[council] Proposed Motion requesting Issues Report on Vertical Integration & Registry/Registrar Cross-Ownership

[Mary Wong]

Hi everyone,
 
On behalf of the NCUC, I am proposing the following motion:
"Whereas, Recommendation 19 of the GNSO policy authorizing the new gTLD process states: "Registries must use only ICANN accredited registrars in registering domain names and may not discriminate among such accredited registrars;"

Whereas, opening up the market to many new TLD operators calls into question some of the assumptions on which the separation of registry and registrar functions is based;
Whereas, economic research commissioned by ICANN staff also suggests that changes might be justified;
Whereas, the new gTLD policies passed by the Council do not provide any policy guidance regarding the proper approach to cross ownership and vertical integration, but instead suggest that the status quo be left in place;
Resolved: the GNSO Council should initiate a policy development process on registry-registrar cross-ownership and the policies that should be applied to vertical integration or separation of gTLD registrars and registries and requests that an Issues Report be done on this question. This policy process should not delay or affect the progress of the new gTLD application process but should run in parallel."
Thank you. Background information relating to the NCUC position on this issue will follow shortly.
 
Best regards,
Mary
 
 
Mary W S Wong
Professor of Law
Franklin Pierce Law Center
Two White Street
Concord, NH 03301
USA
Email: mwong at piercelaw.edu
Phone: 1-603-513-5143
Webpage: http://www.piercelaw.edu/marywong/index.php
Selected writings available on the Social Science Research Network (SSRN) at: http://ssrn.com/author=437584
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