January 2010 - Bc-gnso - lists.icann.org

Nominating period
by BC Secretariat 15 Jan '10

15 Jan '10

Dear Members As this is the last working day of the week, I would like to remind you that the nomination period for the BC Executive Committee elections closes at midnight on Sunday 17 January. I will be in touch again on Monday to announce the nominees and post election statements. Best wishes Gary

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Public Comment: STI Report on Trademark Protection in New gTLDs
by Philip Sheppard 15 Jan '10

15 Jan '10

FYI - an announce mail http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-2-17dec09-en.htm Public Comment: STI Report on Trademark Protection in New gTLDs 17 December 2009 The Special Trademarks Issues Working Team (STI) has published its Report on its recommendations to create a Trademark Clearinghouse and Uniform Rapid Suspension procedure to protect trademarks in the New GTLD Program. The public comment period ends on 26 January 2010. http://www.icann.org/en/public-comment/public-comment-201001.htm#sti Special Trademark Issues Review Team Recommendations [PDF, 272K] http://gnso.icann.org/issues/sti/sti-wt-recommendations-11dec09-en.pdf You can also find this report at http://gnso.icann.org/issues/. Background On 12 October 2009, the ICANN Board sent a letter [PDF, 736K] to the GNSO requesting its review of the policy implications of certain trademark protection mechanisms proposed for the New gTLD Program, as described in the Draft Applicant Guidebook (http://www.icann.org/en/topics/new-gtlds/draft-rfp-clean-04oct09-en.pdf [PDF, 198K]) and accompanying memoranda. Specifically, the Board Letter requested that the GNSO provide input on whether it approves the proposed staff model , or, in the alternative, the GNSO could propose an alternative that is equivalent or more effective and implementable. In response, t he GNSO adopted a resolution creating the Special Trademarks Issues review team (STI) on 28 October 2009, which included representatives from each Stakeholder Group ; At-Large; Nominating Committee Appointees; and the Government Advisory Committee, to analyze the specific rights protection mechanisms that have been proposed for inclusion in the Draft Applicant Guidebook. The STI delivered to the GNSO Council its Report [PDF, 272K], which describes an alternative model that the STI believes is more effective and implementable than the model proposed in the Draft Applicant Guidebook version 3. The GNSO Council unanimously approved the recommendations contained in the STI Report for public comment and consideration by ICANN when it finalizes the proposed model for trademark protection in the New gTLD Program. For additional information on the new gTLD Program: http://www.icann.org/en/topics/new-gtlds/related-en.htm.

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NetChoice files comment on ICANN's Public Interest Test
by Steve DelBianco 13 Jan '10

13 Jan '10

To BC members: NetChoice filed comments today with ICANN, regarding the new public interest test for reviewing ICANN decisions. This is for the Accountability review of ICANN, as required by the new Affirmation of Commitments. The NetChoice comment is below. All comments are listed at http://forum.icann.org/lists/affrev-draft-processes/index.html#00000 We're recommending that the 'public interest' test encompass two tests that are meaningful to BC members: Availability and Integrity. If you agree, please consider filing a supporting comment, at http://www.icann.org/en/public-comment/public-comment-201001.htm#affrev --Steve Comment on discussion draft for Affirmation Reviews By Steve DelBianco, executive director of NetChoice 13-Jan-2010 *ICANN's new Public Interest Imperative* The Affirmation of Commitments (AoC) adds a new imperative: ICANN decisions must now meet a 'public interest' test. Public interest is part of AoC commitments 3 and 4, and is an explicit criteria in the Accountability Review. Accordingly, ICANN staff featured 'public interest' in the draft terms of reference for the Accountability review. But neither the Affirmation nor the discussion draft has proposed what 'public interest' means for ICANN. Should we just let review panelists (and their consultants) set their own definitions of 'public interest'? I hope not. The broader ICANN community should define the public interest test for ICANN decisions. *Recommended definition of 'Public Interest' for ICANN* First, I believe that the 'public' part of public interest is concerned more with users and registrants than with contracted parties and others who are deeply involved at ICANN. Commitment 4 of the AoC makes this point in calling upon ICANN to analyze and publish the 'effects of its decisions on the public'. Second, I believe that the public interest in ICANN decisions is somewhat broader than just a secure and stable DNS. Namely, users and registrants want ICANN to make sure the DNS delivers two essential and measurable qualities: *Availability* and *Integrity* Availability of the DNS is critical for global users who increasingly rely on the Internet for information, communications, and commerce. Domain name resolutions need to be available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, from anywhere on the globe. Availability also means being able to use any language and any script for both generic and country-code domains and email addresses. Availability can also apply to domain names sought by registrants: will domains in new gTLDs be available to the public, or will they be captured by insiders? That kind of availability should also be part of the public interest test for ICANN decisions. Integrity of the DNS is vital to businesses and end-users of the Internet. Businesses rely upon the integrity of domain name registration to ensure that their brands are not misrepresented or misappropriated. E-commerce and Internet financial transactions absolutely require integrity in resolution of domain names and secure delivery of encrypted data. Internet users depend upon the integrity of domain name services to provide accurate and authentic results when they look up a website or send an email. Integrity is undermined by deceptive practices such as redirecting users to fraudulent websites or providing false information about the true owner of a web domain. It's true that ICANN decisions alone cannot directly address much of what undermines DNS integrity today. But ICANN can promote integrity by making policy and enforcing rules that require contract parties to meet industry security standards. For these reasons, I believe that Availability and Integrity are necessary elements in the public interest test that will be applied to ICANN decisions in the upcoming Accountability Review. I encourage further community discussion on the concept of public interest in Affirmation reviews. This term is too important to leave undefined or let a few reviewers define it to fit their own agenda. If we allow 'public interest' to mean anything and everything, it will end up meaning nothing at all. -- Steve DelBianco Executive Director NetChoice http://www.NetChoice.org and http://blog.netchoice.org +1.202.420.7482

