The Internet Commerce Association (ICA) is the longest standing and most active non profit trade association that advocates for the rights and interests of domain name owners and related service providers. The ICA is so important to our industry because among many other things, they are the most active organizations that monitor and engage government agencies and ICANN on behalf of domain investors for policy changes or threats that could potentially affect domain name owners.
Last week, the ICA held a meetup at Resorts World Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. While we haven’t seen the official numbers yet, it was a very well attended event with over 100+ top domain investors, brokers, and domain industry participants coming together to support and participate in future ICA initiatives. Day one of the meetup was a fun day and included a choice of several organized activities that attendees could choose from including a hike, electric scooter tour, neon museum or exotic car racing. Day one rounded out with an opening reception sponsored by Godaddy.com followed by a very entertaining show by mentalist Alain Nu.
Day two was the meat of the conference and a very productive day for members that attended. ICA policy briefing, Member Town Hall, UDRP proposal discussions, a talk with renowned IP attorney, John Berryhill as well as breakout sessions with industry 'gurus' and corporate representatives were just some of the available sessions. These are all very informative and important discussions for serious domain investors. The ICA meeting provided an amazing opportunity for the domain industry community members in attendance to voice their opinions, ideas and learn what happens behind the scenes. The networking opportunities were also bountiful, and as usual domain industry participants welcomed new faces and celebrated getting together in person with old friends and colleagues with parties and meals together.
At the Brokers meeting on Day three, the main discussion was about Broker Governance and Code of Conduct. The domain name industry does not have an official accreditation for domain brokers, but it is agreed upon by the ICA and its members that moving in the direction of having one in place is an important next step in legitimizing our industry and assets within the global internet community. We’re excited to see this come to fruition and continue working with the ICA to help make it a reality for our industry soon. We support the ICA, appreciate all their hard work and efforts and commend them for putting on a spectacular meetup for attending members to this year's event.
To learn more about the ICA, visit their website at https://internetcommerce.org.
