12/31/12 Electronic Commerce & Law Report Electronic Commerce & Law Report™ Source: Electronic Commerce & Law Report: News Archive > 2013 > Latest Developments > Lead Report: Bloomberg BNA Cyberlaw Outlook for 2013 > Keeping Up With Domain Name Explosion, Big Data, Social Media, And Online Innovation Are Top-of-Mind Legal Issues Among Cyberlaw Experts Bloomberg BNA asked several dozen leading attorneys and online experts for their views on the most important legal developments in online law during 2012 and on what policy areas they believed would be the most important to their practices in 2013. We asked that the responses be short and to the point, similar to a “tweet” or status update. The result is the 300-plus brief insights published below, all of which have been lightly edited and categorized by subject matter. Many contributors cited the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers's nearly completed initiative to create hundreds of new top-level domains as a critical area for attorney attention. Many headaches (but also opportunities) for brand owners, governments, and internet users were identified there. Other leading issues to watch are those spun off by the convergence of social networking and mobile communications technologies: privacy, information security, as well as new opportunities for intellectual property infringements. Many contributors believe that privacy policy—pushed to the fore by emerging “big data” technologies, cloud computing, and pervasive digital adoption by consumers—is ripe for action in both the United States and Europe in 2013. Commenters also offered their impressions on the significance of official failures to advance tough copyright enforcement measures here and abroad, and on the inauspicious conclusion to the WCIT internet governance talks in Dubai. Finally, turmoil in the patent system and the prospect of leadership change at the Federal Trade Commission drew many observations. The comments below—each attributed to the author, the author's law firm or organization, website, and Twitter username—are published for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Keeping Up With Domain Name Explosion, Big Data, Social Media, And Online Innovation Are Top-of-Mind Legal Issues Among Cyberlaw Experts The Coming Domain Name ‘Land Rush’ Despite 10 years' preparation, ICANN swamped by 2,000 new gTLD applications, many from brands concerned about cybersquatting. New gTLDs accredited in 2012: zero. Christine Jones, @attyjones, Former General Counsel, GoDaddy.com, Phoenix, Ariz. 2013 will be the year of New gTLDs and the beginning of a dramatic and long overdue expansion of the domain name space! Kathryn Kleiman, Leading Predictions for @KleimK, Internet Counsel, Fletcher Heald & Hildreth, Arlington, Va. 2013 2013 may see the domain name floodgates open if ICANN finally moves Several broad themes ahead with its new gTLD program. Conventional wisdom is that this will emerged from the lead to massive cybersquatting in the new domains, and I agree. But the hundreds of contributions real story will be the beginning of the end of the domain name system, as received in response to domain confusion sends more and more consumers into search. David Bloomberg BNA's call for Bernstein, Partner, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, New York, N.Y. short, expert takes on noteworthy cyberlaw New gTLDs will start appearing at the rate of 20 per week from mid 2013. developments in 2012 The strategy of defensive registrations in all TLDs will be prohibitively and policy hotspots to expensive, an unrealistic option for nearly all brands. Brand owners need watch for in 2013. Here to determine their registration strategy – from both a brand protection are 10 of the most and brand promotion perspective—in early 2013 to be ready for the rush. frequently mentioned Martin Burke, @melbourneitdbs, EVP, Melbourne IT DBS, London. predictions for the coming year: The first new TLD will be an IDN—non-ASCII characters—and will enter the 1. Trademark owners root system 2 weeks after ICANN meets in April in Beijing. Paul Stahura, @stahura, CEO, Donuts Inc., Bellevue, Wash. must adjust their online brand protection news.bna.com/epln/display /batch_print_display .adp 1/27 12/31/12 Electronic Commerce & Law Report The internet is about to get much larger—are you ready? In Spring 2013 a strategies as ICANN's few hundred new domain registries (i.e., new .com's) will go live. The new top-level domains potential pitfalls and possibilities are tremendous. Brand owners are going program goes live. to have to prioritize and develop new strategies to leverage and monitor new gTLDs in a rapidly expanding world. David Mitnick, @domainskate, 2. Many governments Founder and President, Domain Skate LLC, New York, N.Y. will attempt to exert greater control over the One of the greatest innovations that will impact the internet is the internet despite expansion to include internationalized domain names (IDNs)—the ability to setbacks suffered at the utilize non-Latin characters. New TLDs in Chinese, Arabic, Cyrillic, etc. will 2012 World Conference have enormous consequences and dramatically transform the internet. on International Ellen Shankman, Principal, Advocate, Notary, Ellen B. Shankman & Associates, Telecommunications. Rehovot, Israel. 