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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
.siteInterlink Co., Ltd.urbanbrain.comView
The current gTLD domain space is dominated by a handful of gTLDs, and Interlink anticipates that several great alternatives to the current domain space will be approved through the New gTLD Program. Internet users will be given the opportunity to easily register a domain name that better suits their needs. Through educational marketing more and more users will become aware of these alternatives. Interlink believes that .SITE is a viable alternative to other generic word gTLDs currently in existence today as well as those that will be applied for in this round of New gTLD applications.

Interlink has been an active member of the ICANN community for over 6 years and has gained a deep appreciation for the transparency of the multi-stakeholder model. With the delegation of .SiTE, Interlink commits to fully comply with ICANNʹs requirement to cooperate with economic studies regarding the launch of New gTLDs. We believe that providing such data is key to enhancing the DNS and ensuring the success of future TLD implementations.

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

A TLD registry must establish consumer confidence and build trust among users. To do so, the registry must have adequate understanding of technical requirements, policy implications on business, and the needs of the registrar communities as well as the end users. Interlink believes that .SiTE’s reputation will be largely driven by the registrants (communities, individuals, businesses, organizations, and government bodies). Legitimate registrations with legitimate content will play a vital role in the sustainability of the TLD. Interlink plans to implement policies that will allow it to effectively manage a safe, secure namespace for registrants and Internet users.

Interlink has teamed up with Neustar, a world-class registry services provider and Iron Mountain, the industryʹs most trusted Registry Data Escrow provider to ensure that service levels meet or exceed SLA requirements. By teaming up with the best in the business, Interlink can focus on recruiting and working with the industryʹs top registrars to offer first rate services to end users.


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

Currently there are 22 gTLDs in use on the Internet today. However, most novice Internet users are only accustomed to seeing, .com, .net, and .org. .biz and .info on the right-most side of domain names. gTLDs that have been introduced since ICANN’s inception have been able to build up a steady number of registration volumes. Some have drastically reduced pricing to do so, and therefore have an abundance of non-useful names, parking web pages, spam sites, and phishing sites. According to a report compiled by McAfee, Mapping the Mal Web in 2010, Internet criminals choose to register domain names in a TLD based on the prices, regulations, and the ease of registration. This makes generic top-level domains and non-regulated, inexpensive ccTLDs prime targets for cyber criminals. (The full report can be located at the following URL: http:⁄⁄www.mcafee.com⁄cf⁄about⁄news⁄2010⁄q4⁄20101026-02.aspx)

Interlink envisions .SiTE not as a competitor to the TLDs mentioned above, but as a new platform that will allow users so build on online presence that meets their needs. An increase in the number of gTLDs increases the number of alternatives available to consumers and Interlink believes that this is key for increasing competition, reducing prices and growing the overall domain name industry.

Interlink plans to focus a substantial amount of effort in communicating the availability of .SITE in developing countries. These countries have experienced tremendous economic growth in the past decade as well as rapid growth in communications and Internet infrastructure. This has increased the Internet penetration rate substantially. For example, according to InternetWorldStats.com, the population of Indian Internet users grew from 5 million in the year 2000 to 121 million in 2011. Likewise, Internet users in China increased from 22.5 million in year 2000 to 513.1 million in year 2011. A majority these new users were not able to participate in the launch of any true generic TLDs. SiTE expects to be able serve these users needs by creating and launching the .SiTE space.

.SiTE is a perfect fit among todays top TLDs and is a viable alternative to current generic TLDs. .SiTE has meaning to the entire online population, and Interlink believes that it will be a natural selection for new domain holders as they venture out to secure an online identity. Additionally, SiTE will be a popular choice among many consumers looking to secure names that more closely match what they stand for.


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

Interlink believes that creating a high quality namespace is about attracting legitimate registrations, and reducing speculative registrations. Successfully achieving both will allow for a better user experience because when consumers navigate to a page under a .SiTE domain name they can have the assurance that the content will be useful.

In order to encourage implementation of the new gTLD, competition among registrars, and broad sales channels for the TLD, there will be no restrictions on which ICANN accredited registrars may connect to the SRS for the provision of .SiTE domain names. All ICANN accredited registrars will have the ability to test their connectivity with the systems and sign an agreement with the Registry after passing operational and testing phases.

