Agree with Volker. This TLD has attracted quite a bit of (negative, and perhaps deservedly so) attention recently, but I am confused by this letter. The window to take action was likely prior to delegation. Once the TLD is delegated and the contract is signed, I don’t see ICANN Staff having the authority to do anything to “halt” the launch. Probably why they didn’t…. Thanks— J. From: Volker Greimann <vgreimann@key-Systems.net<mailto:vgreimann@key-Systems.net>> Date: Wednesday, April 1, 2015 at 10:28 To: "jrobinson@afilias.info<mailto:jrobinson@afilias.info>" <jrobinson@afilias.info<mailto:jrobinson@afilias.info>>, GNSO Council List <council@gnso.icann.org<mailto:council@gnso.icann.org>> Subject: Re: [council] FW: Intellectual Property Constituency Communication to ICANN Regarding dotSUCKS Interesting business model, but not really an issue for the GNSO, unless someone is proposing to take this as a basis for new policy development. As an observer with no skin in this game, this looks to be an issue for compliance to determine if the model violates the policies and/or contracts or not and if it does, to take action accordingly. For the interesting question of the different fee structure, there seems to be an explanation already: http://domainincite.com/18282-that-mystery-1-million-sucks-fee-explained-and... Best, VG Am 01.04.2015 um 11:49 schrieb Jonathan Robinson: All. FYI. Jonathan From: Greg Shatan [mailto:gregshatanipc@gmail.com] Sent: 27 March 2015 20:45 To: Jonathan Robinson Subject: Fwd: Intellectual Property Constituency Communication to ICANN Regarding dotSUCKS Dear Jonathan, It was ​a pleasure working with you in Istanbul. In your role as Chair of the ​GNSO, I am sending you a copy of the attached letter, just sent to ICANN, expressing the concerns of the Intellectual Property Constituency regarding the .SUCKS registry. Best Regards, ​ Greg​ Greg​ory S.​Shatan President, Intellectual Property Constituency -- Bei weiteren Fragen stehen wir Ihnen gerne zur Verfügung. Mit freundlichen Grüßen, Volker A. Greimann - Rechtsabteilung - Key-Systems GmbH Im Oberen Werk 1 66386 St. Ingbert Tel.: +49 (0) 6894 - 9396 901 Fax.: +49 (0) 6894 - 9396 851 Email: vgreimann@key-systems.net<mailto:vgreimann@key-systems.net> Web: www.key-systems.net<http://www.key-systems.net> / www.RRPproxy.net<http://www.RRPproxy.net>www.domaindiscount24.com<http://www.domaindiscount24.com> / www.BrandShelter.com<http://www.BrandShelter.com> Folgen Sie uns bei Twitter oder werden Sie unser Fan bei Facebook: www.facebook.com/KeySystems<http://www.facebook.com/KeySystems>www.twitter.com/key_systems<http://www.twitter.com/key_systems> Geschäftsführer: Alexander Siffrin Handelsregister Nr.: HR B 18835 - Saarbruecken Umsatzsteuer ID.: DE211006534 Member of the KEYDRIVE GROUP www.keydrive.lu<http://www.keydrive.lu> Der Inhalt dieser Nachricht ist vertraulich und nur für den angegebenen Empfänger bestimmt. Jede Form der Kenntnisgabe, Veröffentlichung oder Weitergabe an Dritte durch den Empfänger ist unzulässig. Sollte diese Nachricht nicht für Sie bestimmt sein, so bitten wir Sie, sich mit uns per E-Mail oder telefonisch in Verbindung zu setzen. -------------------------------------------- Should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. Best regards, Volker A. Greimann - legal department - Key-Systems GmbH Im Oberen Werk 1 66386 St. Ingbert Tel.: +49 (0) 6894 - 9396 901 Fax.: +49 (0) 6894 - 9396 851 Email: vgreimann@key-systems.net<mailto:vgreimann@key-systems.net> Web: www.key-systems.net<http://www.key-systems.net> / www.RRPproxy.net<http://www.RRPproxy.net>www.domaindiscount24.com<http://www.domaindiscount24.com> / www.BrandShelter.com<http://www.BrandShelter.com> Follow us on Twitter or join our fan community on Facebook and stay updated: www.facebook.com/KeySystems<http://www.facebook.com/KeySystems>www.twitter.com/key_systems<http://www.twitter.com/key_systems> CEO: Alexander Siffrin Registration No.: HR B 18835 - Saarbruecken V.A.T. ID.: DE211006534 Member of the KEYDRIVE GROUP www.keydrive.lu<http://www.keydrive.lu> This e-mail and its attachments is intended only for the person to whom it is addressed. Furthermore it is not permitted to publish any content of this email. You must not use, disclose, copy, print or rely on this e-mail. If an addressing or transmission error has misdirected this e-mail, kindly notify the author by replying to this e-mail or contacting us by telephone.

