>From mheltzer@inta.org Fri Sep  4 08:19:43 1998
From: mheltzer@inta.org
Date: Fri, 04 Sep 98 11:16:45 -0500
To: <list@ifwp.org>, <comments@iana.org>
Subject: Support
MIME-Version: 1.0


INTERNATIONAL TRADEMARK ASSOCIATION
1133 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036
_______________________________________________________________

September 4, 1998

Joe Sims, Esq.
Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue
Metropolitan Square
1450 G Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C.  20005-2088

Re: INTA Support of IANA Process

Dear Mr. Sims:

    The International Trademark Association (INTA) is a not-for-profit
membership organization of over 3,500 members which is open to
businesses owning trademarks and those who serve such businesses.  All
of INTA's members, regardless of their size or international scope,
share a common interest in trademarks and a recognition of the
importance of brand identity to the businesses that own trademarks, to
the general public, to a competitive economy and to the global
marketplace.  It is in this capacity, as a representative of the
business sector, that INTA has taken a leadership role in protecting
trademarks on the Internet.

    INTA takes this opportunity to offer its support to you, Dr. Jon
Postel, and IANA, for your continued efforts in developing a new
not-for-profit corporation (NewCo.) to administer the domain name
assignment system (DNS).  We consider your activities in the creation
of by-laws for NewCo. to be the most fruitful and well-considered of
all the initiatives presented to the Internet community thus far.
INTA stands with you in the formation of an entity which is
representative of all the stakeholders who have made an investment
towards the enhancement of the World Wide Web.

    While INTA supports the overall efforts by IANA in the development
of NewCo.,we cannot however, endorse, as such, the third draft of the
proposed by-laws which was made available to the public on August 24,
1998.  This draft does indeed go further than previous
iterations. However, it falls short in select areas which must be
addressed before NewCo. can begin operations.

    The selection of Interim Board members, more specifically, the
manner in which they will be chosen, remains a critical concern for
INTA.  We strongly urge you to consider individuals who embody
significant experience in business operations, display an
understanding of the important role that the Internet plays in the
continued development of the global economy, and possess a strong
background in protecting the interests of consumers.

    The same holds true for the nine At-Large Directors who will serve
as members of the permanent Board.  There must be consideration of the
substantial investment made by business with respect to the growth of
the Internet.  As we noted to you in our August 17, 1998 letter, the
U.S. Department of Commerce predicts that electronic commerce will
surpass U.S.$300 billion by the year 2002.  Given this staggering
figure, there must be an assurance that there will be At-Large members
who have an understanding of what has gone into creating this
phenomenon. This, of course, would include the importance of brand
identity both to businesses and consumers around the globe who use the
Web to satisfy a number of their everyday needs.

    Finally, we urge that there be greater clarification with respect
to the role of Supporting Organizations vis-a-vis the Board of
Directors.  INTA believes that the Supporting Organizations must be
given the necessary freedom to operate and develop initiatives.
However, we also believe that it should be the Board which renders the
final decision and sets policy.
  
    Once again, INTA is pleased to offer its support to you,
Dr. Postel, and IANA for your efforts to develop NewCo.  We look
forward to working with IANA as it strives to get
NewCo. "up-and-running" by September 30.  Please continue to forward
draft by-laws or other subsequent documents for our review.  Be
assured that we will respond in a prompt manner, as we recognize that
the so-called "deadline" is less than four weeks away.

Sincerely,

Michael E. Heltzer
Government Relations Program Coordinator

  

