The Domain Name Rights Coalition is the first think tank dedicated to supporting the work of the ICANN Community and representatives of domain name holders (Registrants). We are experts in Internet Governance who work tirelessly to help the Internet find fair, balanced and principled rules at the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and around the world. The next billion Internet users deserve nothing less!

DNRC dedicates its energies to fighting for:

Balanced Leadership in Internet Multistakeholder Models

In ICANN’s multistakeholder community, leaders need to come from all stakeholder groups, yet unequal resources often limit Registrant representation. The DNRC is working to change that. We are working for balanced leadership on the GNSO Council, Working Groups and Review Teams. We actively contribute to public comment periods and in public forums. As opportunities arise to mentor new participants, we share our values and concerns with them, as well as the techniques for successfully promoting their views within the ICANN process.

Timely Bridge-Building with Government Officials and Other Organizations

Many government officials and organizations feel that ICANN is a “black hole” into which they would prefer not to stray. Yet we need the input of government officials and other experts in data protection, free expression, fair use/fair dealing, and due process in our ICANN policy discussions and debates. The DNRC reaches out to officials and experts in these areas and assists them in becoming active in ICANN’s policymaking processes. We also work to reduce the “second-guessing” of ICANN’s Multistakeholder policies by those drafting treaties, laws and private agreements  outside of ICANN – often hearing only one side about how ICANN policies were created (and what problems need to be corrected).

Registrant Education

ICANN spends little to educate or inform domain name registrants of their rights to register and protect domain names. As a result, few Registrants respond to challenges to their domain names made though the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy and Uniform Rapid Suspension process. Many domain names are lost, and with them the speech of small businesses, entrepreneurs, individuals and organizations. The UDRP and URS complaints provide legitimate and legal defenses (which our founders help to write), many of which are unpublicized and virtually unused. DNRC works to fill the “education gap” by providing Registrants with information to let them know their rights and actions they may take to protect their domain names and speech. We encourage ICANN to provide education as well.

Think Tank Research and White Paper Development

The DNRC is designed to serve as a resource to others in the community, as a think tank for research and writing on issues of importance in ICANN and other domain name areas. We work with professors, researchers and advocates around the world to build a base of research and white papers to inform and support the work of the ICANN community and others committed to building fair, balanced and principles rules for the Internet and the Domain Name System.