The Business Digest describes highlights of the accomplishments of the ICANN public meetings that are relevant to the business world.

1. ICANN 48
Buenos Aires
Business Digest

2. Why a Business Digest?
This Digest is designed to serve as a non-exhaustive review of highlights of the ICANN Public
Meeting relevant to a wide 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.
Executive Summary
ICANN held its 48th public meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina. With around 2,000 registered
participants, the event was a great success for the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region.
ICANN’s last public meeting in Durban, South Africa saw the official signing of the first Registry
Agreements (RA) for new gTLDs. Since then, more than 250 contracts have been signed and
the first new gTLDs were delegated on 23 October 2013.
Much of the discussion during ICANN 48 however was focused on the broader topic of
Internet governance. Given the recent spotlight on the topic, sparked by the NSA scandal and
subsequent debate at the United Nations General Assembly, the community was eager to
discuss the consequences of the Montevideo Statement on the Future of Internet
Cooperation, and the scope and rationale for other initiatives, panels, and meetings –
specifically the 1net movement, the High-Level Panel on Global Internet Cooperation and
Governance Mechanisms, and the Global Multistakeholder Meeting on the Future of the
Internet Governance to be held on 23 and 24 April 2014, in São Paulo, Brazil.
In order to keep interested businesses continuously informed about the latest developments
and debates revolving around Internet governance and the business world role in it, the
Global Stakeholder Engagement (GSE) team business digest is accompanied by two online
spaces meant to inform and exchange ideas on a daily basis with the business world: the
Twitter feed @ICANN4biz and the LinkedIn group ICANN for Business. Feel free to join,
participate and engage, and provide feedback.
Here are some key takeaways:

Through the framework of the Latin America and Caribbean engagement strategy,
regional stakeholders played a key role in the organization of this ICANN meeting. For
the first time the main meeting agenda included a series of activities and sessions that
were created and designed by organizations from the region, for the region.

The business engagement team worked closely with the LAC regional engagement
team to organize several events targeted at the vibrant local business community and
domain name sector.

The new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) program has now moved to the
delegations phase, with many new gTLDs starting their sunrise period. Name Collision
issues and the last resort auctions are now the main points of discussion around the
topic.

Discussions on Internet governance dominated much of the discussion resulting in the
organization of a session to prepare the ICANN community to the Multistakeholder
meeting in Brazil.

3. Acronyms Guide
For more help with Acronyms in this report, please see the ICANN Acronym Helper.
ATRT 2 – Second Accountability & Transparency Review Team
BCUC – Business and Commercial Users Constituency
ccTLD – Country code Top Level Domain name
CSG – Commercial Stakeholder Group
DNA – Domain Name Industry Association
DNS – Domain Name System
DNSSEC – Domain Name System Security Extensions
GAC – Governmental Advisory Committee
GNSO- Generic Names Supporting Organizations
gTLD – Generic Top-Level Domain name
IDN – Internationalized Domain Name
IPC – Intellectual Property Constituency
ISPCP – Internet Service Providers and Connectivity Providers Constituency
KISA – Korea Internet and Security Agency
LAC – Latin America and Caribbean
RA – Registry Agreement
RPM – Rights Protection Mechanisms
SSAC – Security and Stability Advisory Committee
TMCH – Trademark Clearinghouse

4. Local Beginnings: Spotlight on Argentina and the Region
The Network Information Center (NIC) Argentina was the local host for ICANN 48.
NIC Argentina is an office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Argentina that has been
responsible for operating the .AR country code top-level domain (ccTLD) since 1987.
Dr. Juan Manuel Abal-Medina, Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers of Argentina and Dr. Gustavo
Justich, Director of NIC Argentina both attended the ICANN 48 opening ceremony and
delivered remarks welcoming ICANN and the community to Buenos Aires.
Here are some statistics about the Internet in Argentina and the Latin America and Caribbean
region:

Argentina went from 3.7 million Internet users in 2001 to 31 million users in 2013,
making Argentina the number one country in the region in terms of Internet
penetration, with 75% of the population online. With a total population of 581 million
and 236 million Internet users, the LAC region has an Internet penetration of 40%.

In 2003, employment in the ICT sector in Argentina amounted to 19,000 positions,
today the sector employs more than 77,000 people. The ICT sector grew from $830
million in 2003 to $3.6 billion in 2013, a 500% increase.

