Registrar Constituency Position on GNSO-Approved RAA Amendments
April 6, 2009
Registrar Constituency Position on GNSO-Approved RAA Amendments
BACKGROUND
In March 2009, the Registrar Constituency ("RC") was asked to provide feedback
regarding the GNSO-Approved RAA Amendments ("RAA Amendments"). This Position
Paper captures the overall sentiment expressed by the RC Members who provided
feedback about this matter. Due to time constraints, however, no formal vote
regarding this Position Paper was taken.
RC POSITION
The RC supports the RAA Amendments. The RC believes adoption of the complete
set of RAA Amendments will have a positive effect on the ICANN community.
In particular, the RC anticipates that the Amendments will improve ICANN's
registrar compliance and enforcement initiatives. The new enforcement tools
provided under the RAA Amendments allow for needed intermediate-level recourse
when bringing registrars into compliance.
In the RC's view, it would be beneficial for the entire ICANN community if the
RAA Amendments were adopted by all registrars sooner rather than later.
However, because of the timing of certain registrar contracts, ICANN may have
to wait as many as five years for all registrars to become bound by the amended
RAA.
The RC suggests that ICANN consider providing financial incentives to encourage
all registrars to adopt the amended RAA early. Registrars who adopt the
amended RAA early will inevitably incur additional compliance costs related to
the amendments, including costs related to: reseller contracts, website
changes, additional audits, potential liability, etc. In the RC's view, it
seems reasonable for ICANN to encourage early adoption by providing financial
incentives to registrars in order to offset these anticipated costs.
The RC eagerly anticipates full adoption of the RAA Amendments and it is
looking forward to working with ICANN to explore the possibility of financial
incentives for early adoption. Additionally, the RC is looking forward to
working with the community on further potential changes to the RAA and on the
registrant rights and responsibilities charter.
CONCLUSION
The opinions expressed by the RC in this Position Paper should not be
interpreted to reflect the individual opinion of any particular RC member.
Attachment:
RC Position - RAA Amendments FINAL.pdf |