[council] Request for clarification from IOC-RC Drafting Team

[Mary.Wong at law.unh.edu]

Dear Councilors,
 
A question has arisen in the IOC-RC Drafting Team (DT), which as you'll recall was formed by the Council at the conclusion of the Dakar meeting to formulate an appropriate GNSO response to the GAC request of September 2011, regarding specific protections for the IOC and RCRC. 
 
In light of certain recent events, i.e. the April passage of a recent GNSO Council motion and two relevant Board resolutions, the DT requests clarification from the Council as to whether or not it is to continue with its discussions regarding second level protections for these two organizations. 
 
Since the DT is not a formal GNSO Working Group (WG), it does not have a formal charter that sets out clearly the scope of its work, which in any event may in the view of some have been superseded by these recent events anyway. While some in the DT believe there is no reason not to continue its deliberations for second level protections relating to the IOC and RCRC, others prefer that the Council (which was the body that formed it) provide further direction.
 
Options include disbanding the DT in light of the pending Issue Report, forming a WG that would supersede it, or suspend the DT's work until either the Board's rationale for its resolutions is available or the conclusion of the Issue Report process (or both).
 
Can the Council please provide some guidance on this question?
 
FYI the language of our recent motion and the Board resolutions are:
 
- The Council's recent passage of a motion to request an Issue Report on whether certain international organizations (to be defined/described) should be given additional protections at the top and second levels in the new gTLD program: http://gnso.icann.org/resolutions/#201204;
 
- The Board's recent resolution not to make further changes to the AGB at this time despite the Council's earlier passage of a motion recommending the adoption of the DT's proposals for additional protections for the IOC and RCRC: http://www.icann.org/en/groups/board/documents/resolutions-new-gtld-10apr12-en.htm (GNSO Council motion: http://gnso.icann.org/resolutions/#201203); and
 
- The Board's recent resolution to request a staff briefing paper on defensive registrations and second level protections as well as for the GNSO to consider whether "additional work on defensive registrations at the second level" should be undertaken: http://www.icann.org/en/groups/board/documents/resolutions-new-gtld-10apr12-en.htm.
 
Thanks and cheers
Mary
 
 
Mary W S Wong
Professor of Law
Chair, Graduate IP Programs
Director, Franklin Pierce Center for IP
UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE SCHOOL OF LAWTwo White StreetConcord, NH 03301USAEmail: mary.wong at law.unh.eduPhone: 1-603-513-5143Webpage: http://www.law.unh.edu/marywong/index.phpSelected writings available on the Social Science Research Network (SSRN) at: http://ssrn.com/author=437584
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