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FW: Standing for BC chair - statement of interest from Marilyn Cade
by Marilyn Cade 10 Jan '10

10 Jan '10

Dear BC Colleagues As we enter 2010, I wanted to communicate with BC members to declare my interest in standing for election for the chair of the BC. I would appreciate your consideration but ask that all communications regarding this topic be sent, for now, until the nomination process opens, " off list" to marilynscade(a)hotmail.com, so that we don't overburden the list with campaigning. My intent in posting this announcement is merely to let you know of my interest and to ask that you consider my interest, once the nomination process opens. ==========================================================================Background: I am expecting that we will hear soon that elections will open in early January, and so it seems timely to let you know of my interest, and why I am interested in being chair of the BC. I am not trying to create an online campaign, so ask that you merely note my interest, and that you send any direct communications regarding my interest, or any questions off list to my email at marilynscade(a)hotmail.com We have benefitted from hard work and dedication of our councilors and officers, and of our secretariat, Gary Hills, but as we all know, with the BC's new charter, there is a new approach to governance/leadership of the BC in 2010, providing for separate administrative/management officers, with four new officers who are standing for election early in 2010, to then join the existing policy councilors - Mike Rodenbaugh and Zahid Jamil, who together will form the new Executive Committee for the Business and Commercial Users Constituency (BC). The BC chair role is essentially a coordinating role, with specific expertise in other activites -- policy coordination and finance/operations -- given over to other elected officers, and a new specifically designated role for a CSG representative. Position interested in: I am interested in being elected as chair of the BC. During 2010, there is important work to be done by the chair of the BC. This will be a vitally important year for the new structure of the BC, and a very important time to work out, as well, how to expand and broaden membership of the BC, as well as how the BC works with other constituencies on key topics of priority interests to its members. We will also be working with other members of the Commercial Users Group (CSG) during this year; there will be a designated elected position to provide that interaction with other CSG reps from the IPC and ISPCP. The BC members will have much to consider during this year, both organizationally and structurally, as well as their ongoing focus on policy issues, which will rest in the new Policy V.Chair and the two policy councilors. I know that BC companies, and other potential BC members often have broad interests as well in such topics as the strategic plan, Internet security and stability, and topics such as Board improvement. The chair can help to identify and support the BC's appropriate attention to those broader issues and perspectives that will make the BC a highly respected voice in the macro issues that affect ICANN, while supporting the work of other elected officers/and members, by helping to ensure that there are resources and attention focused on the key policy activities of the BC. If elected chair, I would expect to work collaboratively with the other members of the Executive Committee; to advance as much transparency as possible on decision making and planning, and to undertake a focus on business outreach for strengthening the membership and participation of the BC within ICANN. Once there is an official election process, I am interested in being nominated and standing for election to the BC chair. But I would welcome your feedback in the meantime and any questions that you may have, which should be sent to my email off list at marilynscade(a)hotmail.com. I don't think that we should turn the BC list into a debate about candidates, but do believe that announcing interest is an appropriate use of the BC list. As a short version of my statement of conflicts/interests, I do not represent any companies who are registries or registries or who are registry applicants, and in fact, do not represent any companies within the BC or within ICANN. My company -- mCADE LLC/ICT Strategies -- provides advisory services focused on Internet governance activities, Internet security and stability, and advising commercial enterprises on the activities of intergovernmental and international organizations that are of relevance to businesses. Marilyn Cade + 1 202 360 1196 or + 1 202 251 6787 email: marilynscade(a)hotmail.com

