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29 Rights Protection Mechanisms

gTLDFull Legal NameE-mail suffixDetail
.emerckMerck KGaAbettinger.deView
Rights protection is a core responsibility of the Top-Level Domain (“TLD”) operator, and is supported by a well-developed plan for rights protection that includes:

- Establishing mechanisms to prevent unqualified registrations (e.g., registrations made in violation of the registry’s eligibility restrictions or policies);
- Implementing a robust Sunrise program, utilizing the Trademark Clearinghouse, the services of one of ICANN’s approved dispute resolution providers, a trademark validation agent, and drawing upon sunrise policies and rules used successfully in previous gTLD launches;
- Implementing a professional trademark claims program that utilizes the Trademark Clearinghouse, and drawing upon models of similar programs used successfully in previous TLD launches;
- Complying with the requirements of the Uniform Rapid Suspension System (“URS”);
- Complying with the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (“UDRP”);
- Complying with the Trademark Post-Delegation Dispute Resolution Policy (“PDDRP”), and;
- Complying with all ICANN-mandated and independently developed rights protection mechanisms (“RPMs”) in the registry-registrar agreement entered into by ICANN-accredited registrars authorized to register names in the TLD

The response below details the rights protection mechanisms at the launch of the TLD (Sunrise and Trademark Claims Service) which comply with rights protection policies (URS, UDRP, PDDRP, and other ICANN RPMs), outlines additional provisions made for rights protection, and provides the resourcing plans.


A. Safeguards for rights protection at the launch of the TLD

This TLD will satisfy the rights protection mechanisms described in the New gTLD Registry Agreement.

Merck KGaA will implement a Sunrise period of 30 days for the purpose of complying with ICANN requirements. Because the Registry Operator will be the sole registrant within this space, there will be no other registrants eligible to reserve or register domain names during this period.

Notice will be provided to all relevant trademark holders in the Clearinghouse if someone is seeking a Sunrise registration. This notice will be provided to holders of marks in the Clearinghouse that are an Identical Match to the name to be registered during Sunrise.

The Registry Operator will develop and implement an appropriate Sunrise Dispute Resolution Policy (SDRP), containing the elements specified by ICANN, for the resolution of any disputes which might in theory arise during this period. The proposed Sunrise Eligibility Requirements (SERs) will include: (i) ownership of a mark (that satisfies the criteria in section 7.2), (ii) optional registry elected requirements re: international class of goods or services covered by registration; (iii) representation that all provided information is true and correct; and (iv) provision of data sufficient to document rights in the trademark. The proposed SDRP will allow challenges based on the four grounds specified in the New gTLD Registry Agreement: (i) at time the challenged domain name was registered, the registrant did not hold a trademark registration of national effect (or regional effect) or the trademark had not been court-validated or protected by statute or treaty; (ii) the domain name is not identical to the mark on which the registrant based its Sunrise registration; (iii) the trademark registration on which the registrant based its Sunrise registration is not of national effect (or regional effect) or the trademark had not been court-validated or protected by statute or treaty; or (iv) the trademark registration on which the domain name registrant based its Sunrise registration did not issue on or before the effective date of the Registry Agreement and was not applied for on or before ICANN announced the applications received.

The launch of this TLD will include the operation of a Trademark Claims Service according to the defined ICANN processes for checking a registration request and alerting trademark holders of potential rights infringement. The Trademark Claims Service will operate for at least the first 60 days that the registry is open for general registration. We will use the Trademark Claims Notice provided in the Applicant Guidebook. We will provide the prospective registrant access to the Trademark Clearinghouse Database information referenced in the Trademark Claims Notice to enhance understanding of the Trademark rights being claimed by the trademark holder. These links shall be provided in real time without cost to the prospective registrant.


B. Ongoing rights protection mechanisms

Several mechanisms will be in place to protect rights in this TLD. As described in responses #27 and #28, measures are in place to ensure domain transfers and updates are only initiated by the appropriate domain holder, and an experienced team is available to respond to legal actions by law enforcement or court orders. This TLD will conform to all ICANN RPMs including URS (defined below), UDRP, PDDRP and all measures defined in Specification 7 of the new TLD agreement.

B.1 Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS)

The Registry Operator will implement decisions rendered under the URS on an ongoing basis. Per the URS policy posted on ICANN’s Web site as of this writing, the registry operator will receive notice of URS actions from the ICANN-approved URS providers. These emails will be directed immediately to the Registry Operator’s support staff, which is on duty 24x7. The support staff will be responsible for creating a ticket for each case, and for executing the directives from the URS provider. All support staff will receive pertinent training.