3. Innovators will With the litany of generic top-level domain (gTLD) applications filed this continue to test the year and the impending roll out, lawyers/clients will want to follow this bounds of copyright law electronic land rush and the related disputes that develop. Joseph with new digital services Geisman, @JoeGeisman, Vice President, Business and Legal Affairs, Maize that deliver creative Marketing, Los Angeles. content such as 2012's Trademarks on the New Internet Aereo—resulting in more copyright litigation. The establishment of ICANN's Trademark Clearinghouse in 2012 will have profound ramifications for 2013 and beyond. It is anticipated that the 4. The new Congress Clearinghouse will connect not only for pre-registration claims and pre- will renew efforts to launch sunrise, but very likely also for URS complaints and perhaps even push copyright UDRP complaints. Planning an appropriate Clearinghouse strategy is job enforcement legislation, one for the trademark practioner. Paul D. McGrady, Partner, Winston & notwithstanding the last Strawn LLP, Chicago. Congress's inability to The Trademark Clearinghouse, as incorporated into the ICANN Top-Level advance the notorious Domain program, offers novel, groundbreaking, global protection for rights SOPA and PIPA holders. Adrian Kinderis, @AdrianKinderis, Chief Executive Officer, ARI measures. Registry Services, Melbourne & Los Angeles. 5. States will seek to ICANN Toronto was the calm before the new gTLD storm. By April in Beijing regulate online and the program will be steeped in new legal and policy controversies. Philip mobile privacy, filling in Corwin, @vlawdc, Founding Principal, Virtualaw LLC, Washington, D.C. the policy vacuum created by federal Bar none, the most important trademark-related issue of 2013 will be legislators' lack of ICANN's expansion of top-level domain names, going from .com and a agreement on the need couple dozen others to over 1,000. If trademark owners are not prepared, for, or contours of, a it will crush them like an avalanche. Brad R. Newberg, Partner, Reed Smith, baseline federal privacy Falls Church, Va. regime. Eye-popping sums will ultimately be paid for the hottest new gTLDs, but many of the new applications will get bogged down in process and 6. For much the same litigation and fail to ever take off. Mark Owen, Partner, Harbottle & Lewis, reason, the FTC—likely London. under new leadership and with several new Watch out for the launch of new gTLDs and have your proactive or key officials—will step up defensive strategy in place. New rights protection mechanisms facilitate privacy enforcement digital brand management. Are you ready for the challenge? Thomas activities. Rickert, @thomasrickert, Managing Partner, Schollmeyer & Rickert Law Firm, Bonn & Frankfurt, Germany. 7. Class actions involving data privacy, 1930 new gTLD applications? Over 1/3 .brands? Even gTLD doubters must targeted advertising, admit that a new internet is around the corner. And a new ICANN, too, and data breaches will once the .brands sign contracts. Kristina Rosette, @kristinarosette, Of grow. Counsel, Covington & Burling LLP, Washington, D.C. Trademark clearinghouse, sunrise, trademark claims, URS. Finding the 8. Businesses will face balance between trademark enforcement budget busters and valuable uncertain, and new gTLD rights protection mechanisms will be a critical challenge for potentially enhanced, brand owners in 2013. Kristina Rosette, @kristinarosette, Of Counsel, compliance burdens Covington & Burling LLP, Washington, D.C. under the new data protection legislation in 2013—the year the internet changed, new gTLDs into the root. Time to the European Union. see whether all the efforts to have clean space will work or not. David news.bna.com/epln/display /batch_print_display .adp 2/27 12/31/12 Electronic Commerce & Law Report Taylor, Partner, Hogan Lovells, Paris. 9. Blurred lines between employees' Next year or two will see the launch of 1000 new domain endings, gTLDs. use of social media, There are strengthened brand protection mechanisms, but they are home and office untried, and unproven. Review your online protection strategies now. computers, and mobile Emily Taylor, @etaylaw, Consultant, Emily Taylor Consultancy