[gnso-dow123] FW: MarkMonitor's WHOIS Comments

["Metalitz, Steven" <met@xxxxxxx>]

fyi, in response to Ross's post yesterday

________________________________

From: Margie Milam [mailto:Margie.Milam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] 
Sent: Tuesday, January 23, 2007 1:00 PM
To: Metalitz, Steven
Subject: MarkMonitor's WHOIS Comments



Steve,

 

I understand that a question has been raised regarding the MarkMonitor
Comments to the WHOIS Taskforce Report.  

 

The MarkMonitor letter represents the collective perspective of over 100
companies, non-profit groups and other organizations concerned about the
impact of WHOIS policy on their ability to protect their customers.  We
stand by these endorsements and wish to provide the WHOIS Task Force
additional information regarding the process by which these endorsements
were collected.  

 

We obtained the endorsements through an email communication that was
sent primarily to our clients and to other organizations interested in
the WHOIS issue.  The email contained a link to a website page
describing MarkMonitor's Comments, and requested that the endorser enter
their name, email address and Company if they supported the statements
on behalf of their organization.    

 

Those who responded were sent a confirming email (to the email address
they provided) with the following message:

 

 "Thank you for your rapid response in support of this important issue.
We will include your company name in the letter we plan on submitting to
ICANN early next week in favor of the Special Circumstances Proposal.

 

We are also publishing that letter on our web site at:
http://www.markmonitor.com/openwhois/ in order to call attention to this
important issue.  Please feel free to contact me at 415-278-8472
(honni.marks@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx) or Margie Milam at 208-389-5750
(margie.milam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx) if you have any additional questions or
concerns. Again, we appreciate your support and thank you for response."

 

We know that many of the endorsements resulted from consultation and
coordination within the endorsing entities.   For example, in the case
of the Anti-Phishing Working Group, this endorsement was made after a
vote by its steering committee to endorse the MarkMonitor position.  

 

There were also a few endorsements that resulted after an article
appeared in eweek.com regarding this issue  (see
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2082346,00.asp
<http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2082346,00.asp>   ), which
resulted in our updated posting on 1/15/07.   These endorsements were
confirmed in the same manner as the email communications described
above.

 

We are not aware of any concerns regarding the information provided,
except for a Mozilla reference which was corrected last week to be an
"individual" endorsement instead of a "corporate" endorsement.  In
addition, yesterday we were informed that dot.berlin has reconsidered
its prior endorsement.  

 

As you know, over the past few years ICANN has sought a broader scope of
participation on major issues, including WHOIS issues. The participation
by major corporations and non-profit organizations in this discussion
through their endorsement of the MarkMonitor letter is in line with
ICANN's efforts to seek greater participation, and should therefore be
considered in the Task Force's analysis.        

 

If you have any further questions regarding our posting, please do not
hesitate to contact me at (208) 389-5769.

 

Sincerely,

 

Margie Milam

General Counsel

MarkMonitor, Inc.