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<p>Tx you, Akriti, and tx for writing such a great comment!</p>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 4/26/2019 11:56 PM, Akriti wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
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<div style="direction: ltr;">Thanks for the reference, Kathy! I
hope as many community members as possible can voice their
concerns and help avert the problematic consequences of the
proposal. </div>
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<div id="divRplyFwdMsg" dir="dir="ltr""><font
style="font-size:11pt" face="Calibri, sans-serif"
color="#000000"><b>From:</b> NCSG-Discuss
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:ncsg-discuss@listserv.syr.edu"><ncsg-discuss@listserv.syr.edu></a> on behalf of Kathy
Kleiman <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:kathy@dnrc.tech"><kathy@dnrc.tech></a><br>
<b>Sent:</b> Saturday, April 27, 2019 04:50<br>
<b>To:</b> <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:ncsg-discuss@listserv.syr.edu">ncsg-discuss@listserv.syr.edu</a><br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [Urgent] [Public Comment] Proposed
Renewal of .org Registry Agreement
<div> </div>
</font></div>
<meta content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New
Roman"">Hi Milton, Amr and All,</span>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New
Roman"">Unfortunately, I read the contract differently
and fear that the current 10 million .ORG registrants face a
difficult (and expensive) future. To Milton's excellent
question, <i>What, exactly, are those “protections for
existing registrants”?</i>, the answer is <i
style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">"not much."</i> Here's
the pricing provisions of the .ORG proposed agreement (and
I’ve been checking with domain name attorneys all
afternoon): </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New
Roman"">2.10(a) Registries provide registrars with a 30
day notice of price increases (registrations).<span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New
Roman"">2.10(b) “With respect to renewal of domain name
registrants” Registry will provide registrars with “advance
written notice of any price increase, and “</span><span
style="font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif">Registry Operator shall offer registrars
the option to obtain domain name registration renewals at
the current price (i.e., the price in place prior to any
noticed increase) for periods of one (1) to ten (10) years
at the discretion of the registrar, but no greater than ten
(10) years.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:normal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><i
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif">But the option to allow renewal for 1
to 10 years is at the option of the registrar. There’s
nothing that requires the registrar to notify
registrants that the price of their .ORG domain names
will be going (possibly dramatically) and that the time
to renew is now. This is something that is being written
about a lot, but I don’t see it in the contract. (Some
registrars may let their registrants know early; others
may not.) There is absolutely no requirement of notice
to the registrant of a price increase for renewals – for
.ORG (or any other registry which has signed this
agreement). </span></i></b><b
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><i
style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Cambria",serif;mso-bidi-font-family:Cambria"><span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></span></i></b><b
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><i
style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman""></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New
Roman"">2.10(c) “In addition, Registry Operator must
have uniform pricing for renewals of domain name
registrations (“Renewal Pricing”). For the purposes of
determining Renewal Pricing, the price for each domain
registration renewal must be identical to the price of all
other domain name registration renewals at the time of such
renewal” <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>with some
vague additional language about not wanting to allow abusive
and discriminatory renewal pricing. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:normal"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times
New Roman"">Thus, PIR’s job is to charge all
registrars the same price for new registrations and
renewals – whatever that price is and however much PIR
wants to charge. This is no guidance about abusive and
discriminatory renewal pricing, no definitions and no
clear limitations. </span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New
Roman"">Overall, I think Akriti Bopanna’s comment for
The Centre for Internet and Society, India, today is right
on point:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><b
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New
Roman"">“Removal of Price Caps</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New
Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New
Roman"">“ICANN’s decision to remove price caps in the
.org agreement will only intensify the unfettered power
given to Registries with the presumption of renewal. The</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New
Roman"">organization has long heard accusations of
engaging in closed door decision making</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New
Roman"">and with such a move that pushes for the rights
of registries over registrars, such</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New
Roman"">concerns are only growing. As it is, .org can
raise its prices by 10% every year which is</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New
Roman"">unduly generous in itself.5 Giving PIR a
limitless ability to increase prices would be</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New
Roman"">doing grave injustice to domain owners who have
bought such domains under the</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New
Roman"">assumption of price caps. This is in contrast
to the new gTLDS where there is more of</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New
Roman"">a burden on such owners to keep up with the
actions of private owners. Legacy</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New
Roman"">gTLDS, unlike the new ones, were not created
and sold to private entities but handed</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New
Roman"">over to entities like PIR to maintain them in
public interest.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New
Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New
Roman"">“Being one of the first TLD’s to be introduced,
a multitude of significant websites and</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New
Roman"">therein, initiatives, have their home on the
.org domain. As pointed out in the</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New
Roman"">community discussions several times, these
domains are used by NGO’s, nonprofit</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New
Roman"">trade associations, individual member
associations as well as tax-exempt charities.6</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New
Roman"">ICANN’s justification for proposing these steps
is to align legacy gTLD agreements with those of the other
newer gTLDS but as argued by the Internet Commerce</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New
Roman"">Association;</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New
Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.75in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New
Roman"">“They have completely different
characteristics, history, and ownership</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.75in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New
Roman"">structure. It is not acceptable for ICANN to
ignore these differences and to</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.75in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New
Roman"">propose that they be treated the same.7</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New
Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New
Roman"">“Given the longevity of these domains on .org,
they have put in substantial investment</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New
Roman"">in maintaining their online presence and
cultivating their identity and brand. They</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New
Roman"">are entitled to protection from arbitrary
pricing and having the same financial rules</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New
Roman"">as when they originally bought their domains.
