As of 22 August, the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center commenced providing .domain name dispute resolution services for both QA and قطر. (Qatar) in accordance with the Qatar Domains Registry Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (“Policy”) and Rules for Qatar Domains Registry Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (“ Rules ”), and WIPO Supplemental Rules for Qatar Domains Registry Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (“Supplemental Rules”). Qatar Domains Registry provides for registration of domain names which utilize the two-letter country code in Latin characters, i.e., .QA, as well as the قطر. IDN ccTLD in Arabic script. قطر. results from ICANN’s IDN ccTLD Fast Track Process which was designed to introduce into the Domain Name System Internet extensions (top-level domains) corresponding to a meaningful representation of a country or territory name in non-Latin (or non-ASCII) script. The Policy, Rules and Supplemental Rules are applicable to disputed domain name registrations within both the Latin script (.QA) and Arabic script IDN (قطر.) ccTLD spaces. The Policy, Rules and Supplemental Rules for .QA and قطر. also feature upgrades based on the WIPO-proposed paperless Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) model, the latter in effect at WIPO since December 2009. This includes paperless filings by parties while retaining the safeguard of hardcopy notification by the WIPO Center. In addition to .QA and قطر. (Qatar), the Center also provides domain name dispute resolution services for both .AE and امارات. (United Arab Emirates).

The African Registry Consortium (ARC), a pan-African consortium that aims to administer the .AFRICA domain by Africans and for Africans, was publicising its case saying several of the players involved in ARC are also involved in the administration of the co.za domain name space in South Africa, which is currently under the administration of UniForum SA. Meanwhile Njeri Rionge, one of Kenya’s most successful and revered serial entrepreneurs and also adviser to another contender for .AFRICA, DotConnectAfrica , was described as Africa’s most successful women by Forbes magazine. “We see .AFRICA as the ideal opportunity to highlight African know-how and expertise”, said ARC Spokesman and founding member, Koffi Fabrice Djossou. “One only has to look at how the co.za domain funds are applied by UniForum SA, to see the benefits of having the .AFRICA domain administered by an African organization,” said the ARC. “UniForum`s co.za social responsibility initiative, for instance, launches at least two new computer labs at previously disadvantaged schools every single month, with more than 200 labs having already been completed.” “This new domain will give the continent a truly African identity for the first time and will allow companies and organisations operating here to proudly highlight their African operations and identity,” says Djossou. However having a truly African identity online is the same goal as the DotConnectAfrica consortium. According to ARC the goal is to promote an African identity for the continent while at the same time improving the security aspects around such a domain. “ARC is seeking the backing of the African Union, as the AU has also recognised the commercial and social benefits that the .AFRICA domain may present,” he says. At present, continues Djossou, ARC includes representatives from Senegal, Kenya, Benin and South Africa, and the door remains open to other African nations that may express interest in getting involved with ARC. Both parties will be aiming to submit bids for .AFRICA when ICANN begins taking applications in its three months application window that commences on 12 January 2012. However it would be anticipated that due to costs, the bids would be able to work out a way forward together. It is anticipated the winning consortium, or a collaboration, would have .AFRICA up and running in 2013 and that internationalised domains in French and Arabic would also be available some time in the future.

The delegation and management of variant TLDs remains an important issue. The ICANN community seeks to develop solutions to enable the delegation of Variant TLDs for the benefit of users around the world.

In 2010, trademark holders filed 2,696 cybersquatting cases covering 4,370 domain names with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (WIPO Center) under procedures based on the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), an increase of 28 per cent over the 2009 level, compared to an increase in domain registrations of 6.3 per cent in 2009, and of 16 per cent over the previous record year, 2008. The WIPO Center is the organisation that deals with the largest number of dispute resolutions dealing with domain names

AusRegistry International announced this month it has won a lucrative contract with the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) of the Sultanate of Oman to operate software services for the .OM Omani country code Top Level Domain. AusRegistry International is particularly pleased with the new Oman contract as it puts them in the position as a market leader in the region and complements similar projects currently underway in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

[news release] The Internet is one-step closer to being more accessible to speakers of Arabic in Qatar and around the world with the official launch of the Qatar Domains Registry (QDR), which was officially unveiled to the public on March 2, 2011 by the Supreme Council of Information and Communication Technology (ictQATAR). QDR, which will be managed by ictQATAR will begin making Qatar-specific Internet domain names in Arabic and Latin-scripts available to select organizations in Qatar immediately, with general domains available to the public by August of 2011. “The launch of the Qatar Domains Registry is a major milestone as we work to build a more digitally inclusive society

[news release] ICANN has announced that two seasoned professionals have been hired to bolster its contractual compliance team. Maguy Serad, an experienced technology and business manager, has been named Senior Director of Contractual compliance. Ms.