Proposed Compromise Language on Closed Generics
All, There has been some good conversation on Closed Generics and specifically making sure that we stay completely factual. In light of the e-mails from Paul, Kathy, Anne and others, I wanted to present some text to replace part (a) of the Closed Generics section. That text is below. A couple of notes first. 1. The materials produced by the Working Group are intended to be as objective as possible and not advocacy pieces for one side or the other. I ask that you look at it for its accuracy and not whether the language makes your position look good or not. 2. The Chairs have not cut off any discussions on this topic at all. If you really believe this to be the case, you are free to report this to the GNSO Council Liaison to escalate. But to make it clear, leadership has assessed that this Working Group is not able to come to agreement on either the substance of this issue, or even on what the default/status quo would be. And the discussions so far on the mailing list have proven us correct. So I would ask that everyone please refrain from accusations that we have cut off discussions inappropriately, or to escalate the issue. 3. The cites for the quotes here are in footnotes (which I did not attach to the body of this e-mail, but can if you would like). 4. If the text below is acceptable, then we will make the corresponding changes in the Rationale. 5. Finally, I know Kathy you were only on the phone during the last call where Package 6 (which included Closed Generics) was on the agenda and discussed. If you review the chat transcript, you will see that there was no support for including the terms "ban" or "effective ban" as you raised. Further George Sadowski, who was on the call, in that chat stated that his opinion of what happened was his opinion and not necessarily the opinion of the 2013/2014 Board which is reflected in the resolution itself. I have the utmost respect for George as he knows from our many conversations, and his views are incredibly important to us, but for the text of the Draft Final Report, we have to include the language of the actual resolution and supporting documentation. ********************************************* So, here is the proposed text: No Agreement: The Working Group notes that in the 2012 round of the New gTLD Program, a decision was made by the ICANN Board[1] to either (a) "submit a change request to no longer be an exclusive generic TLD", (b) "withdraw their application" or (c) "maintain their plan to operate an exclusive generic TLD," which would operate to defer their application to the next round of the New gTLD Program, subject to rules developed for the next round, to allow time for the GNSO to develop policy advice concerning exclusive generic TLDs." All applicants in 2012 chose either options (a) or (b). The result was that no exclusive generic gTLDs (also called "Closed Generic" gTLDs) were delegated in the first round. It was the expectation of the ICANN Board that the GNSO would "develop policy advice concerning exclusive generic TLDs"[2]. Although the Working Group has had numerous discussions about this topic, and received extensive comments from the community, including members of the Governmental Advisory Committee, the Working Group was not able to agree on "policy advice concerning exclusive generic TLDs." Questions within the Working Group arose on the impact of a failure to develop any policy advice concerning exclusive generic TLDs. Following the approach the Working Group has taken on other issues where there is no agreement on changes to the implementation of the new gTLD program, the Working Group would normally recommend applying the Status Quo (e.g., no changes recommended). However, in this unique case, the Working Group was not able to agree on what the Status Quo actually was given the Board's expectation that the Working Group would develop policy on this matter. In the absence of agreement on any policy, the Working Group debated, and was unable to come to agreement on, whether the status quo meant that either (i) Closed Generics would be allowed (as there were no provisions in the final Applicant Guidebook that prohibited them), (ii) Closed Generics would not be allowed (in line with part (a) of the Board's resolution), or (iii) Closed Generics would be allowed if they serve a public interest goal (in accordance with the GAC Advice that was accepted by the Board). Jeff Neuman JJN Solutions, LLC Founder & CEO +1.202.549.5079 Vienna, VA 22180 Jeff@JJNSolutions.com http://jjnsolutions.com<http://jjnsolutions.com/> ________________________________ [1] https://www.icann.org/resources/board-material/resolutions-new-gtld-2015-06-... [2] Ibid.
