[wg-c] Re: [wg-c-1] WORK: Question #1 New GTLDs

[Milton Mueller <mueller@syr.edu>]

Craig Simon wrote:

> Is there anything preventing ICANN from managing or controlling gTLDs?

Yes, there is. ICANN's bylaws. Article IV 1 (b)"The Corporation shall not act
as a Domain Name System Registry or Registrar or Internet Protocol Address
Registry in competition with entities affected by the policies of the
Corporation."

One of the things everyone seems to forget in this discussion of the
feasibility of rights claims to TLDs is that virtually every ccTLD in the world
is, de facto, an exclusive registry with a strong property right in its
delegation. Shared registries are the exception, not the rule, and mostly a
very recent exception (com, net, and org have been shared for about six weeks).
I encourage anyone who thinks that registries hold their rights at the
sufference of ICANN to test that idea out on Domainz of New Zealand, for
example, and see how far you'll get. Or can someone tell me that Nominet
doesn't "own" dot UK? Just try to expropriate their TLD delegation, or to
dictate the terms of their business activities, and exactly what is your
leverage? To knock them out of the root? Sorry folks, it won't fly. It would
create an international incident and ICANN would lose in any conflict with a
legitimate, respected business whose property claims are backed by its
sovereign government.

In this respect it really doesn't matter whether the entities are non-profit or
for-profit. Non-profits have property rights, too, and cannot be expropriated
at someone's whim.

--
m i l t o n   m u e l l e r // m u e l l e r @ s y r . e d u
syracuse university          http://istweb.syr.edu/~mueller/