Meeting Notes for 27 Oct. 2009 "Constituency Day" NCUC-NCSG in Seoul - ICANN mtg

[Robin Gross]

Dear All,

Attached and below are the meeting notes from the 27 October 2009  
"Constituency Day" NCUC-NCSG meeting in Seoul.   A giant thanks to  
Mary for taking such excellent notes!

All best,
Robin




ICANN 36 (SEOUL): CONSTITUENCY DAY – NCSG MEETING

Tuesday October 26, 2009

The Chair called the meeting to order shortly after 9 a.m.
1. CONSTITUENCY BUSINESS
1.1 Introduction
The meeting began with introductions. This is the largest in-person  
showing of NCUC (now NCSG) members at face-to-face (F2F) ICANN  
meetings, and displays a diversity of geographical representation as  
well as an increasing number of new members. Several members also  
participated remotely. In total, more than members and several  
observers were present, from more than a dozen countries.

1.2 Membership Survey
Rebecca Mackinnon presented the results of a Membership Survey she  
conducted recently. This is the first comprehensive survey of the  
membership, and the group agreed that it resulted in some very  
helpful statistics and comments, although the fact that the survey  
was conducted shortly before the Seoul meeting meant that fewer  
responses were received than might otherwise have been the case.  
Several members expressed some concern over whether and how the  
results would be anonymized prior to their public release and the  
group discussed a suggestion that the results (appropriately  
anonymized) be sent directly to ICANN Board and staff after it is  
made publicly available. A comment that was made by one survey  
respondent relating to the technical and access issues that some  
members, particularly in developing countries, have with joining in  
our online meetings and discussions was also discussed.

1.3 Building Stronger Relationships within the ICANN Community
A discussion then ensued on how to build stronger relations with  
other entities within ICANN, including ALAC and the GAC. The Chair  
mentioned that, of all the efforts that had been made, Bill Drake  
(one of the current Councillors and NCUC-appointed liaison to ALAC)  
has been instrumental in bridging the communications gap between NCUC  
and ALAC. Several members gave suggestions on possible ideas and  
mechanisms to better inform the ICANN community on NCUC’s membership  
and issues.

Suggestions included an informal list informing the membership of the  
work being undertaken at ICANN, selecting from and discussing some of  
the issues highlighted by Rebecca in her survey, strengthening the  
role of the various liaisons, taking advantage of F2F meetings  
(whether informally or arranged across constituencies/groups) and  
finding ways to inform the membership about current ICANN policy work  
to enable them to join working groups, drafting teams etc.

It was also emphasized that we need to improve relations with the  
Board, in that it was clear during the charter negotiations that many  
Board members were unfamiliar with NCUC and unacquainted with many of  
our members personally.

1.4 ICT & Website Issues
Brenden Kuerbis outlined the online communication tools we are  
currently using, e.g. the listservs, website and limited Twittering.  
He suggested that we take a step back and consider the reasons and  
guidelines for using these tools, i.e. access, accessibility,  
resource-intensiveness (time and energy), scalability, interaction  
with/across other civil society platforms, and the need for archiving.

The Chair thanked Brenden for his time and IGP-supported efforts at  
basically being the one person who has been responsible for  
developing and educating members on the use of these tools.

Other members commented on the need to deploy different tools (e.g.  
IRC and not just Elluminate) to take into account high and low  
bandwidth as well as blocking in different countries; there is,  
however, some risk of confusion with multiple information platforms  
and information overload.

1.5 Funding
Funding remains a problem, e.g. the Internet Governance Project (IGP)  
that funds much of Brenden’s work for us, will see its current grant  
expire early in 2010.

It also seems clear that we need administrative and human resource  
support. Rob Hoggarth (ICANN staff) noted that the GNSO Operations  
Steering Committee (OSC) will be sending to the Council a toolkit of  
support mechanisms, which as part of the GNSO Improvements process is  
intended to assist with some of these issues.

Rebecca Mackinnon noted that some foundations may be interested in  
funding developing world participants for ICANN meetings, especially  
given the recent growth in membership.

Some discussion ensued over the appropriateness of receiving  
substantial funding from ICANN versus independent sources. The  
Affirmation of Commitments (endorsing the public interest and the  
multi-stakeholder approach) and the ICANN Fellowship program (e.g.  
requesting a dedicated number of Fellows per ICANN meeting) were  
highlighted.

Carlos Afonso mentioned that certain entities (e.g. CGI Brazil,  
Nominet in the UK and CRIA in Canada) might be interested in funding  
ICANN participation by non-commercial representatives.

While the members present welcomed any resource contributions from  
ICANN to support NCUC administrative activities, they agreed  
maintaining the independence of its communication tools was important.

2. NEW gTLD PROGRAM
The Chair outlined the basic positions that NCUC has taken previously  
in relation to the Draft Applicant Guidebook (DAG) for new gTLDs. The  
DAG is now in its third iteration (DAG-3). The Chair also reminded  
members of the tight deadlines for various public comments, i.e. 22  
November (for DAG-3 and for the two ICANN staff proposals regarding  
trademark protection).

