ICANN landmarks

This page provides a basic chronology of ICANN, the UDRP and ACPA.

Context is provided by the more general multi-part timeline about communications history.

This site also features a detailed chronology for auDA as part of the profile on that organisation and the dot-au space.

     1967

Engelbart establishes ARPAnet NIC (Network Information Center) at Stanford Research Institute

     1971

Karp suggests "host mnemonics", precursor of DNS

     1981

Miller describes Domain Name System (DNS)

     1984

domain name system (DNS) introduced

.au TLD delegated to Melbourne University's Robert Elz by US National Science Foundation (NSF)

     1985

first dot-coms registered

UK is first registered ccTLD

     1990

Elz delegates some responsibility to Geoff Huston of Sydney University

     1992

US National Science Foundation (NSF) appoints NSI to manage .com, .net, and .org domain names

     1994

US government privatises internet management

     1995

NSF allows NSI to charge for domain registrations

Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) acquires NSI for a reported $3m

     1996

Elz delegates responsibility for .com.au 2LD to commercial unit of Melbourne University, subsequently floated as Melbourne IT

Nominet established in UK

     1997

International Ad Hoc Committee (IAHC) releases Generic Top Level Domain Memorandum of Understanding (gTLD-MoU)

Australian Domain Name Administration (ADNA) established as a nongovernment body but does not proceed

     1998

US Government commissions A Proposal to Improve Technical Management of Names and Addresses Green Paper from Ira Magaziner

criticisms of Green Paper reflected in White Paper on Management of Internet Names & Addresses that calls for creation of nonprofit corporation (ICANN) to handle consensus-based technical management of the net's infrastructure

US asks World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to conduct consultative study on domain name/trademark issues

dot-AU Working Group established under Commonwealth auspices but gets bogged down

Australian National Office for the Information Economy agrees to facilitate creation of Australian internet self-regulatory regime, with transfer of authority from Robert Elz to new entity

Internet Corporation for Assigned Names & Numbers (ICANN) established

     1999

WIPO report recommends uniform dispute resolution policy (UDRP) for all registrars in the .com, .net and .org TLDs

ICANN Board accepts the DNSO recommendation for UDRP

WIPO and NAF approved as first dispute-resolution service providers under UDRP

first UDRP proceeding (worldwrestlingfederation.com) commenced

US enacts Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA)

auDA established to manage dot-au TLD

first auDA Board election

     2000

SAIC sells NSI to VeriSign for reported US$15.3 to US$20bn

'dot-com crash'

ICANN creates new gTLDs (eg dot-info and dot-biz)

eResolution approved as third UDRP arbitrator

CPR approved as fourth UDRP service provider

first UDRP proceeding (worldwrestlingfederation.com) decided

WIPO seeks comments on trademark and domain name issues

WIPO releases 'Best Practice' guidelines

Geist's paper on ICANN's Uniform Dispute Resolution Processes

Civil Society Internet Forum (CSIF) launched

ICANNmembers.org launched

ICANN At-Large elections

     2001

auDA consultation exercise about competition, dispute resolution and names policy

auDA gains formal delegation for dot-au TLD

eResolution withdraws from UDRP

NGO & Academic ICANN Study report

WIPO issues interim report on UDRP

     2002

updated version of Geist's Fair.com paper

study of UDRP by Max Planck Institute

Asian Domain Name Dispute Resolution Centre replaces eResolution

ICANNAtLarge.org launched

US Commerce Department renews Memorandum of Understanding with ICANN

WIPO becomes sole dispute-resolution service provider for dot-edu through the EduDRP

LACNIC established as regional net registry for Latin America and Caribbean

announcement that European Commission will manage ICANN Government Advisory Committee (GAC)

     2003

NomCom appointments to ICANN Board

VeriSign SiteFinder controversy

VeriSign sells 85% of dot-com and dot-net registrar operations to Pivotal Private Equity for US$100m

World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) held in Geneva

     2004

OECD report on gTLD process

Security & Stability Advisory Committee report on DNS security

OSG buys dot-coop domain name registry and registrar operation from Poptel

UN establishes Working Group on Internet Governance

Frank Fowlie appointed as first ICANN Ombudsman

     2005

ICANN accepts .jobs and .travel TLDs, moves towards .xxx TLD

US government indicates intention to retain control of the Root

     2006

ICANN renews contract with US Department of Commerce





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