Interlink will use a proven system with industry-standard connect-ability, we can ensure that all current ICANN accredited registrars have immediate access to the SRS to upon execution of the Registry-Registrar agreement and testing. In many cases, the SRS has already been connected to and integrated into the systems of many of the industryʹs top ICANN Accredited Registrars, which will allow for rapid implementation and immediate sales channels.

Interlink has carefully considered various factors that will likely play a role in creating a successfully TLD and a great user experience for users of .SiTE. Among the factors analyzed were;

 • defining its market
 • marketing techniques used in today’s TLDs;
 • analysis of how various price points impact the number, quality, and type of registrations and associated content.

Interlink has worked closely with its backend provider, Neustar to come up with a viable plan to launch a successful registry that user benefits. These factors were taken into account and have been implemented in Interlink’s business approach as described in Questions 45-50.

As described above in relation to point II, a registry’s choice of policies and price points at which to sell domain names has an impact on the safety for other Internet users. Generic, TLDs and non-regulated, inexpensive ccTLDs are targets for cybercriminals. Interlink will implement a Acceptable Use Policy (AUP), which is further described in response to Question 28. The strict enforcement of this policy will allow for a cleaner namespace compared with existing gTLDs.

Interlink will use a proven system with industry-standard connect-ability, and can ensure that all current ICANN accredited registrars have immediate access to the registry system upon execution of the Registry-Registrar agreement and passing all requisite operational testing. The utilization of a proven registry system, which already maintains over 300 registrar connections globally will positively affect the integration pace of .SiTE among registrars who wish to sell the TLD, thereby rapidly growing sales channels.


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

Maintaining a safe, stable and reliable environment for registrars and registrants is central to Interlinkʹs mission for the .SiTE top-level domain. Interlink proposes that .SiTE shall be an open, unrestricted top-level domain for all consumers. The objective of the registry is to achieve seamless implementation by participating ICANN accredited registrars in order to easily allow legitimate registrations by all consumers.

Interlink has developed the following policies to facilitate in reaching our goals:

 1. SiTE Domain Name Eligibility Requirements
 2. Acceptable Use Policy
 3. Reserved Names
 4. Founders Program
 5. Sunrise Launch Policies
 6. Landrush Launch Policies
 7. ICANN Consensus Policies and Proposed Rights Protection Mechanisms


1. SiTE Domain Name Eligibility Requirements

SiTE Domain Name Eligibility Requirements defines who or what entities can register a domain name, the types of names that maybe registered, as well as the technical criteria for allowable labels within the .SiTE top-level domain. A brief description of each criterion is briefly outlined below:

1a Registrant Restrictions

No restrictions on who or what entities can register a domain name. All registrants will be required to apply for registration, renewal and transfer of domain names through ICANN accredited registrars which have signed an agreement with the registry operator, Interlink Co., Ltd. Furthermore, Interlink will make an list of registrars available on its website.

1b Domain Name Restrictions

A domain names that will be accepted as valid for registration is a domain name that;

 • has not been blocked or reserved by the registry (see Reserved Names policy below)
 • meets the technical requirements (defined below)
 • has not already been registered (registrants will be encouraged to use the WHOIS database
  provided by the registry to ensure the availability of a domain)

Internationalized Domain Names (IDN) registrations will be permitted in the .SiTE TLD. Interlink believes that IDNs provide a means of creating a more global namespace. Interlink’s philosophy regarding the implementation of IDNs is to take a very cautious approach to ensure that conflicts with naming do not occur. Additional information regarding Interlink’s IDN implementation can be found in response to Question 44.


Technical Requirements

 • Labels containing letters ʺaʺ to ʺzʺ or ʺAʺ to ʺZʺ in standard US ASCII character set, the digits ʺ0ʺ to ʺ9ʺ
  and the hyphen (ʺ-ʺ); (the registry plans to initially reserve all one and two letter domain names as briefly
  described below under ʺ2. Reserved Namesʺ below. The release of one and two character strings will be
  implemented at the registryʹs discretion.)
 • Labels may contain a maximum of 63 characters. (This does not include the ʺ.SiTEʺ suffix)
 • Labels may not begin or end with a hyphen (ʺ-ʺ) and may not include a hyphen (ʺ-ʺ) in the third and fourth positions
  unless they represent valid internationalized domain names in their ASCII encoding).

