[registrars] trafficking/warehousing

[Amadeu Abril i Abril <Amadeu@nominalia.com>]

HI again.

This is also something we discussed in Santiago, and that I think
desserve lur attention.

EMany of you have also probably got some hints that some testbed
registrars, or resellers therof, are registering names on their own
(ie, acting as both registrars and registrants) and are subsequently
trying to resell those names to end users, indeed at a higher price.

This is a thoroughly disturbing behavior that ultimately will bring
reverse reputation to all of us. Not to speak about the possible
arguments it gives against the registry/multiple registrar scenario.
And most specially it risks harming the chances of a fast addition of
new gTLDs, where such behaviour would certainly be devastating.

I think that we should act practively and try to deal with this
problem before it becoms a serious issue. In the ICANN Accreditation
Agreement we have signed, you can find the following provision:

"III.I.9. Registrar shall abide by any ICANN-adopted policy prohibiting
or restricting warehousing of or speculation in domain names by registrars."

No such policy has been established so far by ICANN: My intention is
asking the Naames Council that the DNSO should propose it to the Board
in time to be adopted during the LA Meeting. 

In order to do that we don't need a full-fledged working group
procedure. A simplified drafting committeee could be enough. Such
committee shgould be comprised of a small number of people, most of
them registrars, as we are the ones facing the problem/in a better
position to understand the implications/more likely to devise the solutions..

Such policy should not be very complicated. The mat4rail provision,
prohibiting the registrars to registrer domains on their own in order
to traffick or resell them to end users, is pretty straightforward
(Lauren Gaviser made some suggestions as to possible behaviors that
should not be considered as trafficking and should be threrfore
excetptioned). The likely sanctions are also rather evient: warinings;
suspension form accessing the SRS, with possible terminations as
accredited registrar. 

The real problem is devising the implementation procedure. Who should
"review"the possible allegations. Who should "judge" such cases? The
Regaistrar Constituency? (thru a Code of Conduct; possible antitrust
impliations...); the Names Council? ICABB CoD? A special body set up
for this purpose? an arbitration authority? /perhaps using the panels
and rules we will use for domain names disputes, adapted to the cirucmstances?)....

Any volunteers?

Amadeu