ISOC sells PIR

Mueller, Milton L milton at GATECH.EDU
Thu Nov 14 13:19:11 EET 2019 

The purchase has not been completed yet, so the notification we all received may (or may not) formally serve as their notice to ICANN, but if it doesn’t, then there is still plenty of time.


From: NCSG-Discuss <NCSG-DISCUSS at LISTSERV.SYR.EDU> On Behalf Of Michael Karanicolas
Sent: Thursday, November 14, 2019 9:50 AM
To: NCSG-DISCUSS at LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: Re: ISOC sells PIR

Given how catastrophic the invocation of art. 7.5 would be for both PIR and for ISOC, I would be amazed if they'd made a mistake like failing to inform ICANN of the purchase. Indeed, I would assume they consulted extensively with ICANN in laying the groundwork for this sale, and got organizational buy-in from the earliest stages of the discussions. I doubt very much ICANN is going to invalidate the registry agreement.

That said, and as Stephanie noted at the outset, all of this casts the previous discussion over the new contract in a different light, given that ICANN almost certainly knew that a sale was being discussed. I seem to recall that they leaned heavily on past precedent, and that PIR had not previously utilized the price increases available to it, in arguing that they could be trusted with the pricing change. If they knew that a sale to new (and likely more financially demanding) ownership was just over the horizon, that whole line of argument seems very disingenuous.

Michael Karanicolas
Resident Fellow
Yale Law School

On Thu, Nov 14, 2019 at 9:08 AM Joan Kerr <joankerr at fbsc.org<mailto:joankerr at fbsc.org>> wrote:
Hi Caleb,

I am not sure that ISOC/PIR gave notice to ICANN, I am sure they have. The Chief Purpose Officer, Nora Abusitta-Ouri  previously worked at ICANN, so would know the rules and requirements to be addressed.

Regards,


On Wed, Nov 13, 2019 at 11:40 PM Caleb Olumuyiwa Ogundele <muyiwacaleb at gmail.com<mailto:muyiwacaleb at gmail.com>> wrote:
And here is the first red flag raised and quoted by @IGPAlert on twitter.

Re: the sellout of .org, under art. 7.5 of the PIR contract, PIR has to provide ICANN with 30 days’ notice of any change in control, and ICANN can respond by terminating the agreement #PIR #ORG #ICANN


Was ICANN notified and was there any notice to critical stakeholders SO /AC?

On Thu, Nov 14, 2019, 2:19 AM James Gannon <lists at icann.guru<mailto:lists at icann.guru>> wrote:
The purchasing entity is ethos capital a Delaware corporation formed 4 months ago with many familiar faces involved.
https://ethoscapital.com/

---
James Gannon

On 14.11.19, 02:00, "Carlos Afonso" <ca at cafonso.ca<mailto:ca at cafonso.ca>> wrote:

    Yes, they are the same: Ethos and Ethos Capital are from the same group.
    Even the web pages are almost identical, and several officers sit on
    both. As if this would make a significant difference, but...:

    http://www.ethos.co.za/
    https://ethoscapital.mu/

    fraternal regards

    --c.a.

    On 13/11/2019 22:53, James Gannon wrote:
    > Ethos the South African firm is not the same firm that has aquired PIR.
    >
    > ---
    > James Gannon
    >
    > On 14.11.19, 01:48, "NCSG-Discuss on behalf of Carlos Afonso" <NCSG-DISCUSS at LISTSERV.SYR.EDU<mailto:NCSG-DISCUSS at LISTSERV.SYR.EDU> on behalf of 0000103799ed46a9-dmarc-request at LISTSERV.SYR.EDU<mailto:0000103799ed46a9-dmarc-request at LISTSERV.SYR.EDU>> wrote:
    >
    >     Also, the official statement from ISOC mentions that Ethos Capital is "a
    >     strong strategic partner that understands the intricacies of the domain
    >     industry and has the expertise, experience and shared values to further
    >     advance the goals of .ORG into the future".
    >
    >     Just checked their two main websites (Ethos Capital and Ethos) - there
    >     is no trace of former experience in dealing with domain names (the
    >     acquisition of a South African service provider in 2018
    >     notwithstanding). "Shared values" with a financial speculator whose aim
    >     is just profit?
    >
    >     But, let us face it, everyone knows that PIR was as flexible as any
    >     other registry in accepting anyone with a valid international credit
    >     card for .org. When the domain was auctioned, APC was the other
    >     contender, with a clear proposal to keep the domain as the lair of
    >     non-profits. Pity it did not win...
    >
    >     fraternal regards
    >
    >     --c.a.
    >
    >     On 13/11/2019 15:55, Sam Lanfranco wrote:
    >     > Thanks Stephanie,
    >     > While PIR said, as recently as last week to me, that PIR was not
    >     > considering raising .org registration fees,
    >     >
    >     > I suspect that the new owners will feel that they are under no obligations
    >     > to observe the PIR position.
    >     > Oddly, the Ethos website misspells the title of the CEO:  Peter
    >     > Hayward-Butt, CHEIF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
    >     > We shall see.
    >     > Sam Lanfranco
    >     > ---- Original Message ----From: Stephanie Perrin
    >     > To: NCSG-DISCUSS at LISTSERV.SYR.EDU<mailto:NCSG-DISCUSS at LISTSERV.SYR.EDU>
    >     > Sent: Wed, Nov 13, 2019, 12:41 PM
    >     > Subject: ISOC sells PIR
    >     >      I must say, this casts the decision to drop price caps for .org in a
    >     > slightly different light.  I will keep you posted as I learn more.
    >     >
    >     >     https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191113005661/en/Ethos-Capital-Acquire-Public-Interest-Registry-Internet
    >     > (https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191113005661/en/Ethos-Capital-Acquire-Public-Interest-Registry-Internet)
    >     >
    >     >
    >     >     Stephanie Perrin
    >     >
    >     >     NCSG Chair
    >     >
    >     >
    >
    >     --
    >
    >     Carlos A. Afonso
    >     [emails são pessoais exceto quando explicitamente indicado em contrário]
    >     [emails are personal unless explicitly indicated otherwise]
    >
    >     Instituto Nupef - https://nupef.org.br
    >     ISOC-BR - https://isoc.org.br
    >
    >

    --

    Carlos A. Afonso
    [emails são pessoais exceto quando explicitamente indicado em contrário]
    [emails are personal unless explicitly indicated otherwise]

    Instituto Nupef - https://nupef.org.br
    ISOC-BR - https://isoc.org.br




--

Joan Kerr, Entrepreneur, Artist, Humanitarian

_____________________________________

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www.joankerr.ca<http://www.joankerr.ca/>, www.fbsc.org<http://www.fbsc.org/>

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