ICANN is an international private-public partnership founded in 1998. ICANN is a non-profit. They manage the internet’s Domain Name System (DNS), including both generic (gTLD) and country code (ccTLD) Top-Level Domain names and the numeric address infrastructure. There are seven original gTLDs (.com, .edu, .gov, .int, .mil, .net, .org) and in 2001 and 2002 more were added including four unsponsored (.biz, .info, .name, .pro) and three sponsored (.aero, .coop, .museum).

Sponsored sTLDs are limited to narrow communities for which the sponsor sets the rules generally. Since then several more were added (.asia, .cat, .jobs, .mobi, .travel). Each TLD has its own registry maintained by the registry operator.

As a user you will buy your domain name from a registrar who then send the information to the registry.

ICANN will be expanding the internet Domain Name System (DNS). At their recent annual meeting in Paris they decided to expand the languages and character sets for internationalized domain names. There will be a final version of the plan approved but not until first quarter 2009 and approved recommendations could take place as early as the second quarter 2009.

ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers was hacked.  Their domain names both ICANN.com and IANA.com were stolen and transferred to another party. Apparently someone wanted to make a point.

You need to call upon the UDCP when you have a domain name dispute. All registrars in the .biz,.com, .info, .name, .net, and .org top-level domains follow the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDCP).

Registrars typically will not do anything unless there is a court action or arbitration, particularly if there are trademark issues.

If you have an issue you are probably looking to have a domain canceled, suspended, or transfer a domain name.

So what do you do? Well if you are a Trademark holder you can (a) file a complaint in a court of proper jurisdiction against the domain-name holder (or where appropriate an in-rem action concerning the domain name) or (b) in cases of abusive registration submit a complaint to an approved dispute-resolution service provider.

Find more here.