September 2009 - Bc-gnso - lists.icann.org

Letter from members of the US House Committee on the Judiciary to ICANN
by Philip Sheppard Sept. 18, 2009

Sept. 18, 2009

For information - re new gTLDs Letter from members of the USA House Committee of the Judiciary. From: http://www.icann.org/correspondence/smith-coble-to-beckstrom-15sep09-en.pdf Dear Mr Beckstrom, Congratulations on your recent appointment as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). You assume responsibility of the principle private sector organization charged with maintaining the security and stability of the global Internet at a critical juncture. The contemporaneous consideration of the rollout of an unrestricted number of generic top level domains (gTLDS) in conjunction with the scheduled expiration of the Joint Project Agreement (JPA) presents historic challenges and turning points in Internet Governance. As senior leaders of the House Committee on the Judiciary, which has jurisdiction over matters that relate to criminal justice, competition and intellectual property rights, we have a longstanding interest in matters that affect the domain name system (DNS). In this capacity, we would like to share with you our concerns regarding the proposed new generic domain name expansion and the expiration of the JPA. It has come to our attention that the proposed unlimited expansion of gTLDS will likely result in serious negative consequences for U.S. businesses and consumers, As new gTLDs are created, many businesses fear being forced to defensively register trademarks and variations of their marks to block cybersquatters from illegitimately trading on their good will and to protect consumers from increased incidences of fraud. We note that the absence of price caps in the new registry agreements could mean that legitimate businesses with an established consumer base and Internet presence may be discriminated against and compelled to pay a premium for each new domain name they register or renew. We also note that the record concerning the impact this proposed expansion will have on competition is woefully inadequate. To our knowledge, the only economic justification put forth thus far has been an ICANN-commissioned report that has been widely criticized for failing to include empirical data or analysis in support of its conclusion that the unrestricted expansion of gTLDs will result in net consumer benefits. We are aware that ICANN has taken some steps to respond to the concerns of intellectual property owners by establishing an Implementation Recommendation team (IRT) charged with developing specific proposals to protect intellectual property interests. However, we note with disappointment that serious consideration of these interests did not occur in the normal course of ICANN's policy development process, and the IRT was formed only after considerable public outcry arose from the business and intellectual property communities. We further note that decisions regarding the execution of the IRT's recommendations have not been publicly announced as well as our concern that it appears such disclosures are not intended to be made available to the public prior to the scheduled expiration of the JPA. This apparent time-line reinforces the perception that ICANN decision-making processes lack critical transparency and accountability. Given the late consideration of intellectual property concerns, the lack of a credible independent analysis on competition issues in the context of proposals to expand gTLD's, as well as ICANN's less-than-stellar track record on a variety of other issues (enforcement of registrar obligations, accuracy of publicly available Whois data), we have serious misgivings about the prospect of terminating the formal relationship between the U.S. Government and ICANN that is currently represented by the JPA. In the interests of better understanding ICANN's position on these and related matters, we will appreciate your providing the Committee with answers to the following questions: 1. Which of the recommendations of the IRT does ICANN plan to implement? What is the justification for not publicly announcing such decisions prior to the September 30, 2009 scheduled expiration of the JPA and instead deferring such public notice and review until publication of the new version of the Draft Applicant Guidebook? If implemented, how will the recommendations put forth by the IRT serve to reduce or eliminate the need for defensive registrations? Will any of recommendations prevent price gouging by registries and registrars? 2. Does ICANN intend to carry out a comprehensive, empirical economic study to examine the impact on competition that additional gTLDs may have? If not, what confidence can the public have that the expansion of gTLDs will improve rather than hinder, competition? Assuming the rollout goes forward, what steps will ICANN take to monitor the impact on competition in the future? 3. Do you recognize a need for and support the establishment of a permanent instrument that memorializes the relationship between ICANN and the U.S. Government? If not, what are your current thoughts on an extension of the JPA prior to its expiration on September 30, 2009? What key elements do you think should be incorporated into such as permanent or temporary agreement? What assurances do citizens of the United States have that ICANN will effectively meet the goals set out in the JPA if it or a successor agreement is not formally extended? As a final matter, we wish to associate ourselves with many of the concerns articulated by the ICANN's Government Advisory Committee in their letter of August 18, 2009 (copy enclosed) to the Chairman of ICANN's Board. We would appreciate your assessment and response to the matter detailed in that letter, particularly as they relate to the stability of the Internet and the absence of clear evidence that the introduction of new gTLDs will provide net benefits to consumers. The effects of policies adopted by ICANN transcends the narrow technical operation of the global Internet. The policy choices made and the manner they are implemented affect the rights, property and security of consumers, companies, non-governmental organizations and governments worldwide. With this enormous impact, ICANN has an obligation to ensure there are inclusive, transparent, and accountable processes that consider fully the perspectives of ALL stakeholders, before rendering significant decisions or implementing substantial policy changes. We urge you to weigh carefully the concerns expressed by us, the GAC, and other parties before finalizing a course of action and we look forward to receiving your written response by Tuesday, September 22, 2009. Sincerely, Lamar Smith, Ranking Member, House Committee on the Judiciary Howard Coble, Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Courts and Competition, House Committee on the Judiciary

