I will send the request on and see about the feasibility of this. Needless to say, conducting this survey would be a substantial undertaking considering the size of the registrar marketplace. This is not by way of discouraging you or anyone else; I just want to make sure that this is not something that can be done overnight; it might require additional consulting or other resources, and this close to the end of the budget year that might be complex. There's no way that the At-Large budget or staff could undertake it, but then, this would it seems to me be something of interest to many other constituencies in any case, so it is likely that would not be asked of us in any case. May I suggest in the first instance that ALAC discuss this and formally resolve on the question. On 07/05/07, Wendy Seltzer <wendy@seltzer.com> wrote:

There was support for this research among ALAC members. Nick, what do we need to do to move it forward?

I updated to reflect John's suggestion on transfer process. --Wendy

-------- Original Message -------- Subject: Request for staff research: registrar fees and practices Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2007 17:50:33 -0400 From: Wendy Seltzer <wendy@seltzer.com> To: At-Large writ small <alac@atlarge-lists.icann.org>

Here's my recommendation for a request to staff for registrar research. I'd recommend this begin with review of registrar websites, perhaps to be followed with direct communications if information is unavailable.

Comments or changes welcome. --Wendy

The At-Large Advisory Committee has heard complaints from individuals about significant divergences among registrars on fees and practices regarding domain name transfer and expired domain name redemption. At least some registrants are not aware of these fees and practices at the time they register names. Before ALAC can analyze whether these fees and practices reflect a problem or the competitive market at work, we would like to get more information about them.

We therefore ask staff to develop a plan for surveying accredited registrars on their practices.

For each registrar, determine: Transfer-away: Is there a transfer-away fee for registrants to take their domain names to another registrar? If so, what is the fee? Is the transfer-away fee disclosed to the registrant at the time of registration? Where and how is such disclosure made? Is the fee subject to change during the registration period? Can registrants actually get the authcodes required to transfer domains? What is the process to get the authcode, including any fees charged?

Redemption: What is the redemption fee for an expired domain name? Does the registrar itself register names its registrants have failed to renew?

-- Wendy Seltzer -- wendy@seltzer.org phone: 718.780.7961 // fax: 718.780.0394 // cell: 914.374.0613 Visiting Assistant Professor of Law, Brooklyn Law School Fellow, Berkman Center for Internet & Society http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/seltzer.html http://www.chillingeffects.org/

-- Wendy Seltzer -- wendy@seltzer.org phone: +1.617.418.3456 / +44 (0)1865 287203 // cell: 07785 550361 Visiting Fellow, Oxford Internet Institute Fellow, Berkman Center for Internet & Society http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/seltzer.html http://www.chillingeffects.org/

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-- -- Regards, Nick Ashton-Hart PO Box 32160 London N4 2XY United Kingdom UK Tel: +44 (20) 8800-1011 USA Tel: +1 (202) 657-5460 Fax: +44 (20) 7681-3135 mobile: +44 (7774) 932798 Win IM: ashtonhart@hotmail.com / AIM/iSight: nashtonhart@mac.com / Skype: nashtonhart Online Bio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashtonhart