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Milton,<br>
<br>
you had written to Danny Younger on the list:<br>
<br>
=<br>
<pre wrap="">More importantly, if you have seen the recent letter Vint sent to GNSO
Council Chair Bruce Tonkin, it appears that ICANN is deliberately going
ahead with the renewal of .info, .biz and .org (.org being 3 years ahead
of time) BEFORE this TF can make any decisions that would affect the
contracts.
So (again) GNSO is being circumvented.
=
</pre>
Also the Business Constituency does not agree that the Board wants to
disregard the GNSO Council. I share the mail from them.<br>
<br>
<br>
Norbert Klein<br>
<br>
=<br>
<br>
-------- Original Message --------
<table class="moz-email-headers-table" border="0" cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th align="right" nowrap="nowrap" valign="baseline">Subject: </th>
<td>[council] Letter from BC opposing approval of registry
agreements until consideration of independent study and GNSO policy
input</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="right" nowrap="nowrap" valign="baseline">Date: </th>
<td>Wed, 22 Nov 2006 08:38:58 -0500</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="right" nowrap="nowrap" valign="baseline">From: </th>
<td>Marilyn Cade <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:marilynscade@hotmail.com"><marilynscade@hotmail.com></a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="right" nowrap="nowrap" valign="baseline">To: </th>
<td>Paul Twomey <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:paul.twomey@argopacific.com"><paul.twomey@argopacific.com></a>, Vint Cerf
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:vint@google.com"><vint@google.com></a>, <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:sharil@cmc.gov.my"><sharil@cmc.gov.my></a>,
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:jeffrey@icann.org"><jeffrey@icann.org></a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="right" nowrap="nowrap" valign="baseline">CC: </th>
<td><a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:bclist@bizconst.org"><bclist@bizconst.org></a>, <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:council@gnso.icann.org"><council@gnso.icann.org></a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><font color="navy" face="Arial" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: navy;"><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><font face="Times New Roman" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><font face="Times New Roman" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">November 20,
2006<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><font color="black" face="Times New Roman"
size="2"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><font face="Times New Roman" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Dear Board
Members and
Mr. Twomey<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><font face="Times New Roman" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><font face="Times New Roman" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Business
Constituency opposes a Board decision on the .biz; .info; .org registry
agreements at the upcoming meeting of the Board, November 22, 2006. We
ask the
Board to accept the recommendation of the GNSO Council of 28 September
2006, as
described below, and further, to await and consider the expert advice
that will
be the output of the “independent study by a reputable economic
consulting firm or organization to deliver findings on economic
questions
“… called for in the Board’s 18 October 2006 resolution. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><font face="Times New Roman" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><font face="Times New Roman" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">We remind the
Board and
the staff of the GNSO Council’s resolution, available on the GNSO
website
at <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.gnso.icann.org/resolutions">http://www.gnso.icann.org/resolutions</a>, where the GNSO council
requested the
Board to delay any decision on these contracts until the ICANN board
meeting
after the Sao Paolo ICANN meeting 2006, and to take into account the
current
outcome of the PDPFeb06 task force at that time. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><font face="Times New Roman" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><font face="Times New Roman" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">On 18 October
2006 the
Board meeting passed resolution
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.icann.org/minutes/resolutions-1Oct06.htm">http://www.icann.org/minutes/resolutions-1Oct06.htm</a>
entitled Economic Study of the Proposed Registry Agreements. In that
resolution, the Board noted that it has carefully considered the
proposed new
agreements [with the three registries], and the public comments and the
registry responses, and found that the approval of the new agreements
would be
beneficial for ICANN and the Internet community, provided that the
registry
operators and ICANN are able to agree to appropriate revisions to the
proposed
agreements to address competition related issues, such as differential
pricing.
