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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
.CorpDot Registry LLChotmail.comView
With the increased popularity of the Internet as a consumer marketplace and the ease with which individuals are able to access information online, it is essential that safeguards be put in place to validate and identify legitimate businesses.
Businesses representing themselves as corporations by including Inc., Incorporated or Corporation in their business names create an expectation amongst consumers that they have the legal right to conduct business as a corporation. Unfortunately, consumers are currently unable to quickly verify the accuracy of this representation. Fraudulent business entities rely on this consumer assumption and the lack of available verification resources to prey on both businesses and consumers. As online commerce replaces brick-and-mortar businesses, there has been a corresponding rise in business identity theft online, which in turn creates a lack of consumer confidence.
In the vast majority of states, the Secretary of State is responsible for overseeing the business entities in the state – from the registration of corporations and verification of business filings, to the administration of the Uniform Commercial Code, an act, which provides for the uniform application of business contracts and practices across the United States. The Secretaries’ role is critical to the chartering of businesses (including, but not limited to the formation of corporations) that wish to operate in their state. In this regard, the Secretaries of State maintain all records of business activities within the state, and in some states, the Secretary of State has wide-ranging regulatory authority over businesses as well.
The “.CORP” gTLD will be exclusively available to members of the Community of Registered Corporations, as verified through each applicant’s Secretary of State’s Office (or other state official where applicable). By verifying that an applicant is a registered U.S. corporation, DOT Registry will be able to bring unprecedented clarity and security to consumers and business owners, assuring Internet users, registry applicants, and others that web addresses ending in “.CORP” are a hallmark of a valid corporation recognized by a governmental authority of the United States. This process will decrease the possibility of identity misrepresentation in a cyber setting and assist lesser-known businesses in legitimizing their services to consumers.
In January 2012, after many public forums and contributions from consumer advocates, the Business Services Committee of the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) released the NASS White Paper on Business Identity Theft, indicating that at least 26 states have reported business identity theft cases resulting from fraudulent business representations online. North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, who serves as Co-Chair of the NASS Business Services Committee, indicates that the primary function of the White Paper is to “Harness new technology to develop cost-effective solutions, and ultimately make it harder for identity thieves to prey upon state-based businesses.”
With the implementation of the “.CORP” gTLD, consumers would have the ability to quickly identify the presented business as a valid U.S. corporation. As “.CORP” registrations grow, we will see a reduction in the ease with which criminals are able to hide behind fictitious entities because consumers will be conditioned to look for the appropriate gTLD ending before conducting business online. This simple gTLD extension would provide an efficient and cost-effective solution to a growing economic concern in the United States by creating a verifiable online business community network. Through this innovative concept, the DNS system will help to build a stronger more resilient business platform for members of the Registered Community of Corporations, while fostering increased user confidence, by ensuring accurate business representation.
It is our goal to provide an efficient and secure application process by minimizing the input required by the registrant and creating a streamlined, efficient evaluation process. We will accomplish this by reviewing the applicant’s proof of business registration with their State. Registry Applicants will only be awarded a domain through DOT Registry if the Registrant is an active member of the Community of Registered Corporations. “Active” in this context can be defined as any corporation registered with a Secretary of State in the United States and its territories, that is determined to be authorized to conduct business within that State at the time of their registration. Registrant’s “Active” status will be verified on an annual basis to ensure the reputation and validity of the “.CORP” gTLD.
DOT Registry will also ensure that registrants are represented by a web address that is both simple and intuitive allowing for easy recognition by search engines and internet users. Awarded addresses will identify the registrant’s company and may be presented in the shortest, most memorable way.
At DOT Registry, we believe in complete transparency, consistent with the Secretaries of State Policy with regard to “Active” members of the Community of Registered Corporations becoming publicly recorded upon completion of their entity registration process. Further, DOT Registry is informed by the position of the United States Senate Task Force for Financial Integrity and Economic Development, which was created to advocate for improved levels of transparency and accountability with regard to beneficial ownership, control, and accounts of companies. Over the last decade the Task Force has focused specifically on combatting fraudulent business registrations which result in “fake” entities absorbing, hiding, and transferring wealth outside the reach of law enforcement agencies. Because of this DOT Registry will not allow private or proxy registrations.
All approved domain registrants will be made public and available, so as to further validate DOT Registry’s mission of fostering consumer peace of mind by creating a gTLD string dedicated solely to valid members of the Community of Registered Corporations. These transparency mechanisms will also serve as a deterrent for fraudulent entities by creating an expectation among consumers as to who they are conducting business with.
