<h2 style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 0px;">Notice of Intent to Issue Advisory Regarding the Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy</h2>
<p style="margin: 15px 0px 0px;">19 September 2007</p>
<p> ICANN has observed that there is confusion within the registrar
community concerning the circumstances under which registrars may
validly deny transfer requests pursuant to the Inter-Registrar Transfer
Policy ("Transfer Policy"). The purpose of this Notice of Intent to
Issue an Advisory regarding the Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy is to
allow interested parties 30 days to comment on the <a href="http://www.icann.org/announcements/proposed-advisory-19sep07.htm">proposed advisory</a>.
ICANN will consider all comments received at the close of the 30-day
comment period. Interested parties have until 19 October 2007 to submit
comments at <a href="mailto:retransfers-comments@icann.org">retransfers-comments@icann.org</a>. Posted comments can be viewed at <a href="http://forum.icann.org/lists/retransfers-comments/">http://forum.icann.org/lists/retransfers-comments/
</a>. </p>
<p> The purpose of the proposed advisory is to assist ICANN-accredited registrars in understanding that under the Transfer Policy: </p>
<ol><li> Registrars are prohibited from denying a domain name transfer
request based on non-payment of fees for pending or future registration
periods during the Auto-Renew Grace Period; and </li><li>A registrant change to Whois information is not a valid basis for denying a transfer request. </li></ol>
<p> Developed through ICANN's consensus policy process, the Transfer
Policy was approved unanimously by ICANN's Generic Names Supporting
Organization (GNSO) and its Board of Directors. After consultation with
several interested parties, the Transfer Policy was adopted in 2004.
The Transfer Policy provides domain name holders with a standardized
process for transferring their domain names from one ICANN-accredited
registrar to another upon request. All ICANN-accredited registrars and
unsponsored gTLD registry operators are required to comply with the
Transfer Policy pursuant to their agreements with ICANN.</p>
<p> With over 900 ICANN-accredited registrars operating in the
marketplace, offering a myriad of services, consumers have a diversity
of options for the provision of registration services, from full
service registration packages with web-hosting options, to bargain
registration packages providing minimal customer service. However, this
diversity of options cannot be fully appreciated by consumers if the
provisions of the Transfer Policy are interpreted and applied
inconsistently by registrars, thereby preventing consumers from freely
transferring their domain names when they choose to do so.</p>
<p> The Transfer Policy allows domain name holders to transfer their
domain names from one ICANN-accredited registrar to another, except
under nine limited circumstances. Registrar transfer denials that are
not based on the nine reasons enumerated in the Transfer Policy
discourage competition, create confusion, encourage abuse and violate
the Transfer policy. The purpose of the proposed advisory is to provide
clarity and promote consistent handling of transfer requests. </p>
<p>The Transfer Policy has proven to be a valuable resource for
consumers enabling them to exercise freedom of choice in the domain
name registration marketplace. For the benefit of consumers,
registrars, registries and other interested parties, ICANN issued
today's proposed advisory to clarify the limited circumstances under
which the Transfer Policy allows registrars to deny transfer requests.
Comments regarding the proposed advisory are encouraged. </p>
<p>ICANN is aware that the GNSO's Transfers Working Group is currently
studying several issues related to the Transfer Policy with the
intention of recommending language modifications to the GNSO Council.
However, the purpose of ICANN's proposed advisory is to clarify
existing policy.</p><p>*********************************************************</p><h2 style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 0px;">ICANN, TWNIC Host "Toward the New Era of Internet" in Taipei</h2>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: small;">Internationalized domain names, Internet security key topics
at three-day meeting</p>
<p style="margin: 15px 0px 0px;">20 September 2007</p>
<p> <strong>MARINA DEL REY, Calif.</strong>: The Internet
Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is joining forces with the
Taiwan Network Information Centre (TWNIC) to host a special regional
meeting -- "Toward the New Era of Internet" -- in Taipei 19-21 October
2007. </p>
<p> "ICANN, TWNIC, and the global Internet community are tackling some
of the most important issues impacting the Internet since its
creation," said Dr Paul Twomey, ICANN's President and CEO. "This
meeting is an opportunity for technical communities, Internet
businesses, and policy makers from the Asia-Pacific to come together
and share thoughts and ideas on how we can move forward together." </p>
<p> Some of the meeting highlights include: </p>
<ul><li> Internet security and the challenges it presents to governments, service providers, and end-users </li><li> The need for a migration to IPv6, with its 340 trillion trillion
trillion Internet Protocol addresses, because of the depletion of the
widely-used IPv4 space </li><li> One of the last official ICANN functions for Board Chair Vint
Cerf, whose term ends at the Los Angeles International Public Meeting
at the end of October. </li><li> ICANN's progress on implementing internationalized domain names
(IDNs), which have the goal of adding to the 37 characters presently
available for domain names to tens of thousands of characters from many
of the languages of the world. </li></ul>
<p> "IDNs are going to change the face of the Internet when they arrive
-- it will give people the chance to register domain names with their
names in their languages," Dr Twomey added. "ICANN is about to launch a
technical evaluation of the impact IDNs will have, and if all goes well
internationalized domain names could be available sometime in 2008." </p>
<p> Links to the agenda and registration for the Taipei meeting are online at: <a href="http://taipei2007.icann.org/">http://taipei2007.icann.org/</a>. </p>
<p align="left"><strong>About ICANN: </strong></p>
<p> ICANN is responsible for the global coordination of the Internet's
system of unique identifiers like domain names (like .org, .museum and
country codes like .uk) and the addresses used in a variety of Internet
protocols that help computers reach each other over the Internet.
Careful management of these resources is vital to the Internet's
operation, so ICANN's global stakeholders meet regularly to develop
policies that ensure the Internet's ongoing security and stability.
ICANN is an internationally organized, public benefit non-profit
company. For more information please visit: <a href="http://www.icann.org/">www.icann.org</a>. </p>
<p><strong>Media Contacts: </strong></p>
<p>Jason Keenan <br>
Media Adviser, ICANN (USA) <br>
Ph: +1 310 382 4004 <br>
E: <a href="mailto:jason.keenan@icann.org">jason.keenan@icann.org</a> </p>
<p>International: Andrew Robertson <br>
Edelman (London) <br>
Ph: +44 7921 588 770 <br>
E: <a href="mailto:andrew.robertson@edelman.com">andrew.robertson@edelman.com</a></p>