2. Acceptable Use Policy

The Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) is one of central policies of the SiTE registry and will be implemented to ensure that the registry maintains the rights to protect the integrity of its registry and achieve its goal of maintaining a safe and stable operation. The policy further describes the process for applying for and registering, renewing, and transferring a .SiTE domain name as well as any restrictions, and how Interlink, the registry can enforce its policies. Additional details can be found in response to Question 28.

3. Reserved Names

This Reserved Names Policy satisfies ICANN contractual requirements and protects the interests of governmental organizations. Certain names on the Reserved Names List will also be utilized for the general promotion of the registry.

Interlink will reserve all names according to Specification 5 of the New gTLD Registry agreement as described below. Additionally, Interlink will, at it’s own discretion, reserve other names it sees fit.

The term ʺexampleʺ will be reserved at the second level. No other levels will be available for registration.

b. Two-Character Labels:

All two-character labels will be initially reserved, however may be released in the event that the registry reaches an agreement with the relevant government or country code manager or so long as the implementation of the two-character labels does not cause confusion with existing country codes.

c. Tagged Domain Names:

These are names with hyphens in the third and fourth position that do not represent valid IDN (Internationalized Domain Names) in ASCII encoding.

d. Second-Level Reservations for Registry Operations:

The following names will be reserved or registry operations: NIC, WWW, IRIS, and WHOIS.

e. Country and Territory Names:

All country and territory names indicated in Specification 5 of the New gTLD Agreement will be initially reserved. A process for the release of these names as well as names listed above in ʺb. Two Character Labelsʺ is further described in Question 22.

4. Founders Program

The SiTE registry may elect to introduce an early domain adoption program, or founders program. The SiTE founders program is an initiative recruit Internet users who are enthusiastic about .SiTE to come forward with their idea and plan to launch a name or names that will help relay the message about .SiTE to worldwide audiences.

It is anticipated that communications regarding this program will be launched as soon as the Registry Agreement with ICANN is signed. The registry will publish a proposal format and evaluate applications against predetermined criteria. Approved applicants will be required to agree to some basic terms and conditions and have their name launched before the official pubic launch of the registry.

Specific timelines and criteria are currently under development and depend on the progress of this application for the .SiTE TLD.

5. Sunrise Launch Policies

The sunrise period is a pre-launch mechanism that will allow Trademark holders to the first right to register their trademarks as .SiTE domain names. The overall purpose of the .SiTE sunrise launch is to ensure that trademark holders have the ability to secure domain names in a straightforward manner as well as ensure that their brand names are not victimized by cybersquatting. The sunrise period will run for at least a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of 60 days in total. Eligible participants in the sunrise phase will be constrained to those entities that a valid mark registered in the Trademark Clearinghouse.

In processing Sunrise applications, Interlink will collect all the applications submitted through ICANN accredited registrars throughout the duration of the sunrise period. All applications will be considered as having been received at the same time. The registry will verify that each application matches the data in the Trademark Clearinghouse. Duplicate applications having met the criteria specified by the registry will auctioned off at a later date. Interlink will fully publish details and policy related information regarding the auction on its website well in advance of the launch.

To ensure the protection of trademark holders, Interlink will implement the trademark claims services for the life of the registry. As of the submission date of this application, the Trademark Clearinghouse is still in the early stages of development and the actual protocol for connecting to the clearinghouse is not yet known. Further details regarding the sunrise launch can be found in answer to question 29.

6. Landrush Launch Policies

The registry will offer a landrush period in which any interested party will be permitted to submit one or more applications to purchase high value domains at reasonable costs. Only domain names that have not been reserved, restricted, or registered will be available during this launch period. Applications in the landrush period will be accepted throughout the period and will be considered as accepted at the same time. At the end of the landrush period domain names for applications that do not have any competing applications will be approved and the domain name will be allocated to the registrant.

