Hello everyone

I appreciated Rosalie’s perspective especially around the discussion of “the distinction between countries, country codes, gTLDs, cultural communities and very real practical business models has disappeared completely.¨  During the 2012 round, I supported the application for numerous three letter TLDs and for many other permutations of IDNs and ASCII script.  In my experience, I stand behind my statement that the distinctions have blurred completely.  I also stand by my experience of supporting country codes to expand their business opportunities which either forced them or encouraged them to think more broadly about the survival of their business by running TLDs that means they are now ICANN contracted parties.  

I am not arguing that all TLDs are the same.  They are not nor should they be as it is a key tenet of valuable competitive service provision for registrants that they find products which suit their needs.  I am also not arguing that a country’s name ought not be protected.  That is well settled by consensus positions in this group and elsewhere.

We cannot put the "three letter code" genie back in the bottle.  It has been out for many years and we now need to recognise, for any upcoming round, how best we can develop policy which is clear for applicants, for evaluators and for end users.  That is valuable work to do which is futuristic and open.

Liz

….
Dr Liz Williams | Internet Governance
M: +61 436 020 595 | +44 7824 877757
S:  lizwilliams1963
 
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On 17 Aug 2018, at 4:44 pm, Rosalía Morales <rosalia.morales@nic.cr> wrote:

Dear All,

I think that governments do not inherently own anything; however, I strongly believe there are intangible values, associations, sovereignty and reputations attached to any name, especially a country name. 

Moreover, I strongly disagree with Liz’s argument that: ¨The distinction between countries, country codes, gTLDs, cultural communities and very real practical business models has disappeared completely.¨  

There are clear distinctions among TLDs depending on the use, the administration and mission of the organization. Even though ccTLDs are all managed differently, in most cases (.tv being a clear exception) are not-for-profit organizations that work to improve their local Internet ecosystems, give back to their country and represent their country’s name in the best possible way. 

It is a huge responsibility to represent a country’s name. We cannot take this lightly and act like all TLDs are the same. I understand the importance of freedom of speech and open markets, but I also understand the sensitive associated to a country’s name. I my opinion there is no denying it. 

I believe we should not include 3 letter country names in this coming round. There is no clear consensus how we should use a country’s name in this group.

Best,
Rosalía
<Rosalia-Morales.png>

On Aug 17, 2018, at 9:26 AM, Liz Williams via Gnso-newgtld-wg-wt5 <gnso-newgtld-wg-wt5@icann.org> wrote:

The distinction between countries, country codes, gTLDs, cultural communities and very real practical business models has disappeared completely.  

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