Thanks Jeff. Most of your proposed text is accurate and, therefore, good. However, “…(ii) Closed Generics would not be allowed (in line with part (a) of the Board’s resolution),…” is not accurate since the Board’s resolution specifically addressed the 2012 Round and not future Rounds, so there is no “in line with.” The inaccuracy jumps out since A would require an applicant to file a closed generic then later amend it. That would be nonsensical. A more accurate way to state what I think you are trying to say would simply be “…(ii) Closed Generics would not be allowed…”. Otherwise, I think this works. Best, Paul To receive regular COVID-19 updates from Taft, subscribe here<https://www.taftlaw.com/general/subscribe>. For additional resources, visit Taft's COVID-19 Resource Toolkit<https://www.taftlaw.com/general/coronavirus-covid-19-resource-toolkit>. This message may contain information that is attorney-client privileged, attorney work product or otherwise confidential. If you are not an intended recipient, use and disclosure of this message are prohibited. If you received this transmission in error, please notify the sender by reply e-mail and delete the message and any attachments. From: Gnso-newgtld-wg <gnso-newgtld-wg-bounces@icann.org> On Behalf Of Jeff Neuman Sent: Thursday, July 9, 2020 11:41 AM To: gnso-newgtld-wg@icann.org Subject: [Gnso-newgtld-wg] Proposed Compromise Language on Closed Generics All, There has been some good conversation on Closed Generics and specifically making sure that we stay completely factual. In light of the e-mails from Paul, Kathy, Anne and others, I wanted to present some text to replace part (a) of the Closed Generics section. That text is below. A couple of notes first. 1. The materials produced by the Working Group are intended to be as objective as possible and not advocacy pieces for one side or the other. I ask that you look at it for its accuracy and not whether the language makes your position look good or not. 2. The Chairs have not cut off any discussions on this topic at all. If you really believe this to be the case, you are free to report this to the GNSO Council Liaison to escalate. But to make it clear, leadership has assessed that this Working Group is not able to come to agreement on either the substance of this issue, or even on what the default/status quo would be. And the discussions so far on the mailing list have proven us correct. So I would ask that everyone please refrain from accusations that we have cut off discussions inappropriately, or to escalate the issue. 3. The cites for the quotes here are in footnotes (which I did not attach to the body of this e-mail, but can if you would like). 4. If the text below is acceptable, then we will make the corresponding changes in the Rationale. 5. Finally, I know Kathy you were only on the phone during the last call where Package 6 (which included Closed Generics) was on the agenda and discussed. If you review the chat transcript, you will see that there was no support for including the terms “ban” or “effective ban” as you raised. Further George Sadowski, who was on the call, in that chat stated that his opinion of what happened was his opinion and not necessarily the opinion of the 2013/2014 Board which is reflected in the resolution itself. I have the utmost respect for George as he knows from our many conversations, and his views are incredibly important to us, but for the text of the Draft Final Report, we have to include the language of the actual resolution and supporting documentation. ********************************************* So, here is the proposed text: No Agreement: The Working Group notes that in the 2012 round of the New gTLD Program, a decision was made by the ICANN Board[1] to either (a) “submit a change request to no longer be an exclusive generic TLD”, (b) “withdraw their application” or (c) “maintain their plan to operate an exclusive generic TLD,” which would operate to defer their application to the next round of the New gTLD Program, subject to rules developed for the next round, to allow time for the GNSO to develop policy advice concerning exclusive generic TLDs.” All applicants in 2012 chose either options (a) or (b). The result was that no exclusive generic gTLDs (also called “Closed Generic” gTLDs) were delegated in the first round. It was the expectation of the ICANN Board that the GNSO would “develop policy advice concerning exclusive generic TLDs”[2]. Although the Working Group has had numerous discussions about this topic, and received extensive comments from the community, including members of the Governmental Advisory Committee, the Working Group was not able to agree on “policy advice concerning exclusive generic TLDs.” Questions within the Working Group arose on the impact of a failure to develop any policy advice concerning exclusive generic TLDs. Following the approach the Working Group has taken on other issues where there is no agreement on changes to the implementation of the new gTLD program, the Working Group would normally recommend applying the Status Quo (e.g., no changes recommended). However, in this unique case, the Working Group was not able to agree on what the Status Quo actually was given the Board’s expectation that the Working Group would develop policy on this matter. In the absence of agreement on any policy, the Working Group debated, and was unable to come to agreement on, whether the status quo meant that either (i) Closed Generics would be allowed (as there were no provisions in the final Applicant Guidebook that prohibited them), (ii) Closed Generics would not be allowed (in line with part (a) of the Board’s resolution), or (iii) Closed Generics would be allowed if they serve a public interest goal (in accordance with the GAC Advice that was accepted by the Board). Jeff Neuman JJN Solutions, LLC Founder & CEO +1.202.549.5079 Vienna, VA 22180 Jeff@JJNSolutions.com<mailto:Jeff@JJNSolutions.com> http://jjnsolutions.com<http://jjnsolutions.com/> ________________________________ ________________________________ [1] https://www.icann.org/resources/board-material/resolutions-new-gtld-2015-06-... [2] Ibid.