There are 9 million ccTLD domain names registered in the region. .AR has 2,6 million
registered names and it is second only to Brazil (.BR) which has 3 million active
domains. In 2012 the annual growth of ccTLD domains in the region was 14,2%,
slightly above the world average of 14%.

24 new gTLDs applications came from five different countries in Latin America. Brazil
leads with 10 applications followed by Uruguay, Mexico, Panama, and Colombia.
As previously mentioned, for the first time at an ICANN meeting, a part of the meeting agenda
was dedicated specifically to the hosting region. The business engagement team worked
closely with the regional engagement team and regional stakeholders to conduct strategic
outreach and preparation for the meeting. You can download the Participant Guide for Latin
America and the Caribbean from the Buenos Aires meeting website to see the relevant
sessions, including the ones devoted to business participants.
The business engagement team also organized a pre-ICANN 48 webinar in Spanish for
business newcomers from the LAC region.
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5. Welcome Ceremony and President’s Opening Session Roundup
The ICANN 48 opening session also served as an occasion to highlight the crucial role the LAC
region has played in the growth of ICANN throughout the years. ICANN President and CEO
Fadi Chehade pointed out that, in August of 1998, Buenos Aires was the location of the final
meeting of the International Forum on the White Paper (IFWP) that lead to the creation of
ICANN.
To commemorate Argentina’s historic role on the 15th anniversary of the organization, Fadi
showed presented a video on Internet pioneers in Latin America and the Caribbean.
ICANN Board Chairman Dr. Steve Crocker discussed recent achievements in the new gTLD
program and in the ICANN community. Dr. Crocker also covered some of the latest
developments in the Internet governance discussion, specifically the aforementioned
Montevideo Statement and the forthcoming Brazil meeting.
Other highlights from the opening ceremony:

ICANN Board Member Sébastien Bachollet announced plans to create a
Multistakeholder Ethos Award to honor community members starting at ICANN 49 in
Singapore.

Lesley Cowley, the CEO at the .UK registry Nominet, was presented with the first
ICANN Leadership Award.

Fadi announced the signing of a
Memorandum of Understanding
with the Korea Internet and
Security Agency (KISA) to work on
engagement efforts such as an
exchange program and a pilot
project to promote language
localization efforts in the region.
In his opening, Fadi took the chance to reflect on the first 15 years of ICANN and his first year
as CEO of the organization, discussing the progress on the four objectives and sixteen goals he
laid out in Toronto during ICANN 45, at the beginning of his term: Affirmation of purpose,
Operational Excellence, Internationalization, and Multistakeholder evolution.
At the end of the session he announced the creation of two new email addresses going
directly to his mailbox:

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Learnyear1@icann.org will be used to collect feedback on his first year as President
and CEO and what could be improved.
Doyear2@icann.org is for suggestions on how to move forward in his second year.
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6. Domain Name Industry Developments
Latin America and Caribbean DNS Forum
The 1st Latin American & Caribbean DNS Forum was held right before the start of the ICANN
Buenos Aires meeting and was hosted by ICANN, Internet Society, the Latin American and
Caribbean Association of ccTLDs (LACTLD), the Latin America and Caribbean Network
Information Centre (LACNIC), the Not-for-Profit Operational Concerns Constituency (NPOC)
and the Public Interest Registry (PIR).
The event explored the opportunities and challenges for the LAC region brought on by
changes in the Internet landscape. From an industry perspective the Forum addressed several
important issues, among others:



