Public participation site

2 September 2013

The 2013 ICANN Nominating Committee (NomCom) has completed its selections for nine leadership positions within ICANN, listed below for each ICANN body, in alphabetical order by family name:

ICANN Board of Directors

Cherine Chalaby, Africa

Bruno Lanvin, Europe

Erika Mann, Europe

ALAC

Rafid Fatani, Asia/Australia/Pacific Islands

Beran Dondeh Gillen, Africa

Leon Sanchez, Latin America/Caribbean Islands

GNSO Council

Daniel Reed (Non-Contracted Party House)

Thomas Rickert (Contracted Party House)

ccNSO Council

Celia Lerman – Latin America/Caribbean Islands

Those selected will take up their positions after the end of ICANN's Annual General Meeting, which will take place during the ICANN Public meeting scheduled for November 17-21, 2013, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The NomCom is charged with recruiting and selecting a portion of ICANN's leadership. The NomCom is mandated to ensure that overall ICANN's leadership is diverse in geography, culture, skills, experience, and perspective. The basic criteria is that selectees are people of integrity, objectivity and sound judgment, can support decision-making within groups, can work effectively in English, have an understanding of ICANN's mission and operation, are committed to its success, experienced in world affairs, contribute to cultural, professional and geographic expertise, and can work long and hard as volunteers in the global public trust.

Balancing Confidentiality with Transparency

Discussing the 2013 Nominating Committee results, Yrjö Länsipuro, the Chair of the 2013 NomCom, shared the following:

I am very happy to report that the 2013 NomCom reached a unanimous decision about the entire slate of selectees at our meeting in Durban, South Africa, immediately after the 47th ICANN meeting in that city.

There were 110 candidates, a record number reached only once before (2003). This number reflects a growing interest for ICANN leadership positions, and also the strong outreach efforts by the 2013 NomCom.  I want to thank all candidates and encourage those whom we could not select this time, to keep up their interest in ICANN.

The 2013 NomCom was committed to striking a new balance between the imperative for confidentiality and protecting the privacy of the candidates, with the need to ensure that the NomCom processes are up to ICANN standards of openness and transparency. Accordingly, while maintaining strict confidentiality of candidate specific information, we held NomCom meetings in Beijing and Durban that were open to all community members, both in person and online. We also issued monthly progress report cards of our work to all constituencies and stakeholder groups represented on the committee.

Last but not least, I want to thank all NomCom members, and ICANN staff supporting the NomCom, for their commitment to a year of very hard work and carrying it through with persistence, in a cooperative, constructive and collegial spirit.

Regional Breakdown

As noted above, the 2013 NomCom received 110 Statements of Interest from candidates all over the world (27 female and 83 male), during its open nomination period from 7 November 2012 to 15 May 2013. The regional breakdown of this year's candidates is:

• 12 from Africa
• 29 from Asia/Australia/Pacific
• 33 from Europe
• 18 from Latin America/Caribbean
• 18 from North America

For more information about the NomCom, please visit http://nomcom.icann.org/

30 August 2013

At its meeting on 13 August 2013, the ICANN Board New gTLD Program Committee (NGPC) adopted a resolution affirming that "dotless domain names" are prohibited. Dotless domain names are those that consist of a single label (e.g., http://example, or mail@example). Dotless names would require the inclusion of, for example, an A, AAAA, or MX, record in the apex of a TLD zone in the DNS (i.e., the record relates to the TLD-string itself).

In addition to public comments on dotless domain names, the NGPC considered the security and stability risks associated with dotless domain names highlighted in the following papers:

• On 23 February 2012, the ICANN Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC) published SAC 053: SSAC Report on Dotless Domains [PDF, 183 KB]. In this report, the SSAC stated that dotless domains would not be universally reachable and recommended strongly against their use. As a result, the SSAC recommended that the use of DNS resource records such as A, AAAA, and MX in the apex of a Top-Level Domain (TLD) should be contractually prohibited where appropriate, and strongly discouraged in all cases.
• On 10 July 2013 the Internet Architecture Board (IAB) released a statement on dotless domain names, recommending against the use of dotless domain names for TLDs.
• On 29 July 2013 Carve Systems delivered a report on dotless domain names, which was commissioned by ICANN. Consistent with the SSAC report, Carve's report on dotless domain names [PDF, 1.02 MB] identifies security and stability issues.

