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    <p>Hi Tomlin and All,</p>
    <p>I want to share that - surprisingly - I find myself in agreement
      with Paul McGrady in his email to Council of 10 August on Closed
      Generics (and I paste it below). I disagree with most of Kurt's
      representations of Closed Generic history, and agree
      wholeheartedly with Paul's. I'm surprised myself, but what Paul
      writes below is exactly what we did with each and every New gTLD
      rule we reviewed for the Rights Protection Mechanisms (RPM) PDP
      Working Group (which I co-chaired for 4 years). <br>
    </p>
    <p>The Status Quo is that Closed Generic gTLDs should not proceed.
      How do we know?  Because they did not proceed in the First Round;
      they all changed to become open gTLD applications or withdrew
      (except one and it proceeded on a separate trademark/legal rights
      basis).  Literally dozens of Closed Generics opened up or withdrew
      their applications - .SAFETY, .BOOK, .SEARCH, and many more. 
      That's the Status Quo, although a number of our friends refuse to
      acknowledge it. <br>
    </p>
    <p>As Paul wrote below: <<One of the basic tenants that
      everyone in the SubPro PDP agreed to was that, absent any changes
      captured in the Recommendations, that the status quo would
      prevail.  All the letter does is ask for that.  I feel better
      about sticking with the WG’s inability to change the status quo
      than I do asking the Board to write a policy when the community
      couldn’t agree to anything, even after two valiant efforts.  We
      tried in the WG, we couldn’t get there, the status quo should
      prevail.  We tried again at the request of the Board at the SO/AC
      level, we couldn’t get there, the status quo should prevail.
      >></p>
    <p>It's true. <i>Someday we may be able to create a rule that will
        receive consensus for Closed Generics, but not today. We
        certainly tried! </i><br>
    </p>
    <p>Best regards and good luck!</p>
    <p>Kathy</p>
    <p>---------------------------------------------------<br>
    </p>
    <p>
    </p>
    <div>
      <p class="MsoNormal">On Thu, <b>Aug 10, 2023 at 10:15 AM </b>Paul
        McGrady via council <<a href="mailto:council@gnso.icann.org"
          target="_blank" class="moz-txt-link-freetext">council@gnso.icann.org</a>>
        wrote:</p>
    </div>
    <p class="MsoNormal">Hi Kurt,</p>
    <p class="MsoNormal">Thanks for this.  I’m not sure I am
      understanding your concern.  One of the basic tenants that
      everyone in the SubPro PDP agreed to was that, absent any changes
      captured in the Recommendations, that the status quo would
      prevail.  All the letter does is ask for that.  I feel better
      about sticking with the WG’s inability to change the status quo
      than I do asking the Board to write a policy when the community
      couldn’t agree to anything, even after two valiant efforts.  We
      tried in the WG, we couldn’t get there, the status quo should
      prevail.  We tried again at the request of the Board at the SO/AC
      level, we couldn’t get there, the status quo should prevail.  The
      letter leaves open the possibility of future community work on
      this but notes there is no bandwidth or appetite to do so and we
      don’t want the next round held up.  Help me understand you concern
      about asking the Board to maintain the status quo until/if the
      community comes up with a policy on these.  <br>
    </p>
    <p class="MsoNormal">Best,</p>
    <p class="MsoNormal">Paul</p>
    <p class="MsoNormal">----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>
    </p>
    <div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 8/20/2023 4:55 PM, Tomslin
      Samme-Nlar wrote:<br>
    </div>
    <blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:CAM8DdeV+a2b6ggzQ=AKLg006e9jFTvVmXFzUZwjzgQY5WV8WGA@mail.gmail.com">
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        <div>Hi Kathy,</div>
        <div><br>
        </div>
        <div>I hope your medical procedure went well.</div>
        <div><br>
        </div>
        <div>My concern was based on the letter sent to the
          facilitated-dialog members which said <b>"<i>unless and until
              there is a community-developed consensus policy in place,
              any applications seeking to impose exclusive registry
              access for "generic strings" to a single person or entity
              and/or that person's or entity's Affiliates (as defined in
              Section 2.9(c) of the Registry Agreement) should not
              proceed</i></b>". This wording appears to recommend a
          specific policy direction to the board for the next round
          despite the SubPro report saying we have "No
          Agreement....there is arguably no clear “status quo” or
          default position from the 2012 round to affirm", so let the
          board decide.</div>
        <div><br>
        </div>
        <div>However, the good news is that the council hasn't drafted
          the letter to the board yet, so with this concern of wording
          expressed to the council, hopefully the letter to the board
          will be more clearer in its intent to allow the board decide
          for themselves since the GNSO is still not able to develop a
          policy recommendation on this issue.</div>
        <div><br>
        </div>
        <div>About the work output of the facilitated dialog (CGST), I
          absolutely agree with you that the group explored in-depth the
          problems and possibilities of closed generics. And the letter
          to board from the council also intends to acknowledge this by
          saying that <b>should the community decide in the future to
            resume the policy discussions, this should be based on the
            good work that has been done to date in the facilitated
            dialogue</b>. Despite not in support of putting together
          this new facilitated dialogue process, I admit its output is
          helpful and thank you for the hard work you and colleagues
          from GAC and ALAC put into it.<br>
        </div>
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                                  <div>Warmly,<br>
                                  </div>
                                  Tomslin
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          <br>
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      <br>
      <div class="gmail_quote">
        <div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Thu, 17 Aug 2023 at 23:54,
          Kathy Kleiman <<a href="mailto:Kathy@kathykleiman.com"
            moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext">Kathy@kathykleiman.com</a>>
          wrote:<br>
        </div>
        <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px
          0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
          <div>
            <p>Hi Tomslin,</p>
            <p>What recommendation is Council sending to the Board and
              how does it contradict the SubPro WG?   I'm sorry to not
              be on these lists or see these nuances. I am sure there is
              great anger from Jeff, Kurt and Paul right now. <br>
            </p>
            <p><i>Just between us, can we be candid about what happened
                in the Closed Generics Small Team?</i><i> </i>As a
              matter of real policy, I feel the Closed Generics Small
              Team (CGST) advanced this dialogue of Closed Generics with
              a real cross-community and in-depth exploration of the <u>problems
                and possibilities</u><u> of Closed Generics</u>.  <br>
            </p>
            <p>The Framework showed with great clarity that Closed
              Generics are gTLDs of words/strings with meanings for
              entire industries and should be allocated - if allocated -
              with great sensitivity to the representativeness of the
              entire industry AND clear agreement to abide by defined
              standards of non anti-competitive behavior if one company
              in an industry obtains the Closed Generic.  For example,
              Amazon can't take all the domain names in .BOOK for
              themselves alone.  <br>
            </p>
            <p>Section 10 may be its strongest and best part of the
              Framework. It lays out what I wrote above. 
              <a
href="https://community.icann.org/display/GFDOCG/FOR+INPUT%3A+Draft+Framework+for+Closed+Generic+gTLDs?preview=/244944418/244944420/Draft%20Framework%20for%20Closed%20Generic%20gTLDs.pdf"
                target="_blank" moz-do-not-send="true"
                class="moz-txt-link-freetext">https://community.icann.org/display/GFDOCG/FOR+INPUT%3A+Draft+Framework+for+Closed+Generic+gTLDs?preview=/244944418/244944420/Draft%20Framework%20for%20Closed%20Generic%20gTLDs.pdf</a>
              <br>
            </p>
            <p>---</p>
            <p>I head into a medical procedure so won't be able to
              engage on the members list. Also, we on the Members list
              do not understand the nuances of Council wording as you
              do. I think Council practices are becoming very nuanced. 
              <br>
            </p>
            <p>We will follow your good advice. But please don't let
              them erase the good work of the Closed Generics Small
              Team. You called us into existence and we worked hard.
