Whereas, on 25 May
2001 ICANN entered into a new registry agreement with VeriSign, Inc. for the .org top-level
domain;
Whereas, under that
agreement VeriSign's operation of the .org top-level domain will terminate on
31 December 2002, at which time the operation will be turned over to an entity
designated by ICANN;
Whereas, before the
transition to operation of the .org top-level domain by the new entity can
occur, it will be necessary to designate or establish an appropriate entity,
to fashion its legal relationship with ICANN, to develop any necessary
policies for the entity's operation, and to allow the entity to set up its
business operations;
Whereas, it is the Board's
goal that these activities be completed in an orderly manner and in time to
permit transfer of operational responsibilities for .org on the contracted
schedule;
Whereas, meeting this goal
will require early planning and policy development;
Whereas, the Board
considers that the designation of a successor registry for the .org top-level
domain involves policy issues concerning the domain-name system that should be
referred to the Domain Name Supporting Organization for its consideration and
recommendations;
Whereas, under
Subsection 5.1.4 of the current .org registry agreement VeriSign must contribute a US$ 5,000,000 endowment to be used to fund
future operating costs of a non-profit entity, if one is designated by ICANN
as successor operator;
Whereas, the Board notes
that the availability of this endowment should be considered in developing
policy for the future operation of the .org top-level domain;
Whereas, the Board urges
that consideration be given to the positive effects on stability of assuring
the ability of present registrants to continue their registrations;
Resolved [01.71] that the Board refers to the Names Council for its
consideration the issues raised by the scheduled transition of the operation
of the .org top-level domain from VeriSign to a new entity, including at
least:
(a) whether to select an
existing entity to succeed VeriSign as responsible for operation of the .org
TLD, or to establish a new entity;
(b) the characteristics
of the entity to be selected or established;
(c) selection criteria
for the entity or its organizers;
(d) principles governing
its relationship with ICANN (sponsored or unsponsored TLD, term of
operation, etc.); and
(e) policies for the
entity's operation of the .org top-level domain (to the extent they are not
to be established by the entity).
Further resolved [01.72] that the Names Council is requested to provide
a report on its progress on the issues referred by resolution 01.71, including
any policy recommendations it has developed, no later than 12 October 2001;
and
Further resolved [01.73] that the report will then be posted for public
comment in advance of ICANN's third annual meeting in November
2001.