Reconsideration Request 01-1 Received: 5 January 2001

BELTRAIDE
Belize Trade and Investment Development Service
#14 Orchid Garden St. * Belmopan, Belize
Tel: (501) 8-23737/20178/20177
Fax: (501) 8-20595
Email: beltraide@belize.gov.bz

Date:	January 5, 2001
To:	Chairman Reconsideration Committee Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers Authority (ICANN) 4676 Admiralty Way, Suite 330 Marina del Rey, CA 90292 Tel: 1-310-823-9358 Fax: 1-310-823-8649 Email: reconsider@icann.org
From:	Amb. Eamon Courtenay Executive Chariman Belize Trade and Investment Development Service (BELTRAIDE) #14 Orchid Garden Street Belmopan, Belize Tel: (501)-8-23737/20175/20177 Fax: (501)-8-20595 Email: beltraide@belize.gov.bz
Subject:	.bz-Country Code Top Level Domain

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) issued a press release on the 16th November 2000 on their web site announcing the selection of seven registry operators for new TLDs. "The applications selected for further negotiation are the following:

• .aero - Societe Internationale de Telecommunications Aeronautiques SC, (SITA)
• .biz - JVTeam, LLC
• .coop - National Cooperative Business Association, (NCBA)
• .info - Afilias, LLC
• .museum - Museum Domain Management Association, (MDMA)
• .name - Global Name Registry, LTD
• .pro - Registry Pro, LTD

The ICANN staff will now work through the end of the year to negotiate registry agreements with the applicants selected. The proposed schedule for completion of negotiations was December 31, 2000. The negotiated registry agreements must then be approved by the board of directors. Following that approval, the ICANN board will forward its recommendations to the U.S. Department of Commerce for implementation."

BELTRAIDE, on behalf of the Government of Belize (G.O.B), is hereby formally requesting that the Reconsideration Committee review ICANN's decision to issue .biz as a new generic top-level domain (TLD) for operation by the company JVTeam L.L.C. Belize views ICANN's actions in a manner directly contrary to its own published standards for the selection of new TLDs. ICANN's criteria for assessing TLD proposals clearly state that gTLDs that would cause confusion with existing TLDs having similar pronunciations or meanings should be avoided. The creation of a new .biz registry clearly amounts to the creation of a new TLD that is matching in pronunciation and meaning to the present .bz TLD assigned to the country of Belize. Furthermore, confusion between the two TLDs is certain to occur in the promotion and advertising of the proposed .biz TLD and existing .bz TLD. Both TLDs are identically pronounced as "DOT BIZ" and both will be marketed to the same potential customers.

Belize recognizes the possible economic opportunity in marketing and promoting its country code (.bz) as a TLD for "business" on the Internet. Belize with its uniquely good fortune of having a country code (.bz) that enjoys distinct marketability can be marketed successfully as done by other nations throughout the world.

Belize proposes to register domain names and operate the .bz registry as a home business on the Internet. We fell that Belize's potential for economic benefit from .bz will be substantially affected by the issuance of a .biz TLD. Belize is entitled to the free and unencumbered use of its marketplace opportunity and any attempt to use .bz in any of its natural forms (phonetic pronunciation "DOT BIZ") can be viewed as a contravention on Belize's property rights. Therefore, BELTRAIDE is strenuously requesting that the Reconsideration Committee rescind the decision of ICANN to issue .biz as a new generic TLD for operation by the company JVTeam L.L.C.

Respectfully,

Amb. Eamon Courtenay
Executive Chairman
BELTRAIDE