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18(a) Describe the mission/purpose of your proposed gTLD

gTLDFull Legal NameE-mail suffixDetail
.salonAesthetics Practitioners Advisory Network Pty Ltdpointonpartners.com.auView
APAN (Aesthetics Practitioners Advisory Network Pty Ltd) is applying to become an ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) accredited Top Level Domain (TLD) registry and believes it meets the operational, technical and financial capabilities requirements to win and securely operate the TLD (Top Level Domain) registry. Accordingly, the Mission and Purpose of the proposed TLD reflects the goals and Policy Rules that are necessary to achieve their objectives. The TLD and the proposed gTLD (Global Top Level Domain) refer to the same information.

1. MISSION

APAN recognizes that the hair and beauty industry globally has a mission to improve consumer morale and confidence through services, techniques and products that minimize stress and enhance the clientʹs wellbeing and appearance. This is equally significant and important during difficult economic times.

Understanding the challenges that hinder the survival and growth of this business sector, APAN’s mission is to provide a new innovative vehicle through the launch of an industry-specific domain name space DOT SALON that will enhance this sector’s visibility, market exposure, support consumer interaction, improve sustainability and stimulate opportunities for future growth.

2. PURPOSE

Through a more efficient and targeted innovative tool APAN’s purpose is to substantially improve and optimize the salon industry’s exposure, support the accessibility of existing customers and simplify the ability for new consumers who are seeking to use their products and service to locate them. Through the introduction of an ICANN accredited Top Level Domain (TLD) and the launch of the proposed gTLD APAN’s ultimate aim is to foster a new environment that will enhance business growth to a more robust state than is currently experienced world-wide. Having a new industry-specific targeted tool will also minimize costs to registrants removing the need of multiple domain names within the various domain spaces in order to maximize their exposure. More specifically the purpose of APAN is to:

2.1. Introduce choice to businesses to improve their exposure through a more specific and targeted domain name space DOT SALON as marketed through registrars world-wide.
2.2. For salons who were not able to closely match their business name with their web name the new proposed TLD will allow them the opportunity to now do so, rather than having to rely on abstract connections between their business name and domain name.
2.3. Consumers will be able to recognize them as a salon as their web name will now clearly identify them as a salon.
2.4. Optimizing the domain name space will support diversification and create a new innovative way for salons to quickly and effectively update consumers on new advances and offers in a timely manner.
2.5. By providing an effective, efficient and economical tool to optimize their market presence, businesses will now be able to grow their market share with greater ease.
2.6. By providing registrars with industry-specific information registrars will be able to put together packages to further support and boost business communication and growth for this sector and create a greater incentive for users to be actively involved with the Internet through a stronger and more focused Internet presence.
2.7. It will boost brand awareness, visibility, reputation, and enhance healthy competition through this targeted tool that can optimize the communication of information and provide a stronger Web and Internet presence.
2.8. The proposed TLD will also benefit both registrants and end users by helping free up a number of domains in other domain name spaces that they have previously occupied.
2.9. Through the proposed TLD registrars will now be able to offer registrants (salon businesses) the provision to make available to them a salon-specific domain name rather than them taking names in inappropriate name spaces e.g. dot org or dot name etc.

3. The new proposed TLD will allow end users to better understand the availability of options, enhance consumer trust and confidence by improving their ability to access information they are looking for with greater speed and ease.
3.1. The proposed TLD will allow businesses to gain the confidence in developing new innovative ideas to increase their market share and grow their businesses.

The Mission and Purpose of the proposed TLD support the financial strength and commitment of the proposed gTLD to meet the operational and financial capability requirements to operate the TLD registry in accordance with ICANNʹs requirements.
gTLDFull Legal NameE-mail suffixDetail
.toursSugar Station, LLCdonuts.coView
Q18A CHAR: 7985

ABOUT DONUTS
Donuts Inc. is the parent applicant for this and multiple other TLDs. The company intends to increase competition and consumer choice at the top level. It will operate these carefully selected TLDs safely and securely in a shared resources business model. To achieve its objectives, Donuts has recruited seasoned executive management with proven track records of excellence in the industry. In addition to this business and operational experience, the Donuts team also has contributed broadly to industry policymaking and regulation, successfully launched TLDs, built industry-leading companies from the ground up, and brought innovation, value and choice to the domain name marketplace.

DONUTS’ PLACE WITHIN ICANN’S MISSION
ICANN and the new TLD program share the following purposes:
1. to make sure that the Internet remains as safe, stable and secure as possible, while
2. helping to ensure there is a vibrant competitive marketplace to efficiently bring the benefits of the namespace to registrants and users alike.

ICANN harnesses the power of private enterprise to bring forth these public benefits. While pursuing its interests, Donuts helps ICANN accomplish its objectives by:

1. Significantly widening competition and choice in Internet identities with hundreds of new top-level domain choices;
2. Providing innovative, robust, and easy-to-use new services, names and tools for users, registrants, registrars, and registries while at the same time safeguarding the rights of others;
3. Designing, launching, and securely operating carefully selected TLDs in multiple languages and character sets; and
4. Providing a financially robust corporate umbrella under which its new TLDs will be protected and can thrive.