3 2

Election final reminder
by BC Secretariat Sept. 18, 2009

Sept. 18, 2009

Dear Members Nominating Committee Large Business election A final reminder that this election closes at midnight in your time zone today, Friday 18 September. Votes received after this time cannot be accepted. Please let me know by return if you would like another ballot paper. Best wishes Gary

1 0

Nominating Committee election
by Rick Anderson Sept. 17, 2009

Sept. 17, 2009

Thanks for the election reminder, Gary, and thanks Ron Andruff and Marilyn Cade for nominating and seconding me. I am delighted that we have two good candidates for the large business BC seat on the Nominating Committee, and encourage members to be sure exercise their vote for one or the other of us. For my part I have been involved with ICANN for about five years, and have attended about a dozen Board meetings. I also serve as an elected director of CIRA, the Canadian Internet Registry Authority, the not-for-profit organization mandated by the Canadian Government to operate the .ca ccTLD. Beyond ICANN, I am Executive Vice President of Interborder Holdings, a multibillion-dollar private enterprise in financial services, mutual funds and real estate, with headquarters in Canada and operations in the USA, Germany, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong and Malaysia. I have also been quite involved in politics for over 30 years, including as a national campaign manager for the party currently in power in Canada, and have provided regular commentary on political affairs to major broadcast and print media outlets. This is an important time for ICANN, and for the Business Constituency. The NomCom's role in recruiting the right people for the ICANN Board, and for other key ICANN bodies, is crucial. If you permit, I will touch on just three key topics for which I think reaching to recruit the right talent is particularly salient. First, the post-JPA era is fraught with challenges. Most probably, none of the three ICANN "government accountability" options most commonly identified (continuing mandate from US DoC, no mandate from any government(s) at all, the unhappy morass of the ITU) completely fit the bill. As always with ICANN, what we are doing is unique. Evolving our multi-stakeholder consensus-based approach will be a major challenge over the next few years for the Board, and for the rest of the ICANN community, requiring the best minds we can find. Second, the portfolio of IP issues have created an unhealthy dichotomy between IP rights and entrepreneurship, a Hobson's choice most of us in business do not wish to choose between. My firm operates dozens of websites in support of our various businesses in different parts of the world, and therefore has been pressed into hundreds of defensive registrations which are (as we all know) a major hassle to mange without error. It is tempting to say stop, already, and to try to freeze things as they are and save ourselves extra hassle. Yet, we value the Internet as a wide open place where creativity and entrepreneurship are moulding the most exciting developments in commerce and communications, reshaping the way we do business, inform and educate ourselves, interact socially, govern our countries, and be entertained. We in the business community cannot let the understandable and necessary urge to protect our rights strangle the entrepreneurship driving the evolution of the web; finding the right balance is very important. Third, our own Business Constituency, in my view, is long overdue to change our ways. This group should be blossoming, with hundreds or thousands - not dozens - of business participants contributing to and learning about ICANN's important governance of the domain name world. Instead, we have let our constituency deteriorate into a comfortably-small clique, in which too few enterprises participate, and even fewer are genuinely engaged, or listened to. Some of our internal arguments border on the petty. More crucially, we have lost our distinctiveness. ICANN does not particularly need two IP constituencies, nor two registrar constituencies. Our external positioning has drifted from having constructive common cause with others of like mind into being a bit too replicative of other constituencies. Consequently the broader global business community does not yet have the engagement and voice and impact it should have with ICANN. Changing our own BC model of ICANN participation is pretty important to fixing that, yet for two years we have dragged our feet, stretching