If such caps are removed then many of</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New
Roman"">these domain owners can find it too expensive
to maintain their sites, especially with</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New
Roman"">no guarantee of future price stability as well.
A look at the mailing lists is enough to</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New
Roman"">see how small organizations are actively
pleading with ICANN to not go ahead with</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New
Roman"">this because it will increase their operational
costs.8</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New
Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New
Roman"">“None of this is to say that PIR would, in
fact, go ahead and increase the prices</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New
Roman"">exorbitantly or at all, however leaving that
option to them does not bode well for any</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New
Roman"">party save them. Further, no clear reasoning
has been provided for such a step like</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New
Roman"">the need for any additional funds to maintain
the domain and in absence of any</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New
Roman"">exceptionally necessary situation, the price
cap should continue to exist. Given that</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New
Roman"">PIR is a not-for-profit organization, the
rationale to remove caps seems even less</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New
Roman"">unclear than it would be, for say, Verisign.
Allowing the removals could very well be</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New
Roman"">opening Pandora’s box with other Registries
then demanding removals too. Registries</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New
Roman"">own all the extensions to their domain and lack
of a price ceiling only enriches the</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New
Roman"">revenue of, ultimately, the one owner leading
to a bigger monopolistic situation than</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New
Roman"">already is currently prevalent.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New
Roman"">Needless to say, I support NCSG’s comment too!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New
Roman"">Best, Kathy </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New
Roman"">----------------------------</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New
Roman"">Proposed 2019 .ORG Registry Agreement</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">2.10 Pricing for Registry Services.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">(a) With respect to initial domain name
registrations, Registry Operator</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">shall provide each ICANN accredited
registrar that has executed the Registry-Registrar</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">Agreement for the TLD advance written
notice of any price increase (including as a result</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">of the elimination of any refunds, rebates,
discounts, product tying or other programs</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">which had the effect of reducing the price
charged to registrars, unless such refunds,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">rebates, discounts, product tying or other
programs are of a limited duration that is clearly</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">and conspicuously disclosed to the
registrar when offered) of no less than thirty (30)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">calendar days. Registry Operator shall
offer registrars the option to obtain initial domain</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">name registrations for periods of one (1)
to ten (10) years at the discretion of the registrar,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">but no greater than ten (10) years.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">(b) With respect to renewal of domain name
registrations, Registry</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">Operator shall provide each ICANN
accredited registrar that has executed the Registry-</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">Registrar Agreement for the TLD advance
written notice of any price increase (including as</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">a result of the elimination of any refunds,
rebates, discounts, product tying, Qualified</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">Marketing Programs or other programs which
had the effect of reducing the price charged</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">to registrars) of no less than one hundred
eighty (180) calendar days. Notwithstanding the</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">foregoing sentence, with respect to renewal
of domain name registrations: (i) Registry</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">Operator need only provide thirty (30)
calendar days notice of any price increase if the</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">resulting price is less than or equal to
(A) for the period beginning on the Effective Date</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">and ending twelve (12) months following the
Effective Date, the initial price charged for</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">registrations in the TLD, or (B) for
subsequent periods, a price for which Registry Operator</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">provided a notice pursuant to the first
sentence of this Section 2.10(b) within the twelve</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">(12) month period preceding the effective
date of the proposed price increase; and (ii)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">Registry Operator need not provide notice
of any price increase for the imposition of the</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">Variable Registry-Level Fee set forth in
Section 6.3. Registry Operator shall offer registrars</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">the option to obtain domain name
registration renewals at the current price (i.e., the price
in place prior to any noticed increase) for periods of one
(1) to ten (10) years at the discretion of the registrar,
but no greater than ten (10) years.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">(c) In addition, Registry Operator must
have uniform pricing for renewals</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">of domain name registrations (“Renewal
