[Comments-o-com-single-char-10may18] Three points on single letter domain names

[John Berard]

> As a member of the Commercial and Business Users' Constituency, I support the comments filed by that group. 

> 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 O.Com.
>  
> 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.

> 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.  

> To do so also inoculates ICANN against potential failure.
>  
> 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. 

> In the case of O.com, 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. 

> 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.
>  
> Finally, while I am grateful that Verisign has agreed not to benefit from the O.com auction proceeds, I am uneasy about whether any of these funds might find their way into ICANN's operating budget.

> 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!
>  
> 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.
>  
John Berard
Credible Context

Sent from my iPhone
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