Preliminary Report

Regular Meeting of the Board
13 March 2001

At its meeting on 13 March 2001, in Melbourne, the ICANN Board of Directors approved the following resolutions.

Approval of Minutes

Resolved [01.14] that the minutes of the meetings of the Board for 25 September 2000, 17 and 31 October 2000, and 16 November 2000 [organizational meeting], are hereby approved and adopted by the Board as posted.

Recommendations of Reconsideration Committee

Resolved [01.15] that the Reconsideration Committee's Recommendations RC 00-6 and RC 00-7 are adopted for the reasons stated in those recommendations.

Ad Hoc Group

Whereas, on 26 August 1999, in resolution 99.79, the Board established an ad hoc group to be charged with developing the objectives and proposing structures for future policies in the area of numbering, especially as required to meet global market needs and taking into account the convergence of information technology services and networks;

Whereas, an Ad Hoc Group on Numbering and Addressing was convened for discussion of these issues by way of a web-based public comment forum established for that purpose under the guidance of an editorial group;

Whereas, in the time since establishment of the forum various participants have made useful contributions to the web-based public comment forum on numbering and addressing issues, including an extensive report posted by Mark McFadden and Tony Holmes on 8 March 2001;

It is therefore

Resolved [01.16] that the Board refers the 8 March 2001 McFadden/Holmes report to the Address Council of the Address Supporting Organization for further consideration and development of recommendations as appropriate by that body;

Resolved [01.17] that the Board declares the work of the Ad Hoc Group on Numbering and Addressing completed;

Resolved [01.18] that the Board requests the ICANN staff to arrange for continued on-line archiving of the substantive postings of the Ad Hoc Group for a suitable period of at least one year; and

Resolved [01.19] that the Board thanks Mark McFadden, Tony Holmes, and the editorial group for their significant contributions to the work of the Ad Hoc Group.

Membership of At Large Membership Study Committee

Whereas:

The chair and vice-chairs of the At Large Membership Study Committee have submitted to the Board a set of individuals to be members of the committee.

The Board is pleased to note the strong credentials and diverse backgrounds of the nominated individuals.

The Board has been notified that the chair and vice-chairs of the Committee may, in dialogue with the community, consider submitting to the Board for ratification one or more additional individuals as committee members to provide missing skill sets, subject to the constraints of the committee's budget.

It is resolved that:

[Resolution 01.20] The Board ratifies Pierre Dandjinou, Esther Dyson, Olivier Iteanu, Ching-Yi Liu, Thomas Niles, and Oscar Robles as members of the At Large Membership Study Committee.

Budget for At Large Membership Study Committee

Whereas, Article II, Section 5 of the ICANN Bylaws provides for a comprehensive study of the concept, structure and processes relating to an "At Large" membership of ICANN;

Whereas, in resolution 01.11 the Board established a temporary Advisory Committee, known as the "At Large Membership Study Committee," to undertake this study;

Whereas, the At Large Membership Study Committee has presented to the Finance Committee a proposed budget for the study;

Whereas, the Finance Committee has reviewed that proposed budget and has made recommendations to the Board that funds be appropriated accordingly;

It is therefore

Resolved [01.21] that the President is authorized to expend funds of the Corporation in support of the At Large Membership Study in an amount not to exceed US$ 450,000 (of which US$ 100,000 has already been authorized by the Board) on direction of the Chair of the At Large Membership Study Committee, with the expectation that the Chair and members of the At Large Membership Study Committee will continue to expend these funds carefully in support of the accomplishment of the charter of that Committee.

Proposed Revision to VeriSign Agreements

Whereas, a proposal has been presented to the Board for various revisions in the agreements among ICANN, Network Solutions, Inc., and the United States Department of Commerce that were approved on 4 November 1999 in resolutions 99.132 and 99.133 and were signed on 10 November 1999;

Whereas, the Board intends to consider what action, if any, to take on this proposal in its meeting to be scheduled for 2 April 2001 at a time to be confirmed;

It is therefore

Resolved [01.22] that the Board requests all members of the Internet community, including the Names Council and any of the constituencies and other participants in the Domain Name Supporting Organization, to provide comments on the substantive merits of the proposal no later than 31 March 2001;

Resolved [01.23] that the staff is directed to maintain through that date a web-based public comment forum for the purpose of receiving such comments.

