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What Every Non-profit Organization Should Know About Its Use of the Internet and Never Dared to Ask

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What Every Non-profit Organization

Should Know About Its Use of the

Internet and Never Dared to Ask

January 14, 2015 – Washington, D.C.

Speakers:

Klaus Stoll, GKPF

Theresa Swinehart, ICANN Brian Winterfeldt, Esq., Katten

Moderator:

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Making it work and pay for you!.

Pitfalls and Opportunities for Not-for-profit and

Non-governmental Organizations, NGOs, in the

new Internet Domain Space.

Klaus Stoll Managing Director

Global Knowledge Partnership Foundation

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Not-for-profit and Non-governmental Organizations are

taking full advantage of the opportunities the Internet

offers them

.

Most of them have their own www site. They use the Internet extensively for information dissemination and exchange, fundraising, organization and so on.

(4)
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Only a minority of NGOs have an operational WWW

site with their own domain.

Only 40% of the NGOs investigated actually had an

operational www site with their own domain name.

(6)

Many NGOs are not aware how the Domain Name System,

DNS, works and have lost their originally registered domain

name outright.

30% of the NGOs investigated had "lost" their originally registered domain name outright because as organization they where not aware about the need to renew a domain, give

and maintain up to date contact and billing information and/or missed the deadlines of renewal.

(7)

There is a general move by NGOs to

abandon their own WWW presence to

a social media site such as Facebook

.

65 % of the NGO's investigated had moved

their WWW presence to a social media site

such as Facebook

.
(8)

Many large organizations mainly in developing

countries undoubtedly make effective use of the

opportunities the Internet offers them, but the vast

majority of the NGO's have huge and very basic

problems to do just that!

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What needs to be done to ensure that

NGO's make the best possible use of

the opportunities cyberspace offers to

them?

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Awareness and Capacity

Building in any form can

only be real and successful

if the message is relevant

to those who are targeted.

The core message to explain the relevance of the domain

name system to NGOs is not to explain main and numbers

but how they affect and can be used for achieving NGO

goals. The DNS is no longer just about names and

numbers, its about names, numbers and

people

.

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Community Based Domains as a

strategy for NGO Impact and

Sustainability

As the Internet has to engage with

its users, NGO's have to engage and

meet up with their public in ways

that go far beyond information

exchange and fund raising

.

Domains offer the opportunity to establish online communities in cyberspace

around ideas, concepts, territories, affiliations, needs and abilities.

The Internet users gather in specific and familiar and increasingly personalized

cyber zones, whose boundaries are delineated by domains.

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http://www.ekutirsb.com/

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So what are the basic conditions to make this happen for NGOs?

1) Awareness building throughout the global Civil Society about the very basics functions of the Internet DNS

2) Capacity building to register and maintain Civil Society organizations WWW sites 3) Increase the relevance and engagement of civil Society organizations in IG.

Ultimately the goal needs to be to bring a broad cross section of Civil Society organizations as active members in Internet Governance

4) Increase domain name registration and renewal of domain names by Civil Society organizations including the registration and use of gTLDs by Civil Society

Organizations.

5) Enable cross sectorial cooperation, participation and representation based on win/win situations

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Its important is to find practical ways to achieve these

goals. Pathfinder is one of these ways:

a) Surveys

b) Webinars

c) Regional Organizations

d) Awareness and Capacity Building

e) Resource Center

f) Pathway into NGO Engagement with Internet Governance

mechanisms like ICANN

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Online Trademark Abuse and

Legitimate Use Cases for

Profits and

Non-Governmental Organizations

Brian J. Winterfeldt

Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP

+1.212.940.6762

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Trademark Law Basics

 Trademark: Any word, phrase, symbol, or design that identifies and

distinguishes the source of goods or services of one party from those of others.

 Non-profit entities and non-governmental organizations can own

trademarks in connection with their public interest and charitable services.

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20

Online Trademark Use

 Many non-profit entities and NGOs acquire domain names corresponding to their trademarks.

• Examples: UnitedWay.org; RedCross.org

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21

Online Trademark Abuse

 The domain name space provides opportunities for trademark infringement and fraud.