I will soon be publishing an extensive article on this matter. For now I would point out that, regardless of the timing of the IPC letter, ICANN received a letter from Sen. Jay Rockefeller, then-Chairman of the US Senate Commerce Committee, raising essentially the same concerns in March 2014. Philip S. Corwin, Founding Principal Virtualaw LLC 1155 F Street, NW Suite 1050 Washington, DC 20004 202-559-8597/Direct 202-559-8750/Fax 202-255-6172/cell Twitter: @VlawDC "Luck is the residue of design" -- Branch Rickey From: owner-council@gnso.icann.org [mailto:owner-council@gnso.icann.org] On Behalf Of Amr Elsadr Sent: Monday, April 13, 2015 6:52 AM To: James M. Bladel Cc: Volker Greimann; jrobinson@afilias.info; council@gnso.icann.org Subject: Re: [council] Intellectual Property Constituency Communication to ICANN Regarding dotSUCKS Hi, Apologies for coming back to this thread so late, but just wanted to voice my support of the perspectives offered by Volker and James. As this gTLD has already been delegated, and unless there is any reason to believe the registry is not in compliance with its Registry Agreement, I don’t see why ICANN staff would be required or mandated to freeze the launch of .SUCKS. One part of the blog by Allen Grogen caught my attention, and I probably need to look into this a bit more closely before opining: “…, if Vox Populi is not complying with all applicable laws, it may also be in breach of its registry agreement. ICANN could then act consistently with its public interest goals and consumer and business protections to change these practices through our contractual relationship with the registry.” Personally speaking, although I understand the concerns raised by the IPC, I’m not convinced that there is necessarily any malicious intent on the part of Vox Populi. Like Volker said, I agree that this is an interesting business model. Just not entirely sure its actual objective is to extort trademark holders. If the IPC would like to suggest initiation of a policy process to somehow address this, that would be its prerogative. Additionally, should ICANN compliance staff determine that there indeed is a contractual issue ICANN needs to resolve, I would recommend that a discussion about this be held with the GNSO to clarify the reasoning. Thanks. Amr On Apr 1, 2015, at 6:12 PM, James M. Bladel <jbladel@godaddy.com<mailto:jbladel@godaddy.com>> wrote: Agree with Volker. This TLD has attracted quite a bit of (negative, and perhaps deservedly so) attention recently, but I am confused by this letter. The window to take action was likely prior to delegation. Once the TLD is delegated and the contract is signed, I don’t see ICANN Staff having the authority to do anything to “halt” the launch. Probably why they didn’t…. Thanks— J. From: Volker Greimann <vgreimann@key-Systems.net<mailto:vgreimann@key-Systems.net>> Date: Wednesday, April 1, 2015 at 10:28 To: "jrobinson@afilias.info<mailto:jrobinson@afilias.info>" <jrobinson@afilias.info<mailto:jrobinson@afilias.info>>, GNSO Council List <council@gnso.icann.org<mailto:council@gnso.icann.org>> Subject: Re: [council] FW: Intellectual Property Constituency Communication to ICANN Regarding dotSUCKS Interesting business model, but not really an issue for the GNSO, unless someone is proposing to take this as a basis for new policy development. As an observer with no skin in this game, this looks to be an issue for compliance to determine if the model violates the policies and/or contracts or not and if it does, to take