[council] Request for clarification from IOC-RC Drafting Team

[<Mary.Wong@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dear Councilors,
 
A question has arisen in the IOC-RC Drafting Team (DT), which as you'll recall 
was formed by the Council at the conclusion of the Dakar meeting to formulate 
an appropriate GNSO response to the GAC request of September 2011, regarding 
specific protections for the IOC and RCRC. 
 
In light of certain recent events, i.e. the April passage of a recent GNSO 
Council motion and two relevant Board resolutions, the DT requests 
clarification from the Council as to whether or not it is to continue with its 
discussions regarding second level protections for these two organizations. 
 
Since the DT is not a formal GNSO Working Group (WG), it does not have a formal 
charter that sets out clearly the scope of its work, which in any event may in 
the view of some have been superseded by these recent events anyway. While some 
in the DT believe there is no reason not to continue its deliberations for 
second level protections relating to the IOC and RCRC, others prefer that the 
Council (which was the body that formed it) provide further direction.
 
Options include disbanding the DT in light of the pending Issue Report, forming 
a WG that would supersede it, or suspend the DT's work until either the Board's 
rationale for its resolutions is available or the conclusion of the Issue 
Report process (or both).
 
Can the Council please provide some guidance on this question?
 
FYI the language of our recent motion and the Board resolutions are:
 
- The Council's recent passage of a motion to request an Issue Report on 
whether certain international organizations (to be defined/described) should be 
given additional protections at the top and second levels in the new gTLD 
program: http://gnso.icann.org/resolutions/#201204;
 
- The Board's recent resolution not to make further changes to the AGB at this 
time despite the Council's earlier passage of a motion recommending the 
adoption of the DT's proposals for additional protections for the IOC and RCRC: 
http://www.icann.org/en/groups/board/documents/resolutions-new-gtld-10apr12-en.htm
 (GNSO Council motion: http://gnso.icann.org/resolutions/#201203); and
 
- The Board's recent resolution to request a staff briefing paper on defensive 
registrations and second level protections as well as for the GNSO to consider 
whether "additional work on defensive registrations at the second level" should 
be undertaken: 
http://www.icann.org/en/groups/board/documents/resolutions-new-gtld-10apr12-en.htm.
 
Thanks and cheers
Mary
 
 
Mary W S Wong
Professor of Law
Chair, Graduate IP Programs
Director, Franklin Pierce Center for IP
UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE SCHOOL OF LAWTwo White StreetConcord, NH 
03301USAEmail: mary.wong@xxxxxxx.eduPhone: 1-603-513-5143Webpage: 
http://www.law.unh.edu/marywong/index.phpSelected writings available on the 
Social Science Research Network (SSRN) at: http://ssrn.com/author=437584