auDA has today announced the appointment of the .au Licence Review Panel. The Panel has 5 members and is chaired by former King Wood Mallesons Partner Phillip Davies.
auDA CEO Rosemary Sinclair said “The Licence Review Panel ensures procedural fairness and a robust avenue for complaint resolution by an experienced, independent individual”.
The Panelists are:
Phillip Davies (Chair) is a lawyer with over 30 years’ experience, including 24 years at King Wood Mallesons, 13 of which as a partner. He has worked in intellectual property law, as a member of several professional tribunals, and holds extensive executive management and corporate governance experience. Presently, Mr Davies is a member of four tribunals including the Building Appeals Board and the Disciplinary AppealsBoard, and is the national Tolling Customer Ombudsman.
Bernadette Day is a solicitor who has operated her own practice for over 13 years. She has served on the South Australia Civil and Administrative Tribunal as a presiding member as well as on several Boards. Prior to private practice, Ms Day was a legal officer for the Commonwealth Department of Immigration and at the Australian Communications and Media Authority, where she provided legal advice regarding radiocommunications, telecommunications and the Internet.
Angela Flannery is currently a partner at Holding Redlich, specialising in technology, media and telecommunications. Ms Flannery has more than 20 years’ experience in both private practice and in the Commonwealth Government, having previously been First Assistant Secretary and General Counsel within the Commonwealth Department of Communications and the Arts.
Melissa Marcus is a barrister specialising in intellectual property and defamation law. Ms Marcus has also acted as an independent auditor in relation to undertakings to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and has represented clients in Royal Commissions. Prior to joining the Bar, she worked for many years at Mallesons Stephen Jaques, managing their Trade Marks Group and at Linklaters in London.
Andrew Sykes is a barrister with a dedicated practice in intellectual property and information technology, including issues of branding (trade mark law, domain names and passing off). Mr Sykes is an arbitrator with the Asian Domain Name Dispute Resolution Centre and the Czech Arbitration Court in Prague. He also is the author of Australian Trade Mark Opposition Law (2nd ed.) and co-author of “Trade Marks and the Internet” in Lahore’s Patents, Trade Marks & Related Rights.
The Panel contains a good balance of high profile barristers and some experienced lawyers, with the majority of panelists being women.
The Licence Review Panel is the final forum for review of decisions made with respect to domain names following a review by a Senior Officer of auDA not involved in the original auDA Decision. Applications to the Licence Review Panel must be made within 10 calendar days after a decision has been made by auDA (see clause 3.8.4 of the New Licensing Rules). Having an effective independent review of decisions is essential in order for domain name registrants to have confidence in the complaints process.
The appointments were announced at the eleventh hour before the new licensing rules are scheduled to come into effect on 12 April 2021.
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