              What we learned cannot be unlearned - and the Board will
              be reading our work and processing it. <br>
            </p>
            Best regards, Kathy<br>
            <p><br>
            </p>
            <div>On 8/17/2023 8:23 AM, Tomslin Samme-Nlar wrote:<br>
            </div>
            <blockquote type="cite">
              <div dir="auto">
                <div>Hi Kathy,
                  <div dir="auto"><br>
                  </div>
                  <div dir="auto">Thanks for the detailed update. We are
                    certainly thankful to you and the team for the hard
                    work you put into this.</div>
                  <div dir="auto"><br>
                  </div>
                  <div dir="auto">My only concern with the
                    'recommendation' that the council leadership is
                    planning on sending to the board is that it appears
                    to make recommendations contrary to the subpro
                    report. This concern comes strictly from the point
                    of view of my role as a GNSO policy manager
                    (councillor).  </div>
                  <div dir="auto"><br>
                  </div>
                  <div dir="auto">If the SubPro report didn't recommend
                    neither to allow nor ban closed generics, hence
                    leaving it at the discretion of the board, then I
                    believe the Council should be careful not to make
                    contradictory statements that might appear to the
                    community as making an "executive recommendation" to
                    the board outside the PDP process.</div>
                  <div dir="auto"><br>
                  </div>
                  <div dir="auto">I see a thread has also been spun in
                    the members' list. Perhaps we should take the
                    discussion there and see what other members think?</div>
                  <div dir="auto"><br>
                  </div>
                  <div dir="auto">Warmly,
                    <div dir="auto">Tomslin</div>
                  </div>
                  <br>
                  <div class="gmail_quote">
                    <div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Thu, 17 Aug
                      2023, 06:58 Kathy Kleiman, <<a
                        href="mailto:Kathy@kathykleiman.com"
                        target="_blank" moz-do-not-send="true"
                        class="moz-txt-link-freetext">Kathy@kathykleiman.com</a>>
                      wrote:<br>
                    </div>
                    <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px
                      0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid
                      rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
                      <div>
                        <p>Hi Tomslin,</p>
                        <p>I'm sorry that the Facilitated Dialogue is
                          being viewed by some as a failure.  In our
                          Closed Generics Small Team meeting last week,
                          it was made very clear to us that the Chairs
                          of the GNSO, GAC and ALAC did not consider our
                          work a failure, but a success that resulted in
                          important issues being raised. I share the
                          highlights of the "3 Chair Letter" and attach
                          it to this email:</p>
                        <p>- "As the Chairs of the three community
                          groups that agreed to participate in this
                          dialog[ue, we are extremely grateful to you as
                          well as very proud of how your work is a
                          testament to the robustness and viability of
                          ICANN’s multistakeholder model. We would like
                          to thank you all for all the hard work,
                          collaborative effort, and time that you have
                          put into this project, resulting in a detailed
                          draft framework for potential policy work that
                          reflects the many hours of good faith
                          discussions that took place."</p>
                        <p>- "We noted that there does not seem to be
                          strong community demand for closed generic
                          gTLDs in the next round, particularly if
                          success in obtaining a gTLD in this category
                          will entail engaging in a complex process with
                          complicated requirements." <br>
                        </p>
                        <p>- "As a result of all these considerations
                          and our discussions, we believe that it is not
                          necessary to resolve the question of closed
                          generic gTLDs as a dependency for the next
                          round of new gTLDs, and we plan to inform the
                          ICANN Board accordingly. We agree with the
                          ICANN Board (in its original invitation to the
                          GAC and the GNSO to engage in a facilitated
                          dialogue) that this topic is one for community
                          policy work, rather than a decision for the
                          Board. <i><br>
                          </i></p>
                        <p><i>- As such and based on our collective
                            belief that there is neither the need nor
                            the community bandwidth to conduct
                            additional work at this stage, we also plan
                            to ask that, for the next round, the Board
                            maintain the position that, unless and until
                            there is a community developed consensus
                            policy in place, any applications seeking to
                            impose exclusive registry access for
                            "generic strings" to a single person or
                            entity and/or that person's or entity's
                            Affiliates (as defined in Section 2.9(c) of
                            the Registry Agreement) should not proceed.
                            [italics added]</i><br>
                        </p>
                        <p>- "Finally, we also plan to inform the Board
                          that any future community policy work on this
                          topic should be based on the good work that
                          has been done to date in this facilitated
                          dialogue."<b><br>
                          </b></p>
                        <p><b>----------------</b></p>
                        <p><b>So overall, we were told we did a good job
                            on a tough issue. I think the Small Group's
                            Framework advanced the dialogue and our
                            joint understanding of the competition
                            problems associated with a single company
                            controlling a "closed generic" gTLD
                            significantly.  <br>
                          </b></p>
                        <p>Frankly, I would advise the Council to
                          support the work and words of the GNSO Chair,
                          and the recommendation not to proceed with
                          Closed Generic applications in the next round
                          under the circumstances as outlined in the
                          letter.</p>
                        <p>I urge you not to join in the criticism of
                          some on the GNSO - excellent and hard work was
                          done here - including our GNSO representatives
                          John McElwaine, Phillippe Fouquart, Jeff,
                          Sophie and me.  We worked very hard, and
                          pushed the understanding of this issues, and
                          ways to address it, to new levels.  Our work
                          likely will become the basis of future
                          discussion. But, as Chris Disspain said at our
                          second Closed G meeting in ICANN77 (and he was
                          on the Board in the first round), not all
                          issues deserve the huge amount of time it
                          would take to fully resolve them.  <br>
                        </p>
                        <p>Best regards, Kathy <br>
                        </p>
                        <p>Attachment: 3 Chairs Letter Aug 5 <br>
                        </p>
                        <div>On 8/15/2023 4:55 PM, Tomslin Samme-Nlar
                          wrote:<br>
                        </div>
                        <blockquote type="cite">
                          <div dir="ltr">
                            <div>Dear councillors,</div>
                            <div><br>
                            </div>
                            <div>What is our stance on this? <br>
                              <br>
                              1. Overall, I think the declaration that
                              the Facilitated dialogue on Closed
                              generics is a failure is a win to NCSG as
                              we warned council and the board against
                              taking this path.</div>
                            <div><br>
                            </div>
                            <div>2. I think the concern Kurt raises that
                              the letter to be addressed to the board
                              asking to "<i><b>pause any release of
                                  closed generics to a future round
                                  might inadvertently be revising subpro
                                  recommendation</b></i>"  and that of
                              Anne that "<b><i>contains a subtle
                                  underlying policy recommendation in
                                  favor of accepting new Closed Generic
                                  applications in the next round in the
                                  absence of developed policy</i></b>"
                              are both valid concerns we should pay
                              close attention to.</div>
                            <div><br>
                            </div>
                            <div>3. However, I like Anne's proposal that
                              avoids subtly modifying any consensus
                              policy. She proposes that "<b><i>Perhaps
                                  Council should simply advise the Board
                                  that (1) Based on public comment, the
                                  Facilitated Dialogue process proved
                                  unsuccessful in this instance and (2)
                                  Council does not believe a further
                                  policy process would result in a
                                  consensus and therefore, the Board
                                  should decide the issues, including
                                  whether or not to accept Closed
                                  Generic applications in the next
                                  round.</i></b>"<br>
                              <br>
                              What are your thoughts?</div>
                            <div><br>
                            </div>
                            <div>
                              <div>
                                <div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature">
                                  <div dir="ltr">
                                    <div>
                                      <div dir="ltr">
                                        <div>
                                          <div dir="ltr">
                                            <div dir="ltr">
                                              <div dir="ltr">
                                                <div dir="ltr">
                                                  <div dir="ltr">
                                                    <div dir="ltr">
                                                      <div><br>
                                                      </div>
                                                      <div>Warmly,<br>
                                                      </div>
                                                      Tomslin
                                                      <div><span
                                                          style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:12.8px"></span></div>
                                                      <div><span
                                                          style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:12.8px"><br>
                                                        </span></div>
                                                    </div>
                                                  </div>
                                                </div>
                                              </div>
                                            </div>
                                          </div>
                                        </div>
                                      </div>
                                    </div>
                                  </div>
                                </div>
                              </div>
                              <br>
                              <br>
                              <div class="gmail_quote">
                                <div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">----------
                                  Forwarded message ---------<br>
                                  From: <b class="gmail_sendername"
                                    dir="auto">Anne ICANN via council</b>
                                  <span dir="auto"><<a
                                      href="mailto:council@gnso.icann.org"
                                      rel="noreferrer" target="_blank"
                                      moz-do-not-send="true"
                                      class="moz-txt-link-freetext">council@gnso.icann.org</a>></span><br>
                                  Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2023 at 02:17<br>
                                  Subject: Re: [council] Update on
                                  Closed Generics<br>
                                  To: DiBiase, Gregory <<a
                                    href="mailto:dibiase@amazon.com"
                                    rel="noreferrer" target="_blank"
                                    moz-do-not-send="true"
                                    class="moz-txt-link-freetext">dibiase@amazon.com</a>><br>
                                  Cc: <a
                                    href="mailto:COUNCIL@GNSO.ICANN.ORG"
                                    rel="noreferrer" target="_blank"
                                    moz-do-not-send="true"
                                    class="moz-txt-link-freetext">COUNCIL@GNSO.ICANN.ORG</a>
                                  <<a
                                    href="mailto:COUNCIL@gnso.icann.org"
                                    rel="noreferrer" target="_blank"
                                    moz-do-not-send="true"
                                    class="moz-txt-link-freetext">COUNCIL@gnso.icann.org</a>>,
                                  Avri Doria <<a
                                    href="mailto:avri.doria@board.icann.org"
                                    rel="noreferrer" target="_blank"
                                    moz-do-not-send="true"
                                    class="moz-txt-link-freetext">avri.doria@board.icann.org</a>><br>
                                </div>
                                <br>
                                <br>
                                <div dir="ltr">Thanks Greg - The point
                                  you make that there is as yet no
                                  official statement from Council to the
                                  Board on this issue is an important
                                  one.    I think there is rough
                                  consensus at the Council level that we
                                  don't want the next round to be
                                  delayed by this issue.  I think two
                                  significant questions remain as to the
                                  following:
                                  <div>
                                    <div><br>
                                    </div>
                                    <div>Issue #1. Whether to accept
                                      applications for Closed Generics
                                      in the next round or to pause such