Thanks Paul. Each option is followed by a parenthetical explaining why that option could be viewed as the status quo. So while I take your point, we could amend to read: (ii) Closed Generics would not be allowed (as they were not allowed to proceed in the 2012 round) Would that work? Jeff Neuman JJN Solutions, LLC Founder & CEO +1.202.549.5079 Vienna, VA 22180 Jeff@JJNSolutions.com http://jjnsolutions.com<http://jjnsolutions.com/> From: McGrady, Paul D. <PMcGrady@taftlaw.com> Sent: Thursday, July 9, 2020 1:11 PM To: Jeff Neuman <jeff@jjnsolutions.com>; gnso-newgtld-wg@icann.org Subject: RE: Proposed Compromise Language on Closed Generics Thanks Jeff. Most of your proposed text is accurate and, therefore, good. However, “…(ii) Closed Generics would not be allowed (in line with part (a) of the Board’s resolution),…” is not accurate since the Board’s resolution specifically addressed the 2012 Round and not future Rounds, so there is no “in line with.” The inaccuracy jumps out since A would require an applicant to file a closed generic then later amend it. That would be nonsensical. A more accurate way to state what I think you are trying to say would simply be “…(ii) Closed Generics would not be allowed…”. Otherwise, I think this works. Best, Paul To receive regular COVID-19 updates from Taft, subscribe here<https://www.taftlaw.com/general/subscribe>. For additional resources, visit Taft's COVID-19 Resource Toolkit<https://www.taftlaw.com/general/coronavirus-covid-19-resource-toolkit>. This message may contain information that is attorney-client privileged, attorney work product or otherwise confidential. If you are not an intended recipient, use and disclosure of this message are prohibited. If you received this transmission in error, please notify the sender by reply e-mail and delete the message and any attachments. From: Gnso-newgtld-wg <gnso-newgtld-wg-bounces@icann.org<mailto:gnso-newgtld-wg-bounces@icann.org>> On Behalf Of Jeff Neuman Sent: Thursday, July 9, 2020 11:41 AM To: gnso-newgtld-wg@icann.org<mailto:gnso-newgtld-wg@icann.org> Subject: [Gnso-newgtld-wg] Proposed Compromise Language on Closed Generics All, There has been some good conversation on Closed Generics and specifically making sure that we stay completely factual. In light of the e-mails from Paul, Kathy, Anne and others, I wanted to present some text to replace part (a) of the Closed Generics section. That text is below. A couple of notes first. 1. The materials produced by the Working Group are intended to be as objective as possible and not advocacy pieces for one side or the other. I ask that you look at it for its accuracy and not whether the language makes your position look good or not. 2. The Chairs have not cut off any discussions on this topic at all. If you really believe this to be the case, you are free to report this to the GNSO Council Liaison to escalate. But to make it clear, leadership has assessed that this Working Group is not able to come to agreement on either the substance of this issue, or even on what the default/status quo would be. And the discussions so far on the mailing list have proven us correct. So I would ask that everyone please refrain from accusations that we have cut off discussions inappropriately, or to escalate the issue. 3. The cites for the quotes here are in footnotes (which I did not attach to the body of this e-mail, but can if you would like). 