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18(c) What operating rules will you adopt to eliminate or minimize social costs?

gTLDFull Legal NameE-mail suffixDetail
.artDadotart, Inc.deviantart.comView
18.3.1 What operating rules will you adopt to eliminate or minimize social costs (e.g., time or financial resource costs, as well as various types of consumer vulnerabilities)?

Dadotart believes the proposed operating rules that undertake to initially reserve key names including trademarks, as well as its proposed policies on eligibility, name selection and name use will provide clarity and predictability to name registration, thereby reducing social costs. In full operation the .ART gTLD will provide a trusted online environment for the arts community. There should be no need for other trademark and brand owners to defensively register in the gTLD. This verified eco-system also provides consumers with a single trusted source for arts information and communication. Dadotart also believes that the safeguards set forth in the Applicant Guidebook and the proposed business modeled outlined in Sections 18.1 and 18.1.2 and the policies planned and noted in 18.2.4 will minimize and potential negative social costs.


18.3.2 What other steps will you take to minimize negative consequences⁄costs imposed upon consumers?
Dadotart believes that the proposed operation of the .ART gTLD as set forth in this application has no known negative consequences or cost implications for consumers. To the contrary, the proposed operation of this registry will likely lead to direct and quantifiable benefits to consumers. Dadotart believes that by following the core values as identified in Section 18.2 it will be able provide real value to the consumer and minimize any potential negative consequences⁄costs.

More particularly, the three phases of PAB creation, pre-launch, and launch and ongoing registration of the .ART gTLD are designed to minimize social costs and negative externalities. They protect potential registrants and potentially affected parties while maximizing the value of the name space to its registrants and users.

This approach is based on the premise that extensive screening efforts by the registry in the early stages will create a fair and orderly name space with lower compliance costs in the long term.

18.3.3 How will multiple applications for a particular domain name be resolved, for example, by auction or on a first-come⁄first-serve basis?
In phases and areas where the first-come-first-served principle tends to yield perverse results, alternative modes will be used.

(1) In the PAB creation phase community research will identify names to be entered into reserved lists and the rules by which they will be allocated;
(2) In the pre-launch phase key portal names of use to the entire community will be registered and used for communication and outreach; and
(3) A launch phase led by protection for and registration by trademark holders and those eligible to hold names on reserved lists.


It is anticipated that the pre-launch portal development program identified in (2) above will involve key participants in the Art Community. The portal development program will allocate domain names based on an open and transparent project selection process. This process is highly economical in terms of social costs and yields substantial external benefits.

The portal development program is an essential part of .ART outreach. It begins before delegation of the TLD. In terms of workload and it mainly affects proposers who themselves are required to demonstrate support for their projects. Support will be required to come from the segment of the community concerned with the respective portion of the name space. Given the high value of the resulting on-line resources for the community and the public interest, and given the economic benefits that can be derived from their operation, the administrative effort is largely justified. To further protect affected parties, all adjudications in name space mandates have a safety-valve clause, allowing for later adjustments based on community input. The principle of the safety-valve is that affected parties can obtain adjustments to a component of a mandate if they propose (and commit to) an improved use of the underlying domain names from a public interest perspective.

The launch programs referred to in (3) above combine the so-called “sunrise” and “landrush” processes simultaneously in one phase. The use of domain applications instead of domain registrations means that the registry accepts multiple applications the same domain name. (By contrast, only a single registration can exist for a given domain.) In this way, contention resolution can take place without time pressure in a transparent, fair and orderly manner.


At the time of ongoing registration the first-come rule will be followed. Registrations will be checked in a post-validation process and subject to an enforcement program based on statistically targeted random investigation and complaint follow-up. This program minimizes both costs to registrants and third parties. In particular, it strongly diminishes the attractiveness of rights violations, abuse or malignant behavior. Having been preceded by a controlled launch phase, the validation and enforcement workload faces no resource bottleneck and thus achieves a high degree of credibility, further dissuading abuse from the start. This mode of operation has a strong positive side effect in the interest of trademark holders.


