide range of stakeholders and marks a dramatic improvement over the previous baseline agreement. This isn’t just a gradual step forward.”