When adopting its resolution, the NGPC considered the security and stability risks identified in these papers, as well as the impracticality of mitigating these risks. Based on the NGPC resolution, ICANN does not plan to pursue any additional studies on the subject.

29 August 2013 Webinar Details

Date: Wednesday, 4 September 2013
Time: 14:00 – 15:00 UTC
Adobe Connect: http://icann.adobeconnect.com/ocs/
Adigo phone information:

• US Access Number: 213 233 3193
• US Toll Free Access Number: 800 550 6865

Conference ID: 40-60-14-86
International Adigo phone numbers: http://adigo.com/icann/

ICANN is engaged in a strategic development and incubation process for new digital engagement tools and services that will result in a reconceptualization of ICANN.org. The goal of the strategy is to drive community engagement across a continuum of potential involvement ranging from the general interest, public-facing communication that happens on ICANN.org, to deeper engagement experiences that enable new and existing community members to discuss and educate themselves on a wide variety of governance topics, to experiences in which community members learn more about working group activity.

Please join us for a webinar on Wednesday, 4 September 2013 at 14:00 – 15:00 UTC during which we will update the community on the project background and status. The meeting will be occur in an Adobe Connect room with a slide presentation. Participants will have the opportunity to offer comments and ask questions. During the course of the webinar, questions can be submitted using the chat function of Adobe Connect. If you cannot join the live session, the recording of the session will be made available shortly after the meeting.

27 August 2013

On 22 August 2013, the ICANN Board approved the FY14 Operating Plan and Budget [PDF, 1.05 MB]. This document describes the planned core operations and project activities, aligned with the required funding, for the 2014 fiscal year. These funded project activities are based on ICANN's strategic priorities as documented in the adopted three year 2013-2015 Strategic Plan, and include input taken from comments and feedback received from the community on the draft Operating Plan and Budget posted on 10 May 2013.

Within the adopted Budget are the FY14 Special Budget Requests [PDF, 238 KB] [XLSX, 38 KB] from the Supporting Organizations, Advisory Committees, and Stakeholder Groups. Those additional requests will be implemented in conjunction with the appropriate ICANN staff work.

Throughout the year, up to date financial information can be found on the ICANN Financial Information webpage.

23 August 2013 Forum Announcement: Public comment has been opened on the DNS Risk Management Framework Report Date: 23 August 2013 Categories/Tags:

• DNS
• Security/Stability

Purpose (Brief): The Board-level DNS Risk Management Framework Working Group (DNS RMF WG) has received a final report from Westlake Governance following the ICANN Durban meeting. The Working Group is initiating a public comment cycle on the DNS Risk Management Framework report prior to sending the Framework to the ICANN Board and staff for implementation. Public comments are welcomed on the document and proposed approach to risk management for the areas described in the report. Public Comment Box Link: http://www.icann.org/en/news/public-comment/dns-rmf-final-23aug13-en.htm

22 August 2013

The Antiphishing Working Group (APWG) will host its 10th anniversary meeting 16-19 September in San Francisco. The working agenda for eCrime 2013 continues a trend of focusing greater attention on abuses or misuses of DNS and registration services. During the two-day eCrime Congress, members and attendees will consider the evolution of crimeware, behavioral vulnerabilities and human factors that faciliate eCrime, the roles of Registrars, Registries and DNS in managing phishing attacks, public health approaches to managing eCrime, and reports of current counter-eCrime efforts and successes.

On 19 September, ICANN's Security Team will host a DNS Security, Stability, and Resiliency Update on policies and discussion topics of particular interest to the APWG members, including a review of the 2013 Registration Accreditation Agreement (RAA), a presentation on Abuse Recidivism in Domain Registrations, a report on the recommendations [PDF, 92 KB] from the ICANN Expert Working Group on Whois, and a progress report on the IETF working group that is developing a successor Whois protocol (WEIRDS).

