gTLD	Full Legal Name	E-mail suffix	Detail
.art	UK Creative Ideas Limited	whitecase.com	View

THE MISSION AND PURPOSE OF THE NEW RESTRICTED .ART gTLD IS TO CREATE A UNIVERSAL ONLINE MEDIUM FOR THE WORLD OF ART TO ALLOW FOR INCREASED INTERACTION IN THE GLOBAL ART COMMUNITY.

The .art gTLD will be a new generation gTLD serving the interests of the artistic community, as well as internet users more generally. The .art domain will provide an internet space for the artistic community, not in the sense of representing the existing community, but instead through the creation of an online community for artists, owners and keepers of works of art, commercial art organisations (such as galleries and auction and trading houses), not-for-profit organisations (such as museums, foundations, professional associations), supporting businesses (such as insurance, appraisal, transport) and customers and members of the general public interested in art. The .art gTLD is particularly focused on engaging the visual arts community worldwide. UK Creative Ideas Limited (“Creative Ideas”), as the applicant, intends to create an authoritative and innovative internet space for internet users to access art-related services, information and products through the .art gTLD. Creative Ideas firmly believes in an inclusive model for managing a global public .art gTLD and intends to implement mechanisms for the democratization and consolidation of the art community through global infrastructure, supported by self-governing elected structures. As such, Creative Ideas intends to enable those involved in the art industry to contribute to the evolution of the .art gTLD e.g. by advisory councils. The mission and purpose of the .art gTLD includes:

- The democratization and consolidation of the art community through a global infrastructure;

- Using the latest technology to grant access to the responsible user; and

- New levels of development through high quality content.


The .art gTLD will provide an authentic resource for members of the public, allowing for information and professional services to be accessed by end users in a simple and trustworthy way. With the aim of creating a unified, global medium for the art community to interact, Creative Ideas intends to democratize the decision-making processes of the gTLD. The global structures for the management of .art include a Constituent Assembly, which will be formed in accordance with the principles of electivity, regional and professional representation, as well as transparency of decision making. The Constituent Assembly will be supported by other organisations which focus on professional representation, regional representation, day-to-day management and executive bodies.

Creative Ideas intends to create a range of technical, artistic and information based services supported by the latest technology. The .art gTLD will contribute to an effective exchange of information in many ways, including the creation of new forms of art exhibition, education, promotion, business solutions, search technologies, and industry related information. The .art gTLD will represent a new level of development through high quality content, with its architecture incorporating high-efficiency filters that will provide the technological foundation for neutralizing cyber-crime and abusive use. This platform is supported by a registration policy that is transparent and intends to protect internet users.

Under the registration policy, users will be required to provide information about their connection to the art industry to allow broad audiences to have access to a wide array of relevant, inexpensive, high-quality information and search related services. In this regard, the .art gTLD will represent an innovative, secure and high-quality domain space for the artistic community.

The .art gTLD’s mission and purpose of the proposed new gTLD share ICANN’s initiatives to promote the public interest. Creative Ideas is committed to contribute towards achieving such initiatives in line with ICANN’s Affirmation of Commitments, which includes:

- consumer trust: the .art gTLD registry will operate in a centralised manner with a restricted registration policy, allowing only those associated with the art industry, who meet the eligibility requirements, to register. Consumers will be able to act with greater confidence and assurance that the information that they receive from the .art gTLD is provided by those related to the art industry. As .art domain names are subject to registration standards, policies and procedures under Creative Ideas’ control, this limits the possibility of malicious conduct within the .art domain space;

- competition: the .art gTLD is anticipated to contribute to the initiatives of competition and consumer choice through its operation focused on promoting consumer trust and convenience. It may have the effect of instilling such initiatives between prospective registrants in the art industry who will enjoy a greater choice of gTLDs for registration of relevant domain names. Increased trust and innovation within the .art gTLD will drive existing and new top level domain (TLD) registry operators to make improvements in mechanisms to enhance consumer trust of their TLDs ; and

- consumer choice: the proposed new gTLD will enable user-driven improvements and innovations with specific relevance to the art industry, with second and third level domain names to be registered by those related to the art industry. This will allow consumers more choices for interacting with the art industry, as well as encouraging competition between members of the industry to best interact with such consumers. As Creative Ideas has effective control over the registration and use of domain names under .art domain space, with its aim to develop and promote the art industry, this will also contribute towards general service innovations on the internet.


It is difficult to anticipate the number of registrations in the restricted registry for .art, as the number may be determined by the effectiveness of marketing and the reception of internet users to the new gTLDs more generally. It is estimated that between 25,000 and 80,000 registrations may take place in the first year. It is difficult to estimate the number of people engaged at different levels within the visual arts community worldwide; however as a portion of the population, the number is likely to be significant and growing. In 2009 there were over 400,000 listed businesses engaging in the art market worldwide and between 5 and 15 million individuals engaging in arts related activities. Currently, the visual arts community, including individuals, businesses and non-commercial organisations, is scattered over the existing domain name structure or do not have internet representation at all. The mission of .art is to create a democratised, user-friendly, professional environment for this growing art community. Creative Ideas intends to utilise geographic names and IDNs to support a positive user experience for users regardless of geography or language.
In its endeavour to promote and expand the .art gTLD, Creative Ideas will continually comply with all operational, technical and policy requirements, as well as maintaining consumer trust and the stability of the internet. Creative Ideas will keep ICANN reasonably informed of any material developments relating to .art gTLD including compliance with the continued operations instrument obligations as set out in Specification 8 of the Registry Agreement.

gTLD	Full Legal Name	E-mail suffix	Detail
.sydney	State of New South Wales, Department of Premier and Cabinet	dpc.nsw.gov.au	View

The mission and purpose of the new .sydney gTLD is to promote the city of Sydney, including its residents, culture, events, commerce, institutions and landmarks by creating a dedicated, authoritative online space that extends and strengthens in the online environment the City of Sydney pride and brand.