Applications for domain names having one or more competing applications will be auctioned at prescribed date and time.

7. ICANN Consensus Policies and Proposed Rights Protection Mechanisms

Interlink is aware of, and understands, all current ICANN consensus policies listed at http:⁄⁄www.icann.org⁄en⁄general⁄consensus-policies.htm. As the registry operator for .SiTE, Interlink will ensure continuing compliance with all existing and future consensus policies.

Interlink believes that SiTE will grow to be an important public resource and has committed to ensuring that all rights holders have adequate protections for their intellectual property assets. The SiTE registry will implement the fall mandated rights protection mechanisms as described in Part C below.


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.

Interlink takes the privacy of its users very seriously and will not market information obtained from registrars pertaining to registrants in any way. All data obtained with regards to a registration of a domain name will only be used for the purposes of running the .SiTE Registry. No personal data will be shared with unrelated third parties and such data will only be accessed in cases where the registry needs it to be necessary for the operation of .SiTE.

All registrant data as required by the WHOIS policy and ICANN standards will be publicly available where the registrant does not use privacy registration services at their registrar of choice. Registrars will be responsible for ensuring the safety and security of the payment information used in conjunction with a domain name registration. A detailed discussion of the WHOIS database can be found in response to Question 26.

Interlink will notify each ICANN-accredited registrar of their requirement to adhere to specific consensus policies. Additionally Interlink is aware of the current work being done to analyze the current WHOIS model as well as the movement to improve it. Along with ourselves, our partners are involved deeply in the ICANN community and we commit to implementing any and all new procedures as approved by ICANN.


vi. Describe whether and in what ways outreach and communications will help to achieve your projected benefits.

Interlink believes that an effective and wide-spread marketing plan coupled with an effective distribution network will play a vital role in building consumer confidence in .SiTE. The registry plans to launch the TLD on a global scale with an emphasis on the growth of Internet, the ability to register a memorable name under a new domain space.

Interlink will use a unified strategy for creating a strong brand, consumer awareness, sales, and use of the TLD by influential companies and people. The actual timing of the marketing and communications campaign may prove challenging due to several anticipated issues with timelines in the New gTLD evaluation process, however, Interlink has set aside sufficient marketing funds and will use appropriate judgment on when to implement and subsequently ramp up marketing communication and outreach programs.
gTLDFull Legal NameE-mail suffixDetail
.downloaddot Support Limitedfamousfourmedia.comView
Q18b How do you expect that your proposed gTLD will benefit Registrants, Internet users, and others?

The Applicantʹs primary intention is to provide a favorable ecosystem for the growth and evolution of the sector. The key to achieving this aim are significant provisions for brand integrity and protection of intellectual property. The Applicant intends to push the boundaries of what can be done through innovative design of the new top level domain, including technologies that capitalize on the sectorʹs needs. A close relationship with the sectorʹs stakeholders is essential to this purpose, and will enable .download to grow in response to both Registrant and user needs. The gTLD also contains significant opportunities as a next generation organizational scheme for online content, including provisions for abuse prevention to defend users against malicious registrations. The gTLD has been meticulously designed by a team of industry leaders from an array of different fields. This has enabled the creation of an airtight financial strategy, an inspired technological development plan as well as a close and dynamic relationship with the sector community - all critical needs on the path to the enduring success of the gTLD.

18(b)(i) What is the goal of your proposed gTLD in terms of areas of specialty, service levels, or reputation?

Specialty

The Applicant’s key specialty goal is to enable a secure and stable gTLD dedicated to providing global Internet users with a targeted space for subject matter of interest. This gTLD will serve as a home for both Registrants and end-users who feel an affinity with this sector and its associated content. Consequently they will prefer to register domain names, create and post content and seek information in a highly targeted manner.

Allowing users the ability to create a targeted, unique space within the new gTLD will enable them to customize their online offering and presence. The .download gTLD will by itself clearly signal the nature and purpose of such websites to Internet users.

The applicant intends to actively promote gTLD specific vertical searching in the gTLD for the benefit of Registrants, end-users and other stakeholders. This specialization through Vertical Search will also benefit Internet users seeking authentic online information and products or services as they will no longer have to wade through content completely unrelated to their desired results.

