International Symposium on New Generic Top Level Domains
and the challenges of a post-dot age

The proposed launch of new generic top-level domains in 2010 is likely to cause an unprecedented shake-up to the domain name system and the Internet. It presents a significant challenge and considerable burden on rights' owners who will need to reconsider their online strategies carefully. The issue of trade mark protection has come to the fore and it has become clear that careful management of the launch is critical to avoid these new TLDs offering the opportunity of a fertile field for cybersquatting, phishing and other illegal behaviour.

What is the ICANN process that has led to this? How should brand owners react to this potential explosion in new generic top-level domains? What changes in strategy are necessary to protect brands and customers? What rights protection mechanisms will be in place? Should brand owners be considering making an application to run a TLD? What type of TLD and for whom?

This conference will provide an overview of the current new gTLD process, the risks to brand owners as well as the opportunities, together with first hand experience and observations from those who are involved in the new gTLD process or have provided significant input.

We have a distinguished group of speakers from ICANN, WIPO, the new gTLD Implementation Recommendation Team (IRT), brand owners and existing domain name registries. ICANN themselves are of course leading the new gTLD process itself. WIPO has been contributing significantly to trade mark-DNS policy input over many years. The IRT comprised of a group of 18 members, each of them an expert in the field of trade marks and the domain name system. The IRT was created by ICANN specifically to develop and propose solutions to the overarching issue of trade mark protection.

With major brand owners on the panels, who are carefully considering the options and will share this with the audience and a final session comprised of experts who currently run TLD registries from France, Germany, the UK and the US, the day should be as diverse as it is informative.

With a topic that potentially touches everyone who uses the Internet, some 1.6 billion people today, I hope that you will find this a rewarding day.

Yours sincerly

Rechtsanwalt Ulf Berghaus
Conference Manager Intellectual Property
FORUM Institut für Management GmbH
Vangerowstr. 18 | 69115 Heidelberg | Germany
Tel. +49 (0)6221. 500-630 | Fax +49 (0)6221.500-666