4. If the text below is acceptable, then we will make the corresponding changes in the Rationale. 5. Finally, I know Kathy you were only on the phone during the last call where Package 6 (which included Closed Generics) was on the agenda and discussed. If you review the chat transcript, you will see that there was no support for including the terms “ban” or “effective ban” as you raised. Further George Sadowski, who was on the call, in that chat stated that his opinion of what happened was his opinion and not necessarily the opinion of the 2013/2014 Board which is reflected in the resolution itself. I have the utmost respect for George as he knows from our many conversations, and his views are incredibly important to us, but for the text of the Draft Final Report, we have to include the language of the actual resolution and supporting documentation. ********************************************* So, here is the proposed text: No Agreement: The Working Group notes that in the 2012 round of the New gTLD Program, a decision was made by the ICANN Board[1] to either (a) “submit a change request to no longer be an exclusive generic TLD”, (b) “withdraw their application” or (c) “maintain their plan to operate an exclusive generic TLD,” which would operate to defer their application to the next round of the New gTLD Program, subject to rules developed for the next round, to allow time for the GNSO to develop policy advice concerning exclusive generic TLDs.” All applicants in 2012 chose either options (a) or (b). The result was that no exclusive generic gTLDs (also called “Closed Generic” gTLDs) were delegated in the first round. It was the expectation of the ICANN Board that the GNSO would “develop policy advice concerning exclusive generic TLDs”[2]. Although the Working Group has had numerous discussions about this topic, and received extensive comments from the community, including members of the Governmental Advisory Committee, the Working Group was not able to agree on “policy advice concerning exclusive generic TLDs.” Questions within the Working Group arose on the impact of a failure to develop any policy advice concerning exclusive generic TLDs. Following the approach the Working Group has taken on other issues where there is no agreement on changes to the implementation of the new gTLD program, the Working Group would normally recommend applying the Status Quo (e.g., no changes recommended). However, in this unique case, the Working Group was not able to agree on what the Status Quo actually was given the Board’s expectation that the Working Group would develop policy on this matter. In the absence of agreement on any policy, the Working Group debated, and was unable to come to agreement on, whether the status quo meant that either (i) Closed Generics would be allowed (as there were no provisions in the final Applicant Guidebook that prohibited them), (ii) Closed Generics would not be allowed (in line with part (a) of the Board’s resolution), or (iii) Closed Generics would be allowed if they serve a public interest goal (in accordance with the GAC Advice that was accepted by the Board). Jeff Neuman JJN Solutions, LLC Founder & CEO +1.202.549.5079 Vienna, VA 22180 Jeff@JJNSolutions.com<mailto:Jeff@JJNSolutions.com> http://jjnsolutions.com<http://jjnsolutions.com/> ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ [1] https://www.icann.org/resources/board-material/resolutions-new-gtld-2015-06-... [2] Ibid.
