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Re: [gtld-council] Outcomes of the Brussels meeting on policies for contractual conditions

  • To: Mawaki Chango <ki_chango@xxxxxxxxx>
  • Subject: Re: [gtld-council] Outcomes of the Brussels meeting on policies for contractual conditions
  • From: Ross Rader <ross@xxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Sun, 04 Jun 2006 12:20:06 -0400

I would like to see the definition of any TLD (g, cc, or other) framed
up in terms of its relationship with the global DNS infrastructure, and
not its relationship with ICANN. ICANN is a political construct, whereas
a TLD, the root and the DNS are technical constructs. Furthermore, lets
not forget that gTLD and ccTLD are arbitrarily defined subsets of TLDs.

Mawaki Chango wrote:
Hello Bruce & TF,

This is a contribution/reply to an old email... from Brussels.
I'd like to suggest the following definition for gTLD.

gTLD = a generic TLD is a top or first level Internet domain
name that is unique, global in scope and defined through an
exclusive contract with ICANN; it includes but is not limited to
the current sponsored and unsponsored TLDs.

You (esp. techies and policy staff; pls no lawyers ;)) may want
to confirm if "unique" and "exclusive contract" are Ok, as I see
them, but I'd like to insist having "global in scope" or
something like that (to mean they're geography-blinded, don't
pertain to any specific region). Because in my interactions, I
have come to realize that (a) signicant (number of) people in
the US seem to think gTLDs are american TLDs and the rest of the
world should be content with ccTLDs only. No offence... just
clarity.

Best,
Mawaki

--- Bruce Tonkin <Bruce.Tonkin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Hello All,

The following were areas of agreement amongst the participants
in the
Brussels meeting for policy guidelines that relate to
contractual
conditions.   These will be incorporated into an initial
report.  The
intent will also be to include a "model" or "reference"
agreement that
complies with these guidelines to assist in providing a
practical
example of how the guidelines may be applied.


Use "gTLD licence holder" instead of "Registry Operator" as
this has a
range of meanings.

"gTLD" = "a generic TLD that has a contract with ICANN,
includes but is
not limited to the current sponsored and unsponsored TLDs"


1.      There should be a frame agreement to provide some level of
consistency (e.g as for the registrars accreditation
agreement), with
the ability for staff to have delegated authority to approve.

2.      Any material alterations to the frame agreement, subject to
public comments before approval by the ICANN Board.


3. The contract should strike the right balance between
ensuring
certainty for market players and preserving flexibility of
ICANN to
accommodate the rapidly changing market, technological and
policy
conditions.

4. The initial term of commercially reasonable length (e.g
default 10
years, although may be changed on a case-by-case basis).


5. There should be a renewal expectancy.     A contract would
be renewed
provided that the license holder is not in material breach of
the
contract, or has not been found in repeated non-performance of
the
contract, and provided the license holder agrees to any new
framework
contract conditions that are reasonably acceptable.    Any new
framework
contract would take into account the consensus policies in
place at that
time.

6. There should be an ability to terminate the contract if the
gtld
licence holder has  been found in repeated non-performance of
the
contract.

7. During the term of the agreement, the registry must comply
with new
or changed consensus policies to one or more of the following
areas:
-       (1) issues for which uniform or coordinated resolution is
reasonably necessary to facilitate interoperability, Security
and/or
Stability of the Internet or DNS;
-       (2) functional and performance specifications for the
provision
of Registry Services (as defined in Section 3.1(d)(iii)
below);
-       (3) Security and Stability of the registry database for the
TLD;


-       (4) registry policies reasonably necessary to implement
Consensus Policies relating to registry operations or
registrars;
-       or (5) resolution of disputes regarding the registration of
domain names (as opposed to the use of such domain names).
8. Any deviation from consensus policies should be explicitly
stated and
justified in the agreement


9. Where a registry provides IDNs, the contract should require
that the
registry adhere to IDN standards, and ICANN guidelines for
IDNs.

10. Initially rely on the appropriate external
competition/anti-trust
Government authorities to ensure compliance with laws relating
to market
power or pricing power.   This can be reviewed after initial
term.

11. ICANN should take a consistent approach with respect to
registry
fees - taking into account differences in regional, economic
and
business models

13. Use of Personal Data: limit it to the purpose for which it
is
collected, and define the extent to which it is made available
to third
parties.


Further work required to identify whether to address other
forms of
registry data, such as traffic data, before any policy
recommendation in
this area can be made.





Regards,

Regards,

--

                       -rr








                "Don't be too timid and squeamish about your actions.
                                           All life is an experiment.
                            The more experiments you make the better."
                        - Ralph Waldo Emerson


Contact Info:

Ross Rader
Director, Research & Innovation
Tucows Inc.
t. 416.538.5492
c. 416.828.8783

Get Started: http://start.tucows.com
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