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Fw: [council] Call for participation in the Affirmation Reviews RequirementsDrafting Team
by Zahid Jamil 10 Jan '10

10 Jan '10

FYI Sincerely, Zahid Jamil Barrister-at-law Jamil & Jamil Barristers-at-law 219-221 Central Hotel Annexe Merewether Road, Karachi. Pakistan Cell: +923008238230 Tel: +92 21 5680760 / 5685276 / 5655025 Fax: +92 21 5655026 www.jamilandjamil.com *** This Message Has Been Sent Using BlackBerry Internet Service from Mobilink *** -----Original Message----- From: Glen de Saint Géry <Glen(a)icann.org> Date: Sun, 10 Jan 2010 09:38:34 To: Council GNSO<council(a)gnso.icann.org> Subject: [council] Call for participation in the Affirmation Reviews Requirements Drafting Team This is a call for participation in the drafting team to discuss the Affirmation Reviews Requirements. At the GNSO Council meeting on Thursday, 7 January, it was agreed that the Council provide comments to the discussion draft that addresses the requirements and implementation processes for the reviews called for in the Affirmation of Commitments. http://www.icann.org/en/public-comment/public-comment-201001.htm#affrev (See below for full text) - The drafting team is to select a lead person for coordination purposes - Suggestions to be provided to the Council for discussion at the Council meeting on 28 January 2010 - Drafting team should provide first draft within a week - 14 January 2010 - Mailing list gnso-arr-dt(a)icann.org<mailto:gnso-arr-dt@icann.org> (arr = Affirmation Reviews Requirements; dt=drafting team) - Public Archives at: http://forum.icann.org/lists/gnso-arr-dt/ Current Volunteers: Olga Cavalli - NCA - GNSO Council vice chair William Drake - NCSG Chuck Gomes - RySG - GNSO Council chair Caroline Greer - RySG Please inform the GNSO Secretariat if you would like to be added to the drafting team mailing list. Please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you. Kind regards, Glen http://www.icann.org/en/public-comment/public-comment-201001.htm#affrev Explanation/Background: ICANN is publishing today for public comment a discussion draft that addresses the requirements and implementation processes for the reviews called for in the Affirmation of Commitments The Affirmation of Commitments contains specific provisions for periodic review of ICANN's key objectives. These reviews are to be performed by review teams composed of volunteer community members representative of the relevant ICANN Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees, as well as independent experts. The paper [PDF, 620K] http://www.icann.org/en/reviews/affirmation/affirmation-reviews-draft-propo… posted for public consultation presents a discussion draft to address the Affirmation review requirements; it describes: *The Affirmation requirements for reviews *The proposed methodology for conducting the reviews *The preliminary activities (such as the establishment of the review Teams and others) *The timeline of the preparatory activities and of the first review *A draft Terms of Reference for the first review Inputs are sought from the community on the full set of proposals contained in this paper. The public consultation will remain open till the end of January, 2010. Glen de Saint Géry GNSO Secretariat gnso.secretariat(a)gnso.icann.org http://gnso.icann.org

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Information regarding Executive Committee Elections
by BC Secretariat 04 Jan '10