As the gTLD is sector specific it will provide a better context for second level strings allowing for a much higher number of relevant and more conscise domains. This more targeted environment will simplify the user experience across multiple platforms specifically with smartphones and tablets where minimal input is favoured.


Service Levels

The goal of the gTLD Registry is to offer domain name registration services of the highest level, exceeding both ICANN requirements and current sector norms. To achieve these goals, the Applicant has contracted with well established, proven service providers offering the highest possible level of quality in Registry and Registrar services. The expertise of the service providers will ensure that the security and quality of the gTLD will be uncompromised.

The Applicant will further provide the highest level of service to trademark, legal rights owners and second-level domain owners. To achieve this goal the Applicant will be implementing a range of Abuse Prevention and Mitigation policies and procedures. The Applicant is also firmly committed to the protection of Intellectual Property rights and will implement all the mandatory Rights Protection Mechanisms (RPMs) contained in the Applicant Guidebook. Aswell as these The Applicant will further protect the rights of others through the implementation of additional RPMs. The RSPʹs experience will ensure that the gTLD provides this high level of service to trademark and other legal rights owners to combat abusive and malicious activity within the gTLD.

The Registry will respond to abuse or malicious conduct complaints on a 24⁄7⁄365 basis, respond to requests from governmental and quasi-governmental agencies and law enforcement in a timely manner, and promptly abide by decisions and judgments of UDRP and URS panels, in accordance with ICANN consensus policies.

The Applicant will also provide fast and responsive (24⁄7⁄365) customer support to both Registrars and end-users in a number of languages to assist with general enquiries as well as complaints of abusive or malicious conduct.


Service Levels related to Registry Backend Services

The Applicant will work with Neustar Inc. (hereinafter “RSP”) whose extensive experience spans more than a decade. This will ensure delivery of the protected, trusted, and permanently-running Registry infrastructure necessary to reliably host and operate a gTLD. The Applicant will also work with its Registrars to ensure that consumers receive secure, fast, and reliable domain name registration services with a high-level of customer service.

The global DNS network that will be utilised for the resolution of domains in this gTLD has already been operating for over 10 years. It currently delivers DNS resolution for several TLD customers and provides low latency query responses with a 100% DNS uptime service level agreement.

The Applicant will further leverage the RSP’s existing DNSSEC infrastructure, capabilities, and experience to provide a robust and standards compliant implementation that ensures DNSSEC services are always available as part of the DNS.

The Shared Registry System (“SRS”) to be used for the Applicantʹs gTLD is a production-proven, standards-based, highly reliable and high-performance domain name registration and management system that has been designed to operate at the highest performance levels. The Applicantʹs RSP has been able to meet or exceed their SLA requirements nearly every month since itʹs inception. Their Registry has achieved a 99.997% success rate in meeting SLAs since 2004.

The Applicantʹs RSP has extensive experience providing ICANN and RFC-compliant WHOIS services for each of the gTLDs that it operates as a Registry Operator for both gTLDs and ccTLDs. The RSPʹs thick WHOIS solution is production proven, highly flexible, and scalable with a track record of 100% availability over the past 10 years.

The Applicant will comply with all the data escrow requirements documented in the Registry Data Escrow (“RyDE”) Specification of the Registry Agreement and has a contract in place with Iron Mountain Intellectual Property Management, Inc. (“IM”) for RyDE Services. The Applicant and its RSP will in conjunction with Iron Mountain work to ensure that the escrow deposit process is compliant 100% of the time.


Reputation

The Applicant will ensure that the Registry enjoys an excellent reputation through its core focus on creating a secure, sustainable, and specialized gTLD, thus supporting ICANN’s primary goals for the new gTLD program in promoting consumer trust, consumer choice, competition and innovation.

The Applicant will strive to become a reputable and successful new gTLD by providing secure, fast and reliable customer service throughout the registration life cycle of all domains in the gTLD.

The Applicant will endeavour to ensure that only non-fraudulent Registrants have domain names in the gTLD via a WHOIS that is searchable, thick and reliable and by being highly responsive to complaints from legal rights owners. The Applicant will further implement an industry leading range of Abuse Prevention and Mitigation policies and procedures as well as RPMs.