Pricing”). For the purposes of determining</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">Renewal Pricing, the price for each domain
registration renewal must be identical to the</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">price of all other domain name registration
renewals in place at the time of such renewal,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">and such price must take into account
universal application of any refunds, rebates,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">discounts, product tying or other programs
in place at the time of renewal. The foregoing</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">requirements of this Section 2.10(c) shall
not apply for (i) purposes of determining</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">Renewal Pricing if the registrar has
provided Registry Operator with documentation that</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">demonstrates that the applicable registrant
expressly agreed in its registration agreement</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">with registrar to higher Renewal Pricing at
the time of the initial registration of the domain</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">name following clear and conspicuous
disclosure of such Renewal Pricing to such</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">registrant, and (ii) discounted Renewal
Pricing pursuant to a Qualified Marketing Program</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">(as defined below). The parties acknowledge
that the purpose of this Section 2.10(c) is to</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">prohibit abusive and/or discriminatory
Renewal Pricing practices imposed by Registry</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">Operator without the written consent of the
applicable registrant at the time of the initial</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">registration of the domain and this Section
2.10(c) will be interpreted broadly to prohibit</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">such practices. For purposes of this
Section 2.10(c), a “Qualified Marketing Program” is a</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">marketing program pursuant to which
Registry Operator offers discounted Renewal</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">Pricing, provided that each of the
following criteria is satisfied: (i) the program and related</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">discounts are offered for a period of time
not to exceed one hundred eighty (180) calendar</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">days (with consecutive substantially
similar programs aggregated for purposes of</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">determining the number of calendar days of
the program), (ii) all ICANN accredited</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">registrars are provided the same
opportunity to qualify for such discounted Renewal</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">Pricing; and (iii) the intent or effect of
the program is not to exclude any particular</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">class(es) of registrations (e.g.,
registrations held by large corporations) or increase the</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">renewal price of any particular class(es)
of registrations. Nothing in this Section 2.10(c)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">shall limit Registry Operator’s obligations
pursuant to Section 2.10(b).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">(d) Registry Operator shall provide public
query-based DNS lookup</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">service for the TLD (that is, operate the
Registry TLD zone servers) at its sole expense.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New
Roman"">-------------</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New
Roman"">Here’s PIR’s current pricing language, from its
2013 agreement:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New
Roman"">Section 7.3. Pricing for Domain Name
Registrations and Registry Services. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New
Roman"">7.3(a) Pricing. From the Effective Date through
31 December 2013, the price to ICANN-accredited registrars
for new and renewal domain name registrations and for
transferring a domain name registration from one
ICANN-accredited registrar to another, shall not exceed a
total fee of US$8.25 (the "Maximum Service Fee"). Commencing
on 1 January 2014, the Maximum Service Fee charged during a
calendar year for each annual increment of a new and renewal
domain name registration and for transferring a domain name
registration from one ICANN-accredited registrar to another,
may not exceed the Maximum Service Fee during the preceding
calendar year multiplied by 1.10. The same Service Fee shall
be charged to all ICANN-accredited registrars for new and
renewal domain name registrations. Volume discounts and
marketing support and incentive programs may be made if the
same opportunities to qualify for those discounts and
marketing support and incentive programs is available to all
ICANN-accredited registrars.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New
Roman""> 7.3(b) Adjustments to Pricing for Domain Name
Registrations. Registry Operator shall provide no less than
six months prior notice in advance of any price increase for
domain name registrations and shall continue to offer domain
name registrations for periods of up to ten years.<span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Registry Operator is
not required to give notice of the imposition of the
Variable Registry-Level Fee set forth in Section 7.2(c).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New
Roman"">----------------------------<br>
</span></p>
<blockquote>
<meta content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
Hi Milton,
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">If my understanding of Section 2.10 of the
Registry Agreement is correct, registrars can continue to
renew existing registrations without an increase in price
following an increase in pricing of new registrations by the
Registry Operator (RO) for a period of up to 10 years.
Additionally, ROs are required to have uniform pricing for
registration renewals. This would mean that all renewal
prices would remain unchanged, unless they all change across
all registrars simultaneously.</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">The protections for existing registrants
referred to are detailed in 2.10c of the Registry Agreement.
