The American Government has announced it will give other governments around the world and the private sector a greater say in oversight for the technical coordination of the Internet’s domain name and addressing system (DNS). … more

An online question box where community members can ask questions directly to the ICANN Board and staff has opened today. … more

The Peruvian telecommunications company, Red Cientifica Peruana (RCP), is planning to assist one million small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to gain a web presence in the next three years using .PE domain names. The idea is by getting more Peruvian businesses online their competitiveness will be enhanced. … more

The Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) is responsible for developing and recommending to the ICANN Board substantive policies relating to gTLDs. The GNSO Council is now exploring several extensive studies of WHOIS and has asked ICANN to estimate the cost and feasibility of conducting several studies proposed by members of the ICANN community and ICANN’s Government Advisory Committee. The first area of study focuses on “misuse” of public WHOIS information, and, pursuant to the above request, ICANN is seeking to engage independent research organizations to undertake one or more proposed WHOIS Misuse studies. The Misuse Studies RFP Cover Letter illustrates the scope of work and the criteria for selection. This document should be read in conjunction with the Terms of Reference for WHOIS Misuse Studies RFP. Read together, these two documents provide the materials necessary to respond to this Request for Proposals (“RFP”) for WHOIS Misuse Studies. … more

Controversial entrepreneur Nicholas Bolton has lost his dispute with auDA, the policy and regulatory body for .AU (Australian) domain names in the Victorian Supreme Court entitling and is no longer accredited to be a registrar of .AU domain names. … more

This is an update to the advisory posted on 15 September 2009 regarding the termination of ICANN’s accreditation agreement with registrar Red Register, Inc. icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-15sep09-en.htm … more

The newly-restructured GNSO Council is scheduled to be seated during the upcoming ICANN meeting in Seoul, South Korea. Establishing updated operating procedures consistent with the new ICANN Bylaws is a key step toward seating the new Council. Today, a package of recommended Operating Procedures for the new Council is being made available for public review and comment through 16 October 2009. … more

The future of ICANN is the focus of this article in The Economist, who says the day before the expiration of the Joint Project Agreement on 30 September, the American government will put into effect a new accord “whereby America will pass some of its authority over ICANN to the ‘internet community’ of businesses, individual users and other governments.” … more

ICANN’s Ombudsman has released his 2009 report, summarizing the previous 12 months of dispute resolution efforts that he oversees in his role as an independent officer of the organization. … more

On 19 September the ccTLD .SU (the Soviet Union) celebrated its 19th anniversary. The .SU country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) was delegated to the USSR in 1990 - a year before the collapse of the Soviet Union and 3.5 years before the creation of the Russian ccTLD RU, considered to be the “.SU successor”. … more

[news release] Rick Latona Auctions announced today that there are still premium slots available for their live and extended auctions coming up next month in New York. Submissions for these premium slots are being considered for their Featured Live Auction at T.R.A.F.F.I.C. New York, which takes place on 27 October at the Brooklyn Bridge Marriott. To submit your premium domain, please visit ricklatona.com/auctions/submission-form today. … more

Jets.com was the big seller of the week to 21 September for Sedo, selling for $US375,000. The second biggest seller of the week was newbrand.de, a strong showing for a ccTLD name, selling for €120,000 (~$177,000) while tradetracker.com came third, selling for $100,000. … more

- Non-Profit Web Domain Corporation to Offer Support of Environmental Initiatives -

[news release] The DotGreen Registry Corporation, a California Non-Profit Public Benefit Corporation, has selected Neustar, Inc. to provide the registry and DNS (Domain Name System) services required to support the .green global Top-Level Domain (TLD). … more

DomainSponsor, the domain monetisation division of Oversee.net, has announced that Tony Hsieh will be the keynote speaker at the fourth annual DOMAINfest Global event, scheduled for 26 to 28 January, 2010 in Santa Monica, California. Additionally, early bird registration finishes on 30 September. … more

For anyone wanting to attend Domainer Mardi Gras 2010, a reminder that early bird registration finishes on 15 October. Until then registration costs US$795 rising gradually to the full fee of $1,095 for those who register on the day of the conference, which runs from 11 to 13 February. … more