The social implications of business identity theft and consumer confusion are a paramount concern to DOT Registry. In our currently unstable economy, stimulating economic growth is vital. One means to such growth is by defusing the rampant, legitimate fear caused by online crimes and abuse, which leads to curtailed consumer behavior. By introducing the “.CORP” domain into the DNS, DOT Registry will attempt to reduce the social impact of identity theft on business owners which will in turn reduce consumer fears related to spending and ultimately boost economic growth in regards to consumption and purchase power.
Further, the “.CORP” gTLD will strive to foster competition by presenting members of the Community of Registered Corporations with a highly valued customized domain name that not only represents their business, but also their validity in the marketplace. Within the current existing top-level domains it is hard for businesses to find naming options that appropriately represent them. One advantage of the “.CORP” gTLD is that it will drive the “right” kind of online registrations by offering a valued alternative to the currently overcrowded and often unrestricted name space. Registrants will be inspired to pursue “.CORP” domains not only because they will be guaranteed a name representative to their business, but also because of the increased validity for their business operations brought about by the “.CORP” verification process. DOT Registry anticipates that the security offered through a “.CORP” extension will increase consumer traffic to websites which in turn will boost advertising revenue online and consumer purchasing.
Successful implementation of the “.CORP” domain will require two registration goals: (1) capture newly formed corporations and assist them in securing a “.CORP” domain relative to their legal business name, and (2) converting existing online members of our community to a “.CORP” domain relative to their legal business name. These goals will be accomplished by the following practices:
1) Through our Founder’s Program, DOT Registry will secure key community tenants in the name space who will act as innovative leaders to assist us in changing the online culture of business representation by promoting the benefits of the “.CORP” gTLD and shaping economic growth through increased consumer confidence.
2) DOT Registry will work closely with companies such as Legalzoom and CSC (both companies assist in the formation of entities and their registration processes), as well as individual Secretary of State’s offices, to capture newly admitted members of the community.
3) DOT Registry will educate members of the Community of Registered Corporations on the benefits and importance of using a “.CORP” gTLD by building a strong relationship with organizations like the Small Business Administration and the Better Business Bureau, which promote business validation and consumer insight. By working closely with these well-known and highly regarded entities, DOT Registry will be able to reach a larger majority of community members and enhance our message’s validity.
4) DOT Registry will strive to create consumer and Internet user awareness through a strong Internet marketing presence and by developing a relationship with the National Association of Consumer Advocates, which was formed with the intention of curbing consumer abuse through predatory business practices.
At DOT Registry, we strive to meet the exact needs of our registrants and the Internet users who patronize them. This will be accomplished by the creation of a seamless connection and strong communication channel between our organization and the governmental authority charged with monitoring the creation and good standing of corporations. DOT Registry will work closely with each Secretary of State’s office to tailor our validation process to complement each office’s current information systems and to maximize the benefits of accurate information reporting. These processes are essential in fully assisting consumers in making educated decisions in regards to what businesses to patronize. The reach of the “.CORP” gTLD will not only impact online consumerism, but also offer an additional validation process for consumers to research contractors, businesses, and solicitors before choosing to do business with them in person.
The guidelines listed below were developed through collaborations with both NASS and individual Secretary of State’s offices in order to ensure the integrity of the “.CORP” domain. All policies comply with ICANN-developed consensus policies.
In order to maintain the integrity of our mission statement and our relationship with each Secretary of State’s office we will implement Registration Guidelines. In order to apply for a domain name ending in “.CORP”, a Registrant must be registered with one of the Secretary of State’s offices in the United States, the District of Columbia, or any of the U.S. possessions or territories as a corporation pursuant to that jurisdiction’s laws on valid corporate registration. In addition, Applicant will implement the following Registration Guidelines and naming conventions:
1) A Registrant will only be awarded the “.CORP” domain that matches or includes a substantial part of the Registrant’s legal name. For example, Blue Star Partners, Inc. would be able to purchase either BlueStarPartners.CORP or BlueStar.CORP.
2) Registrants will not be allowed to register product line registrations, regardless of the products affiliation to the corporation. All awarded domains must match or include a substantial part of the Registrant’s legal name.
3) If there are registrants applying for the same domain names, which correspond to their legal business names as registered in different states, then the “.CORP” domain will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis to the first registrant.
4) However, if a registrant has a trademark registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), then such registrant will have priority over any other registrant to be awarded the applied for “.CORP” domain.
5) If a registrant’s “.CORP” domain has already been awarded to another registrant with the same or similar legal name, then DOT Registry will offer to award such registrant a “.CORP” domain with a distinctive denominator including but not limited to a tag, company describer, or name abbreviation. For example, if BlueStar.CORP was awarded to Blue Star Partners, Inc. of California, then Blue Star Partners, Inc. of Kansas would be offered the opportunity to use BlueStarPartners.CORP.