New TLD Agreements

Whereas, in resolution 00.89 the Board selected seven proposals to operate or sponsor top-level domains for negotiations toward appropriate agreements between ICANN and the registry operator or sponsoring organization;

Whereas, in resolution 00.90 the Board authorized the President and General Counsel to conduct those negotiations on behalf of ICANN and, subject to further Board approval or ratification, to enter into appropriate agreements;

Whereas, the base agreements have been negotiated with the four selected unsponsored top-level domain registry operators (NeuLevel, Afilias, Global Name Registry, and RegistryPro);

Whereas, the base agreements and many of the associated appendices, as completed and agreed by the negotiators, have been posted for public comment;

Whereas, the Board has received a presentation from the General Counsel and the proponents on the progress and results of their negotiations;

Whereas, comments from the public have been received on a web-based public comment forum and at a Public Forum held on 12 March 2001;

Whereas, the Board has considered the posted agreement and appendices, the presentations, and public comments and finds that approval of the agreements is necessary and appropriate to further ICANN's purposes;

It is therefore

Resolved [01.24] that the President and General Counsel are authorized and requested to complete negotiation of the remaining unsponsored top-level domain appendices as soon as feasible and to post the resulting appendices on the ICANN web site, along with any minor corrections or adjustments to the base agreement and appendices as already posted;

Resolved [01.25] that the Board shall be notified of the complete posting of the agreement and appendices for any of the four unsponsored top-level domains (.biz, .info, .name, and .pro) and after that notification seven days shall be allowed for Board members to make any additional comments to the President and General Counsel;

Resolved [01.26] that in the absence of the request of any Board member to the contrary based on policy considerations, the President is authorized to sign the posted agreements after the conclusion of those seven days; and

Resolved [01.27] that upon signature of the agreements the President is authorized to take such actions, including causing reports to be made to the United States Department of Commerce, as appropriate to implement the agreements.

DNSO Review

Whereas:

The Board has received the DNSO Review report from the Names Council, and other materials on the subject.

The Board also is informed that the Names Council has planned to address the results of the review in its business plan for 2001, beginning with an interim committee to establish terms of reference for further action.

Therefore it is resolved that:

[Resolution 01.28] The Board asks the Names Council and other sources to separate their proposals into those that improve operations of the DNSO as it is constituted today and those which may result in changes in the structure of the DNSO and/or major changes in its functioning.

[Resolution 01.29] The Board encourages input related to changes that improve operations of the DNSO as it is constituted today no later than 16 April 2001. Further Board action on the basis of that input will be scheduled at the end of that period.

Disbursement and Check Signing Authority

Resolved [01.30] that the Vice President and General Counsel, Louis Touton, and the Chief Financial Officer, Andrew McLaughlin, and each one of them, may authorize disbursements of the Corporation's funds, and sign checks of the Corporation, in amounts of US$ 10,000 or less.

Further resolved [01.31] that, upon his taking office as President of the Corporation, M. Stuart Lynn may authorize disbursements of the Corporation's funds, and sign checks of the Corporation, in amounts of US$ 50,000 or less.

Further resolved [01.32] that, upon his taking office as President of the Corporation, M. Stuart Lynn may authorize disbursements of the Corporation's funds, and sign checks of the Corporation, in amounts exceeding US$ 50,000, when so authorized by action of either the Board, the Finance Committee, or the Executive Committee. Such approvals shall be given upon a showing that they are within the President’s authority.

Further resolved [01.33] that the authorizations to disburse funds and to sign checks as set forth in Board resolutions 00.35 through 00.38 shall cease to be effective as of the adoption of this resolution.

Appointment of Auditors

Whereas, the Board has received a report of the Audit Committee recommending that KPMG, LLP, be engaged to conduct an audit of the Corporation's financial matters for the fiscal year ending 30 June 2001;

It is therefore

Resolved [01.34] that KPMG, LLP, are appointed to conduct the annual financial audit of the Corporation for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2001, for a fee not to exceed US$ 28,000 and to conduct selective reviews of ICANN's financial management for an additional amount not to exceed US$ 10,000; and

Resolved [01.35], that the President is authorized to enter an engagement letter with KPMG, LLP for this purpose.

Handling of DNSO Funds

Whereas, the Audit Committee has reviewed and reported to the Board on the practices by which ICANN receives, handles, and disburses funds contributed to the support of the Domain Name Supporting Organization;

It is therefore

Resolved [01.36] that the President is authorized, until further action by the Board, to maintain a separate bank account for holding funds contributed to the support of the Domain Name Supporting Organization, to place in that account funds contributed for that purpose, and to make disbursements from that account upon authorization of the Names Council or its designee.

Agreements with ccTLD Managers

Whereas:

Since the last ICANN meeting in November 2000, ICANN Directors and management have significantly increased the amount of time and effort dedicated to contractual discussions with ccTLD managers.

Successful ccTLD/ICANN meetings have been held in Honolulu, Geneva, and Melbourne, bringing the ccTLD community notably closer to consensus on the nature and elements of appropriate agreements with ICANN.

It is resolved that:

[Resolution 01.37] ICANN management is directed to press forward with continued vigor toward the completion of draft legacy agreements, and to pursue, as needed, acceptable ccTLD agreements in triangular situations.