 Example: unauthorized third party registers “americanredcross.info” and uses website to purportedly solicit donations.

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22

Legitimate Use

 Some cases that may at first appear to be abuse may be legitimate use:

• Use of name in connection with “gripe” site or discussion forum – e.g., antiredcross.org for a website criticizing relief aid practices

- Protected by free speech rights / non-commercial use

• Use of name in connection with dissimilar goods/services – e.g., Ceres.com for a Danish beer versus Ceres.org for a US-based sustainability non-profit

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Acronyms

 Many NGOs and non-profits use acronyms as a primary identifier.

 Acronyms are more difficult to protect in the Domain Name System (DNS), because only one registrant per name per Top Level Domain (TLD) and numerous legitimate uses.

 Example:

• BRAC is the commonly used name for the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee

- Website is located at BRAC.NET

• BRAC is also the common acronym for Breath Alcohol Content, Base Realignment and Closure Commission, Brotherhood of Railway and Airline Clerks, etc.

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24

Free Speech in the DNS

EU Trademark Reform Example

 New Regulation Art. 9 / Directive Art. 10 – Rights Conferred by a Community Trade Mark

• The following inter alia may be prohibited:

- Affixing the sign to the goods or to the packaging thereof

- Offering the goods, putting them on the market or stocking them

for these purposes under that sign, or offering or supplying services thereunder

- Importing or exporting the goods under that sign

- Using the sign on business papers and in advertising

- Using the sign as a trade or company name [...], or as a domain

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25

Free Speech in the DNS (cont.)

 The proposed highlighted reform submission could:

• embolden spurious complaints against non-commercial or other legitimate uses and encourage overreaching by mark owners;

• have a chilling effect on free expression by registrants in the EU; and

• ultimately result in an aggregate negative impact on domain name registration and renewal rates among registrants in the EU.

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Free Speech in the DNS (cont.)

Elevation of non-commercial domain names to commercial use analogous to trade names

 Example:

• SASA: Trademark for cosmetic and beauty products

• SASA: Acronym for Society for the Advancement of Science in Africa, South African Sugar Association, Scottish Agricultural Science Agency, Solvent Accessible Surface Area (scientific term)

- SASA also has meaning as a word in various languages, including

Swahili and Samoan

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Free Speech in the DNS (cont.)

Unintended consequences of “as a part thereof” language

 Example:

• ING: Trademark for banking and financial services

• ING: Acronym for International Netherlands Group (trademark); also the suffix to all English language gerunds

• Domain names: BankING.info (trademark); Banking.info (generic); BRACFundraising.org (NGO domain containing “ing”)

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Implications for NGOs and Non-Profits

 As the examples illustrate, regulations like the proposed EU amendment could have serious unintended chilling effects on free speech and internet commerce.

 These effects could be felt by NGOs and non-profits who have legitimate rights to use names and acronyms in the DNS that may correspond to others’ TMs.

 Negotiations involving the proposed reform are ongoing, and there is still time for advocacy:

• Advocate opposition through domain name organizations (e.g., DNA, ICA, Internet user associations, and ICANN constituencies like NCSG)

• ICANN GAC representatives

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Thank You!

Brian J. Winterfeldt

Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP

+ 1.212.940.6762

brian.winterfeldt@kattenlaw.com

www.KattenLaw.com

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T

heres

a

Swinehart, ICANN

Senio

r

A

d

vi

sor to the P

r

esident o

n

Strategy

Theresa.Swinehart@ICANN.org

THE IANA TRANSITION

IANA = Internet Assigned Numbers Authority

WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR NONPROFIT

ORGANIZATIONS?

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Nonprofit Operational Concerns Constituency (NPOC) www.npoc.org Noncommercial Stakeholders Group (NCSG)

https://community.icann.org/display/gnsononcomstake/How+to+Join

Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) www.icann.org

QUESTIONS????

Thank You!

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Nonprofit Operational Concerns Constituency (NPOC) www.npoc.org Noncommercial Stakeholders Group (NCSG)

https://community.icann.org/display/gnsononcomstake/How+to+Join

Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) www.icann.org

QUESTIONS????

http://www.ekutirsb.com/ www.npoc.org

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