ICANN | Letter from Paul Twomey To National Governments Regarding New gTLDs and the Treatment of Geographic Names

ICANN Staff had a discussion with the GAC (Governmental Advisory Committee) on 8 September 2008, regarding the concerns expressed by the GAC that the GNSO Final Report on the Introduction of New gTLDs does not include provisions reflecting important elements of the GAC principles, in particular paragraphs 2.2, 2.6 and 2.7, which the GAC considered were not reflected in the GNSO Final Report.

Due to the difference of opinion between the GNSO and the GAC on the treatment of geographic names, it is anticipated that there will be a number of discussions necessary to resolve the differences, and that this will be a topic of discussion with the GNSO and the broader community, particularly during the upcoming ICANN Meeting in Cairo. The September 8 discussion is summarized in a letter from Paul Towmey ICANN's President and CEO to Janis Karklins, Chairman of the GAC and Ambassador of Latvia to France. The letter can be viewed at http://www.icann.org/correspondence/twomey-to-karklins-02oct08.pdf [PDF, 233K].