Registration and further information can be found here.

16 August 2013

The ICANN Board New gTLD Program Committee (NGPC) met on 13 August 2013 to begin consideration of the GAC's further advice regarding new gTLD applications in the GAC Durban Communiqué [PDF, 103 KB], issued on 18 July 2013.

The NGPC is developing a GAC scorecard similar to the one used to address the Beijing Advice as well as during the GAC and the Board meetings in Brussels on 28 February and 1 March 2011.

Each GAC scorecard item will be noted with a "1A", "1B", or "2":

• "1A" indicates that the NGPC's proposed position is consistent with GAC advice as described in the Scorecard.
• "1B" indicates that the NGPC's proposed position is consistent with GAC advice as described in the Scorecard in principle, with some revisions to be made.
• "2" indicates that the NGPC's current position is not consistent with GAC advice as described in the Scorecard, and further discussion with the GAC is required following relevant procedures in the ICANN Bylaws.

The Durban scorecard is not yet finalized and, with respect to some of the items, cannot be finalized until after the review of applicant responses due on 23 August 2013.

At its most recent meeting, the NGPC also adopted resolutions prohibiting Dotless Domains in new gTLDs and adopting the BGC's Recommendation to deny Reconsideration Request 13-4.

The NGPC will next meet on or about 10 September 2013 and will provide a further update following that meeting.

The New gTLD evaluation and objection processes remain on track while the NGPC continues its deliberations on GAC Advice. The NGPC is prioritizing its work in order to allow the greatest number of applications to move forward as soon as possible. We will continue to provide updates on the NGPC's progress in responding to the GAC Beijing and Durban Advice.

16 August 2013

Volunteer applications due by 1 October 2013

Overview

In line with the Affirmation of Commitments (AoC) requirements, and as directed by the ICANN Board, ICANN invites interested individuals to apply for volunteer Review Team Member positions – either in representation of a Supporting Organization or Advisory Committee, or as an Independent Expert – to serve on the Competition, Consumer Trust and Consumer Choice Review Team (CCT-RT). The Review Team will work in two phases:

• Phase One will occur as soon as the Review Team is appointed, and involves evaluating various metrics to be collected by ICANN as proposed by the GNSO Council, ALAC, and others, as appropriate, and developing recommendations for the set of metrics to be collected by ICANN in preparation for the upcoming review of the New gTLDs, as described in Phase Two.
• Phase Two will occur after new gTLDs have been in operation for one year, and involves examining data to assess the extent to which the introduction or expansion of gTLDs has promoted competition, consumer trust, and consumer choice. Additionally, the Review Team will evaluate the effectiveness of the application and evaluation process, as well as the safeguards put in place by ICANN to mitigate issues involved in the introduction or expansion of new gTLDs.
• Once the proposed metrics are delivered to the Board at the conclusion of Phase One, the Review Team's work will be suspended until the new gTLDs have been in operation for one year. In the interim, ICANN will develop the systems and collect the metrics approved through this process.
• The composition of the Review Team will be confirmed at the start of Phase Two, but is expected to comprise the same members from Phase One. Because of the phased approach and the extended duration of the work for this review, Review Team members may be replaced as appropriate.

Candidatures are to be submitted to rtcandidatures@icann.org by 1 October 2013 – 23:59 UTC.

Schedule for Phase One Announcement and call for volunteers 16 August 2013 Applications due 1 October 2013 SO/AC endorsement of applicants due 4 November 2013 Announcement of Team members 22 November 2013 Phase 1 project kick-off December 2013/January 2014 Submission of recommended metrics (estimated) July 2014 Tentative Schedule for Phase Two 1 Phase Two project kick-off ICANN 51 Meeting (October 2014) Review Team work and submission of Initial Report (estimated) October 2014 – ICANN 52 Meeting (June 2015) Final Report submitted (estimated) September 2015

Please read the detailed Call for Applicants for more information and details on the application procedure and the CCT-RT mandate.

