IMPORTANT NOTICE - The statement below is provided by individuals and organizations working to self-organize a DNSO Constituency Group. It is posted here to assist the self-organization process. It has not been approved by ICANN and its posting here does not indicate that the group under formation will necessarily be officially recognized by the ICANN Board of Directors. See http://www.icann.org/dnso/constituency_groups.html for information about the constituency formation process and instructions for submitting comments regarding this statement. 

May 5, 1999

New York City

To:	ICANN Board

Dear Board Members:

We are pleased to present to the Board of ICANN an application for accreditation as the Intellectual Property Constituency (IPC) of the DNSO.  This application as set forth below is entitled the “New York Document” and replaces the “Wellington” and “Toronto” documents.  This application is supported by the organizations set out in the attached list.

The “New York Document”, which contains the substance of the application, was arrived at through a consultative process including face-to-face meetings which took place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on March 18, 1999, Wellington, New Zealand on April 12-13, and New York City, New York, U.S.A. on May 4-5.  The current members of the IPC are continuing to actively contact other IP organizations and individuals to encourage them to participate in this process.  It is anticipated that more signatories to this application will be in place when the formal application for accreditation of the IPC is presented to the ICANN Board in Berlin on May 25-26 next.  

Subject to accreditation by the ICANN Board, the IPC is ready to begin its operations.  There are operational guidelines in place; an elected slate of Interim officers and Interim representatives to the Names Council ready to begin their work.  

If there are any preliminary questions or comments, please communicate them to the Secretary of the Interim IPCC, Joan McGivern [212-621-6204, jmcgivern@ascap.com] and/or to the Interim President, Jonathan Cohen [613-232-5300, jcohen@idealaw.com].

The Interim officers of the IPC seeking approval would welcome an opportunity to meet with as many of the ICANN Board members as are available.  

We look forward to working with the ICANN Board in providing advice on intellectual property issues.

Yours very truly,

Jonathan Cohen
on behalf of the applicants to form the IPC

Attachments: 	IPC Members
		New York Document

			IPC Members as of May 4, 1999

American Bar Association Intellectual Property Law Section (“ABA-IPL”)

The ABA-IPL is composed of approximately17,000 members in the United States and abroad.  Its members are patent, trademark, and copyright attorneys.  The ABA-IPL is a leading voice in the field of intellectual property.

American Intellectual Property Law Association (“AIPLA”)

The AIPLA is primarily a U.S. based bar association with nearly 10,000 members engaged in private and corporate practice, in government service, and in the academic community.  The AIPLA represents a wide and diverse spectrum of individuals, companies and institutions involved directly or indirectly in the practice of patent, trademark, copyright, and unfair competition law, as well as other fields of law affecting intellectual property.  The AIPLA has active members in more than 20 countries as well as over 400 foreign affiliates from some sixty countries and monitors and comments on developments in IP law and practice in commercially important countries around the world.

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (“ASCAP”)

ASCAP is the oldest musical performing rights society in the United States and holds the largest repertory of U.S. copyrighted musical works.  It is a voluntary membership association with more than 82,000 members, representing owners of all genres of musical works.  ASCAP is affiliated with fifty-eight foreign performing rights societies. ASCAP licenses on a non-exclusive basis the non-dramatic public performances of the repertory of its members and its affiliated societies to those individuals and entities which desire to make public performances of that music.  ASCAP’s licensees include, but are not limited to, commercial and non-commercial television and radio stations, concert halls, sports arenas and teams, hotels and airlines as well as colleges and universities and websites.  ASCAP has always taken, and is committed to taking, an active role in representing and defending the public performance rights of its members internationally and domestically.  ASCAP’s President and Board Chair, Marilyn Bergman, just completed four years of service as the President of “CISAC” (the Confederation Internationale de Societies de Auteurs et Composeurs), which is an international confederation of almost all national performing rights organizations, and its counsel.  ASCAP’s counsel, Fred Koenigsberg, served as one of the private sector representatives to the WIPO Diplomatic Conferences.

Asian Patent Attorneys Association (“APAA”)

APAA was formed in 1969 with the three foundation members, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan.  The Association has now extended to include membership from within the Asian region with 14 countries now represented and has a total individual membership in excess of 1400.
The Association has as its main objective, to promote the intellectual property law systems within the region and to foster ties of mutual understanding between those practicing intellectual property within the Asian region.

Broadcast Music, Inc. (“BMI”)

Founded in 1940, BMI is an American performing rights organization that represents more than 200,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers in all genres of music.  Through its music performance and reciprocal agreements, it grants businesses and media legal access to its repertoire of more than 3,000,000 musical works from around the world.  BMI is an active participant in international organizations focusing on intellectual property issues.  BMI licenses the public performance of its repertoire on radio, television, cable, the Internet and other media and in other businesses and establishments.