Thanks Jeff. I actually think that is a step backwards as there was no ban (or “not allowed”). There were 3 options, none of which were a ban: 1. Change 2. Defer to the next Round or 3. Withdraw Let’s keep trying. How about simply deleting the ( ) on all of the options. They are, ultimately, commentary on the opinions of WG members, so they don’t really add much. If we can’t do that, then we could say (ii) Closed Generics would not be allowed (noting than none were delegated in the 2012 round). That would be factual. Best, Paul From: Jeff Neuman <jeff@jjnsolutions.com> Sent: Thursday, July 9, 2020 1:09 PM To: McGrady, Paul D. <PMcGrady@taftlaw.com>; gnso-newgtld-wg@icann.org Subject: RE: Proposed Compromise Language on Closed Generics Thanks Paul. Each option is followed by a parenthetical explaining why that option could be viewed as the status quo. So while I take your point, we could amend to read: (ii) Closed Generics would not be allowed (as they were not allowed to proceed in the 2012 round) Would that work? Jeff Neuman JJN Solutions, LLC Founder & CEO +1.202.549.5079 Vienna, VA 22180 Jeff@JJNSolutions.com<mailto:Jeff@JJNSolutions.com> http://jjnsolutions.com<http://jjnsolutions.com/> From: McGrady, Paul D. <PMcGrady@taftlaw.com<mailto:PMcGrady@taftlaw.com>> Sent: Thursday, July 9, 2020 1:11 PM To: Jeff Neuman <jeff@jjnsolutions.com<mailto:jeff@jjnsolutions.com>>; gnso-newgtld-wg@icann.org<mailto:gnso-newgtld-wg@icann.org> Subject: RE: Proposed Compromise Language on Closed Generics Thanks Jeff. Most of your proposed text is accurate and, therefore, good. However, “…(ii) Closed Generics would not be allowed (in line with part (a) of the Board’s resolution),…” is not accurate since the Board’s resolution specifically addressed the 2012 Round and not future Rounds, so there is no “in line with.” The inaccuracy jumps out since A would require an applicant to file a closed generic then later amend it. That would be nonsensical. A more accurate way to state what I think you are trying to say would simply be “…(ii) Closed Generics would not be allowed…”. Otherwise, I think this works. Best, Paul To receive regular COVID-19 updates from Taft, subscribe here<https://www.taftlaw.com/general/subscribe>. For additional resources, visit Taft's COVID-19 Resource Toolkit<https://www.taftlaw.com/general/coronavirus-covid-19-resource-toolkit>. This message may contain information that is attorney-client privileged, attorney work product or otherwise confidential. If you are not an intended recipient, use and disclosure of this message are prohibited. If you received this transmission in error, please notify the sender by reply e-mail and delete the message and any attachments. From: Gnso-newgtld-wg <gnso-newgtld-wg-bounces@icann.org<mailto:gnso-newgtld-wg-bounces@icann.org>> On Behalf Of Jeff Neuman Sent: Thursday, July 9, 2020 11:41 AM To: gnso-newgtld-wg@icann.org<mailto:gnso-newgtld-wg@icann.org> Subject: [Gnso-newgtld-wg] Proposed Compromise Language on Closed Generics All, There has been some good conversation on Closed Generics and specifically making sure that we stay completely factual. In light of the e-mails from Paul, Kathy, Anne and others, I wanted to present some text to replace part (a) of the Closed Generics section. That text is below. A couple of notes first. 1. The materials produced by the Working Group are intended to be as objective as possible and not advocacy pieces for one side or the other. I ask that you look at it for its accuracy and not whether the language makes your position look good or not. 2. The Chairs have not cut off any discussions on this topic at all. If you really believe this to be the case, you are free to report this to the GNSO Council Liaison to escalate. But to make it clear, leadership has assessed that this Working Group is not able to come to agreement on either the substance of this issue, or even on what the default/status quo would be. And the discussions so far on the mailing list have proven us correct. So I would ask that everyone please refrain from accusations that we have cut off discussions inappropriately, or to escalate the issue. 3. The cites for the quotes here are in footnotes (which I did not attach to the body of this e-mail, but can if you would like). 4. If the text below is acceptable, then we will make the corresponding changes in the Rationale. 