1 Due to uncertainty about the timing of when new gTLDs will be operational and the availability of the data needed to perform the review, these dates are estimates.

12 August 2013

35 fellows from 26 countries have been selected to participate in ICANN's Fellowship program at the 48th Public Meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 17-21 November 2013. Twelve of the fellows are alumni from at least one of the past 19 programs, 15 are first-time attendees to an ICANN meeting, and 8 have attended meetings in past but are fellows for the first time. The fellows represent all sectors of society including civil, government, academia, business, not-for-profit and user groups. The country code supporting groups are also represented.

Here is the list of selected fellows:

• Adrian Quesada Rodriguez – Costa Rica – Academic
• Ahmed Bakhat Masood – Pakistan – Gov't
• Ali Almeshal – Bahrain – Civil
• Andreas Sifiso Diamini – Swaziland – Gov't
• Ann Ibrahim – Egypt – Gov't
• Beatriz Rodriguez – Uruguay –  Academic
• Bikram Shrestha – Nepal – Not For Profit
• Bryton Focus – United Republic of Tanzania – Not For Profit
• Claudia Giuliana Silva Jauregui – Peru – Gov't
• Craig Nesty – Dominica –  Business
• Edwin Opare – Ghana – Gov't
• Emani Fakaotimanava-Lui – Niue – Not For Profit
• Hassan Zaheer – Pakistan – Business
• Hossam Hassan – Egypt – Business
• Hugo Alexander Cuenca Espinosa – Ecuador – Academic
• Kinfemicheal Yilma Desta – Ethiopia – Academic
• Leon Felipe Sanchez Ambia – Mexico – Academic
• Lianna Galstyan – Armenia – Not For Profit
• Maria Sofia Zerbino Rachetti – Uruguay – Not For Profit
• Marilia Maciel – Brazil – Academic
• Mauricio Oviedo Calderon – Costa Rica – Not For Profit
• Mohamed Adas – West Bank and Gaza – End User
• Mohamed Elshaikh – Sudan – Academic
• Natalie Rose – Jamaica – Academic
• Noha Fathy – Egypt – Not For Profit
• Ping Yang – People's Republic of China – End User
• Roxana Radu – Romania – Academic
• Samson Yoseph Esayas – Ethiopia – Academic
• Sequera Maricarmen – Paraguay – End User
• Shahzad Ahmad – Pakistan – Not For Profit
• Victoria Rosca – Moldova – Gov't
• Vivek Goyal – India – Business
• Walid Al-Saqaf – Yemen – Academic
• Yusif Amadu – Ghana – Academic
• Zheng Wang – People's Republic of China – Academic

ICANN received 132 fellowship applications for the Buenos Aires meeting. Applications for each meeting are assessed by an independent selection committee. Priority is given to applicants who meet minimum program requirements, are current residents of developing and least developed nations in the five ICANN regions, and who are interested in participating in ICANN and its supporting organizations, advisory committees or stakeholder groups.

Click here to find out more about the fellowship program and how to apply: http://www.icann.org/en/about/participate/fellowships

8 August 2013

ICANN has embarked on an effort to reinvent today's WHOIS system. Be part of the solution and join the discussion online.

FAQs Share Your Thoughts

At the request of ICANN Community Members, the Expert Working Group on gTLD Directory Services has extended its open consultation period until 6 September 2013 – 23:59 UTC in order to provide the Community with additional time to comment on the proposed model and recommendations.

Please note that the EWG is meeting in late August to begin revising the initial report [PDF, 1.7 MB]. Comments received by 23 August 2013 – 23:59 UTC will be most useful.

The Community is also invited to read the Expert Working Group on gTLD Directory Services' frequently asked questions which the EWG developed and assembled in Durban to help answer commonly asked questions regarding the EWG's draft recommendations.

Where may I submit my comments?

