IP: Australian Government view of US Green Paper

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

Note that this is a government position being adopted here by the Minister
for Communications.




Communications, Information Economy and Arts Minister, Senator Richard Alston




Proposed US changes to Internet Domain Name Regime






The Minister for Communications, the Information Economy and the Arts,
Senator Richard Alston, today said the Australian Government was concerned
with aspects of an American proposal to change the way Internet Domain
Names are registered and administered worldwide.


'The US Government proposal would, among other changes, see oversight of
the central Internet governance issues transferred to a US-based
corporation subject to US law, and a new system which would effectively
ensure US jurisdiction over trademark issues and dispute resolution
processes,' Senator Alston said.


'The proposed US model appears not to recognise the desirability of
developing an international approach to Internet-related issues, and as
such is contrary to the Australian Government's belief that Australia
deserves a major voice in determining how international domain name
arrangements are structured.


'Not only are Australian businesses increasingly significant users of
worldwide domain name services, also known as generic Top Level Domains,
but we also have a number of Australian companies seeking to become
involved in providing services in this area.


'The US proposals also appear to ignore existing international efforts to
reform the Internet domain name registration system, such as the option put
forward by the Internet Ad Hoc Committee of concerned Internet experts from
a number of countries which has culminated in a Memorandum of Understanding
which can be signed by firms, organisations and governments who wish to
participate in the Ad Hoc Committee's reform process. This MOU now has 212
signatories.'


Senator Alston said he had directed the National Office for the Information
Economy (NOIE) to, as a matter of urgency, develop a formal Australian
response to the US proposal after consultations with the Australian
Internet industry, the business sector, and other key stake holders.




The US Government released its proposals on February 20, with a deadline
for public comment of March 23.


'This timetable is, in Australia's view, unrealistic. We will aim, however,
to have our submission ready for presentation within several weeks of the
American-imposed deadline,' Senator Alston said.


'We need to ensure that the views of Australian stake holders, and the
Australian Government, are fully considered in decisions to reform the
international system.'


Generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) describe web sites such as
(www.yahoo.com) where the name of the web site does not have a country
specific suffix (such as .au) at the end to indicate the country location
of the web site and its owner. In the past, gTLDs have been used
predominantly by US firms, but increasingly they are being used by
Australian and other non-US firms either to emphasise the global nature of
their operations, or simply as a preferred alternative to equivalent
country-based domains.


NOIE Chief Executive Officer, Dr Paul Twomey, said efficient, effective
operation of the domain name system was critical for Australian businesses
as they go online.


'We need to ensure that there are real opportunities for Australia to
participate fully in the information economy. At a basic user level this
includes Australian businesses which wish to project a global image having
easy and equitable access to their preferred domain name. In addition it
also covers Australian businesses who want to be participants in the
management of generic Top Level Domains,' Dr Twomey said.


Dr Twomey said Australia's submission would fully take into account all
international policy developments.


'We also need to take into account how these international reforms will
impact on our own reforms of the Australian domain system. The Australian
Government has been strongly promoting self-governance in national domain
name management,' Dr Twomey said.


Media Contact: Terry O'Connor, Minister's office 02 6277 7480 or 0419 636 879
Websites: www.richardalston.dca.gov.au


www.noie.gov.au
____________________________________________________________________




28/98
10 March 1998



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