action accordingly. For the interesting question of the different fee structure, there seems to be an explanation already: http://domainincite.com/18282-that-mystery-1-million-sucks-fee-explained-and... Best, VG Am 01.04.2015 um 11:49 schrieb Jonathan Robinson: All. FYI. Jonathan From: Greg Shatan [mailto:gregshatanipc@gmail.com] Sent: 27 March 2015 20:45 To: Jonathan Robinson Subject: Fwd: Intellectual Property Constituency Communication to ICANN Regarding dotSUCKS Dear Jonathan, It was ​a pleasure working with you in Istanbul. In your role as Chair of the ​GNSO, I am sending you a copy of the attached letter, just sent to ICANN, expressing the concerns of the Intellectual Property Constituency regarding the .SUCKS registry. Best Regards, ​ Greg​ Greg​ory S.​Shatan President, Intellectual Property Constituency -- Bei weiteren Fragen stehen wir Ihnen gerne zur Verfügung. Mit freundlichen Grüßen, Volker A. Greimann - Rechtsabteilung - Key-Systems GmbH Im Oberen Werk 1 66386 St. Ingbert Tel.: +49 (0) 6894 - 9396 901 Fax.: +49 (0) 6894 - 9396 851 Email: vgreimann@key-systems.net<mailto:vgreimann@key-systems.net> Web: www.key-systems.net<http://www.key-systems.net/> / www.RRPproxy.net<http://www.rrpproxy.net/>www.domaindiscount24.com<http://www.domaindiscount24.com/> / www.BrandShelter.com<http://www.brandshelter.com/> Folgen Sie uns bei Twitter oder werden Sie unser Fan bei Facebook: www.facebook.com/KeySystems<http://www.facebook.com/KeySystems>www.twitter.com/key_systems<http://www.twitter.com/key_systems> Geschäftsführer: Alexander Siffrin Handelsregister Nr.: HR B 18835 - Saarbruecken Umsatzsteuer ID.: DE211006534 Member of the KEYDRIVE GROUP www.keydrive.lu<http://www.keydrive.lu/> Der Inhalt dieser Nachricht ist vertraulich und nur für den angegebenen Empfänger bestimmt. Jede Form der Kenntnisgabe, Veröffentlichung oder Weitergabe an Dritte durch den Empfänger ist unzulässig. Sollte diese Nachricht nicht für Sie bestimmt sein, so bitten wir Sie, sich mit uns per E-Mail oder telefonisch in Verbindung zu setzen. -------------------------------------------- Should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. Best regards, Volker A. Greimann - legal department - Key-Systems GmbH Im Oberen Werk 1 66386 St. Ingbert Tel.: +49 (0) 6894 - 9396 901 Fax.: +49 (0) 6894 - 9396 851 Email: vgreimann@key-systems.net<mailto:vgreimann@key-systems.net> Web: www.key-systems.net<http://www.key-systems.net/> / www.RRPproxy.net<http://www.rrpproxy.net/>www.domaindiscount24.com<http://www.domaindiscount24.com/> / www.BrandShelter.com<http://www.brandshelter.com/> Follow us on Twitter or join our fan community on Facebook and stay updated: www.facebook.com/KeySystems<http://www.facebook.com/KeySystems>www.twitter.com/key_systems<http://www.twitter.com/key_systems> CEO: Alexander Siffrin Registration No.: HR B 18835 - Saarbruecken V.A.T. ID.: DE211006534 Member of the KEYDRIVE GROUP www.keydrive.lu<http://www.keydrive.lu/> This e-mail and its attachments is intended only for the person to whom it is addressed. Furthermore it is not permitted to publish any content of this email. You must not use, disclose, copy, print or rely on this e-mail. If an addressing or transmission error has misdirected this e-mail, kindly notify the author by replying to this e-mail or contacting us by telephone. ________________________________ No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com<http://www.avg.com> Version: 2015.0.5856 / Virus Database: 4328/9503 - Release Date: 04/10/15

