More news out of the ICANN meeting in Mexico City today.

ICANN has started a “Working Group on Registration Abuse Policies (WGRAP).

The Working Group mission is to define domain name registration abuse, as distinct from abuse arising solely from use of a domain name, while it is registered. The Working Group is also charged with identifying which aspects of registration abuse are within ICANN’s mission to address, including:

Understanding if registration abuses are occurring, might be curtailed or better addressed if consistent registration abuse policies were established;
Determine if and how registration abuse is dealt with in those registries and registrars that do not have any specific policies in place;

Identify how these registration abuse provisions are implemented in practice or deemed effective in addressing registration abuse.
ICANN mandated that Additional research should be conducted to include the practices of relevant entities other than the contracted parties, such as abusers, registrants, law enforcement, service providers, and so on.

Based on the additional research and information, the Working Group should identify and recommend specific policy issues and processes for further consideration and report to the GNSO within 90 days.

The ICA has elected to become a member of this Working Group.

As professional registrants, domain name investors and developers have a vested interest in assuring that ICANN policies do not permit abuse of the domain registration process, while also assuring that legitimate business practices are not mischaracterized as abuses.
ICA Counsel Philip Corwin attended a WGRAP organizational breakfast in Mexico City this morning.

According to reports, some in the discussion felt that Bad faith registration per the UDRP would be an appropriate topic,  but ICA believes that any consideration of the UDRP and changes to it should be addressed on its own in a manner that fairly balances the views and interests of complainants and registrants.

Other participants suggested that it should review VeriSign’s registry contracts, which do not contain provisions that are common in other registry contracts requiring it to address abuses, and this led to a suggestion that registry-registrar agreements might also be reviewed.

There was also after-breakfast speculation that some participants in WGRAP may seek to characterize general, non-infringing domain parking as an “abuse”.

The ICA will certainly speak out and work against any attempt to take the group in a direction that is biased against the direct search industry that has been developed by the domainer community.

A Workshop on Registration Abuses Policies will be held in Mexico City tomorrow afternoon March 3 and ICA will be in attendance seeking to learn more about what registration practices are perceived by others as abusive.

In a related development, ICANN’s Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC) has just released a report on Registrar Abuse policies that recommends that each registrar prominently list a dedicated abuse contact e-mail and phone number that will facilitate the rapid takedown of domains used in phishing and similar scams, and that registrars should provide complainants with continuing, updated information regarding what actions have been taken in response to their complaints.