out a status quo which may be comfortable in certain ways but is not terribly effective. The Nom Com has important work to do. Its Charter includes recruiting and appointing representatives not only to the ICANN Board - a major challenge - but also to ALAC, the GNSO Policy Council, and the ccNSO. All of these bodies must be well-equipped with senior, experienced and able people. If you entrust me with your vote, I assure you I will do my best to see that this is the case. Best wishes. cheers/Rick Rick Anderson EVP, InterBorder Holdings Ltd email: randerson(a)interborder.ca cell: (403) 830-1798 ________________________________ From: owner-bc-gnso(a)icann.org To: BC gnso Sent: Thu Sep 17 07:45:17 2009 Subject: [bc-gnso] Nominating Committee election reminder Dear Members Nominating Committee Large Business A reminder that the voting period for this election closes at midnight in your time zone tomorrow, Friday 18 September. Principle contacts of membership organisations should return ballots to me before that time at the secretariat address. Please let me know if you would like me to send you another ballot form. Thank you to those members who have already voted. Best wishes Gary This e-mail message and any attachments may contain confidential and/or privileged information intended only for the addressee. In the event this e-mail is sent to you in error, sender and sender’s company do not waive confidentiality or privilege, and waiver may not be assumed. Any dissemination, distribution or copying of, or action taken in reliance on, the contents of this e-mail by anyone other than the intended recipient is prohibited. If you have been sent this e-mail in error, please destroy all copies and notify sender at the above e-mail address. Computer viruses can be transmitted by e-mail. You should check this e-mail message and any attachments for viruses. Sender and sender’s company accept no liability for any damage caused by any virus transmitted by this e-mail. Like other forms of communication, e-mail communications may be vulnerable to interception by unauthorized parties. If you do not wish to communicate by e-mail, please notify sender. In the absence of such notification, your consent is assumed. Sender will not take any additional security measures (such as encryption) unless specifically requested.

1 0

Nominating Committee election reminder
by BC Secretariat Sept. 17, 2009

Sept. 17, 2009

Dear Members Nominating Committee Large Business A reminder that the voting period for this election closes at midnight in your time zone tomorrow, Friday 18 September. Principle contacts of membership organisations should return ballots to me before that time at the secretariat address. Please let me know if you would like me to send you another ballot form. Thank you to those members who have already voted. Best wishes Gary

1 0

BC officer election to Council
by BC Secretariat Sept. 16, 2009

Sept. 16, 2009

Background Under the adopted Commercial Stakeholder Group (CSG) charter the CSG has six seats on the new Council starting in October in Seoul. It has been agreed between the three constituencies in the CSG that each Constituency will select two seats until further notice. It has been agreed within Council that Council members with terms that are unfinished will remain in place until the natural end of their term. This maintains the continuity benefits of elections in staggered years. For the BC this means that Mike Rodenbaugh, who was elected by the BC for the period October 2008 - October 2010, will be one of our Councillors for the next 12 months. Under our existing BC Charter we would in any case be holding elections for the seats currently held by Philip Sheppard and Zahid Jamil in September. Developments BC Charter discussion looks like it may take some time and risks us not replacing our representative if we wait until discussion has finished. We anyway have longer to discuss this than the necessary timing of the election for Council. It is not necessary to hold the election under a revised Charter. We just need to have a selection mechanism. Way forward We therefore intend to hold an election under our existing Charter for the seat presently held by Zahid Jamil for the term October 2009 - October 2011. To avoid confusion this election will take place shortly after the current election for the remaining nominating committee position. The third seat currently held by Philip Sheppard will not be continued after the end of his term of office. Zahid Jamil Mike Rodenbaugh Philip Sheppard