                                      applications pending future Board
                                      action or GNSO policy development
                                      efforts.  The draft  statements
                                      put forward so far would endorse
                                      accepting applications and that is
                                      also a policy statement which
                                      essentially defines the "status
                                      quo" as permitting such
                                      applications.  (After all, closed
                                      generic applications could block
                                      open generic applications in that
                                      instance.)   This is tricky
                                      because the GAC has reiterated
                                      that its previous  Closed Generic
                                      advice is "standing advice". 
                                      Would it be a solution for the
                                      Board to simply accept that advice
                                      in relation to a Closed Generic
                                      application and then accept
                                      applications in the next round
                                      but  require the Applicant to
                                      prove that the application serves
                                      a public interest goal without
                                      specifying any standards that
                                      apply for that proof? Or could the
                                      Board say that it cannot accept
                                      the advice from the GAC because it
                                      would require ICANN to weigh the
                                      content of the Closed Generic
                                      application and to police the
                                      public interest goal issue during
                                      the term of the contract award, 
                                      meaning the requirement of the GAC
                                      advice is out of scope for ICANN's
                                      mission as overly content
                                      -related?  Maybe the Council
                                      should just say "don't delay the
                                      next round" and should not take a
                                      policy position on whether or not
                                      to accept Closed Generic
                                      applications when the next round
                                      opens, i.e. leave that to the
                                      Board to decide that policy issue
                                      as well?</div>
                                    <div><br>
                                    </div>
                                    <div>Issue #2. Whether the Council
                                      itself has taken a decision that
                                      it will not proceed to develop
                                      Closed Generic policy using an
                                      existing GNSO policy process.  (I
                                      think it's possible the Board has
                                      the authority to request a formal
                                      policy process - not sure whether
                                      Council has the right to refuse to
                                      do so.)  Did the Council already
                                      decide it would not undertake an
                                      existing policy process when it
                                      authorized the Facilitated
                                      Dialogue process? Does the
                                      statement need to reflect a
                                      Council decision in this regard
                                      and if so, does that need a
                                      separate vote from Council?  Are
                                      we risking delay of the next round
                                      over the Council's failure to act
                                      on this policy issue?  The Board
                                      invoked the Facilitated Dialogue
                                      process outside normal policy
                                      development channels but it
                                      appears that process failed.</div>
                                    <div><br>
                                    </div>
                                    <div>Any thoughts re the above
                                      considerations ?</div>
                                    <div>Anne</div>
                                    <div><br>
                                      <div>
                                        <div><br>
                                        </div>
                                        <div><br clear="all">
                                          <div>
                                            <div dir="ltr"
                                              class="gmail_signature">
                                              <div dir="ltr">
                                                <div>Anne Aikman-Scalese</div>
                                                GNSO Councilor
                                                <div>NomCom Non-Voting
                                                  2022-2024</div>
                                                <div><a
                                                    href="mailto:anneicanngnso@gmail.com"
                                                    rel="noreferrer"
                                                    target="_blank"
                                                    moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext">anneicanngnso@gmail.com</a></div>
                                              </div>
                                            </div>
                                          </div>
                                          <br>
                                        </div>
                                      </div>
                                    </div>
                                  </div>
                                </div>
                                <br>
                                <div class="gmail_quote">
                                  <div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On
                                    Mon, Aug 14, 2023 at 6:51 AM
                                    DiBiase, Gregory via council <<a
href="mailto:council@gnso.icann.org" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank"
                                      moz-do-not-send="true"
                                      class="moz-txt-link-freetext">council@gnso.icann.org</a>>
                                    wrote:<br>
                                  </div>
                                  <blockquote class="gmail_quote"
                                    style="margin:0px 0px 0px
                                    0.8ex;border-left:1px solid
                                    rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
                                    <div>
                                      <div lang="EN-US">
                                        <div>
                                          <p class="MsoNormal">Hi Kurt,</p>
                                          <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                                          <p class="MsoNormal">A couple
                                            thoughts here:</p>
                                          <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                                          <ol style="margin-top:0in"
                                            type="1" start="1">
                                            <li style="margin-left:0in">We
                                              have not communicated a
                                              decision or feedback to
                                              Board yet, so we have time
                                              to discuss our messaging
                                              (so far, the SO/AC chairs
                                              have sent a letter to the
                                              dialogue participants and
                                              the dialogue participants
                                              have agreed with the
                                              letter’s sentiment).  </li>
                                            <li style="margin-left:0in">I
                                              think council is in
                                              agreement that work on
                                              closed generics cannot be
                                              a dependency for the next
                                              round and the Facilitated
                                              Dialogue on Closed Generic
                                              gTLDs should not continue
                                              to be the vehicle
                                              advancing this work
                                              (please let me know if I’m
                                              oversimplifying).  If this
                                              is correct, I think we can
                                              simplify this issue to:
                                              how or if we should frame
                                              the “status quo” to the
                                              Board.  More specifically,
                                              we can take a closer look
                                              at this proposed language
                                              from the letter to the
                                              dialogue participants:
                                              <ol style="margin-top:0in"
                                                type="a" start="1">
                                                <li
                                                  style="margin-left:0in">“until
                                                  there is
                                                  community-developed
                                                  policy, the Board
                                                  should maintain the
                                                  position from the 2012
                                                  round (i.e., any
                                                  applications seeking
                                                  to impose exclusive
                                                  registry access for
                                                  "generic strings" to a
                                                  single person or
                                                  entity and/or that
                                                  person's or entity's
                                                  Affiliates (as defined
                                                  in Section 2.9(c) of
                                                  the Registry
                                                  Agreement) should not
                                                  proceed;”</li>
                                              </ol>
                                            </li>
                                            <li style="margin-left:0in">Perhaps
                                              we should modify this part
                                              to say closer to: “given
                                              that there is no
                                              community-developed policy
                                              on closed generics (i.e.,
                                              any applications seeking
                                              to impose exclusive
                                              registry access for
                                              "generic strings" to a
                                              single person or entity
                                              and/or that person's or
                                              entity's Affiliates (as
                                              defined in Section 2.9(c)
                                              of the Registry
                                              Agreement), we acknowledge
                                              that the Board may not
                                              allow closed generics to
                                              proceed (in line with
                                              their position from the
                                              20201 round) until policy
                                              is developed.”  In other
                                              words, we don’t need to
                                              instruct the Board on what
                                              the status quo is, rather,
                                              we are informing them that
                                              a policy on closed
                                              generics has not been
                                              finalized and we recommend
                                              not delaying the next
                                              round until this policy
                                              work is completed.</li>
                                          </ol>
                                          <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                                          <p class="MsoNormal">I’m sure
                                            I have point 3 wrong as I am
                                            not as well-versed in subpro
                                            as others, but we can
                                            discuss further to make sure
                                            we are all aligned.</p>
                                          <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                                          <p class="MsoNormal">Thanks,</p>
                                          <p class="MsoNormal">Greg</p>
                                          <p> </p>
                                          <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                                          <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                                          <div>
                                            <div style="border-width:1pt
                                              medium
                                              medium;border-style:solid
                                              none
                                              none;border-color:rgb(225,225,225)
                                              currentcolor
                                              currentcolor;padding:3pt
                                              0in 0in">
                                              <p class="MsoNormal"><b>From:</b>
                                                council <<a
                                                  href="mailto:council-bounces@gnso.icann.org"
                                                  rel="noreferrer"
                                                  target="_blank"
                                                  moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext">council-bounces@gnso.icann.org</a>> <b>On
                                                  Behalf Of </b>kurt <a
href="http://kjpritz.com" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank"
                                                  moz-do-not-send="true">kjpritz.com</a>
                                                via council<br>
                                                <b>Sent:</b> Sunday,
                                                August 13, 2023 7:54 PM<br>
                                                <b>To:</b> Paul McGrady
                                                <<a
                                                  href="mailto:paul@elstermcgrady.com"
                                                  rel="noreferrer"
                                                  target="_blank"
                                                  moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext">paul@elstermcgrady.com</a>><br>