There are different avenues through which you may submit comments:

• Online questionaire – To help focus attention, the EWG requests your feedback on a set of questions but welcomes comments on any aspect of the Initial Report.
• Public Email address: input-to-ewg@icann.org

Input is publicly archived. To read the responses and input received to date, please refer to: http://www.icann.org/en/groups/other/gtld-directory-services/share-24jun13-en.htm

Background

ICANN has embarked on an effort to reinvent today's WHOIS system. A significant milestone was reached on 24 June 2013 with the publication of the Expert Working Group on gTLD Directory Services (EWG)'s initial report for community input and comment. The initial report [PDF, 1.7 MB] proposes a paradigm shift – a new system in which gTLD registration data is collected, validated and disclosed for permissible purposes only, with some data elements being accessible only to authenticated requestors that are then held accountable for appropriate use. The EWG has identified the design features and principles that they believe are essential in this new system, and a proposed Model for the next generation data directory services to replace WHOIS.

What's Next?

The Expert Working Group on gTLD Directory Services aims to publish its final report in October for discussion at the Buenos Aires meeting and is scheduled to meet in-person in Washington, DC in late August 2013. The suggested model will be submitted to ICANN's CEO and Board when the work is concluded. The output will feed into a Board-initiated GNSO policy development process to serve as a foundation for the GNSO's creation of new consensus policy, and contractual negotiations, as appropriate.

More Information

The EWG work stems from the Board's directive to redefine the purpose and provision of gTLD registration data, while balancing data accuracy and access issues with safeguards for protecting data. The EWG considered the important community work done over the last decade by the GNSO, the SSAC, the WHOIS Review Team, the GAC and others. The Initial Report [PDF, 1.7 MB] reflects the EWG's consensus view of the design principles and features needed for a new system. The proposed Model highlights how these design principles and features could be fulfilled in the ICANN domain ecosystem.

For more information, please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions prepared by the EWG related to its Initial Report.

Initial Report Executive Summary

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• Español [PDF, 249 KB]
• English [PDF, 232 KB]
• Français [PDF, 235 KB]
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Initial Report

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• Español [PDF, 1.13 MB]
• English [PDF, 1.7 MB]
• Français [PDF, 1.18 MB]
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Consultation Archives

• A webinar on Monday, 8 July – webinar archives
• A consultation in Durban on Monday, 15 July – session archives.

To view the Expert Working Group's activities, please refer to the EWG wiki.

6 August 2013 Forum Announcement: Comment Period Opens on Date: 6 August 2013 Categories/Tags:

• Top-Level Domains
• Intellectual Property
• Contracted Party Agreements

Purpose (Brief): The operational requirements for implementation of the Sunrise and Trademark Claims processes in new gTLDs, and a set of community-proposed revisions, are being posted for comment to give an opportunity for the community to review and provide feedback on these requirements. Public Comment Box Link: http://www.icann.org/en/news/public-comment/rpm-requirements-06aug13-en.htm

5 August 2013

As directed by the ICANN Board of Directors on 18 May 2013, ICANN commissioned and today releases the results of a study that considers the likelihood and impact of name space collisions between applied-for new gTLD strings and non-delegated TLDs. Additionally, the study also reviewed the possibility of collisions arising from the use of X.509 digital certificates.

Background: In a study published in January 2013, ICANN's Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC) identified fact that some certificate authorities issue X.509 certificates for domain names that are not resolvable in the public DNS. Such issues identified in SAC 057, as well as in SAC 045, are symptoms of entities that have local environments that include strong assumptions about the number of top-level domains and/or have introduced local top-level domains in private namespaces that may conflict with names yet to be allocated. These private namespaces sometimes "leak" into the public DNS (either through misconfiguration or the use of old software), meaning that requests for resources on private networks could end up querying the public-facing DNS Root Servers and hence "colliding" with the delegated new gTLD.

The Study: On 18 May 2013, the ICANN Board approved a resolution calling for a detailed study of the name collision issue. ICANN contracted with Interisle Consulting Group, LLC to collect and analyze the necessary data on all applied-for strings.

