The Internet Commerce Association, or ICA, “is a non-profit advocating for the rights and interests of domain name owners and related service providers.” We were grateful to have the opportunity to interview Kamila Sekiewicz, Executive Director of the ICA, to shed some light on what the ICA is about.
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DomainAgents: For those who are unfamiliar with the Internet Commerce Association, what is the ICA and who does the ICA help?
Kamila: Internet Commerce Association, or most commonly referred to as the ICA, is the domain name industry’s trade association. The ICA advocates on behalf of domain name owners, registrants, investors, and companies in the domain name space. The association was founded over a decade ago and has worked on many issues with the common goal of protecting the rights of domain name owners, and the asset value of domain names.
DomainAgents: How does the ICA help advocate for the rights and interests of domain name owners and related providers?
Kamila: Domain name investment exists because the rules permit it to exist. Imagine if a new rule was created that prevented selling domain names in the secondary market? Or imagine if a new rule was created which takes away domain names when somebody else gets a trademark? When new rules and policies are discussed, the ICA is there to represent the interests of the domain name secondary market. We fight domain name price increases, we fight unfair UDRP decisions, and we defend domain name registrants, investors, and related service providers. Much of this work is done through ICANN, and within various ICANN committees that deliberate on policy. We also provide our perspective to ICANN directly when required.
DomainAgents: What was the ICA’s response to the proposed .com price hikes and now, potential .org price hikes?
Kamila: The ICA led the effort to oppose .org price hikes resulting in an unprecedented 3,200 objections from the public, including many prominent nonprofits such as NPR and the YMCA. In 2012, the ICA was instrumental in blocking a proposed price hike for .com domain names. The ICA is currently focused on stopping proposed price hikes for all legacy TLDs.
DomainAgents: Why should smaller domain investors or regular people care about the proposed price hikes?
Kamila: There are two reasons. The first is that there is no justification for price hikes on .org or .com. These registries are already very profitable. Raising the prices is nothing more than a money grab from registrants who in many cases, have no choice but to pay whatever price is demanded. Moreover, ICANN is the owner of these registries. The registry operators are merely contracted services providers to ICANN. They have no business raising prices for their own benefit. It’s like a superintendent of an apartment complex jacking up rents and taking all the profits for itself. If prices for a .org domain name went up $20 per domain name per year, that would mean a completely unjustified windfall for the registry operator of $20 x 10 million per year, or $200 million dollars. For .com, a $20 price hike would mean $20 x 140 million per year or a 280 million dollars per year windfall. The second reason is that even small domain name investors could be forced to drop domain names or face steep and unexpected renewal fees in some circumstances. Imagine if your $10 registration had to be renewed at $1000 per year? These are the kinds of changes that the ICA is fighting to prevent.
DomainAgents: In some cases, UDRPs are filed in good faith, and in others the complaints are baseless. What are some of the risks in filing a baseless UDRP complaint?
Kamila: The ICA has written extensively on this topic. See, for example, our post here. A Complainant who files a meritless UDRP often faces a loss of online reputation, and sometimes even monetary damages if the registrant goes to court.
You can join or support the ICA; click here for more information.
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