                                                <b>Cc:</b> Avri Doria
                                                <<a
                                                  href="mailto:avri.doria@board.icann.org"
                                                  rel="noreferrer"
                                                  target="_blank"
                                                  moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext">avri.doria@board.icann.org</a>>; GNSO
                                                Council <<a
                                                  href="mailto:council@gnso.icann.org"
                                                  rel="noreferrer"
                                                  target="_blank"
                                                  moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext">council@gnso.icann.org</a>><br>
                                                <b>Subject:</b> RE:
                                                [EXTERNAL] [council]
                                                Update on Closed
                                                Generics</p>
                                            </div>
                                          </div>
                                          <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                                          <div>
                                            <table
                                              style="border-collapse:collapse"
                                              cellspacing="0"
                                              cellpadding="0" border="0">
                                              <tbody>
                                                <tr
                                                  style="height:15.25pt">
                                                  <td
                                                    style="width:842.35pt;border:1.5pt
                                                    solid
                                                    rgb(237,125,49);padding:0in
5.4pt;height:15.25pt" width="1123" valign="top">
                                                    <p><b><span
style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:black;background:rgb(255,255,153)">CAUTION</span></b><span
style="color:black;background:rgb(255,255,153)">: This email originated
                                                        from outside of
                                                        the
                                                        organization. Do
                                                        not click links
                                                        or open
                                                        attachments
                                                        unless you can
                                                        confirm the
                                                        sender and know
                                                        the content is
                                                        safe.</span></p>
                                                  </td>
                                                </tr>
                                              </tbody>
                                            </table>
                                          </div>
                                          <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                                          <div>
                                            <p class="MsoNormal">Replying
                                              to Paul (Hi Paul):  </p>
                                            <div>
                                              <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                                            </div>
                                            <div>
                                              <p class="MsoNormal">As
                                                pointed out by Anne (and
                                                Rubens in a parallel
                                                email exchange), the
                                                question of status quo
                                                is not settled. That is
                                                the reason the SubPro
                                                working group
                                                specifically asked the
                                                Board to settle the
                                                question. </p>
                                            </div>
                                            <div>
                                              <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                                            </div>
                                            <div>
                                              <p class="MsoNormal">The
                                                Board essentially
                                                created a new, temporary
                                                policy when it
                                                introduced an additional
                                                restriction into the
                                                criteria for delegating
                                                new TLDs. (I say
                                                temporary because the
                                                restriction was
                                                time-limited in a way.)</p>
                                            </div>
                                            <div>
                                              <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                                            </div>
                                            <div>
                                              <p class="MsoNormal">The
                                                SubPro final report does
                                                not recommend an
                                                extension of that
                                                restriction by way of a
                                                “pause,” the report
                                                specifically recommends
                                                something else. By
                                                recommending a pause,
                                                the SO/AC leadership
                                                would be amending the
                                                final report
                                                recommendation. </p>
                                            </div>
                                            <div>
                                              <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                                            </div>
                                            <div>
                                              <p class="MsoNormal">I
                                                wish I could be clearer.
                                                That somehow eludes me
                                                at the moment. </p>
                                            </div>
                                            <div>
                                              <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                                            </div>
                                            <div>
                                              <p class="MsoNormal">Kurt</p>
                                            </div>
                                            <div>
                                              <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                                            </div>
                                            <div>
                                              <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                                              <div>
                                                <p class="MsoNormal"><br>
                                                  <br>
                                                </p>
                                                <blockquote
                                                  style="margin-top:5pt;margin-bottom:5pt">
                                                  <div>
                                                    <p class="MsoNormal">On
                                                      11 Aug 2023, at
                                                      3:37 am, Anne
                                                      ICANN <<a
                                                        href="mailto:anneicanngnso@gmail.com"
                                                        rel="noreferrer"
                                                        target="_blank"
moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext">anneicanngnso@gmail.com</a>>
                                                      wrote:</p>
                                                  </div>
                                                  <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                                                  <div>
                                                    <div>
                                                      <p
                                                        class="MsoNormal">Hi
                                                        Kurt and Paul, </p>
                                                      <div>
                                                        <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                                                      </div>
                                                      <div>
                                                        <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal">As
                                                          I see it, the
                                                          issue has come
                                                          back to what
                                                          constitutes
                                                          the "status
                                                          quo".  This
                                                          issue was
                                                          hotly debated
                                                          in the Sub Pro
                                                          Working
                                                          Group.  Some
                                                          maintained
                                                          that there was
                                                          no prohibition
                                                          on the
                                                          applications
                                                          for Closed
                                                          Generics
                                                          because none
                                                          was contained
                                                          in the 2012
                                                          AGB. Others
                                                          maintained
                                                          that due to
                                                          the GAC Advice
                                                          and Board
                                                          direction to
                                                          "pause"
                                                          pending policy
                                                          development,
                                                          the "status
                                                          quo" is
                                                          actually a
                                                          "pause" which
                                                          would be
                                                          continued at
                                                          the start of
                                                          the next
                                                          round.  The
                                                          risk I see for
                                                          the ICANN
                                                          Board in the
                                                          latter
                                                          situation is
                                                          that those
                                                          existing
                                                          applications
                                                          for Closed
                                                          Generics
                                                          (which are on
                                                          hold) as well
                                                          as any future
                                                          applications
                                                          to be taken in
                                                          the next round
                                                          (not
                                                          prohibited by
                                                          this
                                                          recommendation)
                                                          would build a
                                                          case for
                                                          Request for
                                                          Reconsideration
                                                          if the Board
                                                          does not allow
                                                          those
                                                          applications
                                                          to move
                                                          forward.  For
                                                          example, the
                                                          grounds might
                                                          be Applicant
                                                          Freedom of
                                                          Expression
                                                          under the
                                                          Human Rights
                                                          Core Value and
                                                          the underlying
                                                          principle of
                                                          Applicant
                                                          Freedom of
                                                          Expression
                                                          that has been
                                                          affirmed by
                                                          subsequent PDP
                                                          work and is
                                                          now being
                                                          confirmed in
                                                          the Sub Pro
                                                          IRT process. </p>
                                                      </div>
                                                      <div>
                                                        <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                                                      </div>
                                                      <div>
                                                        <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal">Another
                                                          factor is that
                                                          the Board has
                                                          consistently
                                                          declined to
                                                          make policy. 