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><font face="Times New Roman" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><font face="Times New Roman" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">However, of
significance
to our recommendation to the Board, the resolution acknowledged the
need for
high levels of economic expertise. And the resolution then “directed
the
President to commission an independent study by a reputable economic
consulting
firm or organization to deliver findings on economic questions relating
to the
domain registration market, and went on to identify important issues,
that to
the Business Constituency’s members are essential to address in an open
and transparent manner. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><font face="Times New Roman" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><font face="Times New Roman" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">It is
important to
ensure this level of accountability and transparency related to the
independent
study’s findings, so that ICANN’s community of stakeholders can
fully support the decisions that are made by the Board, based on
recommendations of the ICANN staff, but guided by the expert
advice/economic
expertise. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><font face="Times New Roman" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><font face="Times New Roman" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">We are in
agreement that
these are complex issues; therefore, we have taken the time to examine
where
there are other pressures that may be influencing the rush to approve
these
agreements. We address below our concern that budget considerations may
be
influencing a rushed decision. We believe that the Board can be of
assistance
in the discussions with the Registrars, and thus remove or ameliorate
that
pressure. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><font color="black" face="Times New Roman"
size="2"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><font face="Times New Roman" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Instead of
voting, we
urge the Board to discuss with the President and ICANN staff the
progress they
have made in identifying independent expert advice; if the Staff and
President
are unable to pursue the study authorization as directed in the Board
resolution immediately, the Board could also task the President and
staff to
immediately establish a interim panel of three experts in competition,
anti-trust,
and market analysis to provide interim consultation to the GNSO Council
and
Task Force, and of course, as a resource to the staff and Board. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><font face="Times New Roman" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><font face="Times New Roman" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">This will
support the
policy development process while allowing the ICANN President and staff
to
focus on organizing the authorized study. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><font color="black" face="Times New Roman"
size="2"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><font face="Times New Roman" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Further,
given that the
ICANN staff have not asked the Registrars to approve the budget and
that this
creates a financial tension, we urge the Board at the Sao Paolo
meeting, to
provide guidance and support to the staff, including providing active
listening
and pragmatic support to the discussions with the Registrars regarding
how to
advance their approval of the ICANN budget. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><font face="Times New Roman" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><font face="Times New Roman Bold" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman Bold"; font-weight: bold;">Conclusion:
The Board should not vote on these contracts at this time, but the
Board has a
critical role to play in advancing toward a time when it is both
appropriate
and supportable to vote on agreements with these registries. <o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><font face="Times New Roman" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><font face="Times New Roman" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">We, like the
ICANN
Board, seek a solution that can be broadly supportable by ICANN, the
stakeholders; the Board, the registries and the registrars, and all
other
stakeholder representatives. We do believe that this is attainable. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><font face="Times New Roman" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><font face="Times New Roman" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">For instance,
if the
expert advice indicates that there are no competition problems and that
there
are sufficient safeguards, our constituency will be more informed about
why we
should support the approval of the registry agreements. In our view,
there must
be an appropriate balance of respecting the ICANN stakeholders’
concerns
and interests, with a predictable and accountable contracting
environment in
renewals of registry agreements. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><font face="Times New Roman" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><font face="Times New Roman" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Financial
security is
one element of a stable and predictable environment for ICANN and its
stakeholders. Trust and respect for decisions and for the processes
that lead
to decisions are also key elements. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><font face="Times New Roman" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><font face="Times New Roman" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">It is after
all, our
members and the millions of other businesses who build the Internet,
create the
applications and content, and provide services and products to the just
over
one billion Internet users. We fully appreciate and value the role that
registry operations play in the functioning of the Internet Domain Name
System.
However, registries are suppliers, and ICANN registry agreements, and
ICANN’s actions must reflect the balance of supplier interests with the
broader responsibilities that ICANN has. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><font face="Times New Roman" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><font face="Times New Roman" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Officers
of the
Commercial and Business Constituency (BC)<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><font face="Times New Roman" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><font face="Times New Roman" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Marilyn
Cade Alistair
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Dixon</st1:City></st1:place>
Philip
Sheppard<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><font face="Times New Roman" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><font face="Times New Roman" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Cc: Vint
Cerf, Chair,
and ICANN Board<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><font face="Times New Roman" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Paul Twomey, ICANN President and CEO<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><font face="Times New Roman" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">
John Jeffrey, ICANN General Counsel<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><font face="Times New Roman" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">
ICANN GNSO Council<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><font face="Times New Roman" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">
ICANN GAC Chair<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><font face="Times New Roman" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">
ICANN Commercial and Business User Constituency<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span
style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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