As per ICANN’s URS guidelines, within 24 hours of receipt of the notice of complaint from the URS provider, the registry operator shall “lock” the domain, meaning the registry shall restrict all changes to the registration data, including transfer and deletion of the domain names, but the name will remain in the TLD DNS zone file and will thus continue to resolve. The support staff will “lock” the domain by associating the following EPP statuses with the domain and relevant contact objects:

- ServerUpdateProhibited, with an EPP reason code of “URS”
- ServerDeleteProhibited, with an EPP reason code of “URS”
- ServerTransferProhibited, with an EPP reason code of “URS”
- The Registry Operator’s support staff will then notify the URS provider immediately upon locking the domain name, via email.

The Registry Operator’s support staff will retain all copies of emails from the URS providers, assign them a tracking or ticket number, and will track the status of each opened URS case through to resolution via spreadsheet or database.

The Registry Operator’s support staff will execute further operations upon notice from the URS providers. The URS provider is required to specify the remedy and required actions of the Registry Operator, with notification to the registrant, the complainant, and the registrar.

As per the URS guidelines, if the complainant prevails, the “registry operator shall suspend the domain name, which shall remain suspended for the balance of the registration period and would not resolve to the original web site. The nameservers shall be redirected to an informational web page provided by the URS provider about the URS. The WHOIS for the domain name shall continue to display all of the information of the original registrant except for the redirection of the nameservers. In addition, the WHOIS shall reflect that the domain name will not be able to be transferred, deleted or modified for the life of the registration.”

B.2 Registration Safeguards

As outlined in the above answers to questions 18 and 28, the Registry Operator will work to ensure that no unauthorized entity is able to register a domain in the “.EMERCK” space. Only the Registry Operator, Merck KGaA, will have the authority to register domains within “.EMERCK,” which will be clearly indicated in all registry-registrar agreements for the space. Additionally, the Registry Operator will have the opportunity to review all “Pending Create” domain name requests initiated through registrars, in order to ensure that only the authorized applications of Merck KGaA are granted.

B.3 Rights protection via the Registry-Registrar and Registrar-Registrant Agreements

The following will be memorialized and be made binding via the Registry-Registrar and Registrar-Registrant Agreements (RRAs):

- The registry may reject a registration request or a reservation request, or may delete, revoke, suspend, cancel, or transfer a registration or reservation under the following criteria:
* to enforce registry policies and ICANN requirements; each as amended from time to time;
* that is not accompanied by complete and accurate information as required by ICANN requirements and⁄or registry policies or where required information is not updated and⁄or corrected as required by ICANN requirements and⁄or registry policies;
* to protect the integrity and stability of the registry, its operations, and the TLD system;
* to comply with any applicable law, regulation, holding, order, or decision issued by a court, administrative authority, or dispute resolution service provider with jurisdiction over the registry;
* to establish, assert, or defend the legal rights of the registry or a third party or to avoid any civil or criminal liability on the part of the registry and⁄or its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers, directors, representatives, employees, contractors, and stockholders;
* to correct mistakes made by the registry or any accredited registrar in connection with a registration; or
* as otherwise provided in the Registry-Registrar Agreement and⁄or the Registrar-Registrant Agreement


C. Reducing opportunities for behaviors such as phishing or pharming

In our response to question #28, the Registry Operator has described its anti-abuse program designed to address phishing and pharming. This program is designed to actively discover, verify, and mitigate problems without infringing upon the rights of legitimate registrants. This program is designed for use in the open registration period and includes an optional system for monitoring the TLD for phishing attacks and policies and procedures for verifying and mitigating phishing attacks. These procedures include the reporting of compromised websites⁄domains to registrars for cleanup by the registrants and their hosting providers, and rapid takedown procedures for maliciously registered phishing domains. Additionally, in order reduce the risk of malicious activity no registrations within the space will be permitted through the use of privacy services.

Rather than repeating the policies and procedures here, please see our response to question #28 for full details.

Since all “.EMERCK” domain name registration requests will be reviewed and approved, there is an exceptionally low chance that “.EMERCK” domain names will be registered by bad actors, for purposes such as phishing or pharming. There is a chance that authentic “.EMERCK” websites may be compromised by bad actors or cybersquatters, in which case any incidents will be reported to the Registry Operator and Registry Service Provider for mitigation and cleanup.


D. Rights protection resourcing plans

Merck KGaA will provide members of its Corporate Trademark Department’s staff to review “Pending Create” domain name registration requests and oversee the day-to-day tasks related to the operation of the TLD space. During the start-up⁄roll-out period, this function may require the equivalent of one full-time staff member. The responsibilities may be split among several existing staff members, including a staff attorney or attorneys, and an administrator⁄manager. On an ongoing basis, these RPM functions will require the equivalent of one half-time staff member.