Internationalized Domain Names

Whereas:

The ICANN Board has begun to receive inquiries about its role and views with regard to the various efforts to internationalize the domain name character sets supported by the domain name system. In addition to the IETF's working group on internationalized domain names, several other initiatives to use non-ASCII characters for domain names have begun, including the VeriSign testbed for the .com/.net/.org registries, trials of non-ASCII character sets by ccTLD registries, and the marketing of internationalized domain name pre-registrations by private corporations and others.

The ICANN Board on 25 September 2000, approved a set of resolutions (00.77 to 00.80) relating to the VeriSign testbed. In those resolutions, the Board recognized the importance of the Internet evolving to be more accessible to those who do not use the ASCII character set. The Board emphasized that the internationalization of the Internet's domain name system must be accomplished through open, non-proprietary standards that are fully compatible with the Internet's existing end-to-end model, and that preserve globally unique naming in a universally resolvable public name space.

In advance of the Melbourne meetings, ICANN called for public comment on five general topics:

• Internationalized Domain Name Standardization and Testbed Deployment Process.

• Intellectual Property Considerations in IDNs.

• Relationship of Character Sets for Internationalized Domain Names to Their Parent Languages.

• Public Education and Outreach on IDNs.

• IDNs and ICANN Registry/Registrar Agreements.

Within the ICANN process, there has been increasing interest in—and concern over—issues surrounding internationalized domain names.

At its Melbourne meeting, the DNSO Names Council has adopted a business plan calling for the establishment of a task force to develop consensus policies for the implementation of internationalized domain names.

In its Melbourne communiqué, the Governmental Advisory Committee has reported that it will be forming a working group on internationalized domain names "to examine and report on issues for consideration."

The Board understands that the Root Server System Advisory Committee has begun discussions of the possible implications of these efforts for the operation of the root servers.

It is resolved:

[Resolution 01.38] The Board expresses its concern over likely confusion about the nature and implications of the numerous existing internationalization testbeds and pre-registration services, and urges wider and more intensive education and dialogue among the global Internet community.

[Resolution 01.39] In order to promote better understanding of the technical and policy issues surrounding the internationalization of domain names, the Board designates an internal working group consisting of Masanobu Katoh (chair), Vint Cerf, Karl Auerbach, and Ivan Campos to identify the various internationalization efforts and the issues they raise, to engage in dialogue with technical experts and other participants in these efforts, and to make appropriate recommendations to the Board.

[Resolution 01.40] The Board asks that the working group submit a report on its efforts at the next Board meeting in June.

Thanks to Local Hosts and Sponsors

[Resolution 01.41] ICANN is grateful for the excellent work of our local hosts, and for their tireless—and voluntary—contributions to the successful organization of the ICANN Melbourne meetings. On behalf of all participants, the Board thanks the members of the Australian national host committee:

Tony Hill, ISOC-AU (Chair)
Greg Crew, ICANN
Peter Gerrand, Melbourne IT
Sam Hendry, Melbourne IT
Eli Fried, Maddock Lonie & Chisholm Lawyers
Craig Ng, Maddock Lonie & Chisholm Lawyers
Chris Disspain, auDA
David Thompson, auDA
Jo Lim, auDA
Tony O'Dea, Multimedia Victoria
Samantha Smith, Multimedia Victoria
Nikki Vajrabukka, NOIE
Jeremy Thomas, NOIE
Robin Savory, NOIE
Peter Coroneos, IIA

together with Jonathan Ricketts of Organisers Australia.

[Resolution 01.42] ICANN is grateful to the local and international sponsors of the Melbourne meetings for their generous contributions:

The National Office for the Information Economy (NOIE)
Multimedia Victoria
Melbourne City Council
auDA - .au Domain Administration
Melbourne IT Limited
Telstra
Ericcson Australia
Cisco Systems
Cybersource
Maddock Lonie & Chisholm
Verisign
NativeNames.net
i-DNS.net International

Thanks to Lennie and Mike Roberts

Whereas:

Mike Roberts today completes his service as ICANN's first President and Chief Executive Officer;

Since October 25, 1998, Mike has devoted 869 days, 13 hours, and 25 minutes of unbroken effort to the ICANN cause;

His energy, fortitude, and good humor in the face of overwhelming demands have been essential to the successful establishment of ICANN; and

As a direct result of his efforts ICANN is now universally acclaimed as "not as bad as it could be";

It is therefore

Resolved [01.43], on behalf of the ICANN community, the Board expresses its deepest gratitude to Mike Roberts for his tireless dedication to the Internet's highest ideals of public service and

[Resolution 01.44] with equally deep appreciation the Board thanks Lennie Roberts for her patience and tolerance and all the many trips to San Francisco airport.