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

gTLDFull Legal NameE-mail suffixDetail
.MORMONIRI Domain Management, LLC (ʺApplicantʺ)kmclaw.comView
i. Areas of specialty, reputation, service levels.

The .MORMON gTLD will aim to provide benefits for Internet users in areas of specialty and reputation and, to a lesser extent, in service levels.

The .MORMON gTLD and its companion proposed gTLD .LDS will be the only two TLDs on the Internet dedicated exclusively to the distinctive needs and interests of the Church, Church members, and others interested in receiving accurate information about the Church and its beliefs and activities. Areas of specialty will naturally flow from this exclusive focus by the registry operator. Such areas may include, but are not limited to: information about the lives and religious faith of individual members; multi-media presentations about Church values and beliefs; and instructions on how to contact Church members or missionaries for additional information.

The .MORMON gTLD will seek to build on the Church’s global reputation by striving for the highest standards in online communications. A current website operated by the Church, MORMON.org, was recognized in 2011 by Interactive Media Awards as one of the Internet’s Top Ten Websites. The Applicant anticipates that the same high standards will characterize the operation of the .MORMON gTLD and the content offered there.

Service levels do not carry the same importance for the .MORMON gTLD as they would for TLDs operated for profit. As explained more fully in the Intended Registration Policies described below, only the Applicant or its designated party will be eligible to register names under the proposed TLD. For that reason, no third-party registrant will be affected by service levels under the proposed TLD.

With respect to Internet users, the Applicant is committed to provide continuous, high-quality service for users who access any content offered in websites under the proposed TLD. It has engaged the backend registry services of Afilias Ltd. and the data escrow services of NCC Group, Inc., world leaders in providing these services. The Applicant’s contracts with them, the terms of which amply satisfy the technical requirements of operating a TLD (as described in answers to questions 23-44), also establish the continuity of service and high quality technical facilities necessary to serve the Community in keeping with the mission of the .MORMON gTLD. User feedback will be invited at a designated email address, reviewed regularly, and considered when making changes and improvements to online content and services.

ii. Adding to the Current Space.

It is anticipated that the proposed .MORMON gTLD will add to the current TLD space in terms of differentiation by creating an area in the root zone essentially designated for the distinct needs of the Church, its members, and other Internet users interested in learning about the Church and its values and beliefs. Those needs include, but are not limited to: delivering authentic and authoritative information about the Church and its activities; informing Internet users about Church values and beliefs; inviting users interested in learning more about the Church to contact Church members or missionaries; and offering contact and location information for local Church congregations and places of interest.

The proposed .MORMON gTLD is intended to advance the mission of the Church and not to affect market competition in the TLD industry.

Innovation in online services certainly appears to be possible, given the technical platform that management of a new gTLD will provide. The Applicant will carefully study such techniques as they become available or apparent following delegation of the proposed gTLD into the root, and consider deploying them to improve its service to the Community. But it has no specific innovations that it anticipates deploying at this time.

iii. User experience.

The .MORMON TLD will aim to provide a unique user experience for Church members and other Internet users interested in learning about the Church, its beliefs, and its activities. That experience will be characterized by the principles of authenticity and accessibility.

The proposed gTLD will provide authentic and authoritative content from the Church and its leaders. Such leadership is central to the religious beliefs and institutional structure of the Community. Church members are organized with a central leadership. They rely on the leadership and direction of general officers of the Church for religious instruction, personal direction, and administrative instructions in carrying out their personal and ecclesiastical responsibilities. Obtaining that information from a trusted online source is indispensable to Church members for their personal and family religious worship and for their ecclesiastical worship and activities. Operation of the proposed gTLD offers the Church an opportunity to ensure that the online content it provides to Church members and other Internet users will be delivered with the authenticity that the Church needs.

