[NCUC-DISCUSS] Pre-ICANN78 CEO 1:1 Topics

[Kathy Kleiman]

Hi Milton,

I think the history of NCUC in this area speaks to trying to expand 
(greatly) the number and types of noncommercial entities that apply for 
New gTLDs. Many New gTLD Applicants in Round One (2012) were from the 
Global North and from very large companies.

NCUC and NCSG have a fine history of leadership in this area with /Avri 
/(while still in NCSG before her terms on the Board) fighting for 
reduction of application fees for New gTLD Applicants who qualify, and 
/Rafik /working for good metrics so we can chart what happens in the the 
next (and future) rounds of New gTLDs regarding Applicants in need of 
support. We want to know how successful our plans to expand potential 
Applicants will be.

The Subsequent Procedures ("Subpro") Working Group spent days, weeks, 
months on this issue of Applicant Support. /SubPro came to the decision 
that it is important for ICANN to have a diversity of Applicants from 
the Global South as well as Global North, and  by a range of entities, 
both noncommercial and commercial. /To do that, after extensive 
discussion,  the SubPro Working Group recommended *additional support 
*for Applicants to help them prepare their New gTLD business plans, and 
research/write their New gTLD applications.

Here's *SubPro Recommendation 17.2: **The Working Group recommends 
expanding the scope of**
**financial support provided to Applicant Support Program beneficiaries 
beyond the**
**application fee to also cover costs such as application writing fees 
and attorney fees**
**related to the application process.**
*

This Recommendation was adopted by Council. There are many ways to 
implement this Recommendation and excellent ways to provide business, 
technical, and legal expertise to Applicants who need them.  A lot of 
work is taking place now - including with excellent leadership from NCSG 
and NCUC.

I look forward to our discussion online and at the Issues Forum!

Best, Kathy

On 9/28/2023 10:22 AM, Mueller, Milton L wrote:
> I want to make it clear that I do not support policies that subsidize applications based on arbitrary criteria (such as "global South"). We should also be aware that the Board has indicated that it will likely not adopt Subpro recommendation 17.2 for the following reasons:
> 1. It does not specify what kind of financial support will be offered, and
> 2. It is problematic for ICANN to pay third party service providers and then objectively evaluate their gTLD applications
>
> This all sounds like a nice free lunch, but who will be getting the free lunch? Most likely the (global North) consultants and lawyers who will "help" specific applicants.
>
> We need to keep in mind that application costs are only one of the economic barriers to entry affecting gTLD applications. Far more important is the long-term sustainability of the registry. While I would strongly agree that ICANN's application process is far more expensive and complicated than it needs to be - and we can thank the GAC, ICANN staff and IPR interests for that - how likely is it that an entity that cannot afford to apply for a gTLD will be able to market and operate the TLD name space over the long term? Who will use these artificially created gTLDs? Who will support them financially over the long term? I just don't see the point in creating artificial stimulants to apply for gTLDs when the business viability of another TLD is highly questionable under current conditions.
>
> I am in favor of adding this issue (let's be honest and call it applicant subsidies) to our Issues Forum, but let's make this a discussion not blind advocacy.
>
> Dr. Milton L Mueller, Professor
> Georgia Tech School of Public Policy
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ncuc-discuss<ncuc-discuss-bounces at lists.ncuc.org>  On Behalf Of Kathy Kleiman
> Sent: Sunday, September 24, 2023 11:31 AM
> To:ncuc-discuss at lists.ncuc.org; Benjamin Akinmoyeje<benakin at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [NCUC-DISCUSS] Pre-ICANN78 CEO 1:1 Topics
>
> Hi Benjamin,
>
> Tx for asking.  I think you should talk about the importance of guidance, review and limitations of Public Interest Commitment (PICs) and Registry Voluntary Commitments (RVCs) and our concerns about the use of the DNS as part of political sanctions [the topics of our first NCUC Issues Forum at ICANN77 in DC].
>
> And also our deep concern for Applicant Support and discussing the essence of SubPro 17.2 Recommendation - providing additional supports for Applicants from the Global South (and the Global North) in their planning for and writing of New gTLD applications (legal, technical and business education/counseling/guidance). What does the Board need to make this support - which we think is critical (and the SubPro WG did
> too) - a reality?
>
> Milton, Farzi, Tomslin, Manju, Stephanie and I all have more details if you need them!
>
> Best, Kathy
>
> On 9/24/2023 9:18 AM, Benjamin Akinmoyeje wrote:
>> Dear NCUC members,
>> Good day to you all, and I hope your day is going well.
>>
>> The NCUC EC is having an opportunity to meet with the ICANN CEO for a
>> one-on-one session and would like to discuss some topics the community
>> might be interested in.
>>
>> Please suggest topics you would like us to discuss with the ICANN CEO
>> next month.
>>
>> Kind regards,
>> Benjamin
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>> Ncuc-discuss at lists.ncuc.org
>> https://lists.ncuc.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/ncuc-discuss
> --
> Kathy Kleiman
> President, Domain Name Rights Coalition
>
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