1 0

Invitation to attend New gTLDs and Mitigating Malicious Conduct webinar on September 29, 2009 at 15:00 UTC.
by BC Secretariat Sept. 14, 2009

Sept. 14, 2009

Invitation to attend New gTLDs and Mitigating Malicious Conduct webinar on September 29, 2009 at 15:00 UTC. RSVP via email to securitywebinar(a)icann.org prior to September 23, 2009 23:59 UTC Dear Sir or Madam: You are cordially invited to participate in a live ICANN webinar regarding measures to mitigate malicious conduct with the proposed introduction of New gTLDs. Title: New gTLDs and Mitigating Malicious Conduct When: Tuesday, September 29, 2009 Time: 15:00 - 16:00 UTC Brief Session Description: ICANN is proposing several important measures to mitigate potential malicious conduct in the New gTLD Program. These measures can be found in version 3 of the Draft Applicant Guidebook scheduled for posting prior to the ICANN Seoul Meeting. This webinar will provide a description of those measures and an opportunity for Q&A. The duration of the webinar is one hour and will be conducted in English only at this time. The format will be presented in PowerPoint along with dial-in conference bridge for audio. We will have time at the end of the session for Q&A. During the course of the webinar, questions may be submitted using the Q&A function of Adobe Connect. Should we run out of time or if you have additional questions after the session, please send them via email to securitywebinar(a)icann.org no later then October 9, 2009 23:59 UTC. You may also choose to submit your questions via the Overarching Issues Wiki at https://st.icann.org/new-gtld-overarching-issues/. Please note there will be no personal e-mail response to senders. All questions and answers received, as well as the audio recording of the session, will be posted early November at the New gTLD's Overarching Issues Wiki. Featured Speakers Bios: Dr. Greg Rattray is the Chief Internet Security Advisor at ICANN. He manages ICANN's corporate security, business continuity and risk management programs, as well as ICANN's broader security, stability and resiliency efforts for the Internet's unique identifier systems. He is a retired United States Air Force Officer with a Ph.D. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, a Master's of Public Policy from the JF Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University and a Bachelor of Science from the U.S. Air Force Academy. David Giza is Senior Director of Contractual Compliance at ICANN. He is responsible for the strategic leadership and continuing development of ICANN's global contract compliance program. David is an active member of the Ethics and Compliance Officer Association and various State Bar Associations in the United States. He has served as an elected local government official in Illinois and on the Board of Directors for various charitable organizations. He holds a Juris Doctorate from the John Marshall Law School in Chicago, Illinois, and a Bachelor of Science in Commerce, with a double major in management and finance from DePaul University in Chicago. Meeting Details: As space is limited, this is an invitation-only event. If you would like to participate, please RSVP via email to securitywebinar(a)icann.org prior to September 23, 2009 23:59 UTC to secure your place. We will send you an e-mail reminder before the event with log-in and dial-in details. Please DO NOT RSVP to Denise Michel or any other ICANN staff members e-mail address. Yours sincerely, ICANN Staff

1 0

FW: [council] Invitation to attend New gTLDs and Mitigating Malicious Conduct webinar on September 29, 2009 at 15:00 UTC.
by Mike Rodenbaugh Sept. 14, 2009