Content provided under the proposed TLD must be accessible to be effective. To that end, the Applicant is enlisting the technical assistance of world-class partners—Afilias and NCC Group—to ensure that robust technical facilities and services are in place to offer access with minimal downtime or technical faults. Meeting high standards of technical skill in providing authentic information about the Church is one of the reasons for the success of Mormon.org. The Applicant anticipates that content offered under the proposed gTLD would continue this established pattern.

iv. Intended Registration Policies.

a. Eligibility

Eligibility to register domain names under the .MORMON gTLD will be highly restricted. Only the Applicant and its designated representative, Church officers and employees, and organizations affiliated with the Church will have authority to register names. Restricting eligibility in this manner is justified because the mission of the proposed gTLD is to serve the Community, not to recover revenues through the sale of domains, and because permitting third-party registrants could confuse Community members about the authenticity of content on the gTLD, contrary to that mission.

The Applicant has developed a list of acceptable domains. They include names that denote the Church’s values such as service to others, lifelong learning, freedom to choose, and good citizenship; names describing the Church’s beliefs such as faith in Jesus Christ, God’s Plan of Happiness, God’s Commandments, Joseph Smith, and the Book of Mormon; and domains directing the user to “Worship with Us” or “Meet Missionaries.” Acceptable domain names also refer the reader to affiliated Church organizations such as “LDS Humanitarian Services.”

A list of Reserved Names also has been developed, composed of domain names that the Applicant will not resolve under the .MORMON TLD. Inappropriate terms such as “money” and “politics.” Individual Church members will not be granted domain names, in order to preserve the use of the .MORMON gTLD for the needs of the Church and its members, generally.

New domain names will be added through an internal process that has been established. Domain names may be proposed by any party eligible to register names. The proposed name will be forwarded to the Applicant’s manager and its outside counsel, Kirton McConkie. Registration requests will be decided by the manager in consultation with outside counsel. Disputes concerning eligibility will also be decided by the manager in consultation with outside counsel.

b. Name Selection

• Domain names under the .MORMON gTLD will be at least 3 characters and no more than 63 characters long.
• Domain names will consist only of letters, numbers, and hyphens and will start and end with an alphanumeric character but not a hyphen.

Applicant will reserve from registration all names contained in Specification 5 of the New gTLD Agreement, “Schedule of Reserved Names at the Second Level in gTLD Registries.” This includes reservation of:

• The label “EXAMPLE”;
• Two-character labels, unless released pursuant to an agreement with the relevant government and country-code manager;
• Tagged domain names, defined as domain names with hyphens in the third and fourth positions;
• Names for registry operations, including NIC, WWW, IRIS, and WHOIS;
• Country names and territory names, except pursuant to an agreement with the relevant government or subject to the review by ICANN’s Governmental Advisory Committee (“GAC”) and approval by the ICANN Board of Directors.

Any party eligible to register domains under the .MORMON gTLD will be allowed to register any second-level domain in the format of “anyname.MORMON,” subject to the restrictions described above and the legal rights protections required by Specification 7 of the New gTLD Agreement.

c. Content⁄use

Domains registered under the .MORMON gTLD will be used in conformity with the stated mission of the proposed TLD. This means that domain names will be used to serve the needs and interests of the Church and its members, as determined by the Applicant’s manager in consultation with outside counsel.

d. Enforcement

Internal policies and procedures prevent any domain name from being added to the .MORMON registry without the approval of the Applicant’s manager. Every request for a domain name will be decided by the manager, in consultation with the Applicant’s outside counsel, Kirton McConkie. Their review will be intended to maintain compliance with Registration Policies and to retain consistency between the actual operations of the registry and its mission. Outside counsel will maintain the list of Reserved Names. Any internal challenges to a proposed domain name registration will be decided by the Applicant’s manager following a recommendation by outside counsel.

Because the .MORMON gTLD is restricted to the Applicant and related entities, no enforcement issues with respect to third parties will arise and appeal mechanisms applicable to such issues are unnecessary.

v. Protecting Confidential Information.

The .MORMON gTLD will impose measures for protecting the privacy or confidential information of Internet users. Measures to protect registrant information are unnecessary because there will be no third-party registrants eligible to register names under the .MORMON gTLD.

The Applicant will impose measures generally in keeping with guidelines adopted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (“OECD”). Such measures include:

Collection limitation. Personal data consisting of name, street address, e-mail address, and telephone number may be collected voluntarily from Internet users for restricted purposes described below.