The protection is basically that registrants have to agree
to renewal prices higher than that of the original
registration at the time of the initial registration. It
can’t be forced upon them at a later date. This is meant as
a provision to <i class="">“<span style="font-family:
Cambria, serif; font-size: 16px; text-indent: 96px;"
class="">prohibit abusive and/or discriminatory Renewal
Pricing practices imposed by Registry Operator without
the written consent of the applicable registrant at the
time of the initial registration of the domain</span>“</i>.</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">Thanks.</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">Amr </div>
<div class="">
<div><br class="">
<blockquote class="">
<div class="">On Apr 25, 2019, at 9:30 PM, Mueller,
Milton L <<a href="mailto:milton@GATECH.EDU"
class="" moz-do-not-send="true">milton@GATECH.EDU</a>>
wrote:</div>
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline">
<div class="">
<div class="WordSection1" style="page: WordSection1;
caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: TrebuchetMS;
font-size: 14px; font-style: normal;
font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal;
letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start;
text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space:
normal; word-spacing: 0px;
-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration:
none;">
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size:
12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman",
serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31,
73, 125);" class="">I agree with the letter’s
discussion of URS and other RPMs. I agree with
Amr that we may need to moderate the language
about “unilateral ICANN action” however because
PIR may indeed have gone along with this.<span
class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size:
12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman",
serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31,
73, 125);" class=""> </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size:
12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman",
serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31,
73, 125);" class="">On the issue of price caps,
I think we need some factual clarification. If
Amr is right and the potential price increases
only apply to new registrants, then there is
much less of an issue. The proposed renewal says
“</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(51,
51, 51); background-color: white;
background-position: initial initial;
background-repeat: initial initial;" class="">Protections
for existing registrants will remain in place,
in line with the base registry agreement.“</span><span
style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Calibri,
sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);" class=""></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size:
12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman",
serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31,
73, 125);" class=""> </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size:
12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman",
serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31,
73, 125);" class="">What, exactly, are those
“protections for existing registrants”?</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size:
12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman",
serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31,
73, 125);" class=""> </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size:
12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman",
serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31,
73, 125);" class="">MM</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size:
12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman",
serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31,
73, 125);" class=""> </span></div>
<div class="">
<div style="border-style: solid none none;
border-top-width: 1pt; border-top-color:
rgb(225, 225, 225); padding: 3pt 0in 0in;"
class="">
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size:
12pt; font-family: "Times New
Roman", serif;" class=""><b class=""><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family:
Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">From:</span></b><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family:
Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span
class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>NCSG-Discuss
<<a
href="mailto:NCSG-DISCUSS@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU"
style="color: purple; text-decoration:
underline;" class=""
moz-do-not-send="true">NCSG-DISCUSS@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU</a>><span
class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><b
class="">On Behalf Of<span
class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b>Amr
Elsadr<br class="">
<b class="">Sent:</b><span
class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Thursday,
April 25, 2019 10:33 AM<br class="">
<b class="">To:</b><span
class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a
href="mailto:NCSG-DISCUSS@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU"
style="color: purple; text-decoration:
underline;" class=""
moz-do-not-send="true">NCSG-DISCUSS@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU</a><br
class="">
<b class="">Subject:</b><span
class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Re:
[Urgent] [Public Comment] Proposed Renewal
of .org Registry Agreement</span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size:
12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman",
serif;" class=""> </div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size:
12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman",
serif;" class="">Hi,</div>
<div class="">
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size:
12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman",
serif;" class=""> </div>
</div>
<div class="">
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size:
12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman",
serif;" class="">Thanks for sharing this, Rafik.