04 Jan '10

Dear Members For your information, below are the relevant sections of the Charter regarding the election of an Executive Committee. A point of clarity regarding clause 5.1 in reference to 'members'. This is an exceptional membership year; the decision has been taken to delay invoicing for 2010 until the newly-elected Executive Committee has drawn up a budget and set fees. For the purpose of these elections, BC members as of 31 December 2009 are eligible to stand for election, to nominate and to vote. Best wishes Gary --------------------------------------------------------- 4.2. Executive Committee The Constituency will have an Executive Committee comprised as follows: a.. A Chair b.. A Vice Chair for policy coordination c.. A Vice Chair for finance and operations d.. A representative to the Commercial Stakeholder Group e.. Any Constituency members selected as Council members. 4.7 Terms and eligibility The terms of office of the Chair, Vice Chairs and CSG representative shall be one year. The terms of the GNSO council representative shall be as specified in the ICANN by-laws. To be eligible to stand for a position on the Executive Committee the candidate must have been a member of the Constituency for at least the immediately preceding 12 months. 5. Elections 5.1. The election process for the Executive Committee will be initiated by a nomination period of two weeks. The Chair, Vice Chairs and CSG representative will be elected at the same time. The timing of elections for GNSO representatives and Nominating Committee delegates will be determined by the ICANN by-laws. Any member of the Business Constituency may nominate one other member. This process (including receiving nominations, communicating nominations and publishing an overview of results) will be initiated and managed by the Secretariat. If at the close of nominations, it would result in all Executive Committee except Council representatives, or all Council representatives, being from the same region, the nomination period may be extended to improve geographic diversity. 5.2. Immediately following the nomination period, and a one week discussion period to talk with the candidates if time allows, the Secretariat will open an election period of one week, during which it will receive votes from members of the Constituency electronically, typically via e-mail. 5.3. Depending on category BC members have 3, 2 or 1 vote(s). Votes are cast as a block and are not divisible. The Secretariat will allocate votes cast according to category. 5.4. Proxy votes are allowed subject to written notification to the Secretariat by the designated representative of the member after the nomination period and before the start of the voting period and subject to the proxy conditions of article 3.6. 5.5. The winner(s) will be candidates receiving the largest number of votes. To ensure geographical diversity the Executive Committee may impose elimination rules based on ICANN geographical regions. Such rules will be made known before the start of voting. 5.6. In case of a tie a new election will be held among the nominees in the tie. 8. Communication Guidelines 8.2.3. Special rules for elections During elections there is a need for special rules in line with Article 5 of the Charter to ensure the integrity of the process and fairness to all candidates. This means inter alia that the returning officer for the election will unless otherwise agreed instruct the list administrator as follows: to open a nomination period but only publish nominations to the list at the close of that period; to open a discussion period (where the external timetable allows) but to monitor air time to ensure fairness to all candidates, and if necessary delete or suspend postings; to open a voting period and suspend all election and candidate related list mail during that period. 8.2.4 Types of list the BC will operate an open list with direct posting facility for BC members which is archived and available to members. This list is intended for dynamic discussions such as on policy. the BC will also operate an internal list for indirect posting via the BC Secretariat. This list is intended for administrative matters such as elections.

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January-February 2010
by BC Secretariat 04 Jan '10

04 Jan '10

Dear Members First, I would like to wish all BC members a very happy new year. Here's to an excellent 2010 for the constituency as it moves into a new phase. As you are aware, the Officers have asked me to continue as Secretariat until the end of February. For clarity, I am now working to a new agreement on a consultancy basis. My responsibilities during this period are: - to manage the nominations and elections for the Executive Committee - to effect a handover to the Executive Committee once elected - to assist in defining the role of a new Secretariat for March 2010 onwards I will be announcing the opening of a nomination period for the Executive Committee elections later today. I will also give an outline of the nomination and election processes according to the new BC Charter. Best wishes Gary

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Conference call for those interested with seasoned travelers/visitors to Kenya -- re upcoming ICANN meeting
by Marilyn Cade 02 Jan '10

