[Gnso-newgtld-wg-wt2] Agenda for WT2 Meeting 13 April 2017 at 21:00 UTC

Thu Apr 13 15:46:13 UTC 2017

Another part of our discussion on this issue in the first Round (for 
better formatting, please read it from the link)

Letter to Fadi, Steve, Akram, Alain and Heather Dryden, September 24, 2012
https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/correspondence/neylon-et-al-to-chehade-et-al-24sep12-en.pdf

The rapid growth and adoption of the Internet over the past two decades 
hastransformed the lives of billions of people, and reinvented 
communication,
commerce, and society. Countless economic and cultural barriers have 
been eliminated as a direct result of the freedom of choice and openness 
made
possible by the Internet.

Notably, the stated goals underlying ICANN’s current efforts to expand 
the Domain Name System (DNS) by adding new generic Top-Level Domains
(gTLDs) are to “increase competition and choice.”

We, the undersigned individuals and organizations, support those goals 
wholeheartedly and without reservation.

However, we are concerned that some pending gTLD applications seek to be 
operated in a “closed” manner in reliance upon Section 6 of 
Specification 1 (“Registry Operator Code of Conduct”) in Module 5 (“Base 
New gTLD Agreement”) of the Applicant Guidebook, which provides:
/Registry Operator may request an exemption to this Code of Conduct, and 
such//
//exemption may be granted by ICANN in ICANN's reasonable discretion, if 
Registry Operator demonstrates to ICANN's reas//
//onable satisfaction that (i) all domain name registrations in the TLD 
are registered to, and maintained by, Registry Operator for its own 
exclusive use, (ii) Registry Operator does not sell,//
//distribute or transfer control or use of any registrations in the TLD 
to any third party that is not an Affiliate of Registry Operator, and 
(iii) application of this Code//
//of Conduct to the TLD is not necessary to protect the public interest.//
/
Based on our collective industry experience, we are of the opinion that 
the underlying intention of Section 6 was to allow for the operation of 
closed gTLDs
only under very defined circumstances. Specifically, that closed gTLDs 
should be reserved for only those strings in which
the applicant possesses established (i.e., legally recognized) 
intellectual property rights, basically brand names.
We believe that this interpretation of Section 6 is inherently logical 
especially in view of the discussions that preceded the opening
of gTLDs--which focused, in very large part, on expanding choices and 
opportunities as well as promoting innovation, for Internet consumers 
worldwide.

Further, generic words used in a generic way belong to all people. It is 
inherently
in the public interest to allow access to generic new gTLDs to the whole
of the Internet Community, e.g., .BLOG, .MUSIC, .CLOUD. Allowing everyone to
register and use second level domain names of these powerful, generic 
TLDs is
exactly what we envisioned the New gTLD Program would do. In contrast, to
allow individual Registry Operators to segregate and close-off common 
words for
which they do not possess intellectual property rights in effect allows 
them to
circumvent nation-states’ entrenched legal processes for obtaining 
legitimate and
recognized trademark protections.

Accordingly, we respectfully request that ICANN clarify the 
circumstances under
which the Section 6 exemption shall apply, and if necessary, allow 
applicants to
amend their applications to comply with such clarification.

As an alternative, the Applicant could demonstrate that they have 
internationally
established and exclusive rights to the string in question, and that it 
is not a
generic term.

Our goal, as always, is to foster consumer choice and nurture a free and 
open
Internet.
With sincere thanks for your consideration,
Michele Neylon, Blacknight
Scott Pinzon, former Director of Marketing and Outreach, ICANN
Luc Seufer, EuroDNS
Francesco Cetraro
Nigel Roberts
Chris Kurk, DomainPeople Inc
Chris Pelling, Netearth One Inc
Michael Shohat, Conon AG
Paul Andersen, Arctic Names
Frédéric Guillemaut, MailClub.fr
Robert Birkner, 1API GmbH
Kelly Hardy, Kelly Hardy Consulting
Gerardo Aristizabal, Cci reg s.a.
Benny Samuelsen, Nordreg AB
Colin McDermott, Banc Media
Tom Gilles, newgtldsite.com