                                                          And I'm not
                                                          certain that
                                                          the GNSO
                                                          Council
                                                          actually has
                                                          the authority
                                                          to direct the
                                                          Board to make
                                                          a Closed
                                                          Generic
                                                          policy.  Are
                                                          you gentlemen
                                                          certain that
                                                          this is
                                                          kosher?</p>
                                                      </div>
                                                      <div>
                                                        <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                                                      </div>
                                                      <div>
                                                        <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal">Certainly
                                                          I agree this
                                                          issue should
                                                          not hold up
                                                          the next round
                                                          but of course
                                                          there is a
                                                          year to go. 
                                                          If the Board
                                                          is willing to
                                                          take a
                                                          decision on
                                                          this, that is
                                                          one scenario. 
                                                           If the Board
                                                          is not willing
                                                          to take a
                                                          decision on
                                                          this and/or is
                                                          concerned
                                                          about the risk
                                                          of expensive
                                                          litigation
                                                          over a
                                                          possible ban,
                                                          then that is
                                                          another
                                                          scenario.  Has
                                                          anyone spoken
                                                          with our Sub
                                                          Pro Board reps
                                                          about this
                                                          approach? 
                                                          (They are
                                                          copied here.)</p>
                                                      </div>
                                                      <div>
                                                        <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                                                      </div>
                                                      <div>
                                                        <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal">Thank
                                                          you,</p>
                                                      </div>
                                                      <div>
                                                        <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal">Anne</p>
                                                      </div>
                                                      <div>
                                                        <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                                                      </div>
                                                      <div>
                                                        <div>
                                                          <div>
                                                          <div>
                                                          <div>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal">Anne
                                                          Aikman-Scalese</p>
                                                          </div>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal">GNSO
                                                          Councilor </p>
                                                          <div>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal">NomCom
                                                          Non-Voting
                                                          2022-2024</p>
                                                          </div>
                                                          <div>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"><a
href="mailto:anneicanngnso@gmail.com" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank"
                                                          moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext">anneicanngnso@gmail.com</a></p>
                                                          </div>
                                                          </div>
                                                          </div>
                                                        </div>
                                                        <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                                                      </div>
                                                    </div>
                                                    <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                                                    <div>
                                                      <div>
                                                        <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal">On
                                                          Thu, Aug 10,
                                                          2023 at
                                                          10:15 AM Paul
                                                          McGrady via
                                                          council <<a
href="mailto:council@gnso.icann.org" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank"
                                                          moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext">council@gnso.icann.org</a>> wrote:</p>
                                                      </div>
                                                      <blockquote
                                                        style="border-width:medium
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                                                        rgb(204,204,204);padding:0in
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                                                        6pt;margin-left:4.8pt;margin-right:0in">
                                                        <div>
                                                          <div>
                                                          <div>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal">Hi
                                                          Kurt,</p>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal">Thanks
                                                          for this.  I’m
                                                          not sure I am
                                                          understanding
                                                          your concern. 
                                                          One of the
                                                          basic tenants
                                                          that everyone
                                                          in the SubPro
                                                          PDP agreed to
                                                          was that,
                                                          absent any
                                                          changes
                                                          captured in
                                                          the
                                                          Recommendations,
                                                          that the
                                                          status quo
                                                          would
                                                          prevail.  All
                                                          the letter
                                                          does is ask
                                                          for that.  I
                                                          feel better
                                                          about sticking
                                                          with the WG’s
                                                          inability to
                                                          change the
                                                          status quo
                                                          than I do
                                                          asking the
                                                          Board to write
                                                          a policy when
                                                          the community
                                                          couldn’t agree
                                                          to anything,
                                                          even after two
                                                          valiant
                                                          efforts.  We
                                                          tried in the
                                                          WG, we
                                                          couldn’t get
                                                          there, the
                                                          status quo
                                                          should
                                                          prevail.  We
                                                          tried again at
                                                          the request of
                                                          the Board at
                                                          the SO/AC
                                                          level, we
                                                          couldn’t get
                                                          there, the
                                                          status quo
                                                          should
                                                          prevail.  The
                                                          letter leaves
                                                          open the
                                                          possibility of
                                                          future
                                                          community work
                                                          on this but
                                                          notes there is
                                                          no bandwidth
                                                          or appetite to
                                                          do so and we
                                                          don’t want the
                                                          next round
                                                          held up.  Help
                                                          me understand
                                                          you concern
                                                          about asking
                                                          the Board to
                                                          maintain the
                                                          status quo
                                                          until/if the
                                                          community
                                                          comes up with
                                                          a policy on
                                                          these.  </p>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal">Best,</p>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal">Paul</p>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                                                          <div>
                                                          <div
                                                          style="border-width:1pt
                                                          medium
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                                                          currentcolor
                                                          currentcolor;padding:3pt
                                                          0in 0in">
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"><b>From:</b>
                                                          council <<a
href="mailto:council-bounces@gnso.icann.org" rel="noreferrer"
                                                          target="_blank"
moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext">council-bounces@gnso.icann.org</a>>
                                                          <b>On Behalf
                                                          Of </b>kurt <a
href="http://kjpritz.com/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank"
                                                          moz-do-not-send="true">kjpritz.com</a>
                                                          via council<br>
                                                          <b>Sent:</b>
                                                          Thursday,
                                                          August 10,
                                                          2023 3:45 AM<br>
                                                          <b>To:</b>
                                                          John McElwaine
                                                          <<a
                                                          href="mailto:john.mcelwaine@nelsonmullins.com"
rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" moz-do-not-send="true"
                                                          class="moz-txt-link-freetext">john.mcelwaine@nelsonmullins.com</a>><br>
                                                          <b>Cc:</b>
                                                          GNSO Council
                                                          <<a
                                                          href="mailto:council@gnso.icann.org"
rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" moz-do-not-send="true"
                                                          class="moz-txt-link-freetext">council@gnso.icann.org</a>><br>
                                                          <b>Subject:</b>
                                                          Re: [council]
                                                          Update on
                                                          Closed
                                                          Generics</p>
                                                          </div>
                                                          </div>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="font-size:10pt">Hi John: <br>
                                                          <br>
                                                          Thanks for
                                                          taking time to
                                                          make this
                                                          detailed
                                                          report, and
                                                          also thanks to
                                                          the
                                                          well-intentioned
                                                          people that
                                                          participated
                                                          in the effort,
                                                          in particular,
                                                          our GNSO
                                                          representatives.
                                                          I am
                                                          not surprised
                                                          by the
                                                          outcome. <br>
                                                          <br>
                                                          I am surprised
                                                          by the
                                                          recommendation
                                                          to pause any
                                                          release of
                                                          closed generics
                                                          to a future
                                                          round. Such an
                                                          action would
                                                          turn the
                                                          consensus-based policy
                                                          development
                                                          process on its
                                                          head.</span></p>
                                                          <blockquote
                                                          style="margin:5pt
                                                          0in 5pt 30pt">
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="font-size:10pt">1. I don’t
                                                          understand how
                                                          the SO/AC
                                                          leaders have
                                                          the authority
                                                          to revise the
                                                          PDP final
                                                          report
                                                          recommendation. </span></p>
                                                          </blockquote>
                                                          <blockquote
                                                          style="margin:5pt
                                                          0in 5pt 30pt">
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="font-size:10pt">The PDP final
                                                          report
                                                          (approved by
                                                          each of the
                                                          Councillors)
                                                          stated that
                                                          the closed
                                                          generic
                                                          decision
                                                          should be left
                                                          up to the
                                                          ICANN Board.