The Applicant will provide the financial and operational stability to protect Registrants and ensure the reputation of the Registry. The Applicant has estimated the maximum costs of the critical functions for a three year period by taking the largest single year cost estimate (year 5) and multiplying this by 3. If the calculation used a lower figure the costs estimate would not be at the potential highest amount during the 5 years and the COI instrument would be too small in order to fund the costs of the 5 critical functions for at least 3 years.

The Applicant has decided to commit to providing the highest level of protection to Registrants and Stakeholders by providing ICANN with a COI for the maximum amount as recommended by ICANN in its COI Guidance. This ensures the Registry is reputable, remains conservative and mirrors ICANN’s core objectives. In a worst case scenario where the Applicant will not receive any revenue Registrants will be protected not only by the COI, but also by the fact that the Applicant has enough capital to operate for over 3 years.

Question 18(b)(ii) What do you anticipate your proposed gTLD will add to the current space, in terms of competition, differentiation, or innovation?

It is expected that .download will provide significant competition for existing and forthcoming gTLDs. The .download gTLD will provide a blank canvas of second level domains that will inevitably lead to increased consumer choice and significant innovation from the sector. It will allow Registrants to seek new and varied ways to separate themselves from the competition.

Competition

The Applicant will enhance competition by allowing new Registrants to create new online products and services serving the global marketplace and connecting geographically diverse Registrants and users with a common affinity for the specialized subject matter exemplified by the new gTLD. The new gTLD process and its resulting gTLDs are likely to incentivize top-level domains to improve the security and quality of their online products and services as well as introducing new ones. Thus, this gTLD will benefit consumers by increasing the likelihood of new innovative online products and services.The addition of a new gTLD such as .download will also increase competition between existing registries.

The Applicant will promote competition to the benefit of the Registrants by amongst other things:

- Building a healthy growth trend of domain registrations to validate the specialty space
- Promote the migration of sector relevant content from other TLDs
- Maintaining competitive pricing of domains

Differentiation

Currently, there is no gTLD available on the Internet that signifies the specialized products, services, and subject matter encompassed by this gTLD. The gTLD string itself will give a clear indication to website visitors that the site has content relevant to the sector. This will result in the gTLD becoming globally recognizable and viewed as a trusted source of goods, services and information.

Innovation

The gTLD will demonstrate innovation through cutting edge RPMs.

Firstly the Applicant considers the Protection of Intergovernmental Organization (ʺIGOʺ) names to be very important. The Applicant will use strings registered as second level domains in the .int gTLD as the basis for this protection. To register in the .int domain, the Registrants must be an IGO that meets the requirements found in RFC 1591. The Applicant will reserve these strings and only allow for their future release if an IGO on the “reserve list” wishes to make use of the protected string in the gTLD and provides the Applicant with sufficient documentation.

Secondly, the Applicant will require that Registrants agree to the Registry’s “Abuse and Rights Protection” Terms and Conditions as part of the registration process for the second-level domain, which includes displaying the APM Seal on the homepage. The APM Seal will provide users and legal rights holders with a direct link to an Abuse Prevention and Mitigation Report Website which will provide instructions on how to report abusive conduct to the Registry and law enforcement.

Finally if a Registrant during sunrise and landrush applies to register a domain name identical to a capital city name of a country or territory listed in the ISO 3166-1 standard it will receive a Capital City Claims (“CCC”) notification stating this. Subsequently they will have to reply unconditionally agreeing to comply with requirements to protect the reputation of the capital city and any further terms.

These functions will enhance Internet stability, security and will demonstrate to Registrars, Registrants, and end-users of the Registry that abusive or malicious conduct will not be tolerated. They will further contribute significantly to the integrity of the gTLD enabling an environment where stakeholders can innovate with confidence.

Question 18(b)(iii) What goals does your proposed gTLD have in terms of user experience?

The Applicant’s goals for the new gTLD are to provide a trusted, secure, and user friendly environment whereby domain names and content relating to its specific affinity group can flourish.

