<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><blockquote type="cite"><div><font color="#000000"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">As a member of the Commercial and Business Users' Constituency, I support the comments filed by that group. </span></font></div></blockquote><br><blockquote type="cite"><div><font color="#000000"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">But as a small business person, I feel there are some points that are both more central to my sector of the Internet economy and important enough that I am filing this individual comment on the release of <a href="https://eur04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2FO.Com&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cc4516d91106941f398ba08d5d5f39a73%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636650164593158488&sdata=t9jDLlrQ11hAvkXwwC3SRjL5Y7QCc59EgiWGSoYIuh0%3D&reserved=0" originalsrc="http://O.Com" shash="uKX5SXwOskbHa2j5cpXoIjZHAH2XrTbon9loVBgDCB9mz4X4MQNQeI/jW6QhQjE1zpe/E21zDuOlncjQSlLBJOlCxOT3PTupb+rkzuyPOVF65xmljkSgdjvejqllYmTZGmmjlf6nusLGb25UhL58HheoJK4WzC0mpmscdk+D7Mg=" id="LPlnk165234" class="OWAAutoLink" previewremoved="true">O.Com</a>.</span></font></div><div><font color="#000000"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></font></div><div><font color="#000000"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">First, it is often hard for a company to plow new ground. I have been doing it for 10 years and it seems I have at least 10 more to go. The effort and evidence of my business-building is always in jeopardy of being undercut by someone with deeper pockets and wider reach. </span></font></div></blockquote><br><blockquote type="cite"><div><font color="#000000"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">That why I believe it is, as they say at Mass on Sunday, “truly right and just” to take not just prior rights, but prior use & market investment into account in awarding all single-letter second-level domain names. </span></font></div></blockquote><br><blockquote type="cite"><div><font color="#000000"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">To do so also inoculates ICANN against potential failure.</span></font></div><div><font color="#000000"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></font></div><div><font color="#000000"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Second, too few times does ICANN have the chance to test a hypothesis. As with the new gTLD program, it is often an all-or-nothing policy decision. </span></font></div></blockquote><br><blockquote type="cite"><div><font color="#000000"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">In the case of <a href="https://eur04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2FO.com&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cc4516d91106941f398ba08d5d5f39a73%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636650164593158488&sdata=HeQh9EQagp%2FEbx3kXbN%2BiW%2B7QlfgTLIyCEWHs3HChrA%3D&reserved=0" originalsrc="http://O.com" shash="utPJRTLG1HvgrIi3CG8AEcrFKCvZZ7L8XP2qeaU9nSCUvfuPvl0c/ggP0y8TJazGDDJomxzjL4+yP3GhN1kotjk9vJnz3RwlBeZjDm0ymwuhyfQYbhYJbj9tKf1va+2vnhaeGhjZdijiyQnQSdb4XBcnoXphOm9gU6mt+Vk690E=" id="LPlnk696865" class="OWAAutoLink" previewremoved="true">O.com</a>, ICANN has the chance to view the availability of the domain name as a grand experiment; getting to learn from its release so as to better shape those in the future. </span></font></div></blockquote><br><blockquote type="cite"><div><font color="#000000"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I realize that other registries have released single-letter domain names, but, in terms of market power and potential, none match .com. For this reason, special care should be taken.</span></font></div><div><font color="#000000"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></font></div><div><font color="#000000"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Finally, while I am grateful that Verisign has agreed not to benefit from the <a href="https://eur04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2FO.com&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cc4516d91106941f398ba08d5d5f39a73%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636650164593158488&sdata=HeQh9EQagp%2FEbx3kXbN%2BiW%2B7QlfgTLIyCEWHs3HChrA%3D&reserved=0" originalsrc="http://O.com" shash="utPJRTLG1HvgrIi3CG8AEcrFKCvZZ7L8XP2qeaU9nSCUvfuPvl0c/ggP0y8TJazGDDJomxzjL4+yP3GhN1kotjk9vJnz3RwlBeZjDm0ymwuhyfQYbhYJbj9tKf1va+2vnhaeGhjZdijiyQnQSdb4XBcnoXphOm9gU6mt+Vk690E=" id="LPlnk288797" class="OWAAutoLink" previewremoved="true">O.com</a> auction proceeds, I am uneasy about whether any of these funds might find their way into ICANN's operating budget. </span></font></div></blockquote><br><blockquote type="cite"><div><font color="#000000"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Best would be for the funds (which we anticipate but cannot guarantee) to be used to support the organizations who ought to be involved in ICANN -- or involved more!</span></font></div><div><font color="#000000"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></font></div><div><font color="#000000"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">So there it is. My view is that, as in the U.S. Patent Office, prior art ought to count, that the auction be viewed as a test of our assumptions, not their roll-out and the benefits go to those who can most benefit ICANN by doing their work not just at three meetings but all year.</span></font></div><div><font color="#000000"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></font></div></blockquote>John Berard<div>Credible Context<br><br><div id="AppleMailSignature">Sent from my iPhone</div></div></body></html>