Author: Kristin Weinberger

KURT PRITZ: Good morning, everybody. Can we take seats? Thank you for giving some of your valuable time to come to this session on the progress made in the implementation of rights protection mechanisms. We hope it's informative. You'll have the ability to ask questions at the end. It will describe work that's occurred in preparation for the launch of the new gTLDs and the implementation of the rights protection mechanisms and the work that's going to occur. Specifically, we're going to discuss the implementation of the Trademark Clearinghouse, which includes a trademark validation service and also database administration service and provides Sunrise and IP claim services for new registries; the Uniform Rapid Suspension system, which is a rapid take-down process. And, finally, we're starting with esoteric acronyms that almost exceed the ICANN limit for letter number. But Post-Delegation Dispute Resolution Process, which is a remedy for those seeking a remedy directly against new registries rather than individual registrants that's operated under very careful standards.

Glen de Saint Géry: GNSO Secretariat, should I do the roll call?

Stéphane van Gelder: Yes, please.

Glen de Saint Géry: Jeff Neuman?

Jeff Neuman: Present.

Glen de Saint Géry: And you have the proxy vote for Ching Chiao who is absent.

Jeff Neuman: Yes.

Glen de Saint Géry: Jonathan Robinson?

Jonathan Robinson: Present.

Glen de Saint Géry: Mason Cole?

Mason Cole: Here.

Glen de Saint Géry: Yoav Keren?

Yoav Keren: Yes.

Glen de Saint Géry: Stephane Van Gelder?

Stephane Van Gelder: Yes.

Glen de Saint Géry: Thomas Rickert?

Thomas Rickert: Yes.

Glen de Saint Géry: John Berard?

John Berard: I am here.

Glen de Saint Géry: Zahid Jamil?

Zahid Jamil: Here.

Glen de Saint Géry: Brian Winterfeldt?

NANCY LUPIANO: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. We're about to begin our RAA and WHOIS validation workshop. Please welcome Volker Greimann and Kurt Pritz who will act as our moderators.

KURT PRITZ: Good afternoon, everyone. And thanks, Volker. This is really a bifurcated session. First, Volker from the constituency and I will provide an update as to the status of the RAA negotiations where we're seeking to amendment the RAA, the registrar accreditation agreement. The session is meant as a brief update. It will reflect the material in the status report that's provided, identify next steps. And then at the close of that we'll go into what we think is the most important and, frankly, very interesting part of this session where we have ‐‐ we ‐‐ the registrars and us and the committee ‐‐ have put together a panel, a very esteemed panel who is going to describe different WHOIS validation models for us. The effectiveness of them, the cost, the benefits.

So it's not so much a session to debate whether WHOIS validation or verification should be undertaken, but, rather, how. And this panel will present models to us. And I think it's going to be fabulous.