[At-Large] Red Cross and IOC Protection under the new gTLD process

Alan Greenberg alan.greenberg at mcgill.ca
Fri Feb 24 21:51:14 UTC 2012


During the discussions between the Board and the GAC preceding the 
launch of the new gTLD program, the GAC requested special protection 
of Red Cross/Red Crescent (RC/RC) and International Olympic Committee 
(IOC) names, due to the special protection given to these names by a 
variety of unique international agreements and treaties.

The Board responded by reserving a specific list of names from being 
used during the first round of the new gTLD program, and remanded the 
issue to the GNSO for further deliberations. Such deliberations were 
to address both use of RC/RC and IOC names both at the top and second 
level for new gTLDs.

The Board action was implemented by means of provisions in the 
current Applicant Guidebook, Section 2.2.1.2.3 Page 2-10 to 2-11 
<http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/applicants/agb/guidebook-full-11jan12-en.pdf>.

To enable the GNSO to properly consider the GAC request, additional 
information was requested of the GAC. This additional detail 
<https://gacweb.icann.org/download/attachments/1540128/GAC+advice+on+IOC+and+Red+Cross+Sep.+2011.pdf?version=1&modificationDate=1317031625914> 
was provided in September.

A GNSO Drafting Team was created with the intent of providing 
guidance to the GNSO. Details of the groups deliberations (including 
transcripts) can be found in the GNSO Calendar 
<http://gnso.icann.org/calendar/>, with meetings generally held on 
Wednesdays, and in the groups mailing list 
<http://forum.icann.org/lists/gnso-iocrc-dt/> (which has seen much traffic).

If the GNSO were to take no action at this point, the exemptions 
already in the Applicant Guidebook will stand.

I have made it clear that to the extent that there have been comments 
on the issue within At-Large and ALAC, the tone has been that special 
exemptions for these bodies should not be granted. That view is 
shared by some other participants in the DT. However, it was also 
generally accepted that an exemption has already been granted and 
there is little opportunity for the GNSO to change the basic concept.

My personal position has been that although these special exemptions 
are not what I would have preferred, it is clear that the Board has 
already agreed to the basic concept, and the DT's major 
responsibility is to ensure that the exemptions can be implemented in 
as rational and effective means as possible, minimizing the need for 
extraordinary action later in the process and definitely minimizing 
the impact on other gTLD applicants.

The DT decided that the first priority was to provide clarification 
on how top-level domains should be treated, as it was viewed as 
important that any changes be finalized prior to the end of the gTLD 
application period. Following extensive discussion, the group has 
drafted a recommendation on how Section 2.2.1.2.3 should be revised 
<https://community.icann.org/display/atlarge/Draft+RCRC-IOC+Recomendation+-+24+Feb+2012>.

This recommendation, or what results from discussions over the next 
week, will be discussed with interested members of the GAC on a 
teleconference on March 2.

The intent is that whatever comes out of the next week of discussions 
go to the GNSO in Costa Rica, for potential adoption in its meeting 
on Wednesday, allowing the Board  to consider adoption on Friday. The 
DT will likely also suggest that if any applications already 
submitted are disqualified due to these changes, that the entire 
application fee be refunded.

The above discussion can be found at https://community.icann.org/x/FZ7bAQ.

The Recommendation can be found at 
https://community.icann.org/x/GJ7bAQ. Please add any comments to the 
recommendation page. Due to the tight timing, the earlier that 
comments are made, the more likely they are to be considered.

Alan 




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