Valideus which is private company “currently managing 5% of all new gTLD applications”, including Amazon’s sent a letter to ICANN asking for a lot of details on ICANN’s “Last Resort Auctions” which are scheduled to begin in mid-October.
Included in the requests are many valid concerns about the amount of the deposits that will be required to participate in the auction, who will hold the funds, when the winning bidders funds are have to be paid to ICANN and even when there will be a contract for review.
Of course many of these concerns have already been addressed by two companies providing private auction services, ApplicantAuction.com and RightoftheDot.com but they have not been clearly answered by ICANN.
Here is the letter sent by Brian Beckham Head of Legal Policy Valideus:
“In this regard, we would like to highlight for your attention a number of questions/concerns regarding the auction process that may be shared by a range of applicants.”
“In particular we are writing to seek clarity from you to ensure that all eligible applicants have sufficient time to make any necessary preparations.
“Where applicants may need to obtain high-level approval on deposit and auction sums reaching well into the millions of dollars, commercially-reasonable advance notice of any ICANN requirements is essential.”
“We would be grateful if ICANN could respond to the following questions and concerns in relation to the auction process, mechanics, and timing:
1. Section 4.3.1.2 of the Applicant Guidebook (AGB) states that a bidding deposit is required from all auction participants, and that the bidding deposit will equal either 10% of an applicant-imposed bidding limit, or (if opted for) a specified amount to provide applicants with an uncapped bidding option.
In order to prevent a scenario where ICANN would unintentionally create an inequity amongst applicants across or within contention sets, or would inappropriately pre-determine the value of a particular string prior to auction, we would appreciate clarity on ICANN’s proposed methodology for determining the amount of deposit required for applicants electing the uncapped bidding option, which would presumably not vary from string to string.”
2. Please also confirm that where the AGB states that applicants “may be given the option” to provide a specified deposit for uncapped bidding authority, ICANN would automatically grant, or at least not unreasonably withhold approval of such option.
3. If an applicant considers that ICANN’s determination as to the deposit amount required for uncapped bidding authority is unrealistic, can ICANN confirm that it will allow applicants to still elect the 10% bidding deposit?…