Sept. 14, 2009

Fyi the below invitation to hear ICANN's proposals for mitigating malicious conduct in new TLDs, which will be reflected in the next Draft Applicant Guidebook. Mike Rodenbaugh Rodenbaugh Law 548 Market Street San Francisco, CA 94104 +1.415.738.8087 www.rodenbaugh.com -----Original Message----- From: owner-council(a)gnso.icann.org [mailto:owner-council@gnso.icann.org] On Behalf Of Glen de Saint Géry Sent: Saturday, September 12, 2009 10:40 AM To: Council GNSO Subject: [council] Invitation to attend New gTLDs and Mitigating Malicious Conduct webinar on September 29, 2009 at 15:00 UTC. Invitation to attend New gTLDs and Mitigating Malicious Conduct webinar on September 29, 2009 at 15:00 UTC. RSVP via email to securitywebinar(a)icann.org <http://security@icann.org/> prior to September 23, 2009 23:59 UTC Dear Sir or Madam: You are cordially invited to participate in a live ICANN webinar regarding measures to mitigate malicious conduct with the proposed introduction of New gTLDs. Title: New gTLDs and Mitigating Malicious Conduct When: Tuesday, September 29, 2009 Time: 15:00 - 16:00 UTC Brief Session Description: ICANN is proposing several important measures to mitigate potential malicious conduct in the New gTLD Program. These measures can be found in version 3 of the Draft Applicant Guidebook scheduled for posting prior to the ICANN Seoul Meeting. This webinar will provide a description of those measures and an opportunity for Q&A. The duration of the webinar is one hour and will be conducted in English only at this time. The format will be presented in PowerPoint along with dial-in conference bridge for audio. We will have time at the end of the session for Q&A. During the course of the webinar, questions may be submitted using the Q&A function of Adobe Connect. Should we run out of time or if you have additional questions after the session, please send them via email to securitywebinar(a)icann.org no later then October 9, 2009 23:59 UTC. You may also choose to submit your questions via the Overarching Issues Wiki at https://st.icann.org/new-gtld-overarching-issues/ <https://st.icann.org/new-gtld-overarching-issues/> . Please note there will be no personal e-mail response to senders. All questions and answers received, as well as the audio recording of the session, will be posted early November at the New gTLDs Overarching Issues Wiki. Featured Speakers Bios: Dr. Greg Rattray is the Chief Internet Security Advisor at ICANN. He manages ICANNs corporate security, business continuity and risk management programs, as well as ICANNs broader security, stability and resiliency efforts for the Internets unique identifier systems. He is a retired United States Air Force Officer with a Ph.D. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, a Masters of Public Policy from the JF Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University and a Bachelor of Science from the U.S. Air Force Academy. David Giza is Senior Director of Contractual Compliance at ICANN. He is responsible for the strategic leadership and continuing development of ICANNs global contract compliance program. David is an active member of the Ethics and Compliance Officer Association and various State Bar Associations in the United States. He has served as an elected local government official in Illinois and on the Board of Directors for various charitable organizations. He holds a Juris Doctorate from the John Marshall Law School in Chicago, Illinois, and a Bachelor of Science in Commerce, with a double major in management and finance from DePaul University in Chicago. Meeting Details: As space is limited, this is an invitation-only event. If you would like to participate, please RSVP via email to securitywebinar(a)icann.org <http://security@icann.org/> prior to September 23, 2009 23:59 UTC to secure your place. We will send you an e-mail reminder before the event with log-in and dial-in details. Please DO NOT RSVP to Denise Michel or any other ICANN staff members e-mail address. Yours sincerely, ICANN Staff

1 0

Registry-Registrar Vertical Integration
by Philip Sheppard Sept. 14, 2009

Sept. 14, 2009

For information ________________________________ From: Richard Tindal [mailto:Richard.Tindal@demandmedia.com] Sent: Friday, September 11, 2009 7:18 PM To: philip.sheppard(a)aim.be; icann(a)rodenbaugh.com; zahid(a)jamilandjamil.com Subject: RE: Registry-Registrar Vertical Integration Dear BC, Here is a letter we sent to the Board on this issue. I think one of the aspects of this debate that is misinformed is the notion that cross-ownership is new policy. As discussed in detail in page 2 or our attached letter there is a long history of gTLD registry contracts that permit cross ownership. The majority of TLDs launched since 2001 had contracts with more cross ownership than is currently proposed in the DAG. Another important distinction that many are missing is that cross ownership is not suitable in all situations. Where the registry is price capped, or where it exerts market power, we do not support cross ownership of registry and registrar. For example the majority of concerns raised by PIR in their letter relate to price capped TLDs, but they are not making the distinction between this and non-price capped TLDs. We advocate limited cross ownership only for TLDs without price caps. I am available to discuss any aspect of this at your convenience. Best regards Richard Tindal eNom