ABOUT DONUTS’ RESOURCES
Donuts’ financial resources are extensive. The company has raised more than US$100 million from a number of capital sources including multiple multi-billion dollar venture capital and private equity funds, a top-tier bank, and other well-capitalized investors. Should circumstances warrant, Donuts is prepared to raise additional funding from current or new investors. Donuts also has in place pre-funded, Continued Operations Instruments to protect future registrants. These resource commitments mean Donuts has the capability and intent to launch, expand and operate its TLDs in a secure manner, and to properly protect Internet users and rights-holders from potential abuse.

Donuts firmly believes a capable and skilled organization will operate multiple TLDs and benefit Internet users by:

1. Providing the operational and financial stability necessary for TLDs of all sizes, but particularly for those with smaller volume (which are more likely to succeed within a shared resources and shared services model);
2. Competing more powerfully against incumbent gTLDs; and
3. More thoroughly and uniformly executing consumer and rights holder protections.

THIS TLD
This TLD is attractive and useful to end-users as it better facilitates search, self-expression, information sharing and the provision of legitimate goods and services. Along with the other TLDs in the Donuts family, this TLD will provide Internet users with opportunities for online identities and expression that do not currently exist. In doing so, the TLD will introduce significant consumer choice and competition to the Internet namespace – the very purpose of ICANN’s new TLD program.

This TLD is a generic term and its second level names will be attractive to a variety of Internet users. Making this TLD available to a broad audience of registrants is consistent with the competition goals of the New TLD expansion program, and consistent with ICANN’s objective of maximizing Internet participation. Donuts believes in an open Internet and, accordingly, we will encourage inclusiveness in the registration policies for this TLD. In order to avoid harm to legitimate registrants, Donuts will not artificially deny access, on the basis of identity alone (without legal cause), to a TLD that represents a generic form of activity and expression.

DONUTS’ APPROACH TO PROTECTIONS
No entity, or group of entities, has exclusive rights to own or register second level names in this TLD. There are superior ways to minimize the potential abuse of second level names, and in this application Donuts will describe and commit to an extensive array of protections against abuse, including protections against the abuse of trademark rights.

We recognize some applicants seek to address harms by constraining access to the registration of second level names. However, we believe attempts to limit abuse by limiting registrant eligibility is unnecessarily restrictive and harms users by denying access to many legitimate registrants. Restrictions on second level domain eligibility would prevent law-abiding individuals and organizations from participating in a space to which they are legitimately connected, and would inhibit the sort of positive innovation we intend to see in this TLD. As detailed throughout this application, we have struck the correct balance between consumer and business safety, and open access to second level names.

By applying our array of protection mechanisms, Donuts will make this TLD a place for Internet users that is far safer than existing TLDs. Donuts will strive to operate this TLD with fewer incidences of fraud and abuse than occur in incumbent TLDs. In addition, Donuts commits to work toward a downward trend in such incidents.

OUR PROTECTIONS
Donuts has consulted with and evaluated the ideas of international law enforcement, consumer privacy advocacy organizations, intellectual property interests and other Internet industry groups to create a set of protections that far exceed those in existing TLDs, and bring to the Internet namespace nearly two dozen new rights and protection mechanisms to raise user safety and protection to a new level.

These include eight, innovative and forceful mechanisms and resources that far exceed the already powerful protections in the applicant guidebook. These are:

1. Periodic audit of WhoIs data for accuracy;
2. Remediation of inaccurate Whois data, including takedown, if warranted;
3. A new Domain Protected Marks List (DPML) product for trademark protection;
4. A new Claims Plus product for trademark protection;
5. Terms of use that prohibit illegal or abusive activity;
6. Limitations on domain proxy and privacy service;
7. Published policies and procedures that define abusive activity; and
8. Proper resourcing for all of the functions above.

They also include fourteen new measures that were developed specifically by ICANN for the new TLD process. These are:

1. Controls to ensure proper access to domain management functions;
2. 24⁄7⁄365 abuse point of contact at registry;
3. Procedures for handling complaints of illegal or abusive activity, including remediation and takedown processes;
4. Thick WhoIs;
5. Use of the Trademark Clearinghouse;
6. A Sunrise process;
7. A Trademark Claims process;
8. Adherence to the Uniform Rapid Suspension system;
9. Adherence to the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy;
10. Adherence to the Post Delegation Dispute Resolution Policy;
11. Detailed security policies and procedures;
12. Strong security controls for access, threat analysis and audit;
13. Implementation DNSSEC; and
14. Measures for the prevention of orphan glue records.

DONUTS’ INTENTION FOR THIS TLD
As a senior government authority has recently said, “a successful applicant is entrusted with operating a critical piece of global Internet infrastructure.” Donuts’ plan and intent is for this TLD to serve the international community by bringing new users online through opportunities for economic growth, increased productivity, the exchange of ideas and information and greater self-expression.