02 Jan '10

In late December, I offered to organize a conference call for those interested in hearing about travel to Kenya, given our upcoming ICANN meeting in early March, 2010. Andrew Mack, AMGlobal principal, has traveled to Kenya numerous times, and has accepted my invitation to participate in a call with interested BC [and other contstituency members] regarding his experiences. My conversations with Andrew who is a regular attendee at ICANN meetings, and with other colleagues from Kenya, are all very positive about the options for travel. This takes into account that, like all countries [including the US inner city locations'], there are cautions to be taken. In fact, India, which ICANN traveled to without incident, later experienced a shocking experience just before the IGF 2008' yet many of us who also attend ICANN meetings, traveled to Hyderabad, even though the Mumbai incidents had just occurred. My point is that we can learn from our experienced colleagues, and that may help in informing your decisions about travel, and about attendance. I propose a call on Wednesday, January 6, at 10 a.m./EST, which will be mid afternoon Europe, and 6 p.m.in Nairobi, and 8 pm in Karachi, Pakistan. To simply this, I can provide a bridge but it isn't toll free in other countries. This isn't intended to complicate the BC list, or to compete with any organized BC activities. I am merely responding to interest from others who are planning to travel to Kenya, or who have concerns, and would like to hear from seasoned Kenyan travelers. If you want to participate in the call, RSVP to me at marilynscade@hotmail. I'll then post a bridge. On Dec 20, 2009, at 4:12 PM, Marilyn Cade wrote: I have been doing more research on the options for travel and hotels in Nairobi, Kenya,for the upcoming ICANN meeting and wanted to share my experiences, for what they are worth, with other BC members. I also looked into the security issues; talked to a couple of folks who travel to Kenya regularly, and got some helpful information and advice. If anyone is interested, I'll volunteer to set up a call with those 'regulars' who travel or who are in country, before we travel. In the meantime, of course, I closely watch the various 'alerts' from US State, Canadian, UK government, and a couple of other sources, since I travel rather frequently to a wide number of countries around the world as part of my business. If there are business constituency members who want to 'get the scoop' and hear about what the advice is from an experienced group of travelers, we can do a small and low profile 'discussion' call. No need to make this a big deal, since only those who are thinking of attending would be interested. Several of you will be booked at the venue hotel, or may be booked by the ICANN staff [e.g. Councilors] so you may not be interested in these additional options, but for some members, who may be considering but haven't finalized travel, this might be useful. Let me know, off list, if you would like to have such a call and I'll coordinate with those friendly advisors I have beneffitted from. . Hotels: for what it is worth: Through various sources, I've learned: There are several 4 star and 5 star hotels within walking distance. The Nairobi Safari Club may not actually be walking distance. It was difficult to get a clear answer on that. Hotels that are within walking distance are the Intercontinental, Hilton, and Stanley. Hilton: I booked at the Hilton, after some review and discussion. It isn't as fancy as some Hilton's in US or Europe, but is a 4 star. I got a rate of $184/plus taxes /USD per night by pre paying at the Hilton. The Intercont. which is always a preferred hotel, was a little more pricey at $295 plus taxes/USD. Pre pay at the Intercont. didn't reduce the price per day. the Stanley, which seems to be lovely, was a bit higher at around $325 USD/+ taxes. Other hotels that are recommended by a number of sources include the NAIROBI SERENA @ ABOUT $250-300 USD. Taxi to venue. Fairmont the Norfolk at around $430 USD. Taxi to venue. I'm not a qualified tour guide, so take all this into account, and assume you should do your own due diligence, but if you want to join a call with me and a few other experts on Kenya travel/because they live there or travel there, let me know atmarilynscade(a)hotmail.com. We might benefit from sharing information informally. Marilyn Cade - - - - - - - - -phone 651-647-6109 fax 866-280-2356 web www.haven2.comhandle OConnorStP (ID for public places like Twitter, Facebook, Google, etc.)

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Election -- Expression of Interest -- Vice Chair, finance & operations
by Mike O'Connor 31 Dec '09

31 Dec '09

hi all, January is almost here (happy New Year!) and that means elections are coming soon. here's my statement of interest in standing for the VP Finance & Operations job, in my traditional FAQ format... Why?? partly because i can -- i've done this kind of thing "for real" back when i worked for a living. i've worked for various of the Big-8, er... Big-6 um... Big-4 no... Big-3 accounting/consulting firms (the part of Andersen that turned into Accenture, and the Coopers and Lybrand part of PriceWaterhouseCoopers -- what a ghastly name). i also put in a stint as the crisis-manager AVP Finance, CIO and Controller at the University of Minnesota where i was informally known as the "VP of Stuff That Is Broken" until we got things turned around. so i have a lot of skills/experience in this area. i'm also interested because i like to do this kind of thing -- i'm comfortable with operational and financial issues and enjoy getting them fixed. What's your history with the BC and ICANN? here's a link to my ICANNwiki page -- i try to keep this up to date with all that kinda stuff http://icannwiki.org/Mike_O'Connor Where do you think the BC is headed and how will you help get us there? the BC is my home-base within ICANN and i find it to be a good place to be. i'm quite taken with the "bottom-up" model as well as the value placed on "transparency" and want to help make those things work well within the constituency. i'm interested in broad lively debate on issues and will continue to work on due-process for bearers of inconvenient truths. and finally, i think we need to get more members and want to help with the "customer service" stuff. Are there any issues or concerns with your participation we should know about? yep. i'm a white-guy from the US -- so i am not a great contributor to "diversity" in any leadership group. if anybody would like to stand for this role who makes the group more diverse, i'll cheerfully withdraw my application and help out from the sidelines. i'm hoping that we can grow our way out of the situation we find ourselves in right now -- small membership and limited leadership bench-strength. nothing would please me more than to find myself out of a job in a year or two. - - - - - - - - - phone 651-647-6109 fax 866-280-2356 web www.haven2.com handle OConnorStP (ID for public places like Twitter, Facebook, Google, etc.)

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