[wg-b] Protections for Noncommercial gTLDs.

[KathrynKL@aol.com]

To WG-B: 
I am very concerned that under proposals being circulated and discussed on 
this list, the future Noncommercial gTLDs and their domain names will wind up 
being limited and hurt.  In no way should Noncommercial gTLDs be second-class 
citizens of our new gTLD system.  To maintain the equality of Noncommercial 
gTLDs with commercial gTLDs, I have proposed some criteria below for 
evaluating and protecting Noncommercial gTLDs.

- Kathryn Kleiman, 
Director, ACM's Internet Governance Project 
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Introduction:
We need some principles and criteria to ensure the equality of Noncommercial 
with commercial gTLDs.  I offer the following four criteria to help ICANN and 
the Internet community understand when a Noncommercial gTLD is being proposed 
and what protections it offers its domain name holders: 

1)      The noncommercial gTLD is proposed by a registry should be accepted 
as a    noncommercial gTLD provided it does not seem outrageous on its face 
[.BIZ seems     commercial on its face and could be questioned.  .UNION, if 
proposed as     noncommercial, appears to be noncommercial and has no basis 
for being questioned.]

2)      The Registry agrees that there will be no greater scrutiny of 
noncommercial use of    gTLD domain names than commercial use of gTLD domain 
names and that the same     principles regarding protection of domain names 
within commercial gTLDs will apply  within Noncommercial gTLDs. 

    [For example, both chartered and unchartered (undifferentiated) gTLDs 
must be     allowed to exist for Noncommercial gTLDs, and domain name holders 
must be     protected in Noncommercial gTLDs just as they would be protected 
in commercial   gTLDs.] 
 
3)  Provided the gTLD is meeting its goal of serving organizations and/or 
individuals     engaged in noncommercial speech and activity, financial 
activity in the use of the gTLD     cannot be barred or limited.  Many forms 
of noncommercial speech engage in limited   forms of financial solicitation 
-- solely as a necessary form of support for the    noncommercial speech.  By 
law, solicitation of these funds does not change the    underlying  character 
or nature of the noncommercial activity or speech and cannot be     subject 
to  review or limitation by ICANN or the registries within the noncommercial    
gTLDs. 

    [As an example, the Noncommercial Constituency by order of ICANN is 
currently   striving to raise its share of the funds necessary to keep the GA 
and Names Council   meetings broadcast over the Internet.  It would be an 
absurd result, beyond law or    reason, to create rules that barred the NCC 
from using a domain name registered within a new Noncommercial gTLD for 
Constituency purposes including this required   fundraising. 

4)  The Registry agrees that trademark protections incorporated now or in the 
future to   commercial gTLDs do not apply to its Noncommercial gTLDs.  [This 
criteria is     consistent with the law and the limits of trademark 
protection. I can certainly use     APPLE and UNO in noncommercial ways -- as 
they are basic dictionary words in  their languages -- without fear or 
limitation from trademark law]

Conclusion:  Lack of public accessibility and awareness, as well as the ICANN 
Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy and US  Anticybersquatting Legislation,  
will provide strong and effective community and legal enforcement mechanisms 
to shut down inappropriate commercial activity that may migrate to the 
noncommercial gTLDs.  Noncommercial speech preceded commercial speech to the 
Internet, and is likely to remain there long after commercial speech has 
migrated to whatever new medium of communication comes along.   Therefore, 
Noncommercial gTLDs must be equal to commercial gTLDs in every way.