                                                          The
                                                          final report
                                                          did
                                                          not recommend
                                                          the
                                                          conflicting
                                                          direction that
                                                          the closed
                                                          generics
                                                          ban be
                                                          continued
                                                          until a future
                                                          round.</span></p>
                                                          </blockquote>
                                                          <blockquote
                                                          style="margin:5pt
                                                          0in 5pt 30pt">
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="font-size:10pt">The Board made
                                                          an attempt to
                                                          (re)involve
                                                          the community
                                                          by
                                                          inviting the
                                                          GAC and GNSO
                                                          to develop a
                                                          solution. With
                                                          that effort
                                                          closed, we
                                                          should revert
                                                          back to the
                                                          final report
                                                          recommendations.
                                                          We should not
                                                          change
                                                          the consensus
                                                          position
                                                          developed. Do
                                                          we think the
                                                          PDP team would
                                                          have approved
a recommendation to pause closed generics for an additional round? (No.)
                                                           </span></p>
                                                          </blockquote>
                                                          <blockquote
                                                          style="margin:5pt
                                                          0in 5pt 30pt">
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="font-size:10pt">We have
                                                          thoroughly
                                                          discussed the
                                                          conditions
                                                          under which a
Council approved final report can be changed (e.g., GGP), and this is
                                                          not one
                                                          of them. </span></p>
                                                          </blockquote>
                                                          <blockquote
                                                          style="margin:5pt
                                                          0in 5pt 30pt">
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                                                          </blockquote>
                                                          <blockquote
                                                          style="margin:5pt
                                                          0in 5pt 30pt">
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="font-size:10pt">2. 
                                                             Continuing
                                                          the ban on
                                                          closed
                                                          generics
                                                          effectively
                                                          abandons
                                                          the consensus
                                                          policy model
                                                          of decision
                                                          making.</span></p>
                                                          </blockquote>
                                                          <blockquote
                                                          style="margin:5pt
                                                          0in 5pt 30pt">
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="font-size:10pt">The new gTLD
                                                          policy
                                                          developments,
                                                          in 2007-8 and
                                                          2016-21 have
                                                          asked the
                                                          questions: (1)
                                                          should there
                                                          be a round of
                                                          TLDs and, if
                                                          yes, (2)
                                                          what restrictions
                                                          /
                                                          conditions should
                                                          be in place to
                                                          address SSR,
                                                          IP,
                                                          and competition
                                                          concerns.</span></p>
                                                          </blockquote>
                                                          <blockquote
                                                          style="margin:5pt
                                                          0in 5pt 30pt">
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="font-size:10pt">Restrictions and
                                                          conditions
                                                          enjoying
                                                          consensus
                                                          support
                                                          were implemented
                                                          in the
                                                          program. (An
                                                          illustrative
                                                          example is the
                                                          RPM IRT,
                                                          whose recommendations
                                                          were ratified
                                                          by the
                                                          community
                                                          STI.)</span></p>
                                                          </blockquote>
                                                          <blockquote
                                                          style="margin:5pt
                                                          0in 5pt 30pt">
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="font-size:10pt">During
                                                          discussions on
                                                          closed
                                                          generics,
                                                          there were
                                                          people
                                                          for barring
                                                          them, allowing
                                                          them, and
                                                          allowing them
                                                          with
                                                          restrictions.
                                                          Pausing
                                                          any introduction
                                                          of
                                                          closed generics
                                                          essentially
                                                          creates a
                                                          policy
                                                          advocated by
                                                          a minority
                                                          (and in any
                                                          case not
                                                          enjoying
                                                          consensus
                                                          support). The
                                                          final
                                                          report indicated
                                                          as much.</span></p>
                                                          </blockquote>
                                                          <blockquote
                                                          style="margin:5pt
                                                          0in 5pt 30pt">
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="font-size:10pt">This result
                                                          provides an
                                                          incentive to
                                                          avoid
                                                          compromise.
                                                          Going forward,
                                                          those wanting
                                                          to implement
                                                          an unsupported
                                                          policy can
                                                          refuse
                                                          to compromise
                                                          through a PDP
                                                          and subsequent
                                                          ad-hoc
                                                          discussions
                                                          with the hope
that leadership will “give up” and implement unsupported restrictions.</span></p>
                                                          </blockquote>
                                                          <blockquote
                                                          style="margin:5pt
                                                          0in 5pt 30pt">
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="font-size:10pt">3.     The
                                                          decision to
                                                          ban closed
                                                          generics for
                                                          an additional
round contradicts the one step the Board took.</span></p>
                                                          </blockquote>
                                                          <blockquote
                                                          style="margin:5pt
                                                          0in 5pt 30pt">
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:10pt">The Board direction to the GAC-GNSO team
                                                          established
                                                          guardrails, prohibiting
                                                          a model that
                                                          would either
                                                          ban or provide
                                                          for the
                                                          unrestricted release
                                                          of closed
                                                          generics. We
                                                          cannot be sure
                                                          this is where
                                                          the Board
                                                          will land
                                                          absent input
                                                          from the
                                                          GAC-GNSO
                                                          effort, but we
                                                          should not
                                                          erase the
                                                          chance that
                                                          the Board
                                                          would develop
                                                          a balanced
                                                          decision.</span></p>
                                                          </blockquote>
                                                          <div>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                                                          </div>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:10pt">Two additional points:</span></p>
                                                          <blockquote
                                                          style="margin:5pt
                                                          0in 5pt 30pt">
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:10pt"><br>
                                                          1.     I do
                                                          not believe
                                                          that deferring
                                                          the issue to
                                                          the Board will
                                                          delay the next
                                                          round, despite
                                                          the recent
                                                          GAC-GNSO
                                                          detour. The
                                                          Board has more
                                                          than a year to
                                                          make a call. </span></p>
                                                          </blockquote>
                                                          <blockquote
                                                          style="margin:5pt
                                                          0in 5pt 30pt">
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:10pt"><br>
                                                          2.     I do
                                                          not believe
                                                          the Board is
                                                          exceeding
                                                          their
                                                          authority in
                                                          making the
                                                          call. The GNSO
                                                          specifically
                                                          assigned the
                                                          task to the
                                                          Board as part
                                                          of
                                                          their policy
                                                          management
                                                          responsibility.
                                                          In any event,
                                                          the Board
                                                          established
                                                          that authority
                                                          when it paused
                                                          closed
                                                          generics in
                                                          2012,
                                                          contradicting
the Council-approved policy. </span></p>
                                                          </blockquote>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:10pt"><br>
                                                          If given the
                                                          opportunity to
                                                          participate in
                                                          a discussion
                                                          on this issue,
                                                          I would oppose
                                                          the
                                                          recommendation
                                                          that the issue
                                                          should be
                                                          paused, and
                                                          closed generics
                                                          banned for
                                                          the reasons
                                                          stated above.