Hi Phil, Apart from the question by James, I would be grateful for any further insight you may have into this issue when you publish the article. Please do share a link to your article on this list when it is ready. Thanks. Amr On Apr 14, 2015, at 2:16 AM, James M. Bladel <jbladel@godaddy.com> wrote:

HI Phil:

How could the “same concerns” have been raised in March 2014? Wasn’t this primarily an objection to the TLD’s Sunrise pricing practices? Meaning, if sunrise prices had been closer to the GA wholesale price, would there have even been an IPC letter?

Thanks—

J.

From: Phil Corwin <psc@vlaw-dc.com> Date: Monday, April 13, 2015 at 12:45 To: Amr Elsadr <aelsadr@egyptig.org>, James Bladel <jbladel@godaddy.com> Cc: Volker Greimann <vgreimann@key-Systems.net>, "jrobinson@afilias.info" <jrobinson@afilias.info>, GNSO Council List <council@gnso.icann.org> Subject: RE: [council] Intellectual Property Constituency Communication to ICANN Regarding dotSUCKS

I will soon be publishing an extensive article on this matter.

For now I would point out that, regardless of the timing of the IPC letter, ICANN received a letter from Sen. Jay Rockefeller, then-Chairman of the US Senate Commerce Committee, raising essentially the same concerns in March 2014.

Philip S. Corwin, Founding Principal Virtualaw LLC 1155 F Street, NW Suite 1050 Washington, DC 20004 202-559-8597/Direct 202-559-8750/Fax 202-255-6172/cell

Twitter: @VlawDC

"Luck is the residue of design" -- Branch Rickey

From: owner-council@gnso.icann.org [mailto:owner-council@gnso.icann.org] On Behalf Of Amr Elsadr Sent: Monday, April 13, 2015 6:52 AM To: James M. Bladel Cc: Volker Greimann; jrobinson@afilias.info; council@gnso.icann.org Subject: Re: [council] Intellectual Property Constituency Communication to ICANN Regarding dotSUCKS

Hi,

Apologies for coming back to this thread so late, but just wanted to voice my support of the perspectives offered by Volker and James. As this gTLD has already been delegated, and unless there is any reason to believe the registry is not in compliance with its Registry Agreement, I don’t see why ICANN staff would be required or mandated to freeze the launch of .SUCKS.

One part of the blog by Allen Grogen caught my attention, and I probably need to look into this a bit more closely before opining:

“…, if Vox Populi is not complying with all applicable laws, it may also be in breach of its registry agreement. ICANN could then act consistently with its public interest goals and consumer and business protections to change these practices through our contractual relationship with the registry.”

Personally speaking, although I understand the concerns raised by the IPC, I’m not convinced that there is necessarily any malicious intent on the part of Vox Populi. Like Volker said, I agree that this is an interesting business model. Just not entirely sure its actual objective is to extort trademark holders. If the IPC would like to suggest initiation of a policy process to somehow address this, that would be its prerogative. Additionally, should ICANN compliance staff determine that there indeed is a contractual issue ICANN needs to resolve, I would recommend that a discussion about this be held with the GNSO to clarify the reasoning.

Thanks.

Amr

On Apr 1, 2015, at 6:12 PM, James M. Bladel <jbladel@godaddy.com> wrote:

Agree with Volker.

This TLD has attracted quite a bit of (negative, and perhaps deservedly so) attention recently, but I am confused by this letter. The window to take action was likely prior to delegation. Once the TLD is delegated and the contract is signed, I don’t see ICANN Staff having the authority to do anything to “halt” the launch. Probably why they didn’t….

Thanks—

J.

From: Volker Greimann <vgreimann@key-Systems.net> Date: Wednesday, April 1, 2015 at 10:28 To: "jrobinson@afilias.info" <jrobinson@afilias.info>, GNSO Council List <council@gnso.icann.org> Subject: Re: [council] FW: Intellectual Property Constituency Communication to ICANN Regarding dotSUCKS

Interesting business model, but not really an issue for the GNSO, unless someone is proposing to take this as a basis for new policy development. As an observer with no skin in this game, this looks to be an issue for compliance to determine if the model violates the policies and/or contracts or not and if it does, to take action accordingly.

For the interesting question of the different fee structure, there seems to be an explanation already: http://domainincite.com/18282-that-mystery-1-million-sucks-fee-explained-and...

