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Announcement
16 July 2000
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ICANN Concludes Board Meeting
in Yokohama
Adopts Policies to Add New Top
Level Domains, Elect At Large Members for the Board of Directors
and Enhance the Stability and Security of the Root-Server System
Yokohama, Japan (July 16, 2000) - Today,
the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)
held a regular meeting of its Board of Directors. Items on the
agenda included:
- Addition of New Top Level Domains (TLDs)
- At Large Membership and Election
- Root Server System Enhancements
- Administrative and Other Matters
Complete archives of the meeting are available
at http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/icann/yokohama/
and the text of the final resolutions are posted at http://www.icann.org/minutes/prelim-report-16jul00.htm.
Highlights of the resolutions adopted by
the Board:
New Top Level Domains - The Board unanimously adopted the following
schedule for the addition of new TLDs in a measured and responsible
manner as recommended by the Domain Name Supporting Organization
(DNSO) and public comment.
- August 1, 2000 - ICANN to issue a formal
call for proposals by those seeking to sponsor or operate a new
TLD
- October 1, 2000 - Deadline for receipt
of proposals
- October 15, 2000 - Deadline for public
comments on proposals
- November 20, 2000 - ICANN to announce
selections
- December 31, 2000 - Target date for completion
of contract negotiations with those selected
Data elements to be included in proposals:
- full information about the technical,
business, management, and financial capabilities of the proposed
operator of the registry;
- a detailed description of the policies
contemplated to promote orderly registration of names in the
initial phases of introduction of the TLD;
- full details concerning arrangements proposed
to protect users in the event of registry failure; and
- measures proposed for minimizing use of
the TLD to carry out infringements or other abuses of intellectual
property rights.
Guidelines to be considered in assessing
proposals for selection:
- The need to maintain the Internet's stability,
and especially the protection of domain-name holders from the
effects of registry or registration-system failure.
- The extent to which selection of the proposal
would lead to an effective "proof of concept" concerning
the introduction of top-level domains in the future, including
the diversity the proposal would bring to the program, such as
fully open top level domains, restricted and chartered domains
with limited scope, noncommercial domains, and personal domains;
and a variety of business models and geographic locations.
- The enhancement of competition for registration
services at the registry and registrar level.
- The enhancement of the utility of the
DNS.
- The evaluation of delegation of policy-formulation
functions for special-purpose TLDs to appropriate organizations.
- The extent to which the proposal would
meet previously unmet types of needs.
- The importance of appropriate protections
of rights of others, including intellectual property rights,
in connection with the operation of the TLD, especially during
the start-up phases.
The Board established an application fee
of $50,000 USD. The fee is intended to cover the likely costs
of the evaluation and approval process, and to ensure that the
remainder of the ICANN community is not required to subsidize
the new TLD application process.
This action is the culmination of a process
that has extended for more than five years and is intended to
test the feasibility of the addition of new TLDs while maintaining
the stability and integrity of the Internet.
At Large Membership & Elections
The Board finalized the process for initial
selection of five Directors by its At Large Membership. Those
Directors should be seated in time for ICANN's annual meeting
in Los Angeles on November 13-14, 2000. Following is the election
schedule adopted by the Board:
- Determination of the ballot (now - August
31)
- Nominations by the Nominating Committee
(now - July 31)
- Member-nomination process (August 1 -
August 31)
- Voter education/dialogue phase (September
1 - September 30)
- Online vote (October 1 - October 10)
Root Server System Enhancements
The ICANN Board accepted the recommendation
of its Root Server System Advisory Committee to submit, no later
than the end of August 2000, a proposal to the United States
Department of Commerce for the transition of the current root
server system architecture to an enhanced architecture based
on the use of a dedicated primary nameserver operated by ICANN.
In addition the Board authorized the negotiation of agreements
between ICANN and U.S. Department of Commerce for ICANN to assume
responsibility for the maintenance and operation of various aspects
of the root zone files.
Administrative and Other Matters
The Board adopted resolutions to:
- Appoint auditors
- Establish criteria for the specific allocation
of countries among ICANN's five geographic regions
- Revise its bylaws to publicize actions
taken by the Board more quickly than was required in the past;
in general actions taken by the Board shall be made available
on a publicly accessible Internet World Wide Web site no later
than five days after each meeting
ABOUT ICANN
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names
and Numbers (ICANN) is a technical coordination body for the
Internet. Created in October 1998 by a broad coalition of the
Internet's business, technical, academic, and user communities,
ICANN is assuming responsibility for a set of technical functions
previously performed under U.S. government contract by IANA and
other groups.
Specifically, ICANN coordinates the assignment
of the following identifiers that must be globally unique for
the Internet to function:
- Internet domain names
- IP address numbers
- protocol parameter and port numbers
In addition, ICANN coordinates the stable
operation of the Internet's root server system.
As a non-profit, private-sector corporation,
ICANN is dedicated to preserving the operational stability of
the Internet; to promoting competition; to achieving broad representation
of global Internet communities; and to developing policy through
private-sector, bottom-up, consensus-based means. ICANN welcomes
the participation of any interested Internet user, business,
or organization. See <http://www.icann.org>.
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