Tamir, Thank you for your contribution to this discussion. Much of this is dealt with in the Pathfinder Webinar series, but of course with only 20 minutes or so in this particular session, the intent is to open up ongoing discussions on this issues, beyond ICANN and in those venues that are important to Civil Society Organizations. I have reproduced (below: bottom) the last few words from your postings (since it is available to all in its original form) and this comment is targeted to the good point you raise there. Your comment underlines why there is need for dialogue here. A civil society organization may have "consumers" if it is selling them tee-shorts and coffee mugs, but that is a misleading term here. There are several properties of civil society organizations that have to be taken into account when talking about even something as specific as "brand protection". One has to move beyond a business/customer perspective. The first property that must be taken into account is that a civil society organization has a social mission and vision and not a fiduciary duty to maximize shareholder (organizational value) so its "brand" (intellectual property/reputation) is not an economic commodity. The second property is that what civil society organizations do, some of which is service, some of which is advocacy, or both, has different constituencies to which they are accountable when compared to commercial interests. Civil society organizations can be member drive, member supported, and mission/vision driven while seeking funding in various ways. There are a number of ways for a civil society's "brand" (read: image & reputation) to be damaged with regard to operational aspects of the DNS system, and in ways that are beyond ICANN's remit. It is the NPOC position that those are important concerns for not-for-profit and civil society organizations, there are insufficient levels of awareness and engagement there, and that it is within NPOC's remit to work on raising awareness and engagement both with regard to operational issues within ICANN and operational issues beyond ICANN. It is important to remember that for member driven and member supported organizations (differences in governance there) any operational factor that impacts on the brand, impacts on those members, impacts on the deliverables within the mission and vision of the organization, and impacts on the relationship between the organization, its members, its intended beneficiaries and those partners it works with. There are areas of government policy, and the evolution of the Internet ecosystem, coming down the road that have potential challenging impacts on Civil Society organizations and these are in the "issues pot" being stirred by NPOC's own efforts (e.g., submission to the EU/EC) and collaborative efforts (e.g., Pathfinder webinars). It is obviously important to keep clear whether one is advocating on one's organizational behalf, on behalf of the target areas of its mission and vision, or on behalf of its members.Different governments deal with civil society organizations differently in these areas (sometimes contrary to their own commitments under the UDHR). The integrity and "brand protections" issues playing field is much wider for Civil Society organizations than it is for someone selling sugar water, or tooth paste, even when commercial organizations brand themselves with the socially responsible corporations (SRC) logo. Keep tuned as this issues play out. Sam L. On 2015-02-04 11:17 AM, Tamir Israel wrote: > Regardless, though, if it's about > teaching civil society orgs how to protect their own IP (and why they > should) I would think that falls in bucket B (self-interest not public > interest). > > Best regards, > Tamir