Best,

VG

Am 01.04.2015 um 11:49 schrieb Jonathan Robinson: All.

FYI.

Jonathan

From: Greg Shatan [mailto:gregshatanipc@gmail.com] Sent: 27 March 2015 20:45 To: Jonathan Robinson Subject: Fwd: Intellectual Property Constituency Communication to ICANN Regarding dotSUCKS

Dear Jonathan,

It was ​a pleasure working with you in Istanbul.

In your role as Chair of the ​GNSO, I am sending you a copy of the attached letter, just sent to ICANN, expressing the concerns of the Intellectual Property Constituency regarding the .SUCKS registry.

Best Regards, ​ Greg​

Greg​ory S.​Shatan President, Intellectual Property Constituency

-- Bei weiteren Fragen stehen wir Ihnen gerne zur Verfügung.

Mit freundlichen Grüßen,

Volker A. Greimann - Rechtsabteilung -

Key-Systems GmbH Im Oberen Werk 1 66386 St. Ingbert Tel.: +49 (0) 6894 - 9396 901 Fax.: +49 (0) 6894 - 9396 851 Email: vgreimann@key-systems.net

Web: www.key-systems.net / www.RRPproxy.netwww.domaindiscount24.com / www.BrandShelter.com

Folgen Sie uns bei Twitter oder werden Sie unser Fan bei Facebook: www.facebook.com/KeySystemswww.twitter.com/key_systems

Geschäftsführer: Alexander Siffrin Handelsregister Nr.: HR B 18835 - Saarbruecken Umsatzsteuer ID.: DE211006534

Member of the KEYDRIVE GROUP www.keydrive.lu

Der Inhalt dieser Nachricht ist vertraulich und nur für den angegebenen Empfänger bestimmt. Jede Form der Kenntnisgabe, Veröffentlichung oder Weitergabe an Dritte durch den Empfänger ist unzulässig. Sollte diese Nachricht nicht für Sie bestimmt sein, so bitten wir Sie, sich mit uns per E-Mail oder telefonisch in Verbindung zu setzen.

--------------------------------------------

Should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Best regards,

Volker A. Greimann - legal department -

Key-Systems GmbH Im Oberen Werk 1 66386 St. Ingbert Tel.: +49 (0) 6894 - 9396 901 Fax.: +49 (0) 6894 - 9396 851 Email: vgreimann@key-systems.net

Web: www.key-systems.net / www.RRPproxy.netwww.domaindiscount24.com / www.BrandShelter.com

Follow us on Twitter or join our fan community on Facebook and stay updated: www.facebook.com/KeySystemswww.twitter.com/key_systems

CEO: Alexander Siffrin Registration No.: HR B 18835 - Saarbruecken V.A.T. ID.: DE211006534

Member of the KEYDRIVE GROUP www.keydrive.lu

This e-mail and its attachments is intended only for the person to whom it is addressed. Furthermore it is not permitted to publish any content of this email. You must not use, disclose, copy, print or rely on this e-mail. If an addressing or transmission error has misdirected this e-mail, kindly notify the author by replying to this e-mail or contacting us by telephone.

No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2015.0.5856 / Virus Database: 4328/9503 - Release Date: 04/10/15