5. Finally, I know Kathy you were only on the phone during the last call where Package 6 (which included Closed Generics) was on the agenda and discussed. If you review the chat transcript, you will see that there was no support for including the terms “ban” or “effective ban” as you raised. Further George Sadowski, who was on the call, in that chat stated that his opinion of what happened was his opinion and not necessarily the opinion of the 2013/2014 Board which is reflected in the resolution itself. I have the utmost respect for George as he knows from our many conversations, and his views are incredibly important to us, but for the text of the Draft Final Report, we have to include the language of the actual resolution and supporting documentation. ********************************************* So, here is the proposed text: No Agreement: The Working Group notes that in the 2012 round of the New gTLD Program, a decision was made by the ICANN Board[1] to either (a) “submit a change request to no longer be an exclusive generic TLD”, (b) “withdraw their application” or (c) “maintain their plan to operate an exclusive generic TLD,” which would operate to defer their application to the next round of the New gTLD Program, subject to rules developed for the next round, to allow time for the GNSO to develop policy advice concerning exclusive generic TLDs.” All applicants in 2012 chose either options (a) or (b). The result was that no exclusive generic gTLDs (also called “Closed Generic” gTLDs) were delegated in the first round. It was the expectation of the ICANN Board that the GNSO would “develop policy advice concerning exclusive generic TLDs”[2]. Although the Working Group has had numerous discussions about this topic, and received extensive comments from the community, including members of the Governmental Advisory Committee, the Working Group was not able to agree on “policy advice concerning exclusive generic TLDs.” Questions within the Working Group arose on the impact of a failure to develop any policy advice concerning exclusive generic TLDs. Following the approach the Working Group has taken on other issues where there is no agreement on changes to the implementation of the new gTLD program, the Working Group would normally recommend applying the Status Quo (e.g., no changes recommended). However, in this unique case, the Working Group was not able to agree on what the Status Quo actually was given the Board’s expectation that the Working Group would develop policy on this matter. In the absence of agreement on any policy, the Working Group debated, and was unable to come to agreement on, whether the status quo meant that either (i) Closed Generics would be allowed (as there were no provisions in the final Applicant Guidebook that prohibited them), (ii) Closed Generics would not be allowed (in line with part (a) of the Board’s resolution), or (iii) Closed Generics would be allowed if they serve a public interest goal (in accordance with the GAC Advice that was accepted by the Board). Jeff Neuman JJN Solutions, LLC Founder & CEO +1.202.549.5079 Vienna, VA 22180 Jeff@JJNSolutions.com<mailto:Jeff@JJNSolutions.com> http://jjnsolutions.com<http://jjnsolutions.com/> ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ [1] https://www.icann.org/resources/board-material/resolutions-new-gtld-2015-06-... [2] Ibid.
All, I have recently joined this working group, and I am finding it challenging to keep up with the blizzard of email that is now arriving. I want to clarify my understanding of the earlier Board action. The part that spells out the choices for potentially generic string applicants is clear, and I don't think anyone believes that it is being misinterpreted. However the part that had to do with the future now seems in retrospect unclear; it certainly is for me. The Board work leading to passage of the resolution occurred in the middle of other issues that the Board gTLD Committee had to deal with. It was a very busy time, and not every issue got the attention that it could have under different circumstances. I remember that there were dome differences of opinion regarding how 'generic strings' should be handled. We were under some pressure to provide guidance for applicants in that round, and we settled on the resolution that you have. The longer term issue was more problematic, so we pushed it into the future, but apparently in doing so, we did it in an ambiguous manner. What I remember is the feeling that the Board was concerned about making policy and we felt that the appropriate action was to refer it to the GNSO. My personal recollection is that the action was not time bound, and that whenever the GNSO could come to closure and agree upon a replacement policy, that policy would replace action by the Board. II think we felt that subsequent action by the GNSO, in accordance with its policy development process or other means, would resolve the situation. I can't remember discussing the specific details about how such a transition were to occur, and there may have been little or no such discussion. since we had accomplished what had to be done at that time to keep the process moving. Other people who wre on the Board at that time may or may not have similar memories Finally, I want to state that I do not speak for the Board. Only the Chair is authorized to speak for the Board, and the Chair of the subcommittee was Cherine Chalaby. If it's essential, you could reach our to him. However, it's my understanding that you do not seem to be agreed on a replacement policy at this time, and therefore it doesn't matter how you interpret the Board's mandate for the future at the time of the resolution. Given the length of time since the passage of that resolution and the fickle vagaries of most peoples' memory, including mine, I hope this is helpful, but I could be wrong. George
