[governance] Is ICANN "engaged in commerce" ?

[Michael Froomkin - U.Miami School of Law]

strongly disagree - there would have been fewer costs and far fewer suits 
if they had set up simple and neutral rules.  It's keeping the lid on the 
artificial scarcity that has consumed resources and caused people to sue 
them.

On Mon, 9 Apr 2007, Mawaki Chango wrote:

> Certianly, certainly! But what would you say to those who argue
> that ICANN had no choice getting into those non-technical issues
> for at least a somehow practical reason: avoid lawsuits and the
> bankruptcy that might ensue?
>
> Mawaki
>
>
> --- Karl Auerbach <karl at cavebear.com> wrote:
>
>> Bertrand de La Chapelle wrote:
>>
>>> This unequivocally underscores the public interest nature
>> and purpose of
>>> ICANN. ICANN is not "engaged in commerce" but is a structure
>> set up to
>>> serve the global public interest. Too many people seem to
>> forget it.
>>
>> Despite ICANN's statement to the contrary, ICANN is most
>> certainly
>> engaged in commerce of the worst sort, and to my mind, a most
>> improper,
>> sort.
>>
>> ICANN can say many things.  Words are cheap.  But what ICANN
>> does belies
>> and supersedes what it says.
>>
>> ICANN stands astride the marketplace of domain names.  ICANN
>> engages in
>> social, economic, and economic planning, largely on behalf of
>> two
>> incumbent groups - the intellectual property aggregation (as
>> opposed to
>> the intellectual property creation) industry and the DNS
>> registry
>> industry.  There is very little "public interest" or "public
>> benefit" in
>> that process.
>>
>> What is commerce?  It is the ebb and flow of goods and
>> services, vendors
>> and consumers, innovators and builders.  ICANN not only swims
>> in the
>> waters of commerce; ICANN intends to affect, and does effect,
>> the
>> streams of commerce.  What are those trademarks that ICANN
>> tries so hard
>> to protect but the marks used to identify and distinguish the
>> goods and
>> services flowing in the channels of commerce?  And what are
>> the registry
>> fees except the prices that are paid by one group in commerce
>> to another
>> group engaged in commerce?
>>
>> Indeed, virtually everything ICANN does is in commerce.  ICANN
>> does not
>> so much engage in commerce as it attempts to regulate it.
>> Indeed, it is
>> fair to describe ICANN as a combination of incumbent economic
>> interests
>> that seeks to restrain the trade in domain name products and
>> services.
>>
>> Which is sad because ICANN has left undone exactly those
>> things it was
>> created to do.
>>
>> ICANN was created to deal with some very limited technical
>> issues.
>> ICANN has not handled even one of those issues.  Consequently
>> the same
>> risks of internet instability that ICANN was intended to cure
>> remain.
>> Internet users and internet providers, people and businesses,
>> are at
>> risk of internet instability because ICANN has abandoned its
>> post.
>>
>> The internet community needed ICANN to be a fireman to protect
>> against
>> DNS fires.  Instead, ICANN has abandoned the firehouse and
>> moved uptown.
>>
>> 		--karl--
>>
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