To: John Jeffrey, ICANN General Counsel From: Bruce Tonkin, Chair, GNSO Cc: Paul Twomey, ICANN CEO Cc: Vint Cerf, ICANN Chair Dear John, The GNSO Council in its resolution of 2 Dec 2005, stated that there are broader questions raised in the proposed .com settlement that need to be first addressed by the GNSO, and the GNSO Council recommended that the ICANN Board should postpone adoption of the proposed settlement while the Council fully investigates the policy issues raised by the proposed changes. The GNSO, at its teleconference meeting on Tuesday 17 Jan 2006, directed the ICANN Staff Manager to arrange for the development of an issues report on the policy issues raised in the proposed .com agreement as the first step of the formal Policy Development Process (PDP). This issues report will be able to draw from the constituency statements prepared for the ICANN meeting in Vancouver, and the transcripts of the various public comment forums held on this topic. The Council intends to treat this as a high priority issue given the current negotiations on the .com agreement, and follow the timelines in the PDP as closely as possible. To ensure that the GNSO Council can provide policy advice in a timeframe that is useful to the ICANN staff and ICANN Board, the GNSO Council seeks information from the ICANN staff on the proposed process and timeline for the Board approving a new .com agreement. Regards, Bruce Tonkin Chair, GNSO Council