Back

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

gTLDFull Legal NameE-mail suffixDetail
.shopBEIJING JINGDONG 360 DU E-COMMERCE LTDgmail.comView
18(a) Describe the mission⁄purpose of your proposed gTLD.

Mission Statement: To create a more unique, recognizable, trustworthy and stable e-commerce domain namespace for Internet users, meanwhile providing registrars and registrants an opportunity to expand their existing business or to explore new business models.
Business Model: .shop TLD is mainly targeting all existing e-commerce businesses, as well as trustworthy retail suppliers and service providers, who are intended to expand their businesses on the web.
E-commerce is the most advanced mean of utilizing modern information technology and network capacity to carry out business activities. The power of Web enablement is that geographical boundaries disappear for an enterprise. Thus, an E-commerce initiative can easily become a global E-commerce initiative. It becomes extremely critical for modern business enterprises to acquire continuous supply capacity, create growing consumer demands and strengthen market competitiveness so as to gain a foothold in globalized business environment. Thus, to survive in the 21st century, an enterprise should integrate its conventional business approaches with advanced e-commerce model to keep up with the global trends of development.
As far as the global e-commerce market is concerned, JPMorgan Chase & Co. expects e-commerce revenue will grow to USD 680 billion worldwide by the end of 2011, up 18.9 percent compared to 2010. The same source predicts that the global e-commerce market is likely to grow at a 19.4% compound average growth rate between 2010 and 2013, with e-commerce revenue hitting USD 963 billion by 2013. Moreover, In the United States, the population of online shopper has been increasing continuously; about 38% of them shop online at least once a month. The proportion of those who never shop online dropped from 20% in 2007 to 12% in 2010. Meanwhile, China, already home to the world’s largest online population, is currently the second biggest e-commerce market in the world and has ushered in its explosive growth period. According to Boston Consulting Group, the amount of online shoppers in China has already reached 145 million in 2011, with exponential growth expected that could bring the number to 329 million by 2015 and make the e-commerce market in China the worldʹs most valuable.
It all starts with a smart choice of domain name which can represents the e-merchants’ unique online identity. In addition to embodying its brand value, an excellent domain name itself is a hot commodity with immense value. Only a simple, easy-to-remember, and meaningful domain name can undertake the mission of corporate branding and be recognized by more internet users. Moreover, as a relatively new business model, network- and finance-based development is the key point while authentication and security issues are the prerequisite of e-commerce development.

It is obvious that the existing top level domains (TLDs) are not able to fully and effectively satisfy the demands of e-commerce development. We are in desperate needs of a designated domain namespace that can be reasonably classified based on its goals and purposes and instantly recognized by Internet users. The proposed .shop TLD serves this purpose almost perfectly. It is both a noun and a verb and one of the most recognizable shopping related words around the world. Businesses can obtain a .shop extension which can represent their unique e-shop identity to further expand their businesses online, thereby constructing an existing or brand new platform for the development of their online and offline products and services.

Meanwhile, .shop will enhance Internet usersʹ trust as abuses like phishing, domain name parking and hijacking will be better resolved. Internet users can better rely on the new generic TLD (gTLD), which are the brand personification of the actual entity. They can also benefit from the uniqueness and high recognition of .shop to search and identify the reliable online merchants more effectively and enjoy a more secure and convenient shopping experience. To sum up, the successful registration and operation of the .shop gTLD will impulse a healthy development of global e-commerce industry and enhance the confidence of millions of consumers for online shopping.

As one of the largest online retail enterprises in China, JINGDONG 360 DU (hereinafter referred to as JINGDONG), plans to apply for this unique and influential TLD to promote the development of e-commerce business.

For the .shop TLD application, JINGDONG has three prominent advantages. First, JINGDONG has innovative and pioneering spirits for online products as well as successful experience and capabilities for market development and expansion. It is currently the largest direct online retailer in China. Ever since it pioneered into the e-commerce field in 2004, it has maintained a fast growing momentum, with growth rate exceeding 200% for six consecutive years. In 2010, it became Chinaʹs first online retail enterprise with a sales volume of RMB 8.6 billion accounting for 37% in Chinaʹs B2C online business. It is also increasing its overseas procurement efforts to further promote its international strategy.

Second, JINGDONG is an expert in customer relationship management with a deep understanding of consumer needs. It always adheres to the pure e-commerce business model and tries every means to shorten intermediate links so as to provide consumers with quality products and satisfactory online and offline services. In addition, JINGDONG also leads the online retail market by continuously optimizing services and sets a benchmark for creditable operation in Chinaʹs e-commerce industry.

Last but not least, JINGDONG has already established long-term cooperation with 6,000 global partners and suppliers, with a deep understanding of the demands of interested parties along e-commerce industrial chain on domain names. Moreover, JINGDONG’S mature online and offline marketing strategic planning and execution capability will contribute to the successful promotion of .shop awareness among target users. Currently, JINGDONG has 42 million registered users throughout China and covers over 11 categories of high quality products including household appliances, digital communications, computer, apparel, baby accessories and book ,est. ; it processes over 300,000 orders per day and the average daily page view (PV) of website exceeds 50 million.

JINGDONGʹs fast development and promising prospects have won the favor of well-known international venture capital funds. At the beginning of 2011, JINGDONG got the financing of USD1.5 billion from 6 funds including Russiaʹs Digital Sky Technologies (DST) and the Tiger Fund. This is so far the largest single amount of financing in Chinaʹs Internet market, indicating investorsʹ strong recognition and confidence in JINGDONGʹs successful business model and excellent performances.

To sum up, JINGDONGʹs advantages mentioned earlier will provide a solid and reliable foundation for successfully launching and operating .shop gTLD. JINGDONG strikes to become the most professional and innovative registry operator that can best serve the needs of the e-commerce industry development while providing benefiting the internet users. With the seamless integration of JINGDONG’s mature marketing solutions and its back-end service operator - KNET’s leading technology and services, the future .shop registry will attract all existing and upcoming e-commerce merchants worldwide as the loyal registrants of .shop. Meanwhile, JINGDONG will be committed to providing the best-of-class domain name services to help registrants utilize the unique values of .shop gTLD to the maximum extent after domain registration so as to contribute to a more convenient, efficient, and reliable online shopping experience and environment for the netizens.


gTLDFull Legal NameE-mail suffixDetail
.plusSugar Mill, 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.