Speaking for myself, I very much agree with the
comment on adding the new gTLD Rights Protection
Mechanisms (RPMs) to the PIR contract for .org
at this time. As the draft comment rightly
points out, these RPMs will not actually be
Consensus Policies until after the ICANN Board
adopts the recommendations of the Review of all
RPMs in all gTLDs PDP Working Group, and should
not apply to any of the legacy gTLDs, including
.org. However to characterize the decision to do
so as a unilateral ICANN decision is something
I’m not sure of. I presume that PIR negotiated
this with ICANN before the public comment period
began? I might be wrong, as I’m making an
assumption here.</div>
</div>
<div class="">
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size:
12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman",
serif;" class=""> </div>
</div>
<div class="">
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size:
12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman",
serif;" class="">To be clear, the RPMs that
would be applicable here (if I’m not mistaken)
are the Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS) and the
Trademark Claims RPM (part of the Trademark
Clearing House), but not the Sunrise
Registrations RPM, obviously, since .org has
been around for a while.</div>
</div>
<div class="">
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size:
12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman",
serif;" class=""> </div>
</div>
<div class="">
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size:
12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman",
serif;" class="">Substantively, I don’t believe
the URS will be much of an issue, since it is
largely deemed to be an unappealing mechanism
for use by Trademark holders, as the stats and
anecdotal evidence that has been shared to date
indicate. The impact of Trademark Claims, on the
other hand, might be very different, and prior
to it being reviewed by the RPMs PDP, and
adopted as an ICANN policy, I don’t believe
adding it to the .org contract in a renewal is a
good move.</div>
</div>
<div class="">
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size:
12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman",
serif;" class=""> </div>
</div>
<div class="">
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size:
12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman",
serif;" class="">On the second issue, where the
draft comment disagrees with removing price caps
for .org registrations, I’m pretty sure I don’t
agree with the rationale or conclusion. I don’t
believe PIR’s status as a non-profit entity
justifies this. IMO, it imposes unreasonable
obligations on PIR that other Registry Operators
are not subject to, so effectively penalizing
PIR for its status, and its continued mission to<span
class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i
class="">“support many excellent causes”</i>,
as pointed out in the draft.</div>
</div>
<div class="">
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size:
12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman",
serif;" class=""> </div>
</div>
<div class="">
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size:
12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman",
serif;" class="">Furthermore, there is little to
no evidence that I can see (at least in the
draft) that registrants of .org domain names
will be negatively impacted by removal of the
price cap. My understanding is that this will
mainly impact new registrations, not existing
ones, but this isn’t addressed at all.</div>
</div>
<div class="">
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size:
12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman",
serif;" class=""> </div>
</div>
<div class="">
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size:
12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman",
serif;" class="">To me, PIR needs to set its own
price taking in to consideration their own
consumer base. If they make bad decisions that
drive their customers away, I don’t believe this
will negatively impact registrants as much as it
would PIR itself, especially considering that
there are over a thousand gTLDs for registrants
to migrate to, should they choose to do so.</div>
</div>
<div class="">
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size:
12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman",
serif;" class=""> </div>
</div>
<div class="">
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size:
12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman",
serif;" class="">Thanks.</div>
</div>
<div class="">
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size:
12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman",
serif;" class=""> </div>
</div>
<div class="">
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size:
12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman",
serif;" class="">Amr</div>
</div>
<div class="">
<div class="">
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size:
12pt; font-family: "Times New
Roman", serif;" class=""><br class="">
<br class="">
</div>
<blockquote style="margin-top: 5pt;
margin-bottom: 5pt;" class="">
<div class="">
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;
font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times
New Roman", serif;" class="">On Apr
25, 2019, at 3:59 PM, Rafik Dammak <<a
href="mailto:rafik.dammak@GMAIL.COM"
style="color: purple; text-decoration:
underline;" class=""
moz-do-not-send="true">rafik.dammak@GMAIL.COM</a>>
wrote:</div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;
font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times
New Roman", serif;" class=""> </div>
<div class="">
<div class="">
<div class="">
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;
font-size: 12pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman", serif;"
class="">Hi all,</div>
<div class="">
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;
font-size: 12pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman", serif;"
class=""> </div>
</div>
<div class="">
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;
font-size: 12pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman", serif;"
class="">We have a suggested draft
comment ( attached) on proposed
renewal of .org agreement <a
href="https://www.icann.org/public-comments/org-renewal-2019-03-18-en"
style="color: purple;
text-decoration: underline;"
class="" moz-do-not-send="true">https://www.icann.org/public-comments/org-renewal-2019-03-18-en</a>.
The deadline for submission is the
29th April and for NCSG PC to review
and endorse. Please share your
comments abd input.</div>
</div>
<div class="">
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;
font-size: 12pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman", serif;"
class=""> </div>
</div>
<div class="">
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;
font-size: 12pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman", serif;"
class="">Best Regards,</div>
</div>
<div class="">
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;
font-size: 12pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman", serif;"
class=""> </div>
</div>
<div class="">
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;
font-size: 12pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman", serif;"
class="">Rafik </div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;
font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times
New Roman", serif;" class=""><Org
Letter Rev.docx></div>
</div>
</blockquote>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
</div>
<br class="">
</div>
</blockquote>
</div>
</blockquote>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Kathy Kleiman
Visiting Scholar, Center for Information Technology, Princeton University
President (on leave), Domain Name Rights Coalition</pre>
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