Dear WG members, I suppose today can be said to be one of those days ³when it rains, it pours² Please note that Cherine Chalaby, Chair of the Board¹s New gTLD Program Committee (NGPC), has just sent a letter to Thomas Schneider, Chair of the GAC, requesting further information from the GAC on the issue of curative rights protection for IGOs. I would note also that in his letter, Cherine expressly highlights the fact that this issue is being dealt with by the GNSO through our Working Group. As we know, the GAC has recently indicated to us via its policy support staff that its response to the set of questions we had sent them can only be expected after the Singapore meeting. In light of Cherine¹s letter, we can perhaps expect that there will be a response forthcoming from the GAC at that time. The letter can be viewed at: https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/correspondence/chalaby-to-schneider-22 jan15-en.pdf. Cheers Mary Mary Wong Senior Policy Director Internet Corporation for Assigned Names & Numbers (ICANN) Telephone: +1 603 574 4892 Email: mary.wong@icann.org