The resulting study, Name Collision in the DNS [PDF, 3.34 MB], identifies three categories of strings by the potential risk of name space collision:

• Low Risk: 80% of applied-for strings.
• Uncalculated Risk: 20% of applied-for strings.
• High Risk: 2 strings (.home, .corp).

To minimize the likelihood of any impact, ICANN proposes to the community several mitigation measures to be taken as described in an accompanying staff recommendation paper, New gTLD Collision Risk Management [PDF, 166 KB]. They include:

• Proceeding with contracting and delegation of those strings categorized as "low risk" (80%) but recommending additional mitigation measures which should not materially impact their timeline for delegation.
• Conducting further study on those strings categorized as "uncalculated risk" (20%) anticipated to take 3-6 months to complete.
• Delaying contracting and delegation of the two "high risk" strings until mitigation efforts can place them in the "low risk" category.

New gTLD Security and Stability: Throughout the development of the New gTLD program, the security and stability of the Domain Name System has remained the paramount concern of the ICANN community. ICANN staff has prepared an information sheet, Secure and Stable Introduction of new gTLDs [PDF, 102 KB], that describes the measures ICANN has taken to ensure the introduction of new gTLDs will not jeopardize that commitment.

Public Comment: At this time, the mitigation steps outlined in the staff recommendation paper are proposals only and community input is strongly suggested. As a result, ICANN has opened a formal process for soliciting public comment. The form for submitting public comment and the calendar for doing so is available here.

Coordinated Vulnerability Disclosure Process: ICANN takes this opportunity to inform the community that it has updated its risk management procedures for improved reporting and response to any unforeseen issues arising from the delegation of new gTLDs. Members of the community are urged to familiarize themselves with the process available for review here [PDF, 628 KB].

5 August 2013 Forum Announcement: Comment Period Opens on Date: 5 August 2013 Categories/Tags:

• Top-Level Domains
• Security/Stability

Purpose (Brief): To solicit community comment on proposed efforts to mitigate potential impact resulting from name collisions as New gTLDs are delegated into the root zone. Public Comment Box Link: http://www.icann.org/en/news/public-comment/name-collision-05aug13-en.htm

5 August 2013

ICANN is pleased to announce the publication of the Dotless Domain Name Security and Stability Study Report [PDF, 1.02 MB] by IT Security firm, Carve Systems LLC (Carve Systems).

Dotless domain names are those that consist of a single label (e.g., http://example, or mail@example). Dotless names would require the inclusion of, for example, an A, AAAA, or MX, record in the apex of a TLD zone in the DNS (i.e., the record relates to the TLD-string itself).

Background

On 23 February 2012, the ICANN Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC) published SAC 053: SSAC Report on Dotless Domains [PDF, 182 KB]. In this report, the SSAC stated that dotless domains would not be universally reachable and recommended strongly against their use. As a result, the SSAC recommended that the use of DNS resource records such as A, AAAA, and MX in the apex of a Top-Level Domain (TLD) should be contractually prohibited where appropriate, and strongly discouraged in all cases.

On 23 June 2012, the ICANN Board adopted resolution 2012.06.23.09 tasking ICANN to consult with the relevant communities regarding implementation of the recommendations in SAC053.

On 24 August 2012, ICANN staff published the SAC053 Report for public comment requesting input to consider in relation to implementing the recommendations of the SSAC report. Public Comment period was closed on 5 November 2012.

On 27 November 2012 the staff posted a report of the public comments [PDF, 137 KB] that showed a substantial number of comments both in favor of adopting the SSAC recommendations as well in opposition to the recommendations.

In May of 2013 ICANN commissioned a study [PDF, 85 KB] on the stability and security implications of dotless domain name functionality to help ICANN prepare an Implementation plan for the SAC053 recommendations.

On 10 July 2013 the Internet Architecture Board (IAB) released a statement on dotless domain names, recommending against the use of dotless domain names for TLDs.

