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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>Dear Sophie,<br><br>You are arguing for the addition of this policy piece:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:36.0pt'><b><i><span style='color:#2E75B6;mso-style-textfill-fill-color:#2E75B6;mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha:100.0%'>“….For the avoidance of doubt, if an applicant declares in their application that they will operate the TLD exclusively as a dotBrand, then this is not a use of the TLD for “purposes associated with the city name …..”<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>This proposal is desired by brand-lobbyists; but by nobody else. You are introducing wide-sweeping rights for entities who invoke Spec 13 – with an unjustified general exoneration (vindication) for Spec 13 applicants in regards to their true intends. Why avoiding doubt via policy – when having doubts is the JOB of the geo-panel?<br><br>If your policy addition would be incorporated then city-gTLD applicants could simply apply for the city-name, invoke Spec 13 (the requisite requirements for a Spec 13 designation are easy to meet and do not create any organizational or financial hurdles at all); and voila: they have a city gTLD and can now start to offer domains to interested parties. And to whom would they market these domains? To members of the city-community and domain scalpers of course. Without any repercussions as your policy addition would create a “card-blanche”. They would offer the domains via the registrar channel – just like any other gTLD; with the addition of a “TM License”. Spec 13 allows registrations to “Licensees”. I am sure there are enough TM jurisdictions where making someone a “licensee” is the easiest thing in the world: your probably just declare them a licensee and that is it.<br><br>And you want to create such glaring loophole to fix WHAT exactly? If we add policies we don’t do for “convenience”; we do so to fix something. What needs to be fixed here? Brands are scared to “accidentally” have a brand name that is identical to a city? Well: make clear in your application that there is no connotation, targeting or association intended or created by your brand (but don’t lie!). If your brand is however CLEARLY living off the reputation of a city – then you will need to talk to the city of course. That’s not a “bug” – that’s a “feature” in the current AGBs.<br><br>It’s all in the hands of the brand. Nobody is going to punish you if your brand is accidentally identical to some city. The geo-panel isn’t partisan here: they are independent.<br><br>My counterproposal: Spec 13 applications should not be permitted for geo-name-based strings at all. <br><br>So here we have two proposals:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoListParagraph style='text-indent:-18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo4'><![if !supportLists]><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>1.<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span><![endif]>Creating wide sweeping additional rights that are supposed to “fix” a problem that doesn’t exist in the first place<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoListParagraph style='text-indent:-18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo4'><![if !supportLists]><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>2.<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span><![endif]>Denying Spec 13 for strings that are an exact match with a city-name (maybe with the addition: if the “city proper “has more than 100k inhabitants)<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I am supporting proposal 2; and very much oppose proposal 1!<br><br><br>Thanks,<br><br>Alexander<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0cm 0cm 0cm'><p class=MsoNormal><b>From:</b> Gnso-newgtld-wg-wt5 [mailto:gnso-newgtld-wg-wt5-bounces@icann.org] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Sophie Hey<br><b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, August 28, 2019 6:39 PM<br><b>To:</b> gnso-newgtld-wg-wt5@icann.org<br><b>Subject:</b> [Gnso-newgtld-wg-wt5] Follow up on non-capital city names<o:p></o:p></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>All,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>Just to follow up on the text which I think could combine the two proposals on non-capital city names. The text additional to the 2012 AGB is in blue. I have incorporated the list from Katrin’s proposal into the preamble and the national legislation reference remains in the body of the provision. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>Hoping we can come to agreement on this!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>Sophie<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>2. An application for a city name, where the applicant declares that it intends to use the gTLD for purposes associated with the city name.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>City names present challenges because city names may also be generic terms or brand names, and in many cases city names are not unique. Unlike other types of geographic names, there are no established lists that can be used as objective references in the evaluation process. <span style='color:#4472C4'>However, applicants may find it useful to review the 2017 UN Demographic Yearbook Table 8 to find a list of city names with more than 100,000 inhabitants as a reference point <a href="https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic-social/products/dyb/documents/dyb2017/table08.pdf"><span style='color:#4472C4'>https://unstats.un.org/unsd/</span></a><a href="https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic-social/products/dyb/documents/dyb2017/table08.pdf"><span style='color:#4472C4'>demographic-social</span></a><a href="https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic-social/products/dyb/documents/dyb2017/table08.pdf"><span style='color:#4472C4'>/products/dyb/documents/dyb2017/table08.pdf</span></a></span>. Thus, city names are not universally protected. However, the process does provide a means for cities and applicants to work together where desired. