RE: [wg-c] Commission Working paper on the creation of .EU

["Penman, Ian" <Ian.Penman@dla-law.co.uk>]

It is clear that there is a very strong demand for .eu both from EU
nationals and from non-EU companies and individuals that wish to create a
virtual European presence.  As such, ICANN should allocate it to the
European Union as soon as possible.  It would seem from the comments of Mr
Liikanen that the EU Commission is willing (and ideally placed) to "oversee"
it.

That said, many vital questions will need to be answered before it is
activated, many of which are identical to the questions that we need to ask
in respect of the creation of any new gTLD.  Not least of which is the
question of whether .eu domains should be registered on a "first come first
served" basis (as per the .com), or somehow restricted to "EU" territorials
(whether companies or individuals).  Personally I prefer the former,
provided that a set of rules as to who is entitled to register the .eu
domain are in place first (as well as an excellent dispute procedure).

It seems to me that as the EU is not a country (ISO has not allocated "EU"
as yet) - and presuming that the .eu domain is to be available globally -
then it may fall to WG-C to take responsibility for determining its future.


-----Original Message-----
From: Keith Gymer [mailto:keith.gymer@btinternet.com]
Sent: 03 February 2000 10:05
To: wg-c@dnso.org
Subject: [wg-c] Commission Working paper on the creation of .EU


The European Commission Working paper on the creation of the .EU Internet
top level domain, dated 2nd February, 2000 is available at:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/dg13/index.htm

It is open for public comment for 6 weeks - ie apparently until 15 March
2000

The paper specifically seeks answers to six key questions:

Question 1: Please comment on the above outline of the delegation of the .EU
TLD to a Registration organisation: the Registry. Are there alternative
models for
the Registry organisation that should be considered?

Question 2: What should be the main criteria for the .EU Registry's
registration policies?
How should the registration policy be developed and implemented? By the
Registry organisation, by a distinct consultative body or by the European
Commission
itself?

Question 3: Would it be appropriate to apply the WIPO disputes and trademark
policies as reflected in their May 1999 Report to the .EU Domain, or are
there alternative solutions to these issues within the European Union?
Might there be a specific role for the Office for the Harmonisation of the
Internal Market in Alicante in this context?

Question 4: To what extent might a more constraining instrument in the
European Union or in WIPO reinforce protection of names and marks in the
DNS, in
addition to alternative dispute resolution? In that case which categories of
names
should be protected and how should they be determined?

Question 5: Do potential business users, including small and medium sized
enterprises have any suggestions as to how the .EU domain might be managed
in order to
optimise its contribution to the development of electronic commerce in
Europe?

Question 6: Are there any other considerations that should be taken into
account about the relationships between the proposed .EU Registry and the
national
ccTLD Registries in the Member States?


Keith Gymer
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