[CPWG] Summary of the last GNSO-TRT meeting

[Lutz Donnerhacke]

There are three major topics in the discussion yesterday:

--- BEGIN OF SUMMARY ---

Full Portfolio Transfers (Bulk Transfers):
- Preliminary Agreement #1: Registry Operators MAY charge a fee for
transferring full domain portfolios, with the option to waive fees in
specific cases.
- Concept 4: Ensures fees for full portfolio transfers involving multiple
registries don't exceed a recommended ceiling, with fees distributed based
on the number of domain names.

Change of Sponsorship (Partial Bulk Transfers):
- Preliminary Agreement #1: Registrars must notify affected registrants at
least 30 days before a change of sponsorship, providing details like the
change date, Gaining Registrar's name, and terms of service.
- Preliminary Agreement #4: Registrants' existing Registration Agreements
should allow transfers during a change of sponsorship, and registrants must
confirm agreement with new terms before the transfer.

Additional Discussions:
- Consideration of replacing specific fee numbers with a flexible
"reasonable fee" in policy language.
- Debate on the relevance of a minimum threshold (e.g., 50,000 domain names)
for fees.
- Emphasis on clear language and use of "MAY" in fee-related policies.
- Recognition of the need for project management representation and
potential ICANN Org involvement in fee administration.

--- END OF SUMMARY ---

As a background, the current policy has a very simple fee:
- Bulk transfers with less than n 50k domains = No fee
- Bulk transfers with more than n 50k domains = 50k US$ flat

>From the end user perspective there is only one notable point:
- Registrants need to be informed about the change of the registrar (via
reseller) beforehand.
- Registrants need to accept the legal rules of the new registrar.

For me there is only one point of interest: If "voluntary bulk transfers"
are combined with "ICANN approved bulk transfers" into a single policy, the
financial benefits and organisational simplifications of the "ICANN approved
transfers" may be extended to ordinary, commercial activities. This may
bring ICANN into the position of an omnipresent mediator, which is paying
for the commercial gambling of the registrars and resellers.