Don’t be afraid of ICANN's Intellectual Property Constituency

“Some people are scared to join the IPC because they think there’s a high learning curve or it’s very technical,” “But it’s a very low learning curve and we’re very open to new members—you don’t even need to know how the Internet works.”

The IPC is also a good way to become directly involved in policy making, says Shatan. “It’s very important. You’re making real governance decisions. It’s only a slight exaggeration to say we’re running the Internet.”

As the voice of IP stakeholder concerns in ICANN’s multi-stakeholder framework, it is particularly important that the IPC is representative and active. “I would like to see more involvement from outside the EU and North America,” says Shatan. Asian and African members are particularly underrepresented.

“The bottom line is that the domain name system and the Internet are a critically important part of the world that trademark owners live in, and the IPC is the voice for brand owners. It can’t be ignored.” You can learn more at the IPC’s meeting, which is open to all INTA registrants, on Wednesday from 11:30 to 1:30 in Room 10.