European Communities Trade Mark Association (“ECTA”)

ECTA is an association of some 1,500 trade mark professionals and attorneys whether in industry or in private practice.  Full members have to be practising in one of the fifteen countries of the European Community, but membership is also open to affiliates and associates from nearly a hundred other countries throughout the world.

Federation Internationale des Conseils en Propriete Industrielle (“FICPI”)

FICPI is an organization made up of over 4000 members from over 70 countries all of whom are experience intellectual property practitioners.  The international group and its national associations regularly participate in national and international discussions in relation to all aspects of intellectual property.  

International Intellectual Property Alliance (“IIPA”)

IIPA works closely with the U.S. trade representative in the annual reviews on whether acts, policies or practices of any foreign country deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights or fair and equitable market access for U.S. persons relying on intellectual property protection.  IIPA is involved in the development of the TRIPs agreements and the Intellectual Property Chapter of NAFTA.  IIPA is a non-governmental organization participating in copyright discussions in WIPO and is also involved in regional initiatives such as the Free Trade Area of the Americas and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation.  

The International Trademark Association (“INTA”)

INTA is a 120-year-old not-for-profit membership organization.  Since the Association’s founding in 1878, membership has grown from 17 New York-based manufacturers to approximately 3,700 members from the United States and 119 additional countries.

Membership in INTA is open to trademark owners and those who serve trademark owners.  Its members are corporations, advertising agencies, professional and trade associations, and law firms practicing trademark law.  INTA’s membership is diverse, crossing all industry lines and spanning a broad range of manufacturing, retail and service operations.  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 trademarks to their owners, to the general public, and to the economy of both the United States and the global marketplace.

The Association of European Trade Mark Owners (“MARQUES”)

The objectives of MARQUES are to assist European based brand owners in the selection, management and protection of their trade marks and to create a forum for the free exchange of ideas and information providing a platform for the representation of their interests.  They have approximately 450 members in 75 countries.  

The Motion Picture Association of America (“MPA”)

The Motion Picture Association of America acts domestically as the voice and advocate of seven of the largest producers and distributors of filmed entertainment.  MPAA’s counterpart, the Motion Picture Association (MPA) serves the same purpose on an international basis.  Founded in 1922 as the trade association for the American film industry, the MPAA has broadened its mandate over the years to reflect the diversity of the expanding motion picture industry.  Today these associations represent major producers and distributors of entertainment programming for television, cable, home video, and looking into the future for delivery systems not yet imagined.  Among its principle missions, the MPAA directs an anti-piracy to protect, through copyright and other laws, films in 72 countries around the world.  

New York Document

Organizational Document of the Intellectual Property Constituency of the DNSO

I.	Background

A.	This document is intended to set out a framework for the structure and procedural rules of the Intellectual Property Constituency (“IPC”) of the Domain Name Supporting Organization (“DNSO”).  The drafters of this document include members of many of the major international IP organizations which collectively represent tens of thousands of IP right holders, IP practitioners, business owners and domain name holders around the world and who recognize the need to reach out to other such entities and persons who share these interests to participate in the further refinement of this document.

B.	The organizations submitting this document seeking recognition and accreditation as the IPC of the DNSO ask the ICANN Board to be aware that:

1.	Since the Singapore meeting, efforts to form the IPC have met with broad based, global support from a number of leading international and regional organizations; 

2.	Although many organizations were invited, time, distance, and other constraints only permitted the organizations submitting this document to presently commit;

3.	However, these organizations intend to diligently work to expand the IPC’s membership so that it will be as representative and diverse as possible;

4.	To that end, an Interim set of officers IPC has been elected whose express mandate is:

			a. 	to seek out new members;
			
			b. 	to develop a final set of by-laws, membership criteria, and voting structure; and

			c. 	to replace itself on or before December 31, 2001, in a manner that is fully compliant with ICANN and DNSO by-laws.

C.	The Toronto meeting, held on March 18, was organized by FICPI (Federation Internationale des Conseils en Propriete Industrielle) to attract as many as possible  IP organizations, and other interested parties to initiate the process mandated by the ICANN Board at its meeting in Singapore in early March, when it advised the international IP community to begin work immediately on the organization of an IP Constituency for the DNSO.  The goal of that meeting was to bring together an initial group of international IP organizations that was as broadly representative of the various facets of IP interests as possible given the short time frame, and which group would collectively have the resources necessary to accomplish two things:

		1. 	To reach out to any other interested IP groups, IP organizations or individuals with IP interests around the world and encourage them to participate in the process of IP Constituency formation, and

2.	To set up the consultative process itself for the inclusive, international discussion required to formulate the IP Constituency proposal to be submitted to the ICANN Board for approval at its next meeting in Berlin on May 27, 1999. The result of the Toronto meeting was the “Toronto Document,” which was intended to reflect the agreement reached by the members of the Toronto group in respect of the foregoing two goals.

