No French Trademarks For “PRAY FOR PARIS” Or “JE SUIS PARIS”

source: French Trademark Office Will Not Register “PRAY FOR PARIS” Or “JE SUIS PARIS” | Foley Hoag LLP - Trademark, Copyright & Unfair Competition - JDSupra

GDP per capita, GNI per capita, Correlation to Domain Names

Gross domestic product per capita in current US dollars in selected nations--India, China, South Africa, Turkey, Russia, Brazil, France, Germany, UK, US.

GDP per capita -- similar to GNI per capita (see below) which is the single biggest correlating factor in the number of registered domain names per internet user. Other factors that are also important are the absence of censorship, the availability of fast and cheap internet, and the level of content creation.

source: World Bank Data

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Percentage of individuals using the Internet

Percentage of individuals using the Internet
Internet Users: Canada, United States, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Russia, Brazil, China, Mexico, India, North Korea,

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ICANN 50 Closes, France Calls ICANN "unfit for Internet Governance"

ICANN 50 closed Thursday with the largest attendance ever, but on a sour note caused by a growing dispute over its controversial new gTLD domain names program:

France says U.S.-based ICANN is unfit for Internet governance: London (AFP) – France strongly attacked the US-based body that assigns internet addresses on Wednesday, saying it was not a fit venue for internet governance and that alternatives should be sought. The eurozone’s second-largest economy has been at war with the body, which assigns domain names like ‘.com’ and runs crucial internet infrastructure, over the ‘.wine’ and ‘.vin’ suffixes being rolled out as part of an unprecedented expansion of domains. On Wednesday France failed in a bid to freeze the assigning of the domains, which it believes should be restricted to protect trade agreements on region-specific products like champagne. “ICANN’s procedures highlight its inability to take into account the legitimate concerns of states,” the French delegation to ICANN’s 50th meeting, taking place in London, said in a statement. “Today ICANN is not the appropriate forum to discuss Internet governance.” France will initiate discussions with European countries and other stakeholders on the future of internet governance, the statement said....

At the conclusion of the public meeting of the ICANN Board of Directors on Thursday, someone in the room noted there would not be wine at the Cocktail Party immediately following, but perhaps vinegar.

The next meeting of ICANN, ICANN51, is scheduled for Los Angeles, 12-16 October 2014, followed thereafter by ICANN52, 8-12 February 2015, in Marrakesh, Morocco.

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ICANN vs France, Spain, Portugal, and the EU over .wine and .vin

As reported here yesterday, a storm is brewing in Europe over ICANN's intentions to delegate new .gTLDs .vin and .wine. ICANN Board Chairman Stephen Crocker apparently spent a busy day Saturday, June 21, 2014, signing what appear to be "form letters" to various governmental officials who have "sounded off," pro and con, on the .wine and .vin issues, including the following (all bearing the date June 21, 2014):

Letter from Stephen Crocker to Lawrence Strickling (USA)
Letter from Stephen Crocker to Keith Besgrove (Australia)
Letter from Stephen Crocker to Axelle Lemair (France)
Letter from Stephen Crocker to Victor Calvo-Sotelo Ibanez-Martin (Spain)
Letter from Stephen Crocker to Nuno Crato (Portugal)
Letter from Stephen Crocker to Neelie Kroes (EU)
Letter from Stephen Crocker to Bruce Parkes (New Zealand)

Dr. Crock may think he has "blown off" Ms. Lemair (France) et al, but sources in London and Paris say the Crocker has no idea who or what he is dealing with--just read what the staid London financial newspaper, the Financial Times, is reporting:

France lashes out at internet naming body ICANN - FT.com: " . . . France has linked the issue [new gTLDs .wine and .vin] to the broader question of how ICANN is structured and governed. “The problem is it is totally opaque, there is no transparency at all in the process,” Axelle Lemaire, minister for digital affairs, told the Financial Times... Ms Lemaire also wrote this month to the ICANN board saying the domain name process threatened to “undermine confidence in your organisation”. The US agreed this year to give up its ultimate control of ICANN exercised through the commerce department, but Ms Lemaire made clear France wants to go further, seeking to rally support for a global conference on its overhaul. Paris wants it set up under international law with a redefined mission and overseen by a “general assembly” of stakeholders that would include governmental representation on a “one country, one vote” basis, Ms Lemaire said. In her letter to the ICANN board she wrote: “The lack of adequate redress mechanisms and, above all, the lack of accountability demonstrate the need for significant reform of ICANN even before the current debate on the global internet governance system comes to a conclusion.”..."

I have a feeling Ms. Lemaire et al are just getting started. Vive la France!

--report submitted by contributing editor, John Poole, Domain Mondo

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France, Portugal and Spain warn ICANN re: new gTLDs .WINE and .VIN

"the failure of ICANN to take due account of the wider public interest"*

"the lack of adequate redress mechanisms and, above all, the lack of accountability demonstrate the need for signficant reform of ICANN even before the current debate on the global Internet governance system comes to a conclusion."*

There is a storm brewing on the continent of Europe over ICANN's stated intention to delegate new gTLDs .WINE and .VIN -- *excerpt from letter of Axelle Lemaire, Secrétaire d'Etat au Numérique (French Deputy Minister for Digital Affairs) to Members of the ICANN Board of Directors --

For the full letter, see France's letter to ICANN:
https://www.icann.org/resources/correspondence/lemaire-to-icann-board-2014-06-18-en

But France is not alone -- see also --

Spain's letter to ICANN:
https://www.icann.org/resources/correspondence/ibanez-martin-to-chehade-2014-06-17-en.

and

Portugal's letter to ICANN:
https://www.icann.org/resources/correspondence/crato-to-icann-board-2014-06-18-en

Uncle Sugar isn't going to cover for a dysfunctional ICANN anymore, so it will be interesting to see how this plays out.

And of course, Esther Dyson warned everyone about all of this in 2011, but no one listened.

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