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<p>Hi Milton,</p>
<p>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. <br>
</p>
<p>NCUC and NCSG have a fine history of leadership in this area with
<i>Avri </i>(while still in NCSG before her terms on the Board)
fighting for reduction of application fees for New gTLD Applicants
who qualify, and <i>Rafik </i>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. <br>
</p>
<p>The Subsequent Procedures ("Subpro") Working Group spent days,
weeks, months on this issue of Applicant Support. <i>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. </i>To do that, after extensive discussion, the
SubPro Working Group recommended <b>additional support </b>for
Applicants to help them prepare their New gTLD business plans, and
research/write their New gTLD applications. <br>
</p>
<p>Here's <b>SubPro Recommendation 17.2: </b><b>The Working Group
recommends expanding the scope of</b><b><br>
</b><b>financial support provided to Applicant Support Program
beneficiaries beyond the</b><b><br>
</b><b>application fee to also cover costs such as application
writing fees and attorney fees</b><b><br>
</b><b>related to the application process.</b><b><br>
</b></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>I look forward to our discussion online and at the Issues Forum!</p>
<p>Best, Kathy<br>
</p>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 9/28/2023 10:22 AM, Mueller, Milton
L wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:BN7PR07MB46892460A77A55463197D7F8A1C1A@BN7PR07MB4689.namprd07.prod.outlook.com">
<pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">
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 <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:ncuc-discuss-bounces@lists.ncuc.org"><ncuc-discuss-bounces@lists.ncuc.org></a> On Behalf Of Kathy Kleiman
Sent: Sunday, September 24, 2023 11:31 AM
To: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:ncuc-discuss@lists.ncuc.org">ncuc-discuss@lists.ncuc.org</a>; Benjamin Akinmoyeje <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:benakin@gmail.com"><benakin@gmail.com></a>
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:
</pre>
<blockquote type="cite">
<pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">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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</pre>
</blockquote>
<pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">
--
Kathy Kleiman
President, Domain Name Rights Coalition
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</pre>
</blockquote>
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