D.	The next step in the IP Constituency formation process was the New Zealand meeting, held on April 12-13, where the Toronto document was discussed and openly debated among the participants, and a revised draft that reflected the Wellington consultative meeting (the “Wellington Document”) was then prepared, circulated and posted on the ICANN website (www.icann.org) for international consultation that resulted in a third meeting held on May 4 in New York City.  By this point the views of  interested IP stakeholders were repeatedly solicited such that this document  coming out of the New York consultative meeting and submitted to ICANN for approval, adequately reflects the interests of a significant number of IP stakeholders.  An operational IPC structure with duly elected interim governance is in place for presentation to ICANN for accreditation.

II	Mission Statement and Purpose

	A.	The IPC will form an integral part of the DNSO according to Article VI-B, Section 3 of the ICANN Bylaws.  

B.      The purposes of the IPC are to: 

1.	Represent the views and interests of users of  intellectual property world-wide with particular emphasis on trade-mark, copyright, and related intellectual property rights and their effect and interaction with the Domain Name System (DNS), and to ensure that these views and interests are reflected in the recommendations made by the Names Council to the Board of ICANN; and

2.	More particularly, to review and raise all IP matters including any proposals, issues, legislation, or otherwise, which may affect intellectual property, particularly as it interfaces with the DNS, and to provide to the DNSO and the ICANN Board timely and expert advice before it must make any decision or take any position thereon.   

III	Organizational Structure and Interim Decision-Making 

	A.	The IPC shall consist of an elected  IPC Council (“IPCC”) drawn from the member organizations meeting the qualifications under Section IV and observers also referred to in Section IV.  

	B.	Three members of the IPC shall be nominated by and elected from the IP member organizations to represent the constituency on the Names Council of the DNSO.  No organization shall have more than one of its nominated representatives on the Names Council at one time.  

	C.    	No person may serve as a member of the Names Council for more than two successive terms.  A term of service as an Interim representative of the IPC to the Names Council shall not be considered a successive term for the purposes of this section. 

	D. 	The IPCC shall be the governing body of the IPC and shall be composed of one representative of each member organization that will be responsible for the following.

1.	Reviewing applications for membership in the IPC.

		2. 	Carrying out through members of the IPCC or appointment of volunteers, the administrative functions associated with the operations of the IPC and the IPCC, including the arrangement of meetings, taking of minutes, maintenance of an appropriate mechanism suitable for facilitating contact and dissemination of information among all members of the IPC and other secretariat functions.
	
		3. 	Formulating membership consensus on policy issues for the purpose of advising the IPC representatives on the Names Council.

		4.	Reaching out to any other interested IP groups, IP organizations, or individuals with IP interests around the world and encouraging them to participate in the IPC.

5.	Developing mechanisms for the nomination and election of representatives to the IPCC and Names Council from among the members of the IPC, and modifying same from time to time as may be required to ensure fairness and to reflect the current needs of the IPC.

		6. 	Assessing and collecting membership fees.

	E. 	Members of the IPCC shall be elected for a period of two years and the Chairperson shall alternate at the end of the two year period, such that no member of the IPCC shall provide a Chairperson for more than one successive term. 

	F. 	Subject to accreditation by the ICANN Board, an Interim IPCC has been appointed and Interim representatives of the IPC to the Names Council have been elected by IP organizations of the IPC [lists of Interim IPCC Officers and Interim Names Council representatives are appended hereto], in the manner set forth below.

1.	Interim IPCC:
	
		a. 	each organization has one seat (with one representative and an alternate) on the Interim IPCC and collectively shall constitute the Interim IPCC.

			b. 	the Interim IPCC member representatives shall serve until such time as a more formal nomination and voting structure is established and proper elections may be held; the Interim IPCC shall be replaced in that manner on, or at the discretion of the Interim IPCC before December 31, 2001; 

			c. 	the mandate of the Interim IPCC shall include:
		
	i. 	to meet in person or using the Internet or other electronic means for conducting the business of the IPC, including the establishment of an electronic mail-drop and website at www.ip-council.org;
			
				ii. 	to immediately, upon ratification of this proposal by the ICANN Board, arrange to contact all prospective members and observers of the IPC; 

iii.	to facilitate discussion amongst members and observers in order to reach as quickly as possible a “final” set of by-laws for the constituency, including an open, fair, representative and democratic method for nominating and electing members to the IPCC and Names Council to replace the Interim representatives; and

iv.	to authorize, as needed, the Interim Treasurer to receive and deal with any money received on behalf of the Interim IPCC until such time as a formal method for dealing with the funds is established.
			