Data quality. Personal data that may be collected will be relevant (in fact, necessary) to the purposes for which they are to be used. Their accuracy, completeness, and currency will depend on the person submitting the data. No independent validation will be performed.

Specified purposes. The Applicant will post a Privacy Policy on the domains it launches under the proposed gTLD that will describe the purposes for collecting the personal data. Use of that data will be limited to the fulfillment of those purposes, as stated.

Use limitation. Personal data will not be disclosed except for the purposes stated in the Applicant’s Privacy Policy, except with the user’s consent or by authority of law.

Security safeguards. Personal data will be protected by reasonable security safeguards against loss, unauthorized access, destruction, use, modification, or disclosure. Such safeguards will be commercially reasonable and may include access control lists, identification and authentication protocols, and protection of information at rest.

Openness. The Applicant will follow a general policy of openness about developments, practices, and policies with respect to personal data. A full Privacy Policy posted on domains under the proposed gTLD will inform users of the existence and nature of personal data, the purposes for its collection and use, and the contact information for the Data Privacy Officer.

Individual Participation. An individual user will have opportunities to (a) inquire from the Data Privacy Officer whether the Applicant has data relating to him; (b) receive such data within a reasonable time at a reasonable charge; (c) challenge data relating to him and, if the challenge is successful, to have the data erased, rectified, completed, or amended.

Accountability. The data privacy officer will be accountable to the Applicant and its corporate parent for complying with the measures described above.

Outreach and Communications. The Applicant anticipates using the Church’s established channels of communication and outreach to help achieve the benefits projected above. The Church may rely on its Public Affairs Department, access to print and broadcast media, its own publications, web site announcements and email notifications, and direct communications between general Church officers and local Church leaders and congregations. These resources permit the Church to deliver its messages to target audiences effectively. General announcements regarding the launch of the proposed gTLD may be made using a combination of these resources, and further announcements may be made as content in various categories comes online.

gTLDFull Legal NameE-mail suffixDetail
.LDSIRI Domain Management, LLC (ʺApplicantʺ)kmclaw.comView
i. Areas of specialty, reputation, service levels.

The .LDS gTLD will aim to provide benefits for Internet users in areas of specialty and reputation and, to a lesser extent, in service levels.

The .LDS gTLD and its companion applied-for gTLD .MORMON will be the only two gTLDs on the Internet dedicated exclusively to the distinctive needs and interests of the Church, Church members, and others interested in receiving accurate information about the Church, its beliefs and activities. Areas of specialty will naturally flow from this exclusive focus by the registry operator. Such areas may include, but are not limited to: live webcasts of General Conference (a semi-annual gathering of Community members from around the world); online publication of Church magazines, manuals, guides, handbooks, and other official publications; official news and information about the Church and its activities; current direction and instructions to Community members from Church leaders; and a communications platform for Church leaders and employees to communicate with each other, for the purpose of carrying out the mission and operations of the Church.

The .LDS gTLD will seek to build on the Church’s global reputation by striving for the highest standards in online communications. A current website operated by the Church, MORMON.org, was recognized in 2011 by Interactive Media Awards as one of the Internet’s Top Ten Websites. The Applicant anticipates that the same high standards will characterize the operation of the .LDS gTLD and any content offered there.

Service levels do not carry the same importance for the .LDS gTLD as they would for gTLDs operated for profit. As explained more fully in the Intended Registration Policies described below, only the Applicant or its designated party will be eligible to register names under the proposed gTLD. For that reason, no third-party registrant will be affected by service levels under the proposed gTLD.

With respect to Internet users, the Applicant is committed to provide continuous, high-quality service for users who access any content offered in websites under the proposed gTLD. It has engaged the backend registry services of Afilias Ltd. and the data escrow services of NCC Group, Inc., world leaders in providing these services. The Applicant’s contracts with them, the terms of which amply satisfy the technical requirements of operating a gTLD (as described in answers to questions 23-44), also establish the continuity of service and high quality technical facilities necessary to serve the Community in keeping with the mission of the .LDS gTLD. User feedback will be invited at a designated email address, reviewed regularly, and considered when making changes and improvements to online content and services.

ii. Adding to the Current Space.

