[wg-c] Position paper: Commentary on three points.

[Joseph Friedman <josephf@touro.edu>]

I would like to comment on three (separate but somewhat related) points.

1) General-purpose TLDs versus Specific-purpose TLDs.

All new gTLDs should be declared at the time when their initiated whether 
its a general-purpose TLD or a limited-purpose TLD.  All general-purpose 
TLDs would be a shared registry, where any ICANN certified registrar would 
be able to register in it.

ICANN should insure any 'general' word is used as a general-purpose TLD 
rather than a specific-purpose TLD.  (i.e. .corp, .inc, .per, etc.)  This 
will insure that no registry has unrestricted control over a name that 
would be popular with many users.  Registries will by definition have 
greater control over specific-purpose TLDs than they would over 
general-purpose TLDs. (TLDs declared to be general-purpose would be 
available to any ICANN registrar to register in.)

When still in the "testbed" period of adding new gTLDs only general-purpose 
TLDs should be added to the root.  Specific-purpose TLDs would come after 
the testbed period is complete.

2) ICANN as registry.

ICANN should be the registry for all new general-purpose TLDs.  There is no 
reason that ICANN needs to contract out the technical function of operating 
a registry for these TLDs.  It essentially is the same functional task as 
operating the root.  (In fact all the gTLDs SLDs, until very recently, 
where in the root server.)

There would of course be many specific-purpose TLD registries.

3) Registry contract.

Registry contracts with ICANN should not be perpetual.  They should be 
renewable contracts with a set time-frame.  When a registry contract 
expires ICANN must have the ability to re-bid it.

ICANN must, by contractual agreement, maintain an escrow of all 
registration data including the owner, administrative contacts, technical 
contacts, and billing contacts of registered domain names.  This is in case 
a registry terminates functioning at any point, for any reason.

Provisions in the contract must allow ICANN to terminate a registries 
authority if it violates its provisions.

--Joseph