Board Governance Committee (BGC) Meeting Minutes 25 September 2013

BGC Attendees: Cherine Chalaby, Chris Disspain, Bill Graham, Ray Plzak, Mike Silber, and Bruce Tonkin – Chair.

Staff Attendees: John Jeffrey – General Counsel and Secretary, Megan Bishop, Michelle Bright, Samantha Eisner, Elizabeth Le, Karine Perset, and Amy Stathos

BGC Apologies: Bertrand de La Chapelle and Ram Mohan

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The following is a summary of discussion, actions taken, and actions identified:

1. Reconsideration Request 13-6 – Staff briefed the BGC regarding Reconsideration Request 13-6 ("Request 13-6") submitted by Hotel Top-Level-Domain S.a.r.l ("dotHotel").  DotHotel seeks reconsideration of the 8 August 2013 decision by an independent dispute resolution expert panel (the "Panel") dismissing dotHotel's string confusion objection to the .HOTELS string applied for by Booking.com B.V. ("Booking.com").  After discussion and consideration of the Request, the BGC concluded that dotHotel failed to state the proper grounds for reconsideration because it failed to demonstrate a policy or process violation.  The BGC noted that while dotHotel may disagree with the Panel's findings, Reconsideration is not available as a mechanism to re-try the determinations of DRSP panels.  All voting members present voted in favor of the BGC's recommendation to the New gTLD Program Committee ("NGPC"), the full text of which can be found at http://www.icann.org/en/groups/board/governance/reconsideration/recommendation-hotel-25sep13-en.pdf [PDF, 121 KB].
   • Action: Staff to submit the BGC recommendation to the NGPC for consideration.
2. Reconsideration Request 13-7 – Out an abundance of caution, Bruce Tonkin disclosed that it appears one of the parties to the dispute proceedings at issue the Reconsideration Request 13-7 ("Request 13-7") is connected to a company to which Melbourne IT sold a portion of its business earlier this year. Bruce reported that he has no relationship with the requester and has given no advice on this particular matter. Staff briefed the BGC regarding Request 13-7, submitted by Dish DBS Corporation ("Dish"). Dish seeks reconsideration of the 29 July 2013 Expert Determination from a dispute resolution panel established by the Arbitration and Mediation Center of the World Intellectual Property Organization (the "Panel") sustaining The DirecTV Group, Inc.'s ("DirecTV") objection to Dish's application for a .DIRECT new gTLD.  The BGC found that the Applicant Guidebook was followed, that the Panel applied the eight non-exclusive factors to Dish's Legal Rights Objection as required by the Applicant Guidebook, and that Dish failed to demonstrate that any policy or process was violated or contradicted. The BGC further concluded that Dish failed to demonstrate that ICANN violated any policy or process in accepting the Panel's determination. The BGC also noted that Dish's request for an opportunity to respond to the BGC, as well as the request for a hearing, should be denied because do have the potential to bring before the BGC additional material information that is relevant to the evaluation of this Request and we therefore recommend they be denied. The BGC approved a recommendation to the New gTLD Program Committee.
   • Action: Staff to submit the BGC's recommendation to the NGPC for consideration.
3. Any Other Business

   Consideration of Additional Materials Submitted to the BGC Regarding Reconsideration Requests – The BGC discussed and agreed that the Committee should consider relevant additional materials submitted by third parties concerning a reconsideration request, but that it is important to develop and establish parameters (such as timing) around the submission and consideration of such materials.

Published on 5 November 2013