It is anticipated that the proposed .LDS gTLD will add to the current TLD space in terms of differentiation by creating an area in the root zone essentially designated for the distinct needs and interests of the Community. Those needs and interests include, but are not limited to: obtaining authentic and authoritative information from Church leaders and officers; obtaining Church materials to assist in carrying out Church responsibilities; locating Church congregations, local leaders, and nearby temples; researching family history; and learning about current activities of the Church, including its humanitarian efforts, educational programs, and missionary programs.

The proposed .LDS gTLD is intended to advance the mission of the Church and not to affect market competition in the TLD industry.

Innovation in online services certainly appears to be possible, given the technical platform that management of a new gTLD will provide. The Applicant will carefully study such techniques as they become available or apparent following delegation of the proposed gTLD into the root and consider deploying them to improve its service to the Community. But it has no specific innovations that it anticipates deploying at this time.

iii. User experience.

The .LDS gTLD will aim to provide a unique user experience for members of the Community. That experience will be characterized by the principles of authenticity and accessibility.

The proposed gTLD will provide authentic and authoritative content from the Church and its leaders. Such leadership is central to the religious beliefs and institutional structure of the Community. Church members are organized with a central leadership (as the answer to Question 20 describes more fully). They rely on the leadership and direction of general officers of the Church for religious instruction, personal direction, and administrative instructions in carrying out their personal and ecclesiastical responsibilities. Obtaining that information from a trusted online source is indispensable to Community members for their personal and family religious worship and for their ecclesiastical worship and activities. Operation of the proposed gTLD offers the Church an opportunity to ensure that the online content it provides will be delivered with the authenticity that the Community needs.

Content provided under the proposed gTLD must be accessible to be effective. To that end, the Applicant is enlisting the technical assistance of world-class partners—Afilias and NCC Group—to ensure that robust technical facilities and services are in place to offer access with minimal downtime or technical faults. Also, the Church already offers many of its webcasts and written materials in multiple languages, to serve the needs of its global Community. (For instance, October 2011 General Conference was made available online with simultaneous translations and recordings in 80 languages besides English.) The Applicant anticipates that content offered under the proposed gTLD would continue this established pattern.

iv. Intended Registration Policies.

a. Eligibility

Eligibility to register domain names under the .LDS gTLD will be highly restricted. Only the Applicant and its designated representative, Church officers and employees, and organizations affiliated with the Church will have authority to register names. Restricting eligibility in this manner is justified because the mission of the proposed gTLD is to serve the Community, not to recover revenues through the sale of domains, and because permitting third-party registrants could confuse Community members about the authenticity of content on the gTLD, contrary to that mission.

The Applicant has developed a list of acceptable domains. These include geographic units of the Church such as “area,” “mission,” “temple district,” and “stake.” They also include general Church organizations such as “Sunday School” and “Relief Society,” as well as matters of general interest to the Community such as “Church music” and “General Conference.” Acceptable domain names also include affiliated organizations such as “LDS Humanitarian Services.”

A list of Reserved Names has also been developed, composed of domain names that the Applicant will not resolve under the .LDS gTLD. This list includes inappropriate terms such as “money” and “politics.” Rank-and-file Church members will not be granted domain names, in order to preserve the use of the .LDS gTLD for the general needs of the Community.

New domain names will be added through an internal process that has been established. Domain names may be proposed by any party eligible to register names. The proposed name will be forwarded to the Applicant’s manager and its outside counsel, Kirton McConkie. Registration requests will be decided by the manager in consultation with outside counsel. Disputes concerning eligibility will also be decided by the manager in consultation with outside counsel.

b. Name Selection

• Domain names under the .LDS gTLD will be at least 3 characters and no more than 63 characters long.
• Domain names will consist only of letters, numbers, and hyphens and will start and end with an alphanumeric character but not a hyphen.

