18(b) How do you expect that your proposed gTLD will benefit registrants, Internet users, and others?

Prototypical answer:

How do you expect that your proposed gTLD will benefit registrants, internet users, and others?

We expect that the proposed .nfl gTLD will benefit Internet users and others by providing a more secure and authentic experience for fans and others who use NFL-related websites. We plan that NFL Reg Ops, its Affiliates, and the thirty-two NFL Member Clubs will be the only registrants of .nfl domain names. As explained in the section above, we expect the .nfl gTLD to benefit a variety of NFL and fan interests.

i. What is the goal of your proposed gTLD in terms of areas of specialty, service levels, or reputation?

The goal of the proposed .nfl gTLD tracks its area of specialty: To have an opportunity to create a more secure and authentic online experience for NFL fans, to introduce more Internet users to American football, and to protect the NFLʹs intellectual property rights. The opportunity to combine many, if not all, existing NFL websites under a single, branded gTLD may assist us in providing a more satisfying, secure, and authentic online experience to NFL fans and NFL partners. It is our goal that the service levels and reputation of the .nfl gTLD be of the highest level - commensurate with the goodwill and reputation of the world-famous NFL brand.

ii. What do you anticipate your proposed gTLD will add to the current space, in terms of competition, differentiation, or innovation?

Worldwide, there are no sports teams or leagues currently utilizing team or league specific TLDs. The introduction of an .nfl gTLD clearly changes the status quo. An .nfl registry has the potential to give fans, Internet users, and business partners a new and unique portal dedicated to all of the different NFL online offerings, all in a more secure online environment to communicate to users that the online NFL experience is safe and authentic.

An .nfl gTLD also adds differentiation to the current space because we anticipate that the only registrants and users of the .nfl gTLD will be NFL Reg Ops, its Affiliates, and the NFLʹs thirty-two Member Clubs. Restricting registration and use of the .nfl gTLD may also provide a new platform for innovation. For instance, it may allow us to create a simple and user-friendly second-level domain name hierarchy for fans, Affiliates, and others to easily reach team, ticket, advertising, news, live content, charitable, merchandise, and interactive pages. And, of course, an .nfl gTLD will enable the NFL to continue its history of innovation and unique user experiences in ways not yet known.

iii. What goals does your proposed gTLD have in terms of user experience?

We want NFL fans, our Affiliates, and business partners, as well as general Internet users, to expect that they can rely on and trust NFL websites. Accordingly, we hope that the .nfl gTLD will provide the opportunity to create a more secure and authentic online experience for NFL fans, to introduce more Internet users to American football, and to protect the NFLʹs intellectual property rights. These goals would apply regardless of whether an Internet user is trying to purchase tickets or merchandise, seeking NFL news, checking the standings of his⁄her fantasy football team, or watching videos of his⁄her favorite games.

iv. Provide a complete description of the applicantʹs intended registration policies in support of the goals listed above.

NFL Reg Ops intends to adopt and carry out policies for the registration and use of .nfl domain names. We will revise and update these policies (a) in accordance with our interests and those of our Affiliates and the NFL Member Clubs; and (b) as needed to comply with requirements of ICANN Consensus Policies and Temporary Policies. These policies cover eligibility requirements for registration and use of .nfl domain names, what .nfl domains may be registered, and how .nfl domains may be used.

As stated previously, it is anticipated that only the Applicant, its Affiliates, and the thirty-two NFL Member Clubs (the ʺEligible .nfl Registrantsʺ) will be permitted to register and use .nfl domain names. Before any .nfl domain name is registered, we will confirm that the potential registrant is one of the Eligible .nfl Registrants.

All .nfl domain names will be registered in the name of the Eligible .nfl Registrant. No .nfl domain name will be transferred, assigned, or licensed to any third party that is not an Eligible .nfl Registrant.

Further, we will ensure that each .nfl domain name meets the following criteria:

1. It is not the label ʺEXAMPLEʺ - either at the second level or any other level in which we may allow registrations.
2. All domain names must be at least three characters long, unless we reach a specific agreement with a government and country-code manager to use a two-character domain or our proposal to allow registration and use of such names based on implementation of measures to avoid confusion with the corresponding country codes is approved.
3. No .nfl domain name may be longer than 63 characters.
4. All .nfl domain names shall consist only of the letters a-z, the digits 0-9, and a hyphen.
5. .nfl domain names shall not start or end with a hyphen, but must start and end with an alphanumeric character.
6. Hyphens will not be included in the third and fourth position unless they represent valid internationalized domain names in their ASCII encoding (tagging).
7. No protected country or territory name shall be used, as contained in the internationally recognized lists set forth in Specification 5 to the New gTLD Registry Agreement, unless the NFL reaches agreement with the applicable government(s) or pursuant to review and approval by ICANNʹs Governmental Advisory Committee and ICANN.
8. No domain name can match any ICANN-reserved strings.

The .nfl registry will support Internationalized Domain Names (ʺIDNʺ) at the second level.

All .nfl domain names shall be used solely for purposes that are, in our judgment and discretion, consistent with our business interests. No .nfl domain name shall be used in a way that knowingly infringes any third-party intellectual property rights.

All WHOIS data for all .nfl will be complete and accurate.

v. Will your proposed gTLD impose any measures for protecting the privacy or confidential information of registrants or users? If so, please describe any such measures.

NFL Reg Ops, its Affiliates, and the thirty-two NFL Member Clubs, recognize that privacy is an important issue to users of existing NFL websites and potential future .nfl websites. NFL Reg Ops is a corporation organized in the United States, and will comply with all applicable data collection and privacy laws. Moreover, we intend to fully comply with the Personal Data obligations outlined in Section 2.17 of the new gTLD Registry Agreement.

Privacy protection measures may potentially include: (1) use of appropriate levels of encryption; (2) compliance with the EU Safe Harbor framework as set forth by the United States Department of Commerce regarding the collection, use, and retention of data from the European Union (see http:⁄⁄www.export.gov⁄safeharbor⁄); (3) regular testing procedures; (4) opt-in opportunities to receive third party offers; (5) restricted access to personal information to those who need it to do their jobs; and, among others, (6) the ability for website users to correct, update, or remove personal data.

Also, describe whether and in what ways outreach and communications will help to achieve your projected benefits.

We anticipate that we will conduct outreach and communications in a way and scale consistent with the objectives, standards and policies described in this gTLD application.

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