RE: [council] re proposed resolution for issues report on deleted names
Hello All,
I recommend de-coupling the "selling" of names in the secondary market,
from registration of domain name agreements at the registry.
Being more specific, when names are "sold", the name itself is not being
sold. The registrant does not "own" a domain name. What is being sold
is a right-to-use a name for a specific period. This right is expressed
via a registration agreement between the registrant and the registrar.
The term of that right and the associated name is recorded in the
registry (in a thick registry the holder of that right is also
recorded), along with the registrar responsible for that record. When a
registrant sells a name to another registrant, they are transferring the
registration agreement. To continue to hold that right, the current
registrant must renew the agreement with the registrar, and the
registrar records that renewal in the registry.
The "primary" market could be described as the transactions between the
registrar and the registry, on behalf of registrants. The "secondary"
market could be described as transactions between registrants (often
facilitated by a registrar or other third party organisations).
Generally the market has already developed many models for facilitating
transactions between registrants in the secondary market, and I don't
believe that this is an issue requiring input from the GNSO.
The issue that was discussed in the workshop in Cape Town was
specifically dealing with the stability issues associated with multiple
registrars contending for a name that has value well above the typical
registry fee charged to the registrar. This contention can occur when
a new names are released when a new gtld is created, and also when a
name becomes available after the previous registrant ceases their
agreement. The secondary market is relevant only in that it is able to
provide a measure of the market value of a particular domain name
agreement.
Thus I recommend re-wording the resolution proposed by Philip Sheppard
to:
Draft resolution
Whereas the high demand amongst registrars on behalf of their
registrants to register specific domain names that become available for
re-registration at the registry has lead to unforeseen strains on the
ability of registries and registrars to manage their business
efficiently,
Whereas this affects the service level that registrars can
provide to their customers and the meaning of ICANN accredited as it
applies to registrars,
Council resolves,
to request the ICANN staff manager to write an issues report (as
specified in annex A to the ICANN by-laws) on the "Problems caused by
contention for domain names made available by a gTLD registry ", so that
Council can subsequently decide if a policy development process would be
appropriate.