Divides in digital access and participation from the region.
The need to propose sustainable business models for the region and to address
opportunities and challenges created by the new gTLDs.
How to foster cooperation in dealing with cyber-security threats and to promote an
open and global Internet.
The Domain Name Association
During the meeting, the recently formed Domain Name Association held an information
session and cocktail reception at the Alvear ART Hotel in Buenos Aires on Wednesday, 20
November.
The 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 info
session gave an overview of the type of memberships available in the organization: executive,
strategic and supporting membership.
Major companies like Demand Media, Donuts, GoDaddy, Google, and Amazon are listed as
members of the DNA.
The DNA is a fully independent organization, not supported or promoted by ICANN itself. That
said, having established itself as a locus for information and leadership among domain name
companies, the DNA constitutes a helpful addition to the domain name marketplace.
Interested companies 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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7. New gTLDs
Progress on the New gTLD Program is steady. The major milestone of the delegation of the
first new gTLDs was reached on 23 October 2013, when the first four new gTLDs whose
contracts were signed on the stage of the opening session of ICANN 47 in Durban were
delegated: ‫.( ش ب كة‬SHABAKA or .WEB in Arabic), онлайн (.ONLINE in Russian), сайт (.SITE in
Russian), and 游戏 (.GAMES) in Chinese. More than 100 new gTLD strings were delegated by
the end of January 2014.
Trademark protection mechanisms, the new gTLDs last resort auctions, and the issue of name
collision (see security and stability section below) dominated much of the discussion around
new gTLDs at ICANN 48.
Trademarks Protection
New gTLD Program Rights Protection Mechanisms (RPM) include both proactive and reactive
measures for defending Trademarks. This helpful infographic addresses uses of the Trademark
Clearinghouse, Uniform Rapid Suspension System, and Trademark Post-Delegation Dispute
Resolution Procedure. These are among the most innovative and important mechanisms
developed as part of the new gTLD program, and apply to all companies with a Trademark to
protect their web presence.
Auctions
Section 4.3 of the New gTLD Applicant Guidebook describes auctions as the last resort method
to resolve string contention sets. Preliminary Auction Rules were published on 1 Nov 2013 and
were later revised to include community feedback. An updated version of the Auction Rules
was published on 12 December 2013. This version was posted for public comment on the
ICANN website on December 17.
The documents published for public comment are:

