First meeting of the auDA Name Policy Advisory Panel

Posted by Jo Lim on 4 July 2000

Plans to review the policies which govern the allocation of Internet domain names received a boost when the auDA Name Policy Advisory Panel held its first meeting, on 27th June in Melbourne.

"The Panel is starting with basic issues and principles," said the Panel Chair, Derek Whitehead. "We are aiming to set out the basic characteristics of a good domain names policy as a starting point."

The Panel was recently established by the auDA Board, with the specific goal of reviewing domain name eligibility and name allocation policies - in other words, who (or what) can have a domain name, and what name they can have.

It consists of 30 members, to ensure that it is broadly representative of consumers, general domain name users, existing registrars, business and industry, intellectual property interests and government. The chair is Derek Whitehead, from Swinburne University of Technology.

The Panel spent a large part of its first meeting working on a list of issues which are raised by the present domain system in Australia. They include such issues as

  • The degree of consistency we want in the system
  • The need to minimise conflicts between trademarks and domain names
  • Protection of well-known Australian names
  • Relationship of a name to the entity applying for it

The Panel will produce an initial discussion paper in August.

auDA encourages anyone with an interest in domain name policy to contribute by making a submission by email to Jo Lim at jo.lim@auda.org.au. The Panel will make its papers and documents widely available via the auDA web site at www.auda.org.au - all submissions will be made public unless they are clearly marked confidential.

The Panel hopes to complete its work and make recommendations to the auDA Board early in 2001.

For further information contact
Derek Whitehead
Chair, auDA Name Policy Advisory Panel
03 9214 8333 or 0412 996 025
Email dwhitehead@swin.edu.au

4 July, 2000

Background

auDA is a non-profit company, and was formed in April 1999 by the Australian Internet community to introduce self-regulation of the .au namespace (Internet domains that end in .au).

auDA has also issued a call for participants in its Competition Model Advisory Panel, established to investigate and recommend an appropriate model for the introduction of competition in the registration of .au domain names.