Thanks Phil. So ICANN had an idea of what the Sunrise prices would be a year ago, and this is indeed important. Thanks— J. From: Phil Corwin <psc@vlaw-dc.com<mailto:psc@vlaw-dc.com>> Date: Tuesday, April 14, 2015 at 6:52 To: Amr Elsadr <aelsadr@egyptig.org<mailto:aelsadr@egyptig.org>>, James Bladel <jbladel@godaddy.com<mailto:jbladel@godaddy.com>> Cc: Volker Greimann <vgreimann@key-Systems.net<mailto:vgreimann@key-Systems.net>>, "jrobinson@afilias.info<mailto:jrobinson@afilias.info>" <jrobinson@afilias.info<mailto:jrobinson@afilias.info>>, GNSO Council List <council@gnso.icann.org<mailto:council@gnso.icann.org>> Subject: RE: [council] Intellectual Property Constituency Communication to ICANN Regarding dotSUCKS In answer to James, ICANN received a letter from Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller in March 2014 about .Sucks. Press release is at http://www.commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecor... Letter text is at https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/correspondence/rockefeller-to-crocker-... Excerpt from the letter: Approving "sucks", a gTLD with little or no public interest value, will have the effect of undermining the credibility ICANN has slowly been building with skeptical stakeholders. Three companies - Donuts Inc., Momentous Corporation, and Top Level Spectrum Inc. -have applied for this gTLD, claiming that it will foster debate and benefit consumers. I view it as little more than a predatory shakedown scheme. The business model behind this gTLD seems to be the following: force large corporations, small businesses, non-profits, and even individuals, to pay ongoing fees to prevent seeing the phrase "sucks" appended to their names on the Internet. … One applicant, for example, Vox Populi Registry, owned by the Canadian company Momentous, has started soliciting defensive registrations before it has even secured the right to operate the "sucks" gTLD. According to its website, the company is accepting payments of $2,500 for trademark reservation, which will rise to $25,000 during a 30-day sunrise period and remain at that level annually for trademark owner. Vox Populi claims that the reduced $2,500 fee is a bargain, saying that "Incurring registration fees of $25,000 in Sunrise is a waiting game not worth the prize." While Vox Populi has now reduced the sunrise registration fee to $2500 annually, rather than the $25,000 they stated a year ago, the concerns expressed by the Senator were pretty much the same as those in the IPC letter. ICANN did nothing in response last year, yet now has taken the unprecedented step of asking two national regulators to opine on the legality of the pricing and business model of the registry. What changed? Philip S. Corwin, Founding Principal Virtualaw LLC 1155 F Street, NW Suite 1050 Washington, DC 20004 202-559-8597/Direct 202-559-8750/Fax 202-255-6172/cell Twitter: @VlawDC "Luck is the residue of design" -- Branch Rickey From: Amr Elsadr [mailto:aelsadr@egyptig.org] Sent: Tuesday, April 14, 2015 6:30 AM To: James M. Bladel Cc: Phil Corwin; Volker Greimann; jrobinson@afilias.info<mailto:jrobinson@afilias.info>; council@gnso.icann.org<mailto:council@gnso.icann.org> Subject: Re: [council] Intellectual Property Constituency Communication to ICANN Regarding dotSUCKS Hi Phil, Apart from the question by James, I would be grateful for any further insight you may have into this issue when you publish the article. Please do share a link to your article on this list when it is ready. Thanks. Amr On Apr 14, 2015, at 2:16 AM, James M. Bladel <jbladel@godaddy.com<mailto:jbladel@godaddy.com>> wrote: HI Phil: How could the “same concerns” have been raised in March 2014? Wasn’t this primarily an objection to the TLD’s Sunrise pricing practices? Meaning, if sunrise prices had been closer to the GA wholesale price, would there have even been an IPC letter? Thanks— J. From: Phil Corwin <psc@vlaw-dc.com<mailto:psc@vlaw-dc.com>> Date: Monday, April 13, 2015 at 12:45 To: Amr Elsadr <aelsadr@egyptig.org<mailto:aelsadr@egyptig.org>>, James Bladel <jbladel@godaddy.com<mailto:jbladel@godaddy.com>> Cc: Volker Greimann <vgreimann@key-Systems.net<mailto:vgreimann@key-Systems.net>>, "jrobinson@afilias.info<mailto:jrobinson@afilias.info>" <jrobinson@afilias.info<mailto:jrobinson@afilias.info>>, GNSO Council List <council@gnso.icann.org<mailto:council@gnso.icann.org>> Subject: RE: [council] Intellectual Property Constituency Communication to ICANN Regarding dotSUCKS I will soon be publishing an extensive