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<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://domainincite.com/seven-icann-directors-have-new-gtld-conflicts/">http://domainincite.com/seven-icann-directors-have-new-gtld-conflicts/</a><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;background:white"><b><span style="font-size:11.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:blue"><a href="http://domainincite.com/seven-icann-directors-have-new-gtld-conflicts/"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;color:blue;text-decoration:none">Seven
ICANN directors have new gTLD conflicts</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:gray"><a href="http://domainincite.com/about"><span style="color:blue;text-decoration:none">Kevin Murphy</span></a>, February 17, 2012, 14:41:33
(UTC), <a href="http://domainincite.com/category/domain-policy/" title="View all posts in Domain Policy">
<span style="color:blue;text-decoration:none">Domain Policy</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Seven members of ICANN’s board of directors have self-identified conflicts of interest when it comes to the new generic top-level domains program, according to a report from its
last meeting.</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Chair Steve Crocker, CEO of the consulting firm Shinkuro, appears to be newly conflicted.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">He was among the directors to excuse themselves before the board discussed a
<a href="http://www.icann.org/en/minutes/prelim-report-07feb12-en.htm#4" target="_blank" title="ICANN">
<span style="color:blue;text-decoration:none">resolution on new gTLDs</span></a> last week, but he did vote on a new gTLD resolution at its December meeting.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Crocker has previously revealed that new gTLD applicant and registry services provider Afilias has an investment in Shinkuro.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Vice-chair Bruce Tonkin is chief strategy officer at Melbourne IT, which is a registrar as well as a new gTLD consultancy, and he also excused himself.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Ram Mohan and Suzanne Woolf, both non-voting directors, excused themselves because they work for registry service providers (Afilias and Internet Systems Consortium respectively).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Non-voting liaison Thomas Narten also declared a conflict, which is a heavy hint that his employer, IBM, is poised to apply for a dot-brand gTLD.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">The other conflicted directors were Sébastien Bachollet, CEO of BBS International Consulting, and Bertrand de La Chapelle of the International Diplomatic Academy.
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Two directors appear to be newly unconflicted.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Kuo-Wei Wu and Thomas Roessler declared new gTLD program conflicts at the
<a href="http://www.icann.org/en/minutes/minutes-08dec11-en.htm#1" target="_blank" title="ICANN">
<span style="color:blue;text-decoration:none">board’s December meeting</span></a> but did not excuse themselves last week.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:7.5pt;line-height:20.4pt;background:white">
<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Erika Mann of Facebook missed the meeting (she also missed the December meeting) so it’s not clear whether there’s a “.facebook” conflict of interest yet.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">The board of directors has 16 voting members. Nine need to be present for its meetings to be quorate.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">ICANN introduced
<a href="http://www.icann.org/en/committees/board-governance/coi/" target="_blank" title="ICANN">
<span style="color:blue;text-decoration:none">new conflict rules</span></a> after former chair Peter Dengate Thrush took a job with new gTLD applicant/consultant Minds + Machines shortly after voting to approve the program last June.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:navy">Twitter: @VlawDC</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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