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: Read the points here