Managing IP Top 50 list picks out the
individuals shaping the IP industry worldwide. The 2012 Americas list is dominated
by US judges and USPTO members, and also includes some professionals who have
left a mark in the internet industry, we DCA join the internet fraternity in celebrating our
own Kurt Pritz from ICANN who has been very busy especially during this period
when new gTLD’s process is underway , knowing that we also have applied for a
new gTLD , .africa (dotAfrica) string. Another Top 50 finalist is Mr. Strahura
the CEO and Co-Founder of Donuts that has applied for several ne gTLD’s.
Kurt Pritz is a practicing attorney and the
Senior Vice President of Stakeholder Relations at ICANN, where he
oversees the growth of ICANN's Multistakeholder Model, as well as ICANN's
key stakeholder relationships. He is also overseeing the implementation of the
New gTLD Program.His
high-profile work includes representing ICANN at judicial and legal hearings in
Washington, D.C.
Quoted from the IP
Watch top 50 Website, Pritz himself has been among the most prominent
defenders of the multi-stakeholder model, including in testimony before the US
Congress. One of his next big challenges is to develop the Uniform Rapid
Suspension system (URS) for straightforward disputes involving domain names and
IP rights. This must be in place by the time the first new gTLDs are
operational, which could be as soon as spring next year, but Icann has yet to
find a provider that can deliver the service at a reasonable cost ($300 to
$500). Following a meeting on the topic in Prague, attended by various groups,
Pritz said: "I have a high degree of confidence we will find a solution
... It's been amazing how cross-constituency groups come together."
Concrete proposals for the URS are due to be discussed further at Icann's next
meeting in Toronto in October, and Pritz has a budget to hold a conference on
the issue before then.
Paul Strahura is the CEO
and Co-Founder of Donuts
Inc ,a
former President and Chief Strategy Officer, and a member of the board of
directors, of Demand Media, Inc. Demand Media is the parent company
of eNom, Inc. Mr.
Stahura's current venture, Donuts Inc., is still coalescing; given the timing
and the people he is working with it is speculated to be a new gTLD venture. Mr. Stahura
has over twenty years experience in the software development industry, with the
most recent ten of those years spent in the Internet and DNS space.
From the
IP Watch he is quoted to also own four US patents. But testifying to Congress
in 2009, he admitted that he always wanted to run a registry, rather than a
registrar. Donuts will give him that chance: it has a serious business plan,
including provisions for enhanced IP protection and along with other big gTLD
operators such as Fairwinds and TLD Holdings it is set to transform business on
the internet.