18.3.3 How will multiple applications for a particular domain name be resolved, for example, by auction or on a first-come⁄first-serve basis?
As described below, during pre-launch and launch phase, the first-come-first-served principle is NOT applied. Adjudication by auction is one of the solutions available to the parties in the context of the contention resolution process. In the phase of ongoing registrations the first-come⁄first-served basis of name allocation will be followed, unless the name is one that is on a reserved list, in which case the allocation rules applicable to that list will be followed.

In phases and areas where the first-come-first-served principle tends to yield perverse results, alternative modes will be used.

(1) In the PAB creation phase community research will identify names to be entered into reserved lists and the rules by which they will be allocated;
(2) In the pre-launch phase key portal names of use to the entire community will be registered and used for communication and outreach; and
A launch phase led by protection for and registration by trademark holders and those eligible to hold names on reserved lists.

It is anticipated that the pre-launch portal development program identified in (2) above will involve builders and users in the Art community. The portal development program will allocate domain names based on an open and transparent project selection process. This process is highly economical in terms of social costs and yields substantial external benefits.

The portal development program is an essential part of .Art outreach. It begins before delegation of the TLD. In terms of workload, it mainly affects proposers who themselves are required to demonstrate support for their projects. Support will be required to come from the segment of the community concerned with the respective portion of the name space. Given the high value of the resulting on-line resources for the community and the public interest, and given the economic benefits that can be derived from their operation, the administrative effort is largely justified. To further protect affected parties, all adjudications in name space mandates have a safety-valve clause, allowing for later adjustments based on community input. The principle of the safety-valve is that affected parties can obtain adjustments to a component of a mandate if they propose (and commit to) an improved use of the underlying domain names from a public interest perspective.

The launch programs referred to in (3) above combine the so-called “sunrise” and “landrush” processes simultaneously in one phase. The use of domain applications instead of domain registrations means that the registry accepts multiple applications the same domain name. (By contrast, only a single registration can exist for a given domain.) In this way, contention resolution can take place without time pressure in a transparent, fair and orderly manner.

At the time of ongoing registration the first-com rule will be followed. Registrations will be checked in a post-validation process and subject to an enforcement program based on statistically targeted random investigation and complaint follow-up. This program minimizes both costs to registrants and third parties. In particular, it strongly diminishes the attractiveness of rights violations, abuse or malignant behaviour. Having been preceded by a controlled launch phase, the validation and enforcement workload faces no resource bottleneck and thus achieves a high degree of credibility, further dissuading abuse from the start. This mode of operation has a strong positive side effect in the interest of trademark holders.

18.3.4 Explain any cost benefits for registrants you intend to implement (e.g., advantageous pricing, introductory discounts, bulk registration discounts).
The focus of the .ART gTLD is a competitive cost to registrants and stakeholders that takes into account the limited community nature of the gTLD. This takes into account all burdens, including the effort needed to register or the potential alternative cost to obtain a name on the secondary market. The direct per-unit cost is merely a component of the bottom-line cost.

The cost is greatly reduced by avoiding contention between legitimate community-based applicants and speculators. Community-specific promotion code programs will be used from time to time to offer registrations at low cost. This is a way to avoid perverse effects of low prices, such as speculation with ultimately high costs to registrants, large-scale confusion and waste of the name space, or cybersquatting.

The portal development program will have special terms in order ensure that key portions of name space are used in the public interest.

18.3.5 Note that the Registry Agreement requires that registrars be offered the option to obtain initial domain name registrations for periods of one to ten years at the discretion of the registrar, but no greater than ten years. Additionally, the Registry Agreement requires advance written notice of price increases. Do you intend to make contractual commitments to registrants regarding the magnitude of price escalation? If so, please describe your plans.

The .ART TLD will not be based on or otherwise involve contractual clauses regarding price escalation between the .ART Registry and its registrars.

