[ga] VeriSign Contract Breach?

[Danny Younger <dannyyounger@xxxxxxxxx>]

Dear Vint, Paul and John:

I call your attention to the following clause in the
VeriSign Registry Agreement:

25. Procedure for Subsequent Agreement.  A. Registry
Operator may, no earlier than twenty-four and no later
than eighteen months prior to the Expiration Date,
submit a written proposal to ICANN for the extension
of this Agreement for an additional term of four years
(the "Renewal Proposal"). The Renewal Proposal shall
contain a detailed report of the Registry Operator's
operation of the Registry TLD and include a
description of any additional Registry Services,
proposed improvements to Registry Services, or changes
in price or other terms of service.

I further direct your attention to the 10 January 2006
ICANN Board Resolution:  

"Resolved (06.02), the President and the General
Counsel are authorized to continue negotiations with
any such registry operator (s) in accordance with
existing contractual terms, and are authorized to
extend the relevant renewal process deadlines as
necessary and appropriate for up to six full months,
while discussions continue."

To date I have not seen the publication of the
VeriSign Renewal Proposal (nor for that matter the
Renewal Proposals of the sponsoring organizations for
.info, .org and .biz).  It may be that ICANN is in
possession of these documents and hasn't yet made them
public, or it may be that VeriSign is in breach of
contract, or it may be the case that ICANN has
provided VeriSign with a waiver, or it may be that I
have failed to grasp a particular legal nuance.

I seek an assessment of the situation in view of the
fact that we are now beyond the six month window
provided by the Board Resolution and the registry
operators of .info, .biz and .org have yet to tender
their own Renewal Proposals -- this delay most likely
being prompted by the view that if the dominant
monopolist registry has been given a waiver, then they
too are to be accorded a waiver in light of the
Non-Discriminatory Treatment Clause within the ICANN
bylaws.

An ICANN advisory on this topic would serve the public
interest.  There remains value in a public scrutiny of
Renewal Proposals as it helps the community advise the
Board as to whether a renewal is justified or whether
a competitive re-bid should be pursued.

I look forward to your consideration of this matter.

Best wishes,
Danny Younger

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