On 29 July 2013 Carve Systems delivered their report to ICANN. Consistent with the SSAC report, the Carve Systems report identifies security and stability issues that require mitigation before gTLDs can safely implement dotless domain names. The Carve Systems report identifies several risks, ten (10) of which are considered key risks that dotless domain names pose.

Current Status

Consistent with SSAC’s SAC 053 recommendation, a contracted gTLD wishing to operate as dotless domain name must submit a proposal to be evaluated as part of the standard Registry Services Evaluation Process (RSEP).

Similarly, section 2.2.3.3 of the Applicant Guidebook (AGB) prohibits the use of dotless domain names prior to approval by ICANN, stating that the only permissible DNS Resource Records for the apex in a TLD zone are: Start of Authority (SOA), Name Server (NS), and related DNSSEC records. The same section also states: "An applicant wishing to place any other record types into its TLD zone should describe in detail its proposal in the registry services section of the application. This will be evaluated and could result in an extended evaluation to determine whether the service would create a risk of a meaningful adverse impact on security or stability of the DNS."

The ICANN Board New gTLD Program Committee (NGPC) will consider dotless domain names and an appropriate risk mitigation approach at its upcoming meeting in August.

Acknowledgements

ICANN wishes to thank the SSAC for their efforts in identifying and explaining the issues, and the community for their participation in the public comment process.

2 August 2013 Forum Announcement: Comment Period Opens on Date: 2 August 2013 Categories/Tags:

• Policy Processes
• Contracted Party Agreements

Purpose (Brief): Obtain community input on the Locking of a Domain Name subject to UDRP Proceedings Policy Development Process recommendations adopted by the GNSO Council prior to ICANN Board consideration. The recommendations are intended to clarify and standardize the process for locking of a domain name subject to UDRP Proceedings. Public Comment Box Link: http://www.icann.org/en/news/public-comment/locking-domain-name-recommendations-02aug13-en.htm

31 July 2013 Purpose

This advisory is intended to help registrars understand which Whois fields must be populated pursuant to the 2013 Registrar Accreditation Agreement immediately upon their signing of the agreement and which are not required until 1 January 2014.

Background

The 2013 Registrar Accreditation Agreement ("RAA"), like earlier forms of the registrar accreditation agreement, requires registrars to operate web-based and port 43 Whois services that provide public access to certain enumerated registration data fields. Section 3.3.1 of the RAA specifies required data fields, such as the name and address of the registered name holder, and name, address, email address, and phone number of the administration and technical contacts for each domain name (among other required data elements). 

The 2013 RAA, unlike previous versions of the registrar accreditation agreement, also includes a Registration Data Directory Service (Whois) Specification which, among other things, describes a mandatory format registrars must use when publishing Whois data. This format includes a number of fields that were not required by earlier versions of the RAA. As examples, the Registration Data Directory Service (Whois) Specification requires registrars to include in their Whois output the email address and telephone number of the registrar's abuse point of contact as well as the IDs or handles used by the registry to identify the domain name and its contacts.

Because the 2013 RAA includes a number of new operational responsibilities for registrars that could reasonably take weeks or months to implement, the agreement also incorporates a Transition Addendum. The Transition Addendum describes a number of obligations for which ICANN will not require registrar compliance until 1 January 2014. By way of example, registrars are not required to fully implement an abuse point-of-contact (see section 3.18 of the RAA) until 1 January 2014.

Some registrars have asked ICANN to clarify whether they must immediately begin populating Whois data with fields, such as the abuse point-of-contact email address and telephone number, even though they are not yet required to comply with the underlying obligation.

Required Whois Fields

The Transition Addendum to the RAA explicitly references a list of RAA provisions for which registrar compliance is not required until 1 January 2014. The Registration Data Directory Service (Whois) Specification is not included within that list of provisions. Accordingly, registrars are immediately required to comply with obligations described in that specification, including the obligation to format Whois data as defined in the specification. Registrars are not, however, required to include in their Whois output, data elements that don't yet exist or are not already in the registrar's possession. This includes reference to the items for which compliance is not yet required.