The .ART business plan is designed to avoid any future necessity to increase registry price in real terms. The fundamental principle is prudence: starting from conservative price levels that allow self-sustainability at the registration levels projected and gradually lowering prices as registration volumes increase beyond the minimum necessary for self-sustained operation. This method ensures sufficient financial reserves, favors optimal allocation of domain names, helps prevent misuse and supports an orderly registration process.

gTLDFull Legal NameE-mail suffixDetail
.momUniregistry, Corp.internet.proView
18C - Operating Rules To Reduce Social Costs


18.C.1 Assignment of Domain Names

New TLDs ought to serve all registrants equally on a first-come, first-served basis, while reserving the opportunity for incumbents to optionally enhance the existing goodwill of their established identities or, alternatively avoid dilution of their Internet identity, without having that choice forced upon them.

Uniregistry believes introduction of new TLDs should not be an opportunity for registries to engage in what is viewed by some as extortion of payment for brand protection. Our financial projections do not include, expect, nor rely upon an assumed profit from defensive registrations. Prior to general registration availability, Uniregistry will conduct a Sunrise period during which names may be reserved or registered on the basis of trade or service marks validated by the Trademark Clearinghouse.

Brand owners who are not interested in using the TLD should not be charged a premium nor risk implicitly threatened consequences of non-registration. Hence, we will offer the opportunity to block trade or service marks in the .MOM TLD strictly on a cost-recovery basis. While the Trademark Clearinghouse provides an economy of scale for Sunrise programs across registries, Uniregistry will provide further burden reduction with a ʺonce and for allʺ unified multi-TLD Sunrise registration application process. A single Sunrise application can be designated to cover all future TLDs which Uniregistry is entrusted to manage, such that delegation of other TLDs to Uniregistry decreases the net cost, time and inconvenience to any parties engaged in intellectual property protection.

Domain names not allocated during the trademark sunrise process or registry reserved in accordance with ICANN policies and GAC advice, will be made available to all registrants equally on a first-come, first-served basis. At launch, Uniregistry intends to implement randomized and equitable rate-limited registration queues to both handle the load at the registry and also ensure that registrants and their registrars have equal opportunities to register their preferred domain names. Uniregistryʹs business model also does not assume or rely upon reservation and sale of ʺpremium namesʺ or other forms of domain speculation.

18.C.2 Cost Structure and Increases

Uniregistry will offer flat-rate, affordable pricing. It intends to offer certain co-marketing rebates and incentives to all registrars, some of which may be returned to registrants as introductory or bulk registration discounts at the discretion of the registrar.

While not a ʺcommunityʺ application, Uniregistry views its prospective domain registrants as a community to be served, and not exploited. Uniregistry intends to make a contractual commitment to registrants and their registrars not to increase registry prices above cost of inflation for the first five years after launch of the registry. Our initial pricing model allows registry prices to find a market value that may be substantially below our projections, which are based on conservative assumptions of registration volume, rather than locking in a captive market with a deceptively low initial registration cost.

Uniregistry does not believe that registry fees should rise when the costs of other technology services have uniformly trended downward, simply because a registry operator believes it can extract higher profit from its base of registrants. While competition in registrar services by ICANN caused an initial and substantial drop in retail domain registration prices, the fees for registry services have increased over the same span of time. Those increases have not been justified by increased Internet traffic, and thus zone server operational cost, since the cost the underlying technology has trended down while performance has increased. We do not believe registry fees should follow a different trend than comparable technological services. Uniregistryʹs management includes individuals who participated in anti-trust litigation which was brought to combat increases in existing TLD registry charges they believed to be unjustified, and we have no intention of following that path. We believe our best opportunity for prosperity is to offer a reliable, differentiated TLD which will attract increasing numbers of registrants.

18.C.3 Mitigating Externalities

18.C.3.1 Pro-Active Abuse Prevention, Monitoring, and Mitigation

Historically, domain name registries have viewed their companies as purely technical service providers and seen socially undesirable Internet behavior, such as abuse, criminality and fraud, as someone elseʹs problem. The Internet increasingly permeates human interactions and processes, whether those interactions are social, commercial, financial, industrial, or governmental. Uniregistry believes that a registry should possess sophisticated technical tools to identify and redress behavior, wielded by experienced and knowledgeable management committed to rapid response to clearly abusive behavior. While what may be a criminal act in one jurisdiction might be a lawful expression in another, we believe it is possible, and necessary, to define and respond to behaviors which constitute, in their motivations and consequences, attacks on the Internet itself as a reliable medium for the free expression of ideas, information and commerce. Fraud, cybervandalism, identity theft and other universally recognized forms of cybercrime can adversely impact utilization of the Internet to advance the human condition in ways that are as insidious as the injudicious application of policies designed to combat them.