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>An application for a city name will be subject to the geographic names requirements (i.e., will require documentation of support or non-objection from the relevant governments or public authorities) if:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:36.0pt;text-indent:-18.0pt;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo3'><![if !supportLists]><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;color:#4472C4;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>(a)<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>It is clear from applicant statements within the application that the applicant will use the TLD primarily for purposes associated with the city name. <span style='color:#4472C4'>For the avoidance of doubt, if an applicant declares in their application that they will operate the TLD exclusively as a dotBrand, then this is not a use of the TLD for “purposes associated with the city name”</span></span><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#4472C4;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB'>; and<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:36.0pt;text-indent:-18.0pt;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo3'><![if !supportLists]><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;color:#4472C4;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>(b)<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>The applied</span><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB'>-for string is <span style='color:#4472C4'>an exact match of </span>a city name as listed on official city documents <span style='color:#4472C4'>or as set out in national legislation designating the place as a city. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB'>Sophie Hey<br></span></b><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB'>Policy Advisor<br><br><b>Valideus<br></b>28-30 Little Russell Street<br>London WC1A 2HN<br>United Kingdom<br> <br>D: +44 (0) 20 7421 8252<br>T: +44 (0) 20 7421 8299<br>E: <a href="mailto:sophie.hey@valideus.com">sophie.hey@valideus.com</a><br><a href="http://www.valideus.com/">www.valideus.com</a></span><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB'> </span><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB'><br><img border=0 width=260 height=70 id=B9331034-441F-49D8-A466-645251B2C89D src="cid:image001.jpg@01D55DDB.C5A8C250"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB'><br></span><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB'>Liability cannot be accepted for statements made which are clearly the sender’s own and not made on behalf of Valideus. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB'>This message is intended solely for the addressee and may contain confidential information. If you have received this message in error, please send it back to us, and immediately and permanently delete it. Do not use, copy or disclose the information contained in this message or in any attachment. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB'>Valideus Ltd is registered in England and Wales with company number 06181291 and VAT number 272 9057 85. Our registered office is at 28-30 Little Russell Street, London, WC1A 2HN.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-GB><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><hr size=2 width="100%" align=center></span></div><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>The contents of this email and any attachments are confidential to the intended recipient. They may not be disclosed, used by or copied in any way by anyone other than the intended recipient. If you have received this message in error, please return it to the sender (deleting the body of the email and attachments in your reply) and immediately and permanently delete it. Please note that the Com Laude Group does not accept any responsibility for viruses and it is your responsibility to scan or otherwise check this email and any attachments. The Com Laude Group does not accept liability for statements which are clearly the sender's own and not made on behalf of the group or one of its member entities. The Com Laude Group includes Nom-IQ Limited t/a Com Laude, a company registered in England and Wales with company number 5047655 and registered office at 28-30 Little Russell Street, London, WC1A 2HN England; Valideus Limited, a company registered in England and Wales with company number 06181291 and registered office at 28-30 Little Russell Street, London, WC1A 2HN England; Demys Limited, a company registered in Scotland with company number SC197176, having its registered office at 33 Melville Street, Edinburgh, Lothian, EH3 7JF Scotland; Consonum, Inc. dba Com Laude USA and Valideus USA, headquartered at 1751 Pinnacle Drive, Suite 600, McLean, VA 22102, USA; Com Laude (Japan) Corporation, a company registered in Japan having its registered office at Suite 319,1-3-21 Shinkawa, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, 104-0033, Japan. For further information see <a href="https://comlaude.com" target="_blank">www.comlaude.com</a> <o:p></o:p></span></p></div></body></html>