Kathy Kleiman and Konstantinos Komaitis led a discussion on trademark  
protections in new gTLDs, including the establishment of and  
timelines for a Special Trademark Interests (STI) review team being  
set up by the GNSO in order to address the two issues (a Trademark  
Clearinghouse and a Uniform Rapid Suspension system) that the Board  
has referred to the GNSO community for consensus.

Kurt Pritz (ICANN Senior Vice President for Policy) then briefed the  
group on some developments in DAG-3. Many members had questions for  
Kurt relating to several issues of concern to NCUC regarding DAG-3  
and new gTLDs, including trademark protection, morality and public  
order, and the objection process.

** The group broke for lunch after the discussion with Kurt Pritz **
3. REGISTRAR-REGISTRY SEPARATION
Richard Tindal (eNom) and Brian Cute (Afilias) gave presentations  
discussing the benefits and risks of integrating registries and  
registrars under the new gTLD regime. Milton Mueller led a question- 
and-answer session between the presenters and members.

4. TRADEMARK ISSUES: THE BOARD LETTER TO THE GNSO
Kathy Kleiman, Konstantinos Komaitis and Wendy Seltzer led a  
discussion about the Board letter to the GNSO requesting feedback  
from the GNSO community on the ICANN staff models for a Trademark  
Clearinghouse and a Uniform Rapid Suspension system.

The members present agreed to have those NCSG members who will be  
representing the NCSG on the GNSO review group prepare the NCSG  
positions on these proposals, with input from other interested  
members. Several members asked for clarification on the proposals,  
and suggestions were made regarding NCSG’s possible positions to  
take on the proposals.


5. NCSG CHARTER DISCUSSION
The group reviewed the meeting between the Board and the NCSG that  
took place on 25 October. It was agreed that it was a positive and  
helpful meeting, and opened the door to further good faith  
discussions with the Board’s Structural Improvements Committee (SIC)  
on a final NCSG Charter.

The group then discussed the question how to maintain good  
relationships with At Large. Wendy Seltzer reminded the group that  
the Board does not want to have to consider minute details regarding  
the methods of participation by non-commercial actors in ICANN, and  
that it would welcome proposals that determined clearly but  
succinctly the workings of the non-commercial space, particularly if  
they could be demonstrated to have achieved consensus between At  
Large and NCSG.

Avri Doria presented a preliminary proposal for transitioning into  
the NCSG until the final Charter is confirmed with the ICANN Board.  
The idea is to present the SIC with the proposal for NCUC-NCSG  
transition before the end of the week. Discussion ensued over the  
proposal, as well as the workings of the SIC Interim Charter. The  
transition proposal met with the general approval of the members  
present, who also suggested a few amendments.

Rob Hoggarth (ICANN staff) answered questions from the members  
present relating to the Transitional NCSG Charter and the various  
Board decisions relating to the NCSG.

A motion was proposed by Mary Wong, seconded by Bill Drake, as follows:

“WHEREAS, at its meeting on 30 July 2009, the ICANN Board adopted a  
Transitional Charter for the Non-Commercial Stakeholder Group (NCSG)  
that was drafted by the Board’s Structural Improvements Committee  
(SIC);
WHEREAS, at its meeting on 30 September 2009, the ICANN Board  
appointed three new Councillors to the GNSO Council, in accordance  
with that Transitional Charter;
WHEREAS, the terms of the Transitional Charter contemplates the  
formation of an Executive Committee for the NCSG;
WHEREAS, pursuant to the Board resolution of 30 September, the three  
appointed Councillors may elect, for the duration of their term, to  
serve on the Executive Committee for the NCSG;
WHEREAS, the NCSG held its first meeting at the 36th ICANN meeting in  
Seoul, Korea, on 27 October 2009;
AND WHEREAS, under the terms of the Transitional Charter, the  
Executive Committee for the NCSG shall initially include two  
representatives from each Constituency of the NCSG;
BE IT RESOLVED, THEREFORE, that the NCSG shall establish its  
Executive Committee under the terms of the Transitional Charter and  
in accordance with the Board Resolution of 30 September 2009;
BE IT RESOLVED, FURTHER, that the Non-Commercial Users Constituency  
(NCUC) be requested to appoint two members to the Executive Committee  
for the NCSG, comprising the current NCUC Chair and one of the NCUC  
Executive Committee members recently elected by that constituency.”
The meeting adopted the motion as presented.

6. ANY OTHER BUSINESSS
The group discussed the upcoming election for a GNSO Chair and a Non- 
Contracted Party House Vice-Chair.

There being no other business, the meeting ended at 5.30 p.m.


RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED,

Mary Wong





IP JUSTICE
Robin Gross, Executive Director
1192 Haight Street, San Francisco, CA  94117  USA
p: +1-415-553-6261    f: +1-415-462-6451
w: http://www.ipjustice.org     e: robin at ipjustice.org



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