                                                          I would
                                                          support the
                                                          final report
                                                          recommendation
                                                          that the issue
                                                          be decided by
                                                          the Board. </span>
                                                          </p>
                                                          <div>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:10pt"> <br>
                                                          Sincerely,<br>
                                                          <br>
                                                          Kurt</span></p>
                                                          <div>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:12pt"> </p>
                                                          <blockquote
                                                          style="margin-top:5pt;margin-bottom:5pt">
                                                          <div>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal">On
                                                          10 Aug 2023,
                                                          at 7:33 am,
                                                          John McElwaine
                                                          via council
                                                          <<a
                                                          href="mailto:council@gnso.icann.org"
rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" moz-do-not-send="true"
                                                          class="moz-txt-link-freetext">council@gnso.icann.org</a>>
                                                          wrote:</p>
                                                          </div>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                                                          <div>
                                                          <div>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal">Dear
                                                          Councilors,</p>
                                                          </div>
                                                          <div>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                                                          </div>
                                                          <div>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal">As
                                                          GNSO Council
                                                          liaison to the
                                                          ALAC-GAC-GNSO
                                                          Facilitated
                                                          Dialogue on
                                                          Closed Generic
                                                          gTLDs, I
                                                          wanted to
                                                          update you on
                                                          the latest
                                                          developments
                                                          on this
                                                          project. On 7
                                                          July 2023,
                                                          after
                                                          discussions
                                                          amongst
                                                          themselves
                                                          that I also
                                                          participated
                                                          in, Sebastien
                                                          (in his
                                                          capacity as
                                                          GNSO Chair),
                                                          Jonathan Zuck
                                                          (ALAC Chair)
                                                          and Nico
                                                          Caballero (GAC
                                                          Chair) sent
                                                          the attached
                                                          letter to the
                                                          participants
                                                          in the
                                                          dialogue. For
                                                          reasons set
                                                          out in the
                                                          letter, and in
                                                          response to
                                                          questions that
                                                          the dialogue
                                                          participants
                                                          had referred
                                                          to them (also
                                                          noted in the
                                                          letter), the
                                                          three Chairs
                                                          have
                                                          collectively
                                                          decided that
                                                          it will be
                                                          neither
                                                          necessary to
                                                          continue with
                                                          the dialogue
                                                          to develop a
                                                          final
                                                          framework nor
                                                          initiate
                                                          further policy
                                                          development
                                                          work on this
                                                          topic.</p>
                                                          </div>
                                                          <div>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                                                          </div>
                                                          <div>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal">The
                                                          dialogue
                                                          participants
                                                          have discussed
                                                          the Chairs’
                                                          joint letter
                                                          and agreed to
                                                          conclude their
                                                          work as
                                                          requested,
                                                          including
                                                          producing an
                                                          outcomes
                                                          report to
                                                          ensure that
                                                          the work to
                                                          date is
                                                          thoroughly
                                                          documented.
                                                          Participants
                                                          also agreed to
                                                          forward the
                                                          Chairs’ letter
                                                          to all the
                                                          commenters
                                                          that submitted
                                                          input on the
                                                          draft
                                                          framework
                                                          (viz., Tucows,
                                                          RySG, BC,
                                                          ISPCPC, ALAC
                                                          and GAC), and
                                                          have invited
                                                          those
                                                          commenters
                                                          that wish to
                                                          engage with
                                                          the group to
                                                          join their
                                                          next call to
                                                          clarify any
                                                          significant
                                                          concerns they
                                                          raised in the
                                                          feedback they
                                                          provided.</p>
                                                          </div>
                                                          <div>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                                                          </div>
                                                          <div>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal">The
                                                          staff team
                                                          that is
                                                          supporting the
                                                          dialogue is
                                                          currently
                                                          preparing a
                                                          draft outcomes
                                                          report for the
                                                          group to
                                                          review. The
                                                          group intends
                                                          for the
                                                          outcomes
                                                          report to
                                                          serve as an
                                                          introduction
                                                          and summary of
                                                          their work,
                                                          including
                                                          expressly
                                                          clarifying
                                                          that the draft
                                                          framework the
                                                          group
                                                          published in
                                                          June 2023 does
                                                          not reflect
                                                          agreed
                                                          outcomes but,
                                                          rather, was a
                                                          product of
                                                          compromise
                                                          that was
                                                          reached in the
                                                          interests of
                                                          soliciting
                                                          community
                                                          feedback on
                                                          the various
                                                          elements and
                                                          points
                                                          included in
                                                          the draft
                                                          framework. The
                                                          outcomes
                                                          report will
                                                          also include
                                                          all the
                                                          community
                                                          feedback that
                                                          were submitted
                                                          in full, links
                                                          to the group’s
                                                          community wiki
                                                          space and
                                                          other relevant
                                                          documentation,
                                                          and the
                                                          participants’
                                                          feedback on
                                                          the consensus
                                                          building
                                                          techniques and
                                                          approaches
                                                          that were used
                                                          for the
                                                          dialogue.</p>
                                                          </div>
                                                          <div>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                                                          </div>
                                                          <div>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal">The
                                                          group hopes to
                                                          wrap up its
                                                          work by
                                                          September, in
                                                          line with its
                                                          previous plan
                                                          to conclude
                                                          the dialogue
                                                          and final
                                                          framework by
                                                          end-Q3 2023. I
                                                          understand
                                                          that
                                                          Sebastien,
                                                          Nico and
                                                          Jonathan will
                                                          also be
                                                          sending a
                                                          separate
                                                          communication
                                                          to the ICANN
                                                          Board that
                                                          reflects the
                                                          decision they
                                                          took and, as
                                                          stated in the
                                                          letter,
                                                          expressing the
                                                          collective
                                                          view that:</p>
                                                          </div>
                                                          <div>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                                                          </div>
                                                          <div>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal">(1)
                                                          closed generic
                                                          gTLDs should
                                                          not be viewed
                                                          as a
                                                          dependency for
                                                          the next
                                                          round;</p>
                                                          </div>
                                                          <div>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal">(2)
                                                          until there is
community-developed policy, the Board should maintain the position from
                                                          the 2012 round
                                                          (i.e., any
                                                          applications
                                                          seeking to
                                                          impose
                                                          exclusive
                                                          registry
                                                          access for
                                                          "generic
                                                          strings" to a
                                                          single person
                                                          or entity
                                                          and/or that
                                                          person's or
                                                          entity's
                                                          Affiliates (as
                                                          defined in
                                                          Section 2.9(c)
                                                          of the
                                                          Registry
                                                          Agreement)
                                                          should not
                                                          proceed<b>;</b><span> </span>and</p>
                                                          </div>
                                                          <div>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal">(3)
                                                          should the
                                                          community
                                                          decide in the
                                                          future to
                                                          resume the
                                                          policy
                                                          discussions,
                                                          this should be
                                                          based on the
                                                          good work that
                                                          has been done
                                                          to date in the
                                                          facilitated
                                                          dialogue.</p>
                                                          </div>
                                                          <div>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                                                          </div>
                                                          <div>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal">Sebastien
                                                          and I will be
                                                          happy to
                                                          answer any
                                                          questions you
                                                          may have on
                                                          the letter,
                                                          the Chairs’
                                                          decision and
                                                          the proposed
                                                          next steps.
                                                          You may also
                                                          wish to check
                                                          in with the
                                                          representatives
                                                          that each of
                                                          your
                                                          Stakeholder
                                                          Groups
                                                          appointed to
                                                          the dialogue
                                                          for further
                                                          information.<span> </span></p>
                                                          </div>
                                                          <div>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                                                          </div>
                                                          <div>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal">Finally,
                                                          I am sure I
                                                          speak for all
                                                          of us when I
                                                          say that we
                                                          are very
                                                          grateful to
                                                          the dialogue
                                                          participants
                                                          and the staff
                                                          support team
                                                          for all the
                                                          hard work and
                                                          consensus
                                                          building that
                                                          resulted in a
                                                          detailed and
                                                          substantive,
                                                          if
                                                          preliminary,
                                                          draft
                                                          framework. I
                                                          also hope that
                                                          the
                                                          participants’
                                                          feedback on
                                                          the methods
                                                          and techniques
                                                          used in the
                                                          dialogue, as
                                                          well as other
                                                          lessons
                                                          learned from
                                                          the
                                                          experience,
                                                          will provide
                                                          the GNSO
                                                          Council and
                                                          community with
                                                          useful
                                                          information
                                                          that we can
                                                          put into
                                                          practice in
                                                          future policy
                                                          discussions.</p>
                                                          </div>
                                                          <div>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                                                          </div>
                                                          <div>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal">Best
                                                          regards,</p>
                                                          </div>
                                                          <div>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal">John</p>
                                                          </div>
                                                          <div>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                                                          </div>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"
style="font-variant-caps:normal;text-align:start;word-spacing:0px"> <b><span
style="font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif">Confidentiality
                                                          Notice</span></b><span
style="font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif"><br>
                                                          This message
                                                          is intended
                                                          exclusively
                                                          for the
                                                          individual or
                                                          entity to
                                                          which it is
                                                          addressed.