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

Auction Rules.
Bidder Forms.
Bidder Agreement.
Draft Auction Schedule.
The first auction notifications will be issued in mid February.
For all up to date information on the New gTLD Program you can download the presentations
and audio recordings of all past webinars, and look up date for upcoming webinars here.
For the latest announcements and contracting statistics go to:
newgtlds.icann.org/en/announcements-and-media/latest.
For New gTLD Program statistics, click here.
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8. Security & Stability Matters
In addition to its private meetings, the Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC)
provided public briefings to the ALAC, GAC, and GNSO, including the Registry, Registrar, and
Commercial Stakeholder Groups, and to the public at its session on 21 November. During
these meetings the SSAC provided updates on its activities, including on the SSAC Comment
on ICANN’s Initial Report from the Expert Working Group on gTLD Directory Services (SAC
061), the SSAC Advisory on Concerning the Mitigation of Name Collision Risk (SAC 062) and
the SSAC Advisory on DNSSEC Key Rollover in the Root Zone (SAC 063).
Name Collision
Companies should be aware that the names they use for internal networks may be affected by
the delegation of new gTLDS. A name collision occurs when an attempt to resolve a name
used in a private name space (e.g. on an internal network under a non-delegated Top-Level
Domain, or a short, unqualified name) results in a query to the public Domain Name System.
When the administrative boundaries of private and public namespaces overlap, name
resolution may yield 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 strings. The
alternate path to delegation gives applicants the possibility to proceed without waiting for
their Name Collision Occurrence Assessment by adopting a conservative collision mitigation
measures and initially blocking a selection of domains while the assessment is conducted.
Resources and additional material on name collision can be found at:
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Name Collision informational center.
Name Collision Update video.
Guide to Name Collision Identification and Mitigation for IT Professionals.
Name Collision Occurrence Management Framework mailing list.
DNSSEC
The SSAC conducted its usual sessions on the Domain Name System Security Extensions
(DNSSEC):
 DNSSEC for Everybody -- A Beginner's Guide.
 DNSSEC Workshop.
For a complete list of SSAC Reports and Advisories click here.
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9. GAC Advice:
Issued on 17 November 2013, the ICANN 48 Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) Advice
further builds on the communiqués released at ICANN meetings in Beijing and Durban.
The GAC asked the board not to move beyond initial evaluation on the strings .GUANZHOU
(IDN in Chinese), .SHENZEN (IDN in Chinese) and .SPA. Moreover, they asked for the string
.DOCTOR to be re-categorized as falling within Category 1 safeguard advice addressing highly
regulated sectors, as defined in the Beijing GAC Communiqué.
The Communiqué further mentions the GAC’s continued commitment to the protection of
Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs) acronyms, and to provide further advice on how
existing protections should apply to the words “Red Cross”, “Red Crescent” and related
designations at the top and second level.
Safeguards for the .WINE/.WIN strings proved once again to be problematic, as the protection
of geographical indications involves careful negotiation and is also relevant to such
organizations as the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the World Trade
Organization (WTO).
You can read the entire document here: Buenos Aires GAC Communiqué.
View Applicant Responses to Buenos Aires GAC Advice.
To view the content of all other GAC meetings click here.
Internet Governance Landscape
A number of session were held to discuss the Montevideo Statement on the Future of Internet
Cooperation, the /1net movement, the High-Level Panel on Global Internet Cooperation and
Mechanisms, and the Global Multistakeholder Meeting on the Future of the Internet
Governance:
 SO/AC Led High-Interest Topics – The session theme was "Evolution of Internet
Governance – Montevideo Statement and ICANN's Post-Bali/Pre-Brazil Activities –
Methods and Objectives," the objective was to ensure broader collaboration among
the various Supporting Organization and Advisory Committees within ICANN, in the
context of Internet governance developments.
 Internet Governance – A diverse panel representing the broader community discussed
the evolution of the global multistakeholder Internet Governance Ecosystem and the
ICANN Community’s role in it.
 ICANN Community Preparation for the Multistakeholder Meeting in Brazil – Given the
increasing interest during the week over the upcoming events, a special session on the
Global Multistakeholder Meeting on the Future of the Internet Governance in Brazil
was lead by Fadi Chehade, to give the community a better idea of what its role will be
in preparation for the meeting. The Brazil meeting will take place in São Paulo on 23
and 24 April 2014. More information is available at www.netmundial.org.
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10. 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.
Business and Commercial Users Constituency (BCUC)
The BCUC meeting addressed a number of policy issues such as WHOIS privacy, proxy
accreditation, and namespace collision mitigation, as well as the BCUC position on the
recommendations from the Accountability and Transparency Review Team 2 (ATRT 2) and its
input for ICANN’s five-year strategic plan.
Internet governance issues were not absent from the discussion as the constituency meeting
addressed the Montevideo Statement and the Brazil meeting, assessing the business world’s
role in the event and how to conduct outreach and raise awareness about the
multistakeholder meeting.
Intellectual Property Constituency (IPC)
The IPC covered several topics regarding intellectual property rights protection and
compliance as required by the new gTLD program, with briefings from various ICANN staff
members on contractual compliance, rights protection mechanisms requirements and the
TMCH.
The constituency representatives were also briefed on the Community Regional Outreach
Pilot Program (CROPP), a program to support outreach and recruitment of new members, as
they look for ways to make the membership base more global and regionally diverse.
Internet Service Provider & Connectivity Providers Constituency (ISPCP)
The ISPCP addressed a number of ICANN developments, including the implications of ICANN's
role in the broader conversation about Internet governance.
The ISPCP also made significant contributions on the issue of name collision and discussed the
policy development process with regard to reserving International governmental and nongovernmental organizations names.
Outreach activities were also part of the ISPCP meeting agenda, specifically a program on
gTLD awareness to prepare ISPs for technical impacts of the expansion of the gTLD
namespace.
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11. Additional Resources and Useful Information
Accountability and Transparency Review Team 2 (ATRT2)
A unique feature of ICANN is that it has regularly mandated external review mechanisms to
address its accountability and transparency. The ATRT2 started its activities before ICANN 46
in Beijing. Questions for the ICANN community were posted for public comment at the end of
the Meeting. As a result of the public comment period and the consequent reply period, the
Team compiled a series of issues for recommendations. During Durban 47, the ATRT2 met
with the ICANN Board and various Committees, Supporting Organizations, and Stakeholder
groups to further receive community inputs on these issues.
The ATRT2 delivered its final Report and Recommendations on 31 December 2013.
WHOIS
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 Expert Working Group (EWG) on nextgeneration 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 Initial
Report describes the design principles and features needed for a replacement system to
WHOIS, after considering the important Community work over the last decade, including from
the GNSO, the SSAC, WHOIS Review Team, and the GAC.
The EWG’s primary goal at ICANN 48 was to clarify its initial recommendations and share new
proposals on key issues, creating a foundation for continued dialogue about a possible
replacement for WHOIS. To this end, the EWG presented an overview of its recommendations
in the session Exploring Replacements for WHOIS – A Next Generation Directory Service.
Public session materials are posted here:
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Status Update Report on Next Generation gTLD Registration Directory Services.
Discussion Document for EWG Buenos Aires Public Session.
Presentation: Exploring Replacements for WHOIS - A Next Generation RDS.
Watch video on the EWG Status Report Update and visit whois.icann.org.
ICANN 50 London Fellowship Application Round Open
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 new voice of experience in their regions and beyond. The program is now
accepting applications for the ICANN 50 meeting in London, United Kingdom and encourage
the participation of people from the business sector: apply here.
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12. 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.
For a monthly update on ICANN Policy status click here.
To signup for ICANN Newsletters and alerts, register here.
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