article on this matter. For now I would point out that, regardless of the timing of the IPC letter, ICANN received a letter from Sen. Jay Rockefeller, then-Chairman of the US Senate Commerce Committee, raising essentially the same concerns in March 2014. Philip S. Corwin, Founding Principal Virtualaw LLC 1155 F Street, NW Suite 1050 Washington, DC 20004 202-559-8597/Direct 202-559-8750/Fax 202-255-6172/cell Twitter: @VlawDC "Luck is the residue of design" -- Branch Rickey From: owner-council@gnso.icann.org<mailto:owner-council@gnso.icann.org> [mailto:owner-council@gnso.icann.org] On Behalf Of Amr Elsadr Sent: Monday, April 13, 2015 6:52 AM To: James M. Bladel Cc: Volker Greimann; jrobinson@afilias.info<mailto:jrobinson@afilias.info>; council@gnso.icann.org<mailto:council@gnso.icann.org> Subject: Re: [council] Intellectual Property Constituency Communication to ICANN Regarding dotSUCKS Hi, Apologies for coming back to this thread so late, but just wanted to voice my support of the perspectives offered by Volker and James. As this gTLD has already been delegated, and unless there is any reason to believe the registry is not in compliance with its Registry Agreement, I don’t see why ICANN staff would be required or mandated to freeze the launch of .SUCKS. One part of the blog by Allen Grogen caught my attention, and I probably need to look into this a bit more closely before opining: “…, if Vox Populi is not complying with all applicable laws, it may also be in breach of its registry agreement. ICANN could then act consistently with its public interest goals and consumer and business protections to change these practices through our contractual relationship with the registry.” Personally speaking, although I understand the concerns raised by the IPC, I’m not convinced that there is necessarily any malicious intent on the part of Vox Populi. Like Volker said, I agree that this is an interesting business model. Just not entirely sure its actual objective is to extort trademark holders. If the IPC would like to suggest initiation of a policy process to somehow address this, that would be its prerogative. Additionally, should ICANN compliance staff determine that there indeed is a contractual issue ICANN needs to resolve, I would recommend that a discussion about this be held with the GNSO to clarify the reasoning. Thanks. Amr On Apr 1, 2015, at 6:12 PM, James M. Bladel <jbladel@godaddy.com<mailto:jbladel@godaddy.com>> wrote: Agree with Volker. This TLD has attracted quite a bit of (negative, and perhaps deservedly so) attention recently, but I am confused by this letter. The window to take action was likely prior to delegation. Once the TLD is delegated and the contract is signed, I don’t see ICANN Staff having the authority to do anything to “halt” the launch. Probably why they didn’t…. Thanks— J. From: Volker Greimann <vgreimann@key-Systems.net<mailto:vgreimann@key-Systems.net>> Date: Wednesday, April 1, 2015 at 10:28 To: "jrobinson@afilias.info<mailto:jrobinson@afilias.info>" <jrobinson@afilias.info<mailto:jrobinson@afilias.info>>, GNSO Council List <council@gnso.icann.org<mailto:council@gnso.icann.org>> Subject: Re: [council] FW: Intellectual Property Constituency Communication to ICANN Regarding dotSUCKS Interesting business model, but not really an issue for the GNSO, unless someone is proposing to take this as a basis for new policy development. As an observer with no skin in this game, this looks to be an issue for compliance to determine if the model violates the policies and/or contracts or not and if it does, to take action accordingly. For the interesting question of the different fee structure, there seems to be an explanation already: http://domainincite.com/18282-that-mystery-1-million-sucks-fee-explained-and... Best, VG Am 01.04.2015 um 11:49 schrieb Jonathan Robinson: All. FYI. Jonathan From: Greg Shatan [mailto:gregshatanipc@gmail.com] Sent: 27 March 2015 20:45 To: Jonathan Robinson Subject: Fwd: Intellectual Property Constituency Communication to ICANN Regarding dotSUCKS Dear Jonathan, It was ​a pleasure working with you in Istanbul. In your role as Chair of the ​GNSO, I am sending you a copy of the attached letter, just sent to ICANN, expressing the concerns of the Intellectual Property Constituency regarding the .SUCKS registry. Best Regards, ​ Greg​ Greg​ory S.​Shatan President, Intellectual Property Constituency -- Bei weiteren Fragen stehen wir Ihnen gerne zur Verfügung. Mit freundlichen Grüßen, Volker A. 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