6) DOT Registry will work closely with the Secretary of State’s Offices throughout the United States, with NASS and with a number of other agencies and organizations in maintaining the integrity and security of its domain names. DOT Registry will utilize the Secretary of States’ online resources to confirm that companies applying for their “.CORP” domain are in fact registered businesses.
7) All registrants that are awarded the “.CORP” domain will agree to a one-year minimum contract for their domain names that will automatically renew for an additional year on an annual basis if such contract is not terminated prior to the expiration of the renewal date.
8) DOT Registry or it’s designated agent will annually verify each registrants community status. Verification will occur in a process similar to the original registration process for each registrant, in which the registrars will verify each registrant’s “Active” Status with the applicable state authority. Each registrar will evaluate whether its registrants can still be considered “Active” members of the Community of Registered Corporations. In this regard, the following items would be considered violations of DOT Registry’s Registration Guidelines, and may result in dissolution of a registrant’s awarded “.CORP” domain:
(a) If a registrant previously awarded the “.CORP” domain ceases to be registered with the State.
(b) If a registrant previously awarded a “.CORP” domain is dissolved and⁄or forfeits the domain for any reason.
(c) If a registrant previously awarded the “.CORP” domain is administratively dissolved by the State.
Any registrant found to be “Inactive,” or which falls into scenarios (a) through (c) above, will be issued a probationary warning by their registrar, allowing for the registrant to restore its active status or resolve its dissolution with its applicable Secretary of State’s office. If the registrant is unable to restore itself to “Active” status within the defined 30 day probationary period, their previously assigned “.CORP” will be forfeited. DOT Registry reserves the right to change the definition of “Active” in accordance with the policies of the Secretaries of State. Domains will be temporarily suspended during the review process.
9) If DOT Registry discovers that a registrant wrongfully applied for and was awarded a “.CORP” domain, then such “.CORP” will be immediately forfeited to DOT Registry. Wrongful application includes but is not limited to: a registrant misrepresenting itself as a member of the Community of Registered Corporations, a registrant participating in illegal or fraudulent actions, or where a registrant would be in violation of our abuse policies described in Question 28 (including promoting or facilitating spam, trademark or copyright infringement, phishing, pharming, willful distribution of malware, fast flux hosting, botnet command and control, distribution of pornography, illegal access to other computers or networks, and domain kiting⁄tasting).
10) In the case of domain forfeiture due to any of the above described options, all payments received by the Registrant for registration services to date or in advance payment will be non-refundable.
11) All registration information will be made publicly available. DOT Registry will not accept blind registration or registration by proxy. DOT Registry’s registry services operator will provide thick WHOIS services that are fully compliant with RFC 3912 and with Specifications 4 and 10 of the Registry Agreement. Additionally, DOT Registry will provide a Web-based WHOIS application, which will be located at www.whois.CORP. The WHOIS Web application will be an intuitive and easy to use. A complete description of these services can be found in Question 26 below.
12) Awarded names are non-transferrable to entities outside of the designated community, regardless of affiliation to any member of the community. In the event that a registrant’s business entity merges, is acquired, or sold, the new entity will be allowed to maintain the previously awarded “.CORP” domain until the domain renewal date, at which point they will be evaluated as described in number seven (7) above. Further, any entity acquiring a “.CORP” domain through the processes described in this guideline that does not meet the registration criteria and wishes to maintain the awarded domain will be allowed a grace period after the renewal verification process to correct any non-compliance issues in order to continue operating their acquired domain. If the said entity is unable to comply with DOT Registry’s guidelines, the awarded domain will be revoked.
13) If an application is unable to be verified or does not meet the requirements of the sponsored community, the application will be considered invalid.
14) DOT Registry will implement a reserved names policy consisting of both names DOT Registry wishes to reserve for our own purposes as the registry operator and names protected by ICANN. DOT Registry will respect all ICANN reserved names including, but not limited to, two letter country codes and existing TLD’s. Additionally, DOT Registry will seek ICANN approval on any additional names we plan to reserve in order to appropriately secure them prior to the opening of general availability.

In addition to Applicant’s comprehensive eligibility, verification, and policing mechanisms, DOT Registry will implement a series of Rights Protection Mechanisms (RPM), including but not limited to: Support for and interaction with the Trademark Clearinghouse (“Clearinghouse”); use of the Trademark Claims Service; segmented Sunrise Periods allowing for the owners of trademarks listed in the Clearinghouse to register domain names that consist of an identical match of their listed trademarks; subsequent Sunrise Periods to give trademark owners or registrants that own the rights to a particular name the ability to block the use of such name; and stringent take down policies and all required dispute resolution policies.

gTLDFull Legal NameE-mail suffixDetail
.loandot Loan 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 .loan 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 .loan 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 .loan will provide significant competition for existing and forthcoming gTLDs. The .loan 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 .loan 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.


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.

.loan 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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