Thanks George. This is very helpful and again welcome to the group. Jeff Neuman JJN Solutions, LLC Founder & CEO +1.202.549.5079 Vienna, VA 22180 Jeff@JJNSolutions.com http://jjnsolutions.com -----Original Message----- From: Gnso-newgtld-wg <gnso-newgtld-wg-bounces@icann.org> On Behalf Of George Sadowsky Sent: Thursday, July 9, 2020 2:29 PM To: gnso-newgtld-wg@icann.org Subject: [Gnso-newgtld-wg] Need to clarify something All, I have recently joined this working group, and I am finding it challenging to keep up with the blizzard of email that is now arriving. I want to clarify my understanding of the earlier Board action. The part that spells out the choices for potentially generic string applicants is clear, and I don't think anyone believes that it is being misinterpreted. However the part that had to do with the future now seems in retrospect unclear; it certainly is for me. The Board work leading to passage of the resolution occurred in the middle of other issues that the Board gTLD Committee had to deal with. It was a very busy time, and not every issue got the attention that it could have under different circumstances. I remember that there were dome differences of opinion regarding how 'generic strings' should be handled. We were under some pressure to provide guidance for applicants in that round, and we settled on the resolution that you have. The longer term issue was more problematic, so we pushed it into the future, but apparently in doing so, we did it in an ambiguous manner. What I remember is the feeling that the Board was concerned about making policy and we felt that the appropriate action was to refer it to the GNSO. My personal recollection is that the action was not time bound, and that whenever the GNSO could come to closure and agree upon a replacement policy, that policy would replace action by the Board. II think we felt that subsequent action by the GNSO, in accordance with its policy development process or other means, would resolve the situation. I can't remember discussing the specific details about how such a transition were to occur, and there may have been little or no such discussion. since we had accomplished what had to be done at that time to keep the process moving. Other people who wre on the Board at that time may or may not have similar memories Finally, I want to state that I do not speak for the Board. Only the Chair is authorized to speak for the Board, and the Chair of the subcommittee was Cherine Chalaby. If it's essential, you could reach our to him. However, it's my understanding that you do not seem to be agreed on a replacement policy at this time, and therefore it doesn't matter how you interpret the Board's mandate for the future at the time of the resolution. Given the length of time since the passage of that resolution and the fickle vagaries of most peoples' memory, including mine, I hope this is helpful, but I could be wrong. George _______________________________________________ Gnso-newgtld-wg mailing list Gnso-newgtld-wg@icann.org https://mm.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/gnso-newgtld-wg _______________________________________________ By submitting your personal data, you consent to the processing of your personal data for purposes of subscribing to this mailing list accordance with the ICANN Privacy Policy (https://www.icann.org/privacy/policy) and the website Terms of Service (https://www.icann.org/privacy/tos). You can visit the Mailman link above to change your membership status or configuration, including unsubscribing, setting digest-style delivery or disabling delivery altogether (e.g., for a vacation), and so on.
Hi All, We do not anticipate the opening of the application window before end of 2022, right? That's in one and a half years! The board clearly demanded that we create policy in regards to "closed generics": Not just look over the 2012 AGB - but engage in a full blown GNSO Policy Development Process for this tiny item! Have we really done this OUTSIDE of the 2012 AGB revision? We could finalize our 2012 AGB revision and keep this little item "open" - and in parallel start to do the job the board asked us to do. There are 1.5 years. For such a minor question. I say: Keep this tiny topic out of the final report; bring together the old band and do the job we are tasked to do. This time there HAS to be a decision: this is a clear mandate to either allow closed generics or not. There is no "fallback solution": this hasn't been clarified in the 2007 PDP - we will have to do it now. It's not part of the 2012 AGB revision - it's outside of that scope. Could somebody remind me how a formal GNSO PDP is being launched, who is eligible to launch one, what the formal procedures are? Just let's do it. The ICANN Overlords commanded us - we have to deliver. Meanwhile: This impacts a very tiny portion of the applicant community. If we do NOT clarify this question with a full blown GNSO PDP then we hurt the applicants that are inclined to try their luck again: they risk a board rejection all over again. Not fair to them. This is meant to be decided by the COMMUNITY - not the board. Thanks, Alexander From: Gnso-newgtld-wg [mailto:gnso-newgtld-wg-bounces@icann.org] On Behalf Of Jeff Neuman Sent: Donnerstag, 9. Juli 2020 19:41 To: gnso-newgtld-wg@icann.org Subject: [Gnso-newgtld-wg] Proposed Compromise Language on Closed Generics All, There has been some good conversation on Closed Generics and specifically making sure that we stay completely factual. In light of the e-mails from Paul, Kathy, Anne and others, I wanted to present some text to replace part (a) of the Closed Generics section. That text is below. A couple of notes first. 