		2. 	Interim representatives of the IPC to the Names Council:

	a.	IP organization members as of May 4, 1999 are: ABA-IPL, AIPLA, APAA, ASCAP, BMI, ECTA, FICPI, IIPA, INTA, MARQUES, and MPA. 

			b.	Subject to accreditation by the ICANN Board, three Interim representatives from the organizations of the IPC were elected to the Names Council on May 4 and intend to serve only until such time as a more formal nomination and voting structure, fully complying with any applicable requirements of the DNSO and the ICANN Board, is established by the elected IPCC which first replaces the Interim IPCC; the Interim representatives of the IPC to the Names Council shall be replaced in that manner on or before May 31, 2001 at the discretion of the IPCC.

IV	Membership

	A.  	In General

		1.	The IPC shall consist of organizations committed to the advocacy and development of intellectual property (including trademarks, copyrights, and patents) as fundamental components of meaningful commercial activity in the national, regional, and global realms, and, more particularly shall: 

a.	be primarily and substantially involved in the field of intellectual property; and

			b.	have a demonstrable international perspective; and  

			c. 	make a substantial contribution through its members or otherwise to the field of intellectual property.

	B.	Additional Factors

1.	In determining eligibility for membership, the following additional factors shall be considered:

a.	the number of members in the organization;

b.	the international / geographic diversity of membership;

c.	the extent to which the organization is representative of a particular industry or industry segment;

			d. 	the organization’s standing before international bodies, including, but not limited to WIPO; and

e.	the nature and structure of the organization.

The IPCC shall take into account the foregoing in determining whether the applicant for membership is sufficiently involved in and representative of the intellectual property community to qualify for membership.

	C.  	Comments and Participation from All Interested Parties

In addition, the IPCC will actively invite and encourage comments and participation in meetings from all interested parties, including individuals, other Supporting Organizations, and other DNSO constituencies through a consultative observer mechanism and periodic online and face-to-face meetings.

D.	IPCC Discretion
	
The IPCC has the discretion to admit, refuse, or expel any organization where on reasonable grounds, it feels it is in the best interest of the constituency to do so.

V	Funding

When deemed necessary by the IPCC, appropriate fees for membership in the IPC shall be set.

VI	Voting 

	A.	After fulfilling its obligations under III (C)(4), the voting structure is to be reviewed and determined by the Interim IPCC after consultation with the full membership.  The voting structure shall be open, fair and not subject to capture.  

B.	No business of the IPC or the Interim IPC shall take place without the representation of at least 40% of the members present.

VII	Observer Status and Liaison with other Constituencies / Supporting Organizations 

	A.	In the interest of complying as fully as possible with the mandate of the IPC as set out in Section II, the IPCC shall:

1.       Actively seek out input and advice from those organizations, individuals, or others that are not eligible for membership in the IPC, on the basis of observer status, and such organizations, individuals, or others shall be encouraged to join formally the IPC as observers and, upon joining, shall be entitled to attend and participate in open meetings of the IPC’s membership. 

  2.    Establish a liaison mechanism whereby it obtains input from the other DNSO constituencies and the other Supporting Organizations, and where possible, actively work towards consensus building. 

Commentary:	It is the intention of the organizations that the IPCC reach out to the other constituencies of the DNSO, the other SO’s, individual organizations (governmental, the Bar associations, public interest, technical/Internet, and business groups) and broadly to the public, encouraging their participation in and commentary on the discussions and recommendations of the IP Constituency. It is hoped that in this manner, the IP Constituency, while representing the international IP community, as it should, will have the benefit of the information and advice of a much broader cross-section of the public in reaching the decisions it communicates to the Names Council for consideration by ICANN.  
	
Prepared by the organizations of the IPC in New York City on May 4, 1999.

Appendix

IP Constituency Interim Officers

President		Jonathan Cohen	FICPI		
Executive V.P.	Steve Metalitz	IIPA		
V.P.			David Tatham	ECTA	
Treasurer		Mike Kirk		AIPLA	
Secretary		Joan McGivern	ASCAP	

IP Constituency Interim Names Council Representatives

Tod Cohen			MPA		
Jonathan Cohen		FICPI	
Susan Anthony		INTA	

•	All appointments subject to accreditation by the ICANN Board.

IP organizations of the IPC as of May 4, 1999 are:

American Bar Association - Intellectual Property Law Section - “ABA-IPL”
American Intellectual Property Law Association - “AIPLA” 
Asian Patent Attorneys Association - “APAA” 
American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers - “ASCAP” 
Broadcast Music, Inc. - “BMI” 
European Communities Trade Mark Association - “ECTA” 
Federation Internationale des Conseils en Propriete Industrielle - “FICPI” 
International Intellectual Property Alliance - “IIPA”
International Trademark Association - “INTA”
Association of European Trade Mark Owners - “MARQUES” 
Motion Picture Association - “MPA”