[gnso-vi-feb10] Regarding the Nairobi Board Resolution

[Kurt Pritz <kurt.pritz@xxxxxxxxx>]

Members of the Vertical Integration Working Group:
This is the first contact I have had directly with you as a group – I want to 
start by thanking you for the interest and hard work put into the vertical 
integration issues. I have attended several of the calls and read the mail 
list. A tremendous amount of thought has been devoted to developing a vertical 
integration model for this new gTLD marketplace.
Some time ago, representatives of the group forwarded a set of questions to the 
ICANN Board regarding the Nairobi Board resolution on the vertical integration 
issue. The working group authored the set of specific questions to clarify the 
meaning of the resolution in order to inform the work of the group.
The Board discussed the questions posed by the group and considered a set of 
possible answers. In the end, the collective Board members’ opinions indicated 
that the Board will not provide advice for your group in response to the 
questions.  The Board took note that the task set out for the GNSO – and 
through it, for the working group – was to develop a policy recommendation 
regarding the vertical structure of the name registration marketplace, starting 
with a “blank sheet of paper.“ The Board comments indicated that the resolution 
was crafted, in part, to give the GNSO the widest possible latitude in crafting 
a structure.
The Board also indicated that the next version of the proposed Guidebook and 
the gTLD implementation will be guided by the Nairobi Board resolution, unless 
superseded by a GNSO recommended, Board approved policy.
I realize some time has passed since the questions were originally posed and am 
gratified that the working group has continued to prosecute this task with all 
possible vigour. After considering this issue myself, I think the sense of the 
Board on this issue is correct. The policy advice on this issue should come 
from the consensus of the constituent groups, and should not be influenced by 
the input of the ICANN’s directors.
Again, please accept my thanks for the hard work to date and also my 
willingness to respond to questions or issues on any of the vertical 
integration discussion points.

Sincerely,


Kurt

Kurt Pritz
ICANN