1. The materials produced by the Working Group are intended to be as objective as possible and not advocacy pieces for one side or the other. I ask that you look at it for its accuracy and not whether the language makes your position look good or not. 2. The Chairs have not cut off any discussions on this topic at all. If you really believe this to be the case, you are free to report this to the GNSO Council Liaison to escalate. But to make it clear, leadership has assessed that this Working Group is not able to come to agreement on either the substance of this issue, or even on what the default/status quo would be. And the discussions so far on the mailing list have proven us correct. So I would ask that everyone please refrain from accusations that we have cut off discussions inappropriately, or to escalate the issue. 3. The cites for the quotes here are in footnotes (which I did not attach to the body of this e-mail, but can if you would like). 4. If the text below is acceptable, then we will make the corresponding changes in the Rationale. 5. Finally, I know Kathy you were only on the phone during the last call where Package 6 (which included Closed Generics) was on the agenda and discussed. If you review the chat transcript, you will see that there was no support for including the terms "ban" or "effective ban" as you raised. Further George Sadowski, who was on the call, in that chat stated that his opinion of what happened was his opinion and not necessarily the opinion of the 2013/2014 Board which is reflected in the resolution itself. I have the utmost respect for George as he knows from our many conversations, and his views are incredibly important to us, but for the text of the Draft Final Report, we have to include the language of the actual resolution and supporting documentation. ********************************************* So, here is the proposed text: No Agreement: The Working Group notes that in the 2012 round of the New gTLD Program, a decision was made by the ICANN Board[1] to either (a) "submit a change request to no longer be an exclusive generic TLD", (b) "withdraw their application" or (c) "maintain their plan to operate an exclusive generic TLD," which would operate to defer their application to the next round of the New gTLD Program, subject to rules developed for the next round, to allow time for the GNSO to develop policy advice concerning exclusive generic TLDs." All applicants in 2012 chose either options (a) or (b). The result was that no exclusive generic gTLDs (also called "Closed Generic" gTLDs) were delegated in the first round. It was the expectation of the ICANN Board that the GNSO would "develop policy advice concerning exclusive generic TLDs"[2]. Although the Working Group has had numerous discussions about this topic, and received extensive comments from the community, including members of the Governmental Advisory Committee, the Working Group was not able to agree on "policy advice concerning exclusive generic TLDs." Questions within the Working Group arose on the impact of a failure to develop any policy advice concerning exclusive generic TLDs. Following the approach the Working Group has taken on other issues where there is no agreement on changes to the implementation of the new gTLD program, the Working Group would normally recommend applying the Status Quo (e.g., no changes recommended). However, in this unique case, the Working Group was not able to agree on what the Status Quo actually was given the Board's expectation that the Working Group would develop policy on this matter. In the absence of agreement on any policy, the Working Group debated, and was unable to come to agreement on, whether the status quo meant that either (i) Closed Generics would be allowed (as there were no provisions in the final Applicant Guidebook that prohibited them), (ii) Closed Generics would not be allowed (in line with part (a) of the Board's resolution), or (iii) Closed Generics would be allowed if they serve a public interest goal (in accordance with the GAC Advice that was accepted by the Board). Jeff Neuman JJN Solutions, LLC Founder & CEO +1.202.549.5079 Vienna, VA 22180 Jeff@JJNSolutions.com <mailto:Jeff@JJNSolutions.com> <http://jjnsolutions.com/> http://jjnsolutions.com _____ _____ [1] https://www.icann.org/resources/board-material/resolutions-new-gtld-2015-06- 21-en#2.a [2] Ibid.
participants (4)
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Alexander Schubert -
George Sadowsky -
Jeff Neuman -
McGrady, Paul D.