1 0

Status Update: IDN ccTLD Fast Track Process Implementation
by BC Secretariat Sept. 11, 2009

Sept. 11, 2009

Status Update: IDN ccTLD Fast Track Process Implementation http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-2-09sep09-en.htm 9 September 2009 ICANN is pleased to provide the following status report on the progress of implementation of the IDN ccTLD Fast Track Process. Overall, the implementation is tracking to the project plan and it is planned to be submitted to the Board during the ICANN meeting in Korea, Seoul, 26-30 October 2009. Discussion of the implementation plan will continue during the Korea meeting and the plan can be amended if a change is indicated. Anticipating positive Board consideration, the process can be launch within a very small timeframe after the Seoul meeting (in the fourth quarter of 2009). The proposed Final Implementation Plan will be posted online for public review at the end of September 2009, and a new status update of the overall implementation will be provided prior to the Korea meeting. Implementation Update: DNS Stability Panel: Interisle has been contracted to form the DNS Stability Panel that conducts the technical string requirement evaluations for requested IDN ccTLDs. This includes a verification that the delegations of new TLD strings will not result in user confusion with any existing strings in the DNS. Interisle is currently in the process of forming the DNS Stability Panel for Fast Track Process String Evaluation and providing on-boarding material to panel members. Online Request System: the online system through which IDN ccTLD requests will be submitted is in the final stages of development and testing. The next three weeks will be used: (i) finalize the online content (ii) perform a legal review (iii) undertake a live test. As part of the live test ICANN has consulted with representatives of five countries and invited them to participate in testing of the system. Testing includes: submitting a test request in the system, processing / qualification by staff, providing feedback on the test to participants. These tests will run from the end of September through 9 October after which a new status report of overall Fast Track implementation will be released. Online IDN area: the IDN area online will be revised with an FAQ, factsheets, and a manual reference for use of the online request system. The new and improved site will be released prior to the Fast Track Process launch time. Linguistic Processes: there are a few aspects of the Fast Track Process that are related to linguists or require the advice or statements from experts in writing systems. An important piece of this relates to the requested string(s) as a meaningful representation of a country or territory name. UNGEGN has agreed to support Fast Track participants as needed with referrals to such expertise. The referrals will be provided through an ICANN point of contact and the method for requesting such expertise will be described in the proposed Final Implementation Plan. ICANN plans to support to those requiring linguistic assistance. Outstanding issues: several topics that has been discussed in public comment on implementation proposals of the Fast Track Process since the initial draft implementation plan was released on 23 October 2008. These include: (i) the form of relationship between an IDN ccTLD manager and ICANN, (ii) cost considerations regarding contribution to processing and TLD support costs, (iii) management of variant TLDs. Solutions to these issues have been discussed, and it is believed that current opinions or positions of each community segment is well understood. For questions, please contact Tina Dam, at ICANN, at: tina.dam(a)icann.org. Glen de Saint Géry GNSO Secretariat http://gnso.icann.org

1 0

Nominating Committee election (large business)
by BC Secretariat Sept. 11, 2009

Sept. 11, 2009

Dear Members Nominating Committee representative for large business The nomination period for this election is now closed. There are two candidates for election: Rick Anderson, InterBorder Holdings Ltd Nominated by Ron Andruff, RNA Partners Seconded by Marilyn Cade, mCadeLLC Chris Martin, United States Council for International Business Nominated by David Fares, News Corporation Seconded by Sarah Deutsch, Verizon I have asked both candidates to provide me with an election statement which I will send to members along with a ballot form. The election opens tomorrow, Saturday 12 September and closes on Friday 18 September. Best wishes Gary

1 0