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WIPO Corrals Countries' Domains
by William New
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has constructed a database of 243 country-code top-level domains (ccTLDs), the two-letter Internet-address suffixes for each country, such as .jp for Japan.
The ccTLDs are a disparate group, some not even locatable, but the existence of a database on their status is a breakthrough. The database contains links to the Web sites of the ccTLDs, allowing potential users of the domains to determine whether certain intellectual property protections are in place.
The protections include the domain-name registration agreement for obtaining names under the two-letter codes, the existence of a "Whois" service for contacting registrants, and the adoption of alternative dispute resolution procedures for domain disputes, WIPO said. In June, WIPO published a voluntary best-practices guide for ccTLDs in these three areas.
The ccTLDs have gained notoriety recently because of the struggle of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to sign potential registrars of the domains to contracts. Doing so would constitute a final, unfulfilled step for ICANN to assume management of the domain-name system from the Commerce Department.
WIPO also maintains a trademark database to enable would-be registrants to check whether a particular domain name would infringe on a trademark or service mark.
Global Phone Numbers Are On The Way
The International Telecommunication Union last week allocated the country code 878 and the associated number 10 to a nonprofit organization that plans to offer each of its members a unique "universal personal telecommunications number" (UPTN).
For example, a UPT service caller dialing from Austria will dial: 00 (the prefix for international calls), 878 (the UPTN) and then the 12-digit "global subscriber number" starting with 10.
The UPTN will allow individuals to use one telephone number anywhere in the world. Currently, they must register a separate number in each country, and service providers can only provide service nationally. The nonprofit Visionng Association hopes to create the communications backbone.
WIPO, ITU Tackle Multilingual Domain Names
More than 200 members of the Internet community, lawyers, policymakers and government officials met earlier this month in Geneva at an ITU/WIPO conference to address the difficulty inherent in making the Internet fully multilingual.
It is predicted that by 2003, two-thirds of all Internet users will be non-English speakers, but those whose language is not based on Roman characters face a barrier because the Internet was based on English, which uses the Roman alphabet. Native speakers of Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Thai are among those potential users who could be affected.
In a statement, Francis Gurry, assistant director general of WIPO, noted one concern in making the Internet multilingual: As the domain-name system expands, new opportunities for cyber squatters emerge. Other key concerns raised at the symposium were the protection of intellectual property and the need for effective resolution to domain disputes.
The Dec. 6-7 conference did not result in formal actions, but officials called it a step in bringing wider understanding about the multilingual issue.
Protecting The Traditional Ways Online
A participant in a Dec. 10-14 WIPO meeting in Geneva on intellectual property and traditional knowledge said this week that controversy arose over how to handle traditional, or indigenous, knowledge including a culture's folklore, both online and offline. The participant said that countries asked WIPO to compile a traditional-knowledge database but that concerns arose over what would happen to such information once in the public domain.
The debate involves the rights to more than information on "basket weaving," the participant said. Large corporations join in the debate because they want access to genetic resources, such as agriculture, for various reasons.
Questions arose about why the subject came up in the forum because WIPO passed a convention on patent laws a couple of years ago. Besides, the participant argued, most residents of developing countries do not have access to the Internet and could not benefit from the database.
A Little E-Commerce Advice For Russia
European Enterprise and Information Society Commissioner Erkki Liikanen, in a speech video-linked to a Moscow conference on Tuesday, praised Russia for moving forward on e-commerce legislation but cited key departures from the European Union's e-commerce laws.
The Russian draft law, which is now in its second reading in the Duma, would not take a technologically neutral approach to authentication based on e-signatures. Rather, it would use an approach aimed at heightening security that has a more limited applicability. That could limit the life of its validity, Liikanen said.
Another difference is that while the EU directive on e-commerce covers all information society services, the draft Russian law would be limited to the conclusion of contracts, he said. Furthermore, it would cover only people involved in a transaction, while the EU law also protects any person using any "information society" service.
Liikanen also emphasized security on the Internet, noting that in a year, spamming has tripled and virus attacks have more than doubled. And on telecommunications, he urged Russia to follow the EU regulatory framework and independent regulatory structure.
A proposal known as the Northern eDimension Action Plan, which would fund expansion of EU e-commerce activities to Russia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, is working its way toward passage by EU member states, Liikanen said.
European Visa Site Launched
Fifteen western European countries that have free cross-border movement have launched a U.S.-based Web site offering travelers information on obtaining visas to the region. Visitors need only one visa for all 15 countries, where there are no internal border controls, and air, road and train travel are handled as domestic travel.
The 15 countries in what is known as the Schengen area, named after a 1995 treaty signed in Schengen, Luxembourg, are: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.
In other European news, the European Committee for Standardization will publish electronic standards on the Internet starting in January. The move is part of the eEurope Standards Action Plan, under which the European Telecommunications Standards Institute also posted its standards online. Liikanen said the standards plan will help more European companies go online and promote European standards.
Australia Promotes B2B E-Commerce Innovation
The Australian government on Monday announced the awarding of nearly $1 million in funds for innovative solutions in business-to-business e-commerce. The $927,000 will be designated as the culmination of a sixth round of the Commonwealth Government's Information Technology Online (ITOL) Program.
Eight projects were chosen. They involve financial-reporting standards, a building-sector supply chain, an environmental industries directory, a database on beef and lamb breeding, and an online system designed to increase travel agents' efficiency.
The ITOL program has been extended to 2006, with an additional $13 million for the five-year period.
Separately, Australia's Internet domain-name regulator, the .au Domain Administration (auDA), on Tuesday launched the auction process for 3,006 domains, such as shopping.com.au, that previously were unavailable to Australian consumers because of their classification as "generic." The online auction house Stuff.com.au is handling the process.
American Chamber In Japan Names Chief
The American Chamber of Commerce in Japan has announced that Donald Kanak has been elected president of the organization for 2002. Kanak is president and CEO of American International Group in Japan and Korea. John Barber, managing director at AOL Japan, also will be on the 2002 executive committee.
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