MEDEF’s View on Dot EU
Domain Day – 5 novembre 2002 – Palazzo Stelline – Milano
Catherine GABAY – Director Innovation and Research - Medef
MEDEF
MEDEF, the French Business Confederation, represents
over 750 000 companies of all sizes and in all sectors
of business (industry, trade and services).
- 85 business federations combining 600 business
associations, each covering companies in the same
business sector
- 165 associations or provincial MEDEFs representing
companies at local, departmental and regional levels
Domain Day
5 novembre 2002
Palazzo Stelline
Milano
MEDEF is also :
- 2000 business people who work in discussion and
action groups and work groups
- 10.000 employers
- 35.000 employers’ representatives
MEDEF 's view on dot EU
Catherine Gabay, Director Innovation and Research
2
MEDEF
An association under France’s 1901 law,
the French Business Confederation is
responsible for conducting any
research and actions in the mutual
interests of business
Domain Day
5 novembre 2002
Palazzo Stelline
Milano
MEDEF 's view on dot EU
Catherine Gabay, Director Innovation and Research
3
MEDEF’s duties are :
Domain Day
5 novembre 2002
Palazzo Stelline
Milano

to decide and make known the business
point of view on subjects directly or
indirectly concerning businesses, so that
they can benefit from a favourable legal and
regulatory environment

to promote the thinking of business and
broadcast it throughout all components of
society

to favour the ends of the business
community, its energy and successes, and
the progress of management in a global
economy
MEDEF 's view on dot EU
Catherine Gabay, Director Innovation and Research
4
MEDEF’s duties are :
Domain Day
5 novembre 2002
Palazzo Stelline
Milano

to express business people’s desire for
progress and the convictions that they draw
from their national and international
experience on the general conditions of
economic and social progress

to contribute to a constructive social
dialogue between the parties in businesses
and their professional organisations

to strive to adapt the different systems of
social protection to economic and
demographic change
MEDEF 's view on dot EU
Catherine Gabay, Director Innovation and Research
5
MEDEF’s Innovation and Research Department
Some of the topics addressed :
• E-business : e-commerce, cyber-security, eadministration and businesses, economic intelligence,
Internet domain names and management issues.
• Information, Computing and Communication
Technologies : telecommunications and audiovisual
regulation, Information systems security.
• Innovation : Measures to increase the innovation level
notably in SMEs
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5 novembre 2002
Palazzo Stelline
Milano
• Research : cooperation between private and public
research, 6th PCRD, measures necessary to boost research
level in France, relationship with education.
• Intellectual Property Protection : European and
Community patents, Software patent, trademarks
MEDEF 's view on dot EU
Catherine Gabay, Director Innovation and Research
6
MEDEF’s view on dot EU
Background
• MEDEF began to express business
expectations on the EU domain name
since the European Commission
consultation in February 2000
Domain Day
5 novembre 2002
Palazzo Stelline
Milano
• MEDEF organized in June 2001 a
forum dedicated to the dot EU
MEDEF 's view on dot EU
Catherine Gabay, Director Innovation and Research
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MEDEF’s view on dot EU
MEDEF defends the creation of a dot EU
which meets business needs
- SECURITY and CONFIDENCE of
businesses and consumers on the Internet
and in e-commerce usage
Domain Day
5 novembre 2002
Palazzo Stelline
Milano
- VISIBILITY on the web :
Business visibility : First level dedicated to
businesses. The dot EU must provide
businesses an attractive shop window at the
European level
European Visibility on Internet
MEDEF 's view on dot EU
Catherine Gabay, Director Innovation and Research
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SECURITY
A safe, reliable and permanent service
• Service reliability and Service recovery
procedures
In the case of technical problems as well in the
case of any financial problems (recovery
procedures in the case of the dot EU registry’s
bankruptcy for example)
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Palazzo Stelline
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• Continuity of service is a key element of
confidence for business users
MEDEF 's view on dot EU
Catherine Gabay, Director Innovation and Research
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CONFIDENCE
Business users’ voice
• The business interests must be
represented in the registry structure
(in a users’s college for instance)
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5 novembre 2002
Palazzo Stelline
Milano
• Business users’ consultation in the case
of dot EU policy changes
MEDEF 's view on dot EU
Catherine Gabay, Director Innovation and Research
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CONFIDENCE
Enhancing confidence in e-commerce
• Promoting the EU e-commerce, date
privacy and consumer protection
directives
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5 novembre 2002
Palazzo Stelline
Milano
• Encouraging the use of alternative
dispute resolution methods for ecommerce
MEDEF 's view on dot EU
Catherine Gabay, Director Innovation and Research
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CONFIDENCE
Intellectual Property Protection
• Protection against cybersquatting : sunrise
process for trademark holders, dispute
resolution policy, checking of applicant’s rights
of for a dot EU domain name
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Palazzo Stelline
Milano
• Expected positive side effect : Increasing
SMEs’ awareness of intellectual property
issues and notably the community trademark.
MEDEF 's view on dot EU
Catherine Gabay, Director Innovation and Research
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CONFIDENCE
Intellectual Property Protection
• Maintenance of an up-to-date and
accurate registration database for all
dot EU registrations
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5 novembre 2002
Palazzo Stelline
Milano
• A WHOIS database conform to EU data
protection law
MEDEF 's view on dot EU
Catherine Gabay, Director Innovation and Research
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CONFIDENCE
An effectively competitive registration
• A competitive dot EU registration
business encouraging the use of best
practices
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5 novembre 2002
Palazzo Stelline
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• Protection against domain name
slamming
(current transfers’ issue in gTLDs)
MEDEF 's view on dot EU
Catherine Gabay, Director Innovation and Research
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VISIBILITY
A useful and visible domain name
• Visibility is the key : First level on dot
EU for businesses
Domain Day
5 novembre 2002
Palazzo Stelline
Milano
• Dot EU must be a successful domain
name (virtuous circle) not to be used
only for defensive registration of
trademarks
MEDEF 's view on dot EU
Catherine Gabay, Director Innovation and Research
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VISIBILITY
Europe’s presence on the web
• Be a shop window on the European market
for businesses.
• Make a possible link with the Euro currency
• Promote the dot EU to boost SMEs presence
on the Web
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5 novembre 2002
Palazzo Stelline
Milano
• Enhance Europe’s credibility in Internet
management issues (ICANN)
MEDEF 's view on dot EU
Catherine Gabay, Director Innovation and Research
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Thank you for your attention.
Any Questions ?