Applicant will reserve from registration all names contained in Specification 5 of the New gTLD Agreement, “Schedule of Reserved Names at the Second Level in gTLD Registries.” This includes reservation of:

• The label “EXAMPLE”;
• Two-character labels, unless released pursuant to an agreement with the relevant government and country-code manager;
• Tagged domain names, defined as domain names with hyphens in the third and fourth positions;
• Names for registry operations, including NIC, WWW, IRIS, and WHOIS;
• Country names and territory names, except pursuant to an agreement with the relevant government or subject to the review by ICANN’s Governmental Advisory Committee (“GAC”) and approval by the ICANN Board of Directors.

Any party eligible to register domains under the .LDS gTLD will be allowed to register any second-level domain in the format of “anyname.lds,” subject to the restrictions described above and the legal rights protections required by Specification 7 of the New gTLD Agreement.

c. Content⁄use

Domains registered under the .LDS gTLD will be used in conformity with the stated mission of the proposed gTLD. This means that domain names will be used to serve the needs and interests of the Community, as determined by the Applicant’s manager in consultation with outside counsel.

d. Enforcement

Internal policies and procedures prevent any domain name from being added to the .LDS registry without the approval of the Applicant’s manager. Every request for a domain name will be decided by him, in consultation with the Applicant’s outside counsel, Kirton McConkie. Their review will be intended to maintain compliance with Registration Policies and to retain consistency between the actual operations of the registry and its community-oriented mission. Outside counsel will maintain the list of Reserved Names. Any internal challenges to a proposed domain name registration will be decided by the Applicant’s manager following a recommendation by outside counsel.

Because the .LDS gTLD is restricted to the Applicant and related entities, no enforcement issues with respect to third parties will arise and appeal mechanisms applicable to such issues are unnecessary.

v. Protecting Confidential Information.

The .LDS gTLD will impose measures for protecting the privacy or confidential information of Internet users. Measures to protect registrant information are unnecessary because there will be no third-party registrants eligible to register names under the .LDS TLD.

The Applicant will impose measures generally in keeping with guidelines adopted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (“OECD”). Such measures include:

Collection limitation. Personal data consisting of name, street address, e-mail address, and telephone number may be collected voluntarily from Internet users for restricted purposes described below.

Data quality. Personal data that may be collected will be relevant (in fact, necessary) to the purposes for which they are to be used. Their accuracy, completeness, and currency will depend on the person submitting the data. No independent validation will be performed.

Specified purposes. The Applicant will post a Privacy Policy on the domains it launches under the proposed TLD that will describe the purposes for collecting the personal data. Use of that data will be limited to the fulfillment of those purposes, as stated.

Use limitation. Personal data will not be disclosed except for the purposes stated in the Applicant’s Privacy Policy, except with the user’s consent or by authority of law.

Security safeguards. Personal data will be protected by reasonable security safeguards against loss, unauthorized access, destruction, use, modification, or disclosure. Such safeguards will be commercially reasonable and may include access control lists, identification and authentication protocols, and protection of information at rest.

Openness. The Applicant will follow a general policy of openness about developments, practices, and policies with respect to personal data. A full Privacy Policy posted on domains under the proposed TLD will inform users of the existence and nature of personal data, the purposes for its collection and use, and the contact information for the Data Privacy Officer.

Individual Participation. An individual user will have opportunities to (a) inquire from the Data Privacy Officer whether the Applicant has data relating to him; (b) receive such data within a reasonable time at a reasonable charge; (c) challenge data relating to him and, if the challenge is successful, to have the data erased, rectified, completed, or amended.

Accountability. The data privacy officer will be accountable to the Applicant and its corporate parent for complying with the measures described above.

Outreach and Communications. The Applicant anticipates using the Church’s established channels of communication and outreach to help achieve the benefits projected above. The Church may rely on its Public Affairs Department, access to print and broadcast media, its own publications, web site announcements and email notifications, and direct communications between general Church officers and local Church leaders and congregations. These resources permit the Church to deliver its messages to target audiences effectively. General announcements regarding the launch of the proposed TLD may be made using a combination of these resources, and further announcements may be made as content in various categories comes online.