Supporting RPMs will also require the assistance of several departments within the registry operator as well as within Afilias. The implementation of Sunrise and the Trademark Claims service and on-going RPM activities will pull from the 102 Afilias staff members of the engineering, product management, development, security and policy teams at Afilias and staff at the Registry Operator. No additional hardware or software resources are required to support this as Afilias has fully-operational capabilities to manage abuse today.
gTLDFull Legal NameE-mail suffixDetail
.DESIAfilias Domains No. 4 Limited,afilias.infoView
Rights protection is a core responsibility of the TLD operator, and is supported by a fully-developed plan for rights protection that includes:
• Establishing mechanisms to prevent unqualified registrations (e.g., registrations made in violation of the registry’s eligibility restrictions or policies);
• Implementing a robust Sunrise program, utilizing the Trademark Clearinghouse, the services of one of ICANN’s approved dispute resolution providers, a trademark validation agent, and drawing upon sunrise policies and rules used successfully in previous gTLD launches;
• Implementing a professional trademark claims program that utilizes the Trademark Clearinghouse, and drawing upon models of similar programs used successfully in previous TLD launches;
• Complying with the URS requirements;
• Complying with the UDRP;
• Complying with the PDDRP, and;
• Including all ICANN-mandated and independently developed rights protection mechanisms (“RPMs”) in the registry-registrar agreement entered into by ICANN-accredited registrars authorized to register names in the TLD.

The response below details the rights protection mechanisms at the launch of the TLD (Sunrise and Trademark Claims Service) which comply with rights protection policies (URS, UDRP, PDDRP, and other ICANN RPMs), outlines additional provisions made for rights protection, and provides the resourcing plans.


Safeguards for rights protection at the launch of the TLD

The launch of this TLD will include the operation of a trademark claims service according to the defined ICANN processes for checking a registration request and alerting trademark holders of potential rights infringement.

The Sunrise Period will be an exclusive period of time, prior to the opening of public registration, when trademark and service mark holders will be able to reserve marks that are an identical match in the .DESI domain. Following the Sunrise Period, Afilias will open registration to qualified applicants.

The anticipated Rollout Schedule for the Sunrise Period will be approximately as follows:
• Launch of the TLD–Sunrise Period begins for trademark holders and service mark holders to submit registrations for their exact marks in the .DESI domain.
• Quiet Period–The Sunrise Period will close and will be followed by a Quiet Period for testing and evaluation.
• One month after close of Quiet Period–Registration in the .DESI domain will be opened to qualified applicants.

Sunrise Period Requirements & Restrictions
Those wishing to reserve their marks in the .DESI domain during the Sunrise Period must own a current trademark or service mark listed in the Trademark Clearinghouse.

Notice will be provided to all trademark holders in the Clearinghouse if someone is seeking a Sunrise registration. This notice will be provided to holders of marks in the Clearinghouse that are an Identical Match (as defined in the Trademark Clearing House) to the name to be registered during Sunrise.

Each Sunrise registration will require a minimum term, to be determined at a later date.

Afilias will establish the following Sunrise eligibility requirements (SERs) as minimum requirements, verified by Clearinghouse data, and incorporate a Sunrise Dispute Resolution Policy (SDRP). The SERs include: (i) ownership of a mark that satisfies the criteria set forth in section 7.2 of the Trademark Clearing House specifications, (ii) description of international class of goods or services covered by registration; (iii) representation that all provided information is true and correct; and (iv) provision of data sufficient to document rights in the trademark.

The SDRP will allow challenges based on the following four grounds: (i) at time the challenged domain name was registered, the registrants did not hold a trademark registration of national effect (or regional effect) or the trademark had not been court-validated or protected by statute or treaty; (ii) the domain name is not identical to the mark on which the registrant based its Sunrise registration; (iii) the trademark registration on which the registrant based its Sunrise registration is not of national effect (or regional effect) or the trademark had not been court-validated or protected by statute or treaty; or (iv) the trademark registration on which the domain name registrant based its Sunrise registration did not issue on or before the effective date of the Registry Agreement and was not applied for on or before ICANN announced the applications received.


Ongoing rights protection mechanisms

Several mechanisms will be in place to protect rights in this TLD. As described in our responses to questions #27 and #28, measures are in place to ensure domain transfers and updates are only initiated by the appropriate domain holder, and an experienced team is available to respond to legal actions by law enforcement or court orders.

This TLD will conform to all ICANN RPMs including URS (defined below), UDRP, PDDRP, and all measures defined in Specification 7 of the new TLD agreement.

Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS)
The registry operator will implement decisions rendered under the URS on an ongoing basis. Per the URS policy posted on ICANN’s Web site as of this writing, the registry operator will receive notice of URS actions from the ICANN-approved URS providers. These emails will be directed immediately to the registry operator’s support staff, which is on duty 24x7. The support staff will be responsible for creating a ticket for each case, and for executing the directives from the URS provider. All support staff will receive pertinent training.

As per ICANN’s URS guidelines, within 24 hours of receipt of the notice of complaint from the URS provider, the registry operator shall “lock” the domain, meaning the registry shall restrict all changes to the registration data, including transfer and deletion of the domain names, but the name will remain in the TLD DNS zone file and will thus continue to resolve. The support staff will “lock” the domain by associating the following EPP statuses with the domain and relevant contact objects:
• ServerUpdateProhibited, with an EPP reason code of “URS”
• ServerDeleteProhibited, with an EPP reason code of “URS”
• ServerTransferProhibited, with an EPP reason code of “URS”
• The registry operator’s support staff will then notify the URS provider immediately upon locking the domain name, via email.

The registry operator’s support staff will retain all copies of emails from the URS providers, assign them a tracking or ticket number, and will track the status of each opened URS case through to resolution via spreadsheet or database.

The registry operator’s support staff will execute further operations upon notice from the URS providers. The URS provider is required to specify the remedy and required actions of the registry operator, with notification to the registrant, the complainant, and the registrar.

As per the URS guidelines, if the complainant prevails, the “registry operator shall suspend the domain name, which shall remain suspended for the balance of the registration period and would not resolve to the original web site. The nameservers shall be redirected to an informational web page provided by the URS provider about the URS. The WHOIS for the domain name shall continue to display all of the information of the original registrant except for the redirection of the nameservers. In addition, the WHOIS shall reflect that the domain name will not be able to be transferred, deleted or modified for the life of the registration.”

Rights protection via the RRA
The following will be memorialized and be made binding via the Registry-Registrar and Registrar-Registrant Agreements:

• The registry may reject a registration request or a reservation request, or may delete, revoke, suspend, cancel, or transfer a registration or reservation under the following criteria:
a. to enforce registry policies and ICANN requirements; each as amended from time to time;
b. that is not accompanied by complete and accurate information as required by ICANN requirements and⁄or registry policies or where required information is not updated and⁄or corrected as required by ICANN requirements and⁄or registry policies;
c. to protect the integrity and stability of the registry, its operations, and the TLD system;
d. to comply with any applicable law, regulation, holding, order, or decision issued by a court, administrative authority, or dispute resolution service provider with jurisdiction over the registry;
e. to establish, assert, or defend the legal rights of the registry or a third party or to avoid any civil or criminal liability on the part of the registry and⁄or its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers, directors, representatives, employees, contractors, and stockholders;
f. to correct mistakes made by the registry or any accredited registrar in connection with a registration; or
g. as otherwise provided in the Registry-Registrar Agreement and⁄or the Registrar-Registrant Agreement.


Reducing opportunities for behaviors such as phishing or pharming

In our response to question #28, the registry operator has described its anti-abuse program. Rather than repeating the policies and procedures here, please see our response to question #28 for full details.

In the case of this TLD, Afilias will apply an approach that addresses registered domain names (rather than potentially registered domains). This approach will not infringe upon the rights of eligible registrants to register domains, and allows Afilias internal controls, as well as community-developed UDRP and URS policies and procedures if needed, to deal with complaints, should there be any.

Afilias is a member of various security fora which provide access to lists of names in each TLD which may be used for malicious purposes. Such identified names will be subject to the TLD anti-abuse policy, including rapid suspensions after due process.


Rights protection resourcing plans

Since its founding, Afilias is focused on delivering secure, stable and reliable registry services. Several essential management and staff who designed and launched the Afilias registry in 2001 and expanded the number of TLDs supported, all while maintaining strict service levels over the past decade, are still in place today. This experiential continuity will endure for the implementation and on-going maintenance of this TLD. Afilias operates in a matrix structure, which allows its staff to be allocated to various critical functions in both a dedicated and a shared manner. With a team of specialists and generalists, the Afilias project management methodology allows efficient and effective use of our staff in a focused way.

Supporting RPMs requires several departments within the registry operator as well as within Afilias. The implementation of Sunrise and the Trademark Claims service and on-going RPM activities will pull from the 102 Afilias staff members of the engineering, product management, development, security and policy teams at Afilias which are on duty 24x7. A trademark validator will also be assigned within the registry operator, whose responsibilities may require as much as 50% of full-time employment if the domains under management were to exceed several million. No additional hardware or software resources are required to support this as Afilias has fully-operational capabilities to manage abuse today.