The .sydney gTLD will create a new generation gTLD serving the interests of residents of Sydney and the State of New South Wales (NSW) and internet users in general looking for products, services and information relating to Sydney, NSW, Australia. The .sydney gTLD will be a domain space specifically dedicated to information with a direct relevance and connection to the city of Sydney. It will provide a unique internet space that supports businesses, residents, community groups, local and state government bodies and the visitor economy in NSW. The .sydney gTLD will offer these potential registrants innovative marketing opportunities and a new channel of communication focused on their local area. Internet users will also benefit from the .sydney gTLD through increased quantity of reliable and customer-focused, locality-specific content.

As the applicant for the .sydney gTLD, the State Government of NSW, through its Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPC), aims to invest in the future of Sydney by promoting Sydney as a great place to live, work, invest, visit and learn, leveraging pride of place and the strength of the Sydney brand. This application for the .sydney gTLD by the DPC has the full support of the Government of NSW and City of Sydney government.

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the capital of Australia’s most populous state, New South Wales. The greater metropolitan area of Sydney’s 38 Local Government Areas (LGAs), including the City of Sydney, has over 4.5 million inhabitants. In 2010, Sydney was ranked 7th in Asia and 28th globally for economic innovation in the ‘Innovation Cities Top 100 Index’ by Innovation Agency 2thinknow (www.innovation-cities.com⁄innovation-cities-top-100-index-top-cities⁄). Sydney was also ranked 11th in Mercer Human Resource Consulting’s 2011 Worldwide Quality of Living Survey (www.mercer.com⁄press-releases⁄quality-of-living-report-2011#Asia-Pac).

The registration of second level domain names within the .sydney domain space will only be available to businesses registered in NSW, visitor economy service providers registered with the NSW Government, local government, community groups and residents with a NSW, Australia address. These criteria for registration are imposed to ensure that the .sydney gTLD presents reliable and trustworthy information relevant to activities, businesses, community groups, organisations and government bodies with a connection to Sydney. The .sydney gTLD will be an online space where eligible registrants are required to use domain names in a manner that is not illegitimate or inconsistent with the mission and purpose of the .sydney gTLD. The .sydney gTLD is intended to encourage business viability and growth by providing a dedicated and targeted online geo-distinctive presence and innovative marketing opportunities. This will benefit internet users and promote competition in the marketplace.

The internet has created a means for global communication and interaction, allowing for greater levels of information exchange, as well as facilitating efficient business transactions. Information about Sydney is widely available on the internet, allowing internet users worldwide to easily access online information regarding work, life, entertainment or tourism in Sydney. A dedicated .sydney gTLD will, however, provide a clearly labelled and relevant resource for internet users, including visitors to Sydney and NSW, bringing together and giving easier access to information about events, businesses, communities, government bodies, landmarks, and organisations in or related to Sydney. The .sydney gTLD will meet the need for a specific online space to target NSW residents and businesses and will enhance the strength, pride and value of the Sydney brand. The number of registrations in the .sydney TLD by the end of year three is projected to be 36,122 domain names.

The mission and purpose of the proposed new gTLD share ICANN’s initiatives to promote public interest. DPC is committed to contribute towards achieving such initiatives in line with ICANN’s Affirmation of Commitments, which includes:
– consumer trust: the .sydney gTLD registry will operate as a registry where only visitor economy service providers registered with the State Government of NSW, local government bodies and NSW resident individuals, businesses and community groups will be able to register domain names, as set out in the .sydney registration policy. All domain names will be registered at the second level. Consumers will be able to have greater confidence in the information provided under the .sydney gTLD knowing that the information is provided by businesses, government bodies or NSW residents or groups that meet the eligibility criteria. As domain names within .sydney will be subject to registration standards, policies and procedures, the incidence of abuse and cybersquatting (through adequate protection of trademark holders) will be significantly lower than in open TLD spaces;
– competition: the .sydney gTLD will contribute to the initiatives of competition and consumer choice through its operation focused on promoting consumer trust and convenience as well as providing an alternative domain name space to registrations in other TLDs. The .sydney gTLD will provide more choice for registrants to clearly distinguish themselves in the online environment by demonstrating their direct connection to Sydney, the capital of NSW, Australia. Increased trust in the .sydney gTLD will drive existing and new top level domain (TLD) registry operators to make improvements in mechanisms to improve consumer trust of their TLDs; and
– consumer choice: the proposed new gTLD will enable user-driven improvements promoting the Sydney brand, with second level domains to be registered only by eligible registrants. This will allow consumers more choice and options to register domain names. It will also enable more and easier interaction with local government bodies, community groups, businesses and organisations, as well as encourage competition between these potential registrant groups to best interact with such consumers. The .sydney gTLD will operate a registration policy to have effective and well-balanced oversight over registration and use of the domain names, which will also contribute towards general service innovations on the internet.

In its endeavour to promote and expand the .sydney gTLD, as well as maintain consumer trust and the stability of the internet, DPC will comply with all operational, technical and policy requirements. DPC will keep ICANN reasonably informed of any material developments relating to .sydney gTLD including compliance with the continued operations instrument obligations as set out in Specification 8 of the Registry Agreement.

DPC does not initially intend to utilise Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs). However, as the use of the .sydney gTLD evolves, it is anticipated that DPC may decide to utilise IDNs within the .sydney domain space to allow internet users to engage with .sydney in their native language and via their local website, creating a more positive user experience and encouraging diversity. In accordance with Specification 5 of the Registry Agreement, and as specified in the response to Question 22, geographic names will not be available for registration without prior agreement from the relevant government or review and approval by the GAC.