To be clear, registrars who are subject to the 2013 RAA must continue to include all of the fields described in section 3.3.1 of the RAA in their Whois output and the data elements they have within their possession. Registrars are not, however, required to include the following fields in their Whois output until 1 January 2014 (although registrars may, and are encouraged to, comply earlier):

Registry Domain ID
Registrar Abuse Contact Email
Registrar Abuse Contact Phone
Domain Status
Registry Registrant ID
Registrant Phone
Registrant Phone Ext
Registrant Fax
Registrant Fax Ext
Registrant Email:
Registry Admin ID
Registry Tech ID
DNSSEC
Last update of WHOIS database

26 July 2013 Forum Announcement: Comment Period Opens on Date: 26 July 2013 Categories/Tags: Contracted Party Agreements Purpose (Brief):

Afilias Limited requests the removal of the cross-ownership restrictions reflected on the .PRO Registry Agreement dated 22 April 2010.

See: http://www.icann.org/en/about/agreements/registries/pro

This request is submitted according to the "Process for Handling Requests for Removal of Cross-Ownership Restrictions on Operators of Existing gTLDs" adopted by the Board on 18 October 2012. See: http://www.icann.org/en/resources/registries/removal-cross-ownership.

According to the approved process, in order to lift cross-ownership restrictions, existing gTLD registry operators could either request an amendment to their existing Registry Agreement to remove the cross-ownership restrictions or request to transition to the new form of Registry Agreement for new gTLDs. Any proposed material amendments to gTLD registry agreements would be subject to public comment prior to ICANN approval.

The proposed Afilias Limited amendment to can be found here [PDF, 48 KB]. The redlined agreement can be downloaded here [PDF, 94 KB].

Public Comment Box Link: http://www.icann.org/en/news/public-comment/pro-xo-removal-26jul13-en.htm

26 July 2013 Forum Announcement: Comment Period Opens on Date: 26 July 2013 Categories/Tags: Contracted Party Agreements Purpose (Brief):

Afilias Limited requests the removal of the cross-ownership restrictions reflected on the .MOBI Registry Agreement dated 10 July 2005.

See: http://www.icann.org/en/about/agreements/registries/mobi

This request is submitted according to the "Process for Handling Requests for Removal of Cross-Ownership Restrictions on Operators of Existing gTLDs" adopted by the Board on 18 October 2012. See: http://www.icann.org/en/resources/registries/removal-cross-ownership.

According to the approved process, in order to lift cross-ownership restrictions, existing gTLD registry operators could either request an amendment to their existing Registry Agreement to remove the cross-ownership restrictions or request to transition to the new form of Registry Agreement for new gTLDs. Any proposed material amendments to gTLD registry agreements would be subject to public comment prior to ICANN approval.

The proposed Afilias Limited amendment to can be found here [PDF, 51 KB]. The redlined agreement can be downloaded here [PDF, 248 KB].

Public Comment Box Link: http://www.icann.org/en/news/public-comment/mobi-xo-removal-26jul13-en.htm

18 July 2013

The Governmental Advisory Committee meeting at ICANN 47 in Durban, South Africa has issued its Durban Communique’. It is available for review at http://durban47.icann.org/meetings/durban2013/presentation-gac-communique-18jul13-en.pdf [PDF, 111 KB].

15 July 2013 Forum Announcement: Comment Period Opens on Date: 15 July 2013 Categories/Tags:

• Reviews/Improvements
• Structural Improvements Committee (SIC)
• Bylaws
• GNSO
• Organizational Reviews

Purpose (Brief): The Board Structural Improvements Committee (SIC) is considering recommending to the ICANN Board of Directors that the review of the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO), which is mandated by ICANN Bylaws Article IV, Section 4, be postponed and that a new schedule for the review be established within the next 6 months. The SIC seeks comments from the ICANN Community to better form its recommendation or to reconsider its recommendation. Public Comment Box Link: http://www.icann.org/en/news/public-comment/gnso-review-15jul13-en.htm