Kurt Pritz

Country:	USA
Email:	kurt.pritz [at] icann.org
Website:	[pritz-immobilien.at pritz-immobilien.at]
LinkedIn:	[kurt-pritz Kurt Pritz]
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Kurt Pritz is a practicing attorney and the Senior Vice President of Stakeholder Relations at ICANN, where he oversees the growth of ICANN's Multistakeholder Model, as well as ICANN's key stakeholder relationships. He is also overseeing the implementation of the New gTLD Program. His high-profile work includes representing ICANN at judicial and legal hearings in Washington, D.C..

Prior to joining ICANN, Pritz was the Vice President of Production at Walt Disney Imagineering, where he directed the manufacturing and engineering of theme park shows worldwide. He has also worked as a plant manager for the Eaton Corporation.

He holds a B.S. and M.S. in Physics, an M.B.A. and a J.D.

Roles within ICANN

Kurt was appointed as a Vice President of ICANN in September 2003. He was promoted as Senior Vice President for Stakeholder Relations on December 2006. As VP for Stakeholder Relations, Kurt serves as spokesperson of the internet body on different issues particularly the ICANN new gTLD program. He led the coordination of multiple public consultations regarding the program from the beginning- planning process, development of Applicant Guidebook, approval of the ICANN Board, opening of the application process until today. Kurt continues represent ICANN to the internet community. He answers and clarifies issues as they arise. He also testifies in court or congressional hearings on all issues related to ICANN.

Action Against RegisterFly

RegisterFly was a very problematic registrar and its accreditation was terminated by ICANN in 2009. The company started its business as a reseller for eNom. In 2004, RegisterFly purchased Top Class Names, Inc., an ICANN accredited registrar. After the acquisition, the new owners of the company's assumed the accreditation and role as a registrar and its name was change to RegisterFly. In 2005, ICANN started receiving complaints from consumers due to poor service. The number of complaints escalated from being unresponsive and 30 minutes call hold time to overcharging of credit cards, domain names being deleted and stolen from registrants. In 2007, Kurt issued a Notice of Breach and to the company for violating several provisions of the Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA). He instructed the RegisterFly to correct all its violations and resolve all customer complaints. He also warned the company that ICANN will terminate its accreditation agreement if it will not comply with the RAA. He also sent a Notice of Audit to the company that ICANN will inspect and get a complete copy of the data of all the domain names under its sponsorship. Due to the company's non-compliance, Kurt requested its counsel to send a second Notice of Breach and eventually ICANN filed a lawsuit against the company. On March 28, 2007, Kurt submiited a detailed declaration to the court about RegisterFly's violations of the RAA, which affected thousand of customers. ICANN terminated the company accreditation immediately after a court order.

Testimony During the Senate Hearing on New gTLD

In December, 2011, it was announced that Kurt Pritz would be a witness in a U.S. Senate Hearing on ICANN's new gTLD Program. The appearance is a defensive one for Mr. Pritz, as the hearing was likely scheduled due to the intense lobbying of the Association of National Advertisers, and its anti-TLD off-shoot, CRIDO. He is to be the most-senior ICANN staff member at the December 8th hearing. It was not the first time that he was called to such a hearing, he attended at least one similar House hearing earlier that year.

Video Presentations on New gTLD

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