                                                          This
                                                          communication
                                                          may contain
                                                          information
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                                                          confidential
                                                          or otherwise
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                                                          from
                                                          disclosure. If
                                                          you are not
                                                          the named
                                                          addressee, you
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                                                          read, print,
                                                          retain, copy
                                                          or disseminate
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                                                          or reply to
                                                          this e-mail
                                                          and delete all
                                                          copies of this
                                                          message.</span></p>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"><Message
                                                          from ALAC GAC
                                                           GNSO Chairs
                                                          to Closed
                                                          Generics
                                                          Facilitated
                                                          Dialogue
                                                          Participants -
                                                          FINAL - 5
                                                          August 2023
                                                          (002).pdf><span
style="font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif">_______________________________________________<br>
                                                          council
                                                          mailing list<br>
                                                          </span><a
                                                          href="mailto:council@gnso.icann.org"
rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" moz-do-not-send="true"><span
                                                          style="font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif">council@gnso.icann.org</span></a><span
style="font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif"><br>
                                                          </span><a
                                                          href="https://mm.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/council"
rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" moz-do-not-send="true"><span
                                                          style="font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif">https://mm.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/council</span></a><span
style="font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif"><br>
                                                          <br>
_______________________________________________<br>
                                                          By submitting
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                                                          with the ICANN
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                                                          (</span><a
                                                          href="https://www.icann.org/privacy/policy"
rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" moz-do-not-send="true"><span
                                                          style="font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif">https://www.icann.org/privacy/policy</span></a><span
style="font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif">) and the website
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href="https://www.icann.org/privacy/tos" rel="noreferrer"
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                                                          </div>
                                                          </blockquote>
                                                          </div>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                                                          </div>
                                                          <div
                                                          style="border:1pt
                                                          solid
                                                          rgb(156,101,0);padding:2pt"
id="m_-6503242595236262141m_2317932858697995501m_3420877618762687111m_3446894358639417709m_-7502727125778583484footer">
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal"
style="background:rgb(255,235,156)"> <span style="color:black">This
                                                          email
                                                          originated
                                                          from outside
                                                          the firm.
                                                          Please use
                                                          caution.</span></p>
                                                          </div>
                                                          </div>
                                                          </div>
                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal">_______________________________________________<br>
                                                          council
                                                          mailing list<br>
                                                          <a
                                                          href="mailto:council@gnso.icann.org"
rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" moz-do-not-send="true"
                                                          class="moz-txt-link-freetext">council@gnso.icann.org</a><br>
                                                          <a
                                                          href="https://mm.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/council"
rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" moz-do-not-send="true"
                                                          class="moz-txt-link-freetext">https://mm.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/council</a><br>
                                                          <br>
_______________________________________________<br>
                                                          By submitting
                                                          your personal
                                                          data, you
                                                          consent to the
                                                          processing of
                                                          your personal
                                                          data for
                                                          purposes of
                                                          subscribing to
                                                          this mailing
                                                          list
                                                          accordance
                                                          with the ICANN
                                                          Privacy Policy
                                                          (<a
                                                          href="https://www.icann.org/privacy/policy"
rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" moz-do-not-send="true"
                                                          class="moz-txt-link-freetext">https://www.icann.org/privacy/policy</a>)
                                                          and the
                                                          website Terms
                                                          of Service (<a
href="https://www.icann.org/privacy/tos" rel="noreferrer"
                                                          target="_blank"
moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext">https://www.icann.org/privacy/tos</a>).
                                                          You can visit
                                                          the Mailman
                                                          link above to
                                                          change your
                                                          membership
                                                          status or
                                                          configuration,
                                                          including
                                                          unsubscribing,
                                                          setting
                                                          digest-style
                                                          delivery or
                                                          disabling
                                                          delivery
                                                          altogether
                                                          (e.g., for a
                                                          vacation), and
                                                          so on.</p>
                                                        </div>
                                                      </blockquote>
                                                    </div>
                                                  </div>
                                                </blockquote>
                                              </div>
                                              <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                                            </div>
                                          </div>
                                        </div>
                                      </div>
_______________________________________________<br>
                                      council mailing list<br>
                                      <a
                                        href="mailto:council@gnso.icann.org"
                                        rel="noreferrer" target="_blank"
                                        moz-do-not-send="true"
                                        class="moz-txt-link-freetext">council@gnso.icann.org</a><br>
                                      <a
                                        href="https://mm.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/council"
                                        rel="noreferrer noreferrer"
                                        target="_blank"
                                        moz-do-not-send="true"
                                        class="moz-txt-link-freetext">https://mm.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/council</a><br>
                                      <br>
_______________________________________________<br>
                                      By submitting your personal data,
                                      you consent to the processing of
                                      your personal data for purposes of
                                      subscribing to this mailing list
                                      accordance with the ICANN Privacy
                                      Policy (<a
                                        href="https://www.icann.org/privacy/policy"
                                        rel="noreferrer noreferrer"
                                        target="_blank"
                                        moz-do-not-send="true"
                                        class="moz-txt-link-freetext">https://www.icann.org/privacy/policy</a>)
                                      and the website Terms of Service (<a
href="https://www.icann.org/privacy/tos" rel="noreferrer noreferrer"
                                        target="_blank"
                                        moz-do-not-send="true"
                                        class="moz-txt-link-freetext">https://www.icann.org/privacy/tos</a>).
                                      You can visit the Mailman link
                                      above to change your membership
                                      status or configuration, including
                                      unsubscribing, setting
                                      digest-style delivery or disabling
                                      delivery altogether (e.g., for a
                                      vacation), and so on.</div>
                                  </blockquote>
                                </div>
_______________________________________________<br>
                                council mailing list<br>
                                <a href="mailto:council@gnso.icann.org"
                                  rel="noreferrer" target="_blank"
                                  moz-do-not-send="true"
                                  class="moz-txt-link-freetext">council@gnso.icann.org</a><br>
                                <a
                                  href="https://mm.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/council"
                                  rel="noreferrer noreferrer"
                                  target="_blank" moz-do-not-send="true"
                                  class="moz-txt-link-freetext">https://mm.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/council</a><br>
                                <br>
_______________________________________________<br>
                                By submitting your personal data, you
                                consent to the processing of your
                                personal data for purposes of
                                subscribing to this mailing list
                                accordance with the ICANN Privacy Policy
                                (<a
                                  href="https://www.icann.org/privacy/policy"
                                  rel="noreferrer noreferrer"
                                  target="_blank" moz-do-not-send="true"
                                  class="moz-txt-link-freetext">https://www.icann.org/privacy/policy</a>)
                                and the website Terms of Service (<a
                                  href="https://www.icann.org/privacy/tos"
                                  rel="noreferrer noreferrer"
                                  target="_blank" moz-do-not-send="true"
                                  class="moz-txt-link-freetext">https://www.icann.org/privacy/tos</a>).
                                You can visit the Mailman link above to
                                change your membership status or
                                configuration, including unsubscribing,
                                setting digest-style delivery or
                                disabling delivery altogether (e.g., for
                                a vacation), and so on.</div>
                            </div>
                          </div>
                          <br>
                          <fieldset></fieldset>
                          <pre>_______________________________________________
NCSG-PC mailing list
<a href="mailto:NCSG-PC@lists.ncsg.is" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext">NCSG-PC@lists.ncsg.is</a>
<a href="https://lists.ncsg.is/mailman/listinfo/ncsg-pc" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext">https://lists.ncsg.is/mailman/listinfo/ncsg-pc</a>
</pre>
                        </blockquote>
                      </div>
                      _______________________________________________<br>
                      NCSG-PC mailing list<br>
                      <a href="mailto:NCSG-PC@lists.ncsg.is"
                        rel="noreferrer" target="_blank"
                        moz-do-not-send="true"
                        class="moz-txt-link-freetext">NCSG-PC@lists.ncsg.is</a><br>
                      <a
                        href="https://lists.ncsg.is/mailman/listinfo/ncsg-pc"
                        rel="noreferrer noreferrer" target="_blank"
                        moz-do-not-send="true"
                        class="moz-txt-link-freetext">https://lists.ncsg.is/mailman/listinfo/ncsg-pc</a><br>
                    </blockquote>
                  </div>
                </div>
              </div>
            </blockquote>
          </div>
        </blockquote>
      </div>
    </blockquote>
  </body>
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