[council] Public Comment:Proposed Renewal of .ORG gTLD Registry Agreement

[Glen de Saint Géry <Glen@xxxxxxxxx>]

http://www.icann.org/en/news/public-comment/org-renewal-21jun13-en.htm
Proposed Renewal of .ORG gTLD Registry Agreement
Comment / Reply Periods (*)
Comment Open Date: 21 June 2013
Comment Close Date: 21 July 2013 - 23:59 UTC
Reply Open Date: 22 July 2013
Reply Close Date: 12 August 2013 - 23:59 UTC
Important Information Links
Public Comment 
Announcement<http://www.icann.org/en/news/announcements/announcement-2-21jun13-en.htm>
To Submit Your Comments (Forum)<mailto:comments-org-renewal-21jun13@xxxxxxxxx>
View Comments 
Submitted<http://forum.icann.org/lists/comments-org-renewal-21jun13/>
Brief Overview
Originating Organization:
ICANN
Categories/Tags:

 *   Contracted Party Agreements
Purpose (Brief):

ICANN is posting today for public comment the proposed renewal of the 2008 .ORG 
Registry Agreement. The proposal is a result of discussions between ICANN and 
Public Interest Registry, and will be considered by ICANN after public comment.
Current Status:

Per recent amendment #5, the current agreement will expire on 31 August 2013.
Next Steps:

After review of the public comments received, ICANN will consider the proposed 
.ORG Registry Agreement for renewal.
Staff Contact:
Karla Valente
Email Staff 
Contact<mailto:karla.valente@xxxxxxxxx?subject=More%20information%20on%20the%20Proposed%20Renewal%20of%20.ORG%20gTLD%20Registry%20Agreement%20public%20comment%20period>
Detailed Information
Section I: Description, Explanation, and Purpose:

ICANN is posting today for public comment the proposed renewal of the 2008 .ORG 
Registry Agreement. The proposal is a result of discussions between ICANN and 
Public Interest Registry, and will be considered by ICANN after public comment. 
Per recent amendment #5, the current agreement will expire on 31 August 2013.

The current registry agreement for .ORG provides for presumptive renewal so 
long as certain requirements are met. The agreement also provides that upon 
renewal, changes may be made to render the terms similar to other comparable 
agreements. The proposed renewal agreement includes modified provisions to make 
the agreement in line with other comparable agreements, as well as additional 
provisions that are currently proposed in the final draft of the New gTLD 
Registry Agreement posted for public 
comment<http://www.icann.org/en/news/public-comment/base-agreement-29apr13-en.htm>.

Included in the proposed renewal agreement are the following provisions:

 *   Threats to Security and Stability: A new provision has been added to allow 
the registry operator to temporarily prevent the registration of one or more 
names in the TLD in order to respond to an imminent threat to the security 
and/or stability of the TLD or the Internet.
 *   Use of Registrars Accredited Under the 2013 RAA: A new provision is 
included to require the registry operator to amend its Registry-Registry 
Agreement to require registrars to use the 2013 RAA if registrars representing 
67% of the registrations in the TLD sign the 2013 RAA. If the remaining 
registrars do not sign the amended Registry-Registrar Agreement requiring 
registrars to become a party to the final 2013 RAA within a certain time 
period, then the registrars' access to the TLD registry system will be 
suspended (that is, those registrars will not be permitted to add new 
registrations). This requirement is dependent upon the registry operators of 
identified comparable gTLDs also submitting similar requests to amend their 
Registry-Registrar Agreements.
 *   Emergency Transition provisions: A new provision proposed in the New gTLD 
Registry Agreement is included in the renewal agreement to provide for 
emergency transition in the event the registry is unable to sustain certain 
critical registry functions for a period of time.
 *   Code of Conduct: The registry operator will be required to comply with the 
Registry Code of Conduct as proposed in the New gTLD Registry Agreement.
 *   Resolution of Disputes: The dispute resolution procedures were updated 
similar to the New gTLD Registry Agreement to require the parties to attempt to 
resolve the dispute through mediation before they may initiate arbitration.
 *   WHOIS: The WHOIS output is required to be compatible with ICANN's common 
interface for WHOIS (InterNIC), and if requested by ICANN, the registry 
operator must provide a link on its website to a webpage designed by ICANN 
containing WHOIS policy and education materials.
 *   Cross-ownership Restrictions: The renewal agreement lifts restrictions on 
cross-ownership of registry operators and registrars or registrar resellers.

Posted for public comment are both clean and "redline" versions of the 
agreement and modified appendices as follows:

 *   Proposed Renewal Registry 
Agreement<http://www.icann.org/en/about/agreements/registries/org/draft-org-agreement-21jun13-en.pdf>
 [PDF, 396 KB]
 *   Redline showing changes from current .ORG Registry 
Agreement<http://www.icann.org/en/about/agreements/registries/org/draft-org-agreement-redline-21jun13-en.pdf>
 [PDF, 444 KB]
 *   Proposed Renewal Agreement 
Appendices<http://www.icann.org/en/about/agreements/registries/org/draft-org-appendices-21jun13-en.pdf>
 [PDF, 1.09 MB]
 *   Redline showing changes from current .ORG 
Appendices<http://www.icann.org/en/about/agreements/registries/org/draft-org-appendices-redline-21jun13-en.pdf>
 [PDF, 1.18 MB]
 *   Summary of 
Changes<http://www.icann.org/en/about/agreements/registries/org/draft-org-renewal-summary-changes-21jun13-en.pdf>
 [PDF, 421 KB]

Contractual Compliance Review: As part of the renewal process, ICANN conducted 
a review of recent .ORG Registry Agreement performance. The compliance review 
covered areas including: Timeliness and Content of Monthly Reports; Add Grace 
Period Limits Policy; Bulk Zone File Requirements; and Payment of Required Fees.

The Public Interest Registry was found to be in substantial compliance with 
their contractual requirements. The assessments can be found at: 
http://www.icann.org/en/resources/compliance/reports/operator-pir-org-03jun13-en.pdf
 [PDF, 267 KB]
Section II: Background:

ICANN and Public Interest Registry entered into Registry Agreements on 8 
December 2008 for the operation of the .ORG top level domain. The current .ORG 
agreement may be viewed at: 
http://www.icann.org/en/about/agreements/registries/org
Section III: Document and Resource Links:

Current .ORG Registry Agreement and 
Appendices<http://www.icann.org/en/about/agreements/registries/org>
Section IV: Additional Information:

None

________________________________

(*) Comments submitted after the posted Close Date/Time are not guaranteed to 
be considered in any final summary, analysis, reporting, or decision-making 
that takes place once this period lapses.

Glen de Saint Géry
GNSO Secretariat
gnso.secretariat@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:gnso.secretariat@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
http://gnso.icann.org<http://gnso.icann.org/>