In 2012, the online retail company Amazon Inc. requested from the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the entity responsible for the management of Internet’s critical resources and of the domain name system, the delegation of the “.amazon” top-level domain.
On May, 2013, the Foreign Ministers of the ACTO Member Countries expressed their rejection of any claim of appropriation of the geographical names of the Member Countries of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) and of the top-level domain name “.amazonia” or related, without the due consent of the Amazon countries.
On May, 2014, the ICANN Board rejected the request for the delegation of the “.amazon” domain by the company Amazon Inc., in accordance with its rules that require “due consideration” of governments’ public interest regarding “geographical names”. In view of the present insistence of the company, the absence of the consent of the States would be sufficient for the request for the delegation of the domain not to move forward. Furthermore, a decision to delegate in the absence of consensus would explicitly contravene the multi-stakeholder character of ICANN’s decision-making process.
The Amazon countries based their objection on the understanding that the name, due to its inseparable relationship with the geographical region, the peoples, the nature and the culture of the Amazon, should not be delegated to the company, according to the ICANN rules in force in 2012, under a regime of exclusivity.
Continuously, through the Permanent Secretariat of the ACTO, the Amazon countries have repeatedly expressed to ICANN their willingness to dialogue with ICANN’s representatives, with a view to reaching an agreement based on principles that respect the due consent of the States involved; and, that recognize their right to effectively participate in the governance of the Internet top-level domain “amazon”, for the defense of the public interest, including of aspects related to their public policies. It is the interest of the Amazon countries to develop a mutually acceptable solution that allows the shared management and the shared use of the domain. For reasons beyond their control, this proposed dialogue unfortunately did not materialize.
A month ago, ICANN decided to set a deadline, which expired on April 7, so that the Amazon countries and the company Amazon Inc. could reach an agreement. The timeframe imposed by ICANN proved insufficient because this is a complex matter (technical, political and legal aspects) in which States require consultation and endorsement procedures that prevent negotiations from being so expeditious as to conclude in such a short period of time.
For all its ecosystemic functions, the biome of the Amazon is fundamental for the balance of natural cycles. Besides being the habitat of more than 40 million people, the Amazon is also synonymous of cultural diversity, which is the result of a historical process of occupation of the territory and interaction between human groups of different ethnic and geographical origins. (OTCA: http://www.otca-oficial.info/amazon/our_amazon)
In that sense, the Amazon countries have the right to a decisive participation in everything that relates to the Amazon and, principally, as regards the defense of the rights of the indigenous populations and the environment. This obviously also includes the domain name “.amazon” and its translation in any language. Such interest is demonstrated by the creation of the ACTO itself, whose objectives are to encourage sustainable development and social inclusion in the region.
It is appropriate to recall that, in 2013, the clothing brand Patagonia Inc. desisted from a similar claim in light of the objection of Argentina and Chile; and also that in the Declaration of Montevideo, which resulted from the Fourth Ministerial Conference on the Information Society in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Ministers expressed their rejection of any “attempt to appropriate, without the consent of the respective countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, the denominations ‘amazon’ and ‘patagonia’ in any language, or any other generic top-level domain (gTLD) names referring to geographical areas or historical, cultural or natural features, which should be preserved as part of the heritage and cultural identity of the countries of the region.”
The Amazon countries understand the commercial interests of the company and expect that it recognize the legitimate concerns repeatedly expressed by the States of preserving their right to promote public policies; they also hope to continue trying, in good faith, to find a mutually satisfactory solution.
ACTO Headquarters, Brasília, April 29, 2019
