Changes

==Backgound==

==Backgound==

===ANA/Brand Owners Opposition to the new gTLD Program===

===ANA/Brand Owners Opposition to the new gTLD Program===

On August 4, 2011, ANA President and CEO  [[Bob Liodice|Robert Liodice]] wrote to [[Rod Beckstrom]], President of ICANN regarding the new generic top level domain names ([[gTLD]]s) program that was approved by the [[ICANN Board]] on June 20, 2011 . In his letter, Liodice pointed out that the 400 member companies of ANA  strongly opposed ICANN's plan to add unlimited number of TLD. The organization believed that the program does not provide benefit to the internet community but it will only cause harm and damage to brand owners and to consumers. According to him, once the program is implemented it will increase the incidence of [[cybersquatting]] and other cyber crimes. He cited that ANA conducted a research and found that the proposed TLD expansion is not supported by majority of businesses, consumers, academics including private and government agencies. He also quoted the statement of former ICANN Chairman Esther Dyson that the new program is "way for registries and registrars to make money, there are huge issues, it is offensive and will create a lot of litigation." In addition, Liodice enumerated some sections of the ''Economic Considerations in the Expansion of Generic-Top Level Domain Names, Phase II Reports: Case Studies''wherein the experts opined that there is no scarcity of gTLds, the last ICANN TLD expansion provided little benefit thus it was a failure and the implementation of new TLD expansion may result to the following economic harms:<ref>[http://www.icann.org/en/correspondence/liodice-to-beckstrom-04aug11-en.pdf Letter from Robert Liodice to Rod Beckstrom]</ref>

On August 4, 2011, ANA President and CEO  [[Bob Liodice|Robert Liodice]] wrote to [[Rod Beckstrom]], President of ICANN regarding the new generic top level domain names ([[gTLD]]s) program that was approved by the [[ICANN Board]] on June 20, 2011 . In his letter, Liodice pointed out that the 400 member companies of ANA  strongly opposed ICANN's plan to add unlimited number of TLD. The organization believed that the program does not provide benefit to the internet community but it will only cause harm and damage to brand owners and to consumers. According to him, once the program is implemented it will increase the incidence of [[cybersquatting]] and other cyber crimes. He cited that ANA conducted a research and found that the proposed TLD expansion is not supported by majority of businesses, consumers, academics including private and government agencies. He also quoted the statement of former ICANN Chairman Esther Dyson that the new program is "way for registries and registrars to make money, there are huge issues, it is offensive and will create a lot of litigation." In addition, Liodice enumerated some sections of the ''Economic Considerations in the Expansion of Generic-Top Level Domain Names, Phase II Reports: Case Studies''wherein the experts opined that there is no scarcity of gTLds, the last ICANN TLD expansion provided little benefit thus it was a failure and the implementation of new TLD expansion may result to the following economic harms:

* Misappropriation of Intellectual Property

* Misappropriation of Intellectual Property

* Defensive Registrations

* Defensive Registrations