ICANN participation

Hi Kieren, In previous rounds, the no-refund policy was followed which made the applicants dissatisfied and unhappy. This is because all the applicants were taken on the same level of equality which can be described as fairness and justice. But logically the applications are not same to bear the equal expenses (w.r.t. fee-breakup = Previous + Current + future expenses of new TLDs). For example only 7 applicants were granted with TLDs out-of 40 complete-proposals during the round of Yr-2000. The cost paid by each applicant was US$50,000, which was fixed-up keeping in front the all kind of expenses of the following three processes: A. Previous expenses of initial working + B. Current expenses for review & evaluation of applications, applicant and proposed TLD naming convention & its impact etc. + C. Future expenses which includes cost of enabling, operational and implementation as well as possible litigation or dispute resolution. ICANN had approximately $350,000 remaining from the application fees from the 2000 round which was suggested to refund on pro-rata basis or to keep with ICANN to move forward with their applications with next review to grant. (it is also clear that the fee charged was on higher side) Ultimately, beneficiaries were those 7 applicants, who were granted TLD names and were able to start their business on the final decision of Board. ICANN implemented these 7 TLDs by enabling them in root servers. Now the main question is what benefit the remaining applicants achieved: Only one the experience that how to proposing and applying for new TLDs? This experience cost them US$50,000+. Its understandable that the applicants paid US$50,000 as a non-refundable proposal fee, with the full knowledge that only a few would be selected and that those who were not selected could not expect any special privilege in any future undertaking. Some one can take it as with the meaning of a gambling game or as a lottery where the losers are always neglected. But it should be noticed that: 1. The loser applicant has no concern with the future costs (which includes cost of enabling, operational and implementation as well as possible litigation or dispute resolution). So, why he was charged for the expenses which are required to enable TLD domains which are not granted him but to winner applicants. 2. Similarly some part of the previous expenses which includes the cost of basic formation process/ introduction of new TLDs may be justified to be charged from loser applicant but not the whole cost. 3. Only current cost is well justified to be charged from each applicant, which includes the cost of review & evaluation of applications, applicants and proposed TLD naming convention & its social impact etc. We appreciated that ICANN is conducting a review on this policy at this stage and invited the comments or suggestions before the fixing up fee and application policy for the introduction of about 100+ new gTLDs and IDN ccTLDs/gTLDs. We suggest that the fee for new TLD applications should be divided into 3 parts. Part-A: The cost of Initial Process on the issuance of new TLDs. Part-B: The cost of Evaluation Process of Application, Applicant & the Proposed TLD. Part-C: The cost of enabling new TLDs in root servers including operational/admin. Basic Application Fee: (Part-B + Part-A) (Refundable Part-A = 75%) ========================================== All applicants will have to pay the above mentioned Part-B and which will be fully utilized during the process of application evaluation. Refund Policy: This will not be refundable unless until the application is rejected before its evaluation process is started. All applicants will also have to pay the above mentioned Part-A, which already utilized before the start of the process of application evaluation. Refund Policy: 75% of Part-A of each application may please be refundable to the loser applicants, 25% will be charged from them because this was the cost of the basic process, which enabled them to apply for. However, successor will be charged full amount (100% of Part-A), because he is the beneficiary. TLDs Enabling Fee: (Part-C + Remaining cost of Part-A) =================================== Only winner applicants who are granted with their proposed TLDs will have to pay the above mentioned Part-C and which will be utilized for enabling their respective TLD domain names according to expected scope of the business. The winner applicants may also be charged for the difference of reaming cost of PART-A after refunding the loser applicants. Refund Policy: This will not be refundable. P.S.: We hope that this is right way to charge only related cost. Best Regards Imran Ahmed Shah