The Applicant believes that the success of the gTLD will be determined by the sector’s key stakeholders globally. The Applicant believes that stakeholders should have the opportunity to influence the gTLD and the way it is governed. Accordingly, the Applicant is establishing a Governance Council (“GC”), to serve as an advisory body.
.download will be developed with consumer trust, choice and satisfaction in mind and after the initial 2 years, the Applicant will conduct a survey to analyse the gTLDʹs success in these areas to help further improve the user experience.

To ensure a high level of service the Applicant will further measure:

- Service Availability Targets for the Critical Registry Functions
- The number of abuse incidents and takedowns
- ICANN Compliance
- Rights protection incidents (i.e. UDRP and URS)
- WHOIS data accuracy

The Applicant intends to promote consumer choice by providing the following:

- Highly available and geographically diverse Registrar distribution channel;
- Effective sunrise and trademark services.

Question 18(b)(iv) Provide a complete description of the applicantʹs intended registration policies in support of the goals listed above.

Registration Policies

The purpose and goal of the Applicant’s policies are to ensure competition, fairness, trust and reliability for Registrars, Registrants, the user community, and other stake holders, while maintaining security and stability for the gTLD.

General Policy

Aside from certain start-up mechanisms, all domain names will generally be registered on a first-come, first-served basis. A Trademark Claims service will be offered for the first 90 days of general registration, with the intent of providing clear notice to potential Registrants of the existing rights of trademark owners with registered trademarks in the Trademark Clearinghouse.

Registration Policies

As per ICANN’s requirements, the Applicant will be operating both a Sunrise and Landrush period ahead of general availability for the gTLD.

Governance Council

The Applicant is establishing a the GC, to be comprised of key sector stakeholders that will serve as an advisory body. Each GC will elect its own Board of Directors, which will be responsible for self-governance, the recommendation of sector-specific registration policies,the formulation of guidance on intellectual property and other best practices related to the gTLD.


The Applicant aims to develop an Abuse Prevention and Mitigation Working Group in conjunction with the GC. It will give the Applicant’s team advice on abuse preventions and mitigation and how this may effect registration policies. The group will meet to regularly discuss the latest trends in domain name abuse and the most effective way to prevent and remedy them.

Question 18(b)(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.

Data and Privacy Policies

The Applicant shall comply with all the Data, WHOIS, and Privacy requirements in the Applicant Guidebook required by ICANN. The Applicant will take all possible steps to maintain the security and privacy of information or data that it may collect in connection with the planned function and usage of names domains, and will remain in compliance with all confidentiality and security regulations in relevant jurisdictions. This data will be held by the Applicant in accordance with the Registry Agreement that the Applicant will execute with ICANN.

The Applicant has further ensured that its suppliers also understand that keeping information secure and private is of crucial importance and will take all available steps to maintain the security and privacy of information collected from the Applicants in the Sunrise, Landrush and General Availability Phases.

Question 18(b) Describe whether and in what ways outreach and communications will help to achieve your projected benefits.

The Applicant plans on making the gTLD the premier gTLD where individuals and organizations can register, build and maintain websites relating to their specific interest area. Thus, communication with the public and development of an outreach campaign are important goals in connection with the gTLD.

During the gTLD evaluation process, the Applicant plans to conduct a two-to-three month communications campaign aimed at reaching sector stakeholders and informing them of the gTLD’s mission and the opportunity to participate in the GC. The communication outreach will include email communications to hundreds of leading sector organizations. It will also be accompanied by the launch of a website for communicating information about the gTLD and allowing interested members of the related sector to express interest in serving on the GC. Other communications efforts, including but not limited to, press releases and social media campaigns may all be initiated to raise further awareness regarding the gTLD.

Shortly after completing the evaluation process and being awarded the gTLD, the Applicant will institute marketing and outreach efforts to inform the public about the new gTLD, its launch schedule, and its intended affinity group. The Applicant will use different outreach and communications methods and venues to get the new gTLD mission and message out to the public, including but not limited to the following: online and print press releases, communications with various media outlets, domain name sector groups, mobile apps and various social media platforms. The GC will be used as a further means of outreach and communication to the Internet community.
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