[At-Large] R: outcomes from the gTLD Review Group re: drafting of possible objections to new gTLD applications

[Roberto Gaetano]

Thanks, Dev, for the good work.
I believe that the issue of .health is important, and would like to see more
discussion in the mailing lists and more opinions to be voiced by At Large
participants before a decision is taken by ALAC.
As I have posted already in an earlier message, the big concern that I have
is the potential consumer confusion in a critical domain like public health.
However, this is just the tip of the iceberg. There is a wide debate going
on about the "closed generic" TLD class, with a request for comments issued
by ICANN
(http://www.icann.org/en/news/public-comment/closed-generic-05feb13-en.htm)
closing on 7 March. Michele Neylon, to name just one person well known to
us, has been already active in pointing out the issue.
Personally, I believe that the "closed generic" subject is very important,
and deserves an ALAC policy position.
I believe that the same care that brand owners exert about the protection of
their brands as TLDs has to be exerted by the public interest in protecting
the value of generic terms. In the same way that brands want to avoid
consumer confusion generated by misuse of brand names, the public interest
represented by ALAC should fight to avoid consumer confusion generated by
misuse by private business of public resources like generic names.
The .health issue is just one case where this is more obvious, and the
danger of misuse is higher because the consequences of the consumer
confusion will be wider.
Regards,
Roberto




> -----Messaggio originale-----
> Da: at-large-bounces at atlarge-lists.icann.org [mailto:at-large-
> bounces at atlarge-lists.icann.org] Per conto di Dev Anand Teelucksingh
> Inviato: sabato 16 febbraio 2013 22:31
> A: afri-discuss at atlarge-lists.icann.org;
apac-discuss at atlarge-lists.icann.org;
> euro-discuss at atlarge-lists.icann.org;
lac-discuss-en at atlarge-lists.icann.org;
> na-discuss at atlarge-lists.icann.org; at-large at atlarge-lists.icann.org
> Cc: gTLD WG
> Oggetto: [At-Large] outcomes from the gTLD Review Group re: drafting of
> possible objections to new gTLD applications
> 
> Members of the new gTLD Review Group (gTLD RG) considered the
> comments from the At-Large community as of February 8 2013 regarding the
> applications for
> 
> .amazon (https://community.icann.org/x/dAFlAg),
> .patagonia (https://community.icann.org/x/fgFlAg)
> .health (https://community.icann.org/x/0wZlAg)
> .nyc (https://community.icann.org/x/CYJEAg)
> 
> None of the applications raised any limited public interest concerns
> (https://community.icann.org/x/QAkQAg)
> 
> gTLD RG members ranked each factor of the four tests for community
> objection grounds ((https://community.icann.org/x/QgkQAg)
> based on the comments and discussions. Based on these rankings, the
> following are the decisions by the gTLD RG:
> 
> Re: .amazon (https://community.icann.org/x/dAFlAg):
> There will be no drafting of an objection statement on community grounds
> for the application for .amazon given that the "detriment" test for
> community objection grounds was not passed.
> 
> Re: .patagonia (https://community.icann.org/x/fgFlAg)
> There will be no drafting of an objection statement on community grounds
> for the application for .patagonia given that the "targeting" and
"detriment"
> tests for community objection grounds were not passed.
> 
> Re: .health (https://community.icann.org/x/0wZlAg)
> Objection statements on community grounds will be drafted for the
> applications for .health given that the four tests for community objection
> grounds were passed. The gTLD RG will attempt to put together the
> objection statements to the applications for .health in time for RALO
review
> around 22 February 2013.
> 
> Re: .nyc
> There will be no drafting of an objection statement on community grounds
> for the application for .nyc given the comments received as on February 8
> 2013 indicated that the initial objection concerns raised were being
> addressed.
> A late comment sent to the gTLD RG on 11 February 2013 was treated by the
> gTLD RG as being submitted too late for consideration.
> 
> 
> Kind Regards,
> 
> Dev Anand Teelucksingh
> gTLD RG chair
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