On 4/13/2017 11:23 AM, Kathy Kleiman wrote:
>
> Hi All,
>
> I'm a new member to this list, but there is a lot of material about 
> the harms and concerns behind Closed Generics.  In preparation for the 
> meeting later today, I'll post some of it. I'm copying Michele Neylon, 
> who was a leader in sharing concerns about Closed Generics with the 
> ICANN Community in 2013.
>
> I don't think there is the time to prepare a robust debate for today, 
> but hopefully at your next meeting, you might invite some of the names 
> (people & their organizations) that you see in these materials into 
> the discussion. There are also Community Objections on this issue that 
> you might want to evaluate.
>
> Best regards, Kathy (Kleiman)
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------
>
> https://forum.icann.org/lists/comments-closed-generic-05feb13/msg00174.html
>
> Dear Sir / Madam
>
> I am submitting these comments on behalf of Blacknight, Ireland's only ICANN
> accredited registrar.
>
> They do not reflect the formal views of any stakeholder group, but those of our
> company.
>
> We are on the record with respect to our views on this issue, having spoken
> during the public forum at ICANN Toronto
> (http://toronto45.icann.org/node/34215) and having sent several letters to
> ICANN's board, which were co-signed by a broad cross-section of the ICANN
> Community:
>
> http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/program-status/correspondence/neylon-et-al-to-chehade-et-al-24sep12-en.pdf
>
> http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/program-status/correspondence/neylon-et-al-to-chalaby-et-al-22jan13-en.pdf
>
>
> Rather than rehash our previous arguments I would prefer to simply state that
> they are unchanged.
>
> I've summarised some of the issues we see with them here:
>
> http://www.internetnews.me/2013/02/23/5-reasons-why-closed-generic-new-gtlds-should-be-opposed/
>
> It is also worth noting that our views are shared by some very large brands who
> have taken the time to submit very rational comments on this topic.
>
> But more importantly both consumer and trade organisations representing large
> numbers of internet users and businesses have too.
>
> Regards
>
> Michele
>
>
> Mr Michele Neylon
> Blacknight Solutions ♞
> Hosting & Domains
> ICANN Accredited Registrar
> http://www.blacknight.co
> http://blog.blacknight.com/
> Intl. +353 (0) 59  9183072
> US: 213-233-1612
> Locall: 1850 929 929
> Facebook:http://fb.me/blacknight
> Twitter:http://twitter.com/mneylon
> -------------------------------
> Blacknight Internet Solutions Ltd, Unit 12A,Barrowside Business Park,Sleaty
> Road,Graiguecullen,Carlow,Ireland  Company No.: 370845
>
> On 4/12/2017 4:45 AM, Michael Flemming wrote:
>> Dear All,
>>
>> Please find the material that we will be referring to in order to 
>> address potential harms of Closed Generics.
>>
>> Kind regards,
>>
>> Michael Flemming
>>
>>
>> On Mon, Apr 10, 2017 at 6:28 PM, Michael Flemming 
>> <flemming at brightsconsulting.com 
>> <mailto:flemming at brightsconsulting.com>> wrote:
>>
>>     Dear All,
>>
>>     This week on 13 April 2017 at 21 UTC we will be once again
>>     discussing Closed Generics. As of our last meeting, we went
>>     through the Pros and Cons of Closed Generics by looking at the
>>     comments made in the Public Comments. We have not reached a
>>     consensus on anything at this point, however, we have not had a
>>     lot of input for the Cons and potential harm of Closed Generics
>>     at the current time. This week we will try to distinguish what
>>     potential harm exists if Closed Generics were allowed by
>>     analyzing the Public Comments even further. I welcome anyone who
>>     would like to assist in this discussion and analysis by joining
>>     us this week. Below is the agenda.
>>
>>      1. /Welcome
>>
>>         /
>>      2. /SOI
>>
>>         /
>>      3. /Closed Generics/
>>
>>      4. /AOB/
>>
>>
>>     I look forward to speaking with everyone and having an exciting
>>     conversation!
>>
>>     Kind regards,
>>
>>     Michael Flemming
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Gnso-newgtld-wg-wt2 mailing list
>> Gnso-newgtld-wg-wt2 at icann.org
>> https://mm.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/gnso-newgtld-wg-wt2
>

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