<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div class="">Hello,</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">In follow-up to our WT5 meeting discussion earlier this week, I wanted to provide a more precise proposal for an amendment to policy requiring a govt. letter of support / non-objection from applicants of TLDs that are geo-words other than capital city names. </div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">The goal here is to target the harm to be prevented from a misrepresentation that the TLD speaks for the local authority when it isn’t the case, while also allowing for other legitimate uses of a geo-word TLD to go forward. So it is an attempt to balance two legitimate interests in a way that can find room for preventing the bad acts, but allowing lawful TLD uses to go forward. It is a proposal for compromise to find middle ground.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><div class="">In short: applicants who intend to represent a connection to the authority of a non-capital city or other geo-category from the guidebook will need to provide a letter of support/non-objection as a means of verifying that connection.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">However, if the applicant does not intend to represent a connection to the authority of the non-capital city or the other geo-categories from the guidebook, protections will be enhanced by inserting contractual requirements into the Registry Agreement that prevent the applicant from misrepresenting their connection or association to the geo-word.</div></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Putting aside capital cities, we will leave them as the policy currently exists, we would ONLY require the govt. letter for the other geo-words IF the use represents a connection to the authority. So that would apply to non-capital city names and sub-national, unesco, etc. categories where govt. letters are currently at issue.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">More precisely worded proposal:</div><div class=""><div class=""><b class="">Applicants who intend to represent a connection the the authority of a city, sub-national place, unesco region, or appearing on the “Composition of macro geographical (continental) regions, geographical sub-regions, and selected economic and other groupings” list will need to provide a letter of support/non-objection.</b></div><div class=""><b class=""><br class=""></b></div><div class=""><b class="">However, if the applicant does not intend to represent a connection to the authority of the geographic terms listed above, protections will instead be achieved by inserting contractual requirements into the Registry Agreement that prevent the applicant from misrepresenting their connection or association to the geographic term.</b></div></div><div class=""><font color="#5e30eb" class=""><br class=""></font></div><div class="">I do invite comments, questions, and suggestions about this proposed amendment to the existing policy for geo-categories. I don’t claim this is a perfect proposal, but discussion could possibly help lead us to a better policy that attempts to balance differing legitimate interests in a more nuanced way than what we’ve got now.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Thank you!</div><div class="">Robin</div></body></html>