This Application proposes a suite of abuse prevention, investigation and response tools, including active monitoring of WHOIS accuracy; participation in ISCʹs Security Information Exchange; detection of anomalous network traffic consistent with abuse profiles; agents for service of legal process, warrants and subpoenas in the United States; a single point of contact for abuse reporting and response with 24x7 availability; a directory of abuse response resources for third party responders; zone file access; searchable WHOIS; anti-terrorism measures; and graduated tiers of registrar incentives and disincentives based on policy compliance and responsiveness. As undesirable Internet behavior continues to evolve in sophistication and creative unpredictability Uniregistryʹs commitment to be an active participant in the relevant cooperative law enforcement and industry and anti-abuse communities, and the demonstrated record of Uniregistryʹs contractor Internet Systems Consortium in that regard, is perhaps of greater importance than the rules, policies and services which Uniregistry will provide and enforce.

18.C.3.2 Civil Disputes

Uniregistry will require and enforce registrar compliance with the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute Resolution Policy, Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS), and all requirements of the RAA relevant to civil disputes. The URS is not currently offered by any dispute resolution provider which has committed to ICANNʹs target estimate of $300 for URS disputes. Uniregistry believes that cases of clearly unambiguous, facially apparent cybersquatting against established brands can be resolved fairly, promptly and economically, because the type of cases qualifying for the URS are precisely the sort of cases which do not require analysis at length. Uniregistry will seek to implement a URS equivalent to be administered by recognized experts in the field of domain name disputes in the absence of URS availability at the cost target established by ICANN. In conjunction with Sunrise registrations, Uniregisty will implement Sunrise challenges to address abuse of the Sunrise registration system; a trademark claim notification service for pre-empting a defense of ignorance as an excuse for cybersquatting; designated resolution of suspended or blocked domains to prevent ISP re-direction of non-resolving names; and a registration string watch service to permit policing of domain registrations containing strings of interest to users.

Because of the particular attractiveness of the .MOM TLD to registrants who use their personal or professional names in the relevant commercial field, and which may not constitute trade or service marks per se, Uniregistry will further implement an individual name dispute procedure which is designed to address a form of cybersquatting that has received uneven treatment under existing dispute policies.

18.C.3.3 Technical Security and Stability

Uniregistryʹs technical services provider, ISC is well known in the domain name services community as the operator of the F-Root, and its personnel include highly respected and experienced participants in the Internet Engineering Task Force, and numerous ICANN working groups, task forces and committees. ISC brings decades of experience in operating high reliability and high security systems to the operation of the .MOM TLD. The application proposes a modular, scalable, and geographically diverse registry platform which can accommodate registration volume and name resolution second to none, independent of whether the actual volume fails to meet or overwhelming exceeds expectations, and can accommodate addition or replacement of capacity without service interruption. The WHOIS system described in the application is further designed to accommodate selective publication of WHOIS data on a jurisdictional basis, as various standards for the handling of personal data continue to evolve.

18.C.3.5 Financial Stability

Experience gained since the launch of new TLDs and general marketing of certain ccTLDssince 2000 has demonstrated that treatment of a TLD delegation as a privately-owned balance sheet asset or private fiefdom does not inspire user confidence. Uniregistry believes that delegation of a TLD is an appointment of a private steward of a public trust. Accordingly, a registry should be prepared to execute a plan of operation which does not rely on rosy scenarios, unrealistic projections and revenue gimmicks.

Uniregistryʹs business plan is based on providing registry services to end users, and not on ʺpremium nameʺ sales, extorting trademark owners, or returning gains to passive outside investors. Uniregistry is not seeking to obtain any necessary capital based on the prospect of selling a stake in Uniregistry ownership contingent upon approval of this application. Uniregistry is well-capitalized, fully funded and ready to commence operation rapidly upon approval of this application.