[council] DRAFT text of letter from Council to Board RE: singular and plural new gTLD applications

[Wendy Seltzer]

I would not support the assertion that the evaluations contravene
policy, or "that we have heard *and share* concerns." I could support
sending a question on which we'd like further information in order to
assess whether policy has been implemented properly.

--Wendy

On 04/10/2013 11:40 PM, john at crediblecontext.com wrote:
> All, Here is my take on the text of a letter from Jonathan to Steve
> on the subject of singular and plural new gTLD applications as we
> agreed ought to be written and sent. Cheers, Berard
> 
> In the course of our meetings this week in Beijing, we have heard and
> share the concerns expressed about the undesirable consequences of
> allowing both singular and plural forms of the same word to be
> delegated in the news gTLD program. On the basis of policy
> recommendations of the Council to avoid consumer confusion, this
> letter asks for clarity on why that policy was, effectively, set
> aside by the panelist that ICANN enrolled to conduct string
> similarity tests. Specifically, in the new gTLD Report that was
> adopted by the GNSO Council was “Recommendation 2 Discussion --
> Strings must not be confusingly similar to an existing top-level
> domain” (see
> http://gnso.icann.org/en/issues/new-gtlds/pdp-dec05-fr-parta-08aug07.htm).
> The effect of singular and plurals is already embedded in practice.
> Note that WIPO mediation rules include this: “Words used in the
> singular include the plural and vice versa, as the context may
> require.” At a minimum, the Council requests fuller disclosure about
> the process by which the panelist made their determination and why
> the Board accepted this variance from existing practice and gTLD
> policy. Greater transparency will help the Council evaluate whether
> the criteria for string similarity were properly conveyed to the
> panelist, whether the panelist followed that policy advice and how we
> can address the concerns of the community.
>