18(b) How do you expect that your proposed gTLD will benefit registrants, Internet users, and others?

Prototypical answer:

The .STAR TLD will benefit the registrants and internet users directly by providing an immediately identifiable and exclusive .STAR TLD that their 400 million customer base from 100 countries can trust.

18b (i) The goal of .STAR is to provide an exclusive, trusted, safe STAR-branded domain to be used to represent SIPL and its media channels, and introduce new innovative non-registry related services in the media and entertainment business. SIPL will provide a trusted platform for its high profile channels and brands to project authenticated domain name destinations their customers and Internet users can associate the .STAR brand with.
Trust and authenticity in the operation of .STAR is paramount to SIPL, its high profile global entertainment channels and brands. This is built through (i) a safe, secure, and trusted technical operation of the TLD by the back-end operator; and (ii) the eligibility requirements and registration policy for SIPL to register domains under .STAR as a single registrant gTLD managed exclusively by SIPL.

18b (ii) .STAR will advance the current space of competition, differentiation and innovation by launching trusted and authenticated domains with legal entertainment-related content.

18b (iii) When visiting .STAR sites Internet users are provided an immediate identification and a level of confidence and trust not available today in the media business in regards to having a dedicated domain that is guaranteed to be legal and have no intellectual property issues associated with the content since it is appropriately licensed by SIPL. The exclusivity of domains under .STAR has provided the opportunity for SIPL to manually review every single registration through their established process prior to domain name registration. The process as described includes check points and authorization by SIPL executives to avoid any illegitimate registrations.

The .STAR domains will reduce exposure to unlicensed websites distributing content related to SIPL illegally. SIPL will serve official, authenticated and high quality SIPL-related content to search engines which will enable a higher ranked .STAR domains for terms associated with the business activities relating to the brands they represent. It is expected that search engines will modify their algorithms to accommodate relevant, high quality and unique content, especially if it can be used as a filter to counter unofficial websites, which is the case with .STAR domains. The official Google Blog highlights the new Google algorithm changes (http:⁄⁄insidesearch.blogspot.com⁄2012⁄02⁄search-quality-highlights-40-changes.html) that will be leveraged by .STAR to benefit their clientele’s associated .STAR domains achieve higher search rankings.

18b (iv) To reach the above mentioned goals, SIPL has implemented a single-registrant methodology of registering domains. This will function as a measure to protect intellectual property rights of the major brands and channels they represent in registrations under .STAR; and to ensure that .STAR domains are used in a manner benefitting SIPL associated brands, providing a consistent platform that users can access, consume and enquire information through.

The policies and protections are built to match existing SIPL’s procedures in business management with their associated brands and channels; the ICANN established criteria; based on experience from the previous ICANN new gTLD introductions; and they are established to ensure a higher security level for .STAR domains than what is considered standard requirements for gTLDs.

The .STAR TLD will be launched with all the standard gTLD registration rules except that registrations will be made by a single registrant: SIPL. See response to question #27 for .STAR lifecycle.

STAR will adhere to all ICANN mandated rights protection mechanisms and consensus policies.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS AND REGISTRATION PROCESS
There will be a multi-stage internal process to identify, register and bring live all .STAR domains. The process will include executive approval authorizing any domain name registrations under .STAR. SIPL will consult with an ICANN accredited registrar to facilitate an interface through which the domains can actively be registered and managed. The detailed process relates to internal business decision-making processes currently existing at SIPL and is considered confidential. It can be provided under a confidentiality agreement.

RESERVATION PROTECTION: second-level names will be reserved per the requirements in the ICANN Registry Agreement Specification 5, including country-territory names (see response #22).

RIGHTS PROTECTION AND NOTIFICATIONS SYSTEM:
• Trademark Clearing House will be implemented in accordance with ICANN specifications.

ONE TIME-RESTRICTED LAUNCH PHASE: The .STAR launch will be initiated with a Sunrise restricted registration phase. In this phase only registrations that fulfill the eligibility requirement established above and that fulfill the ICANN established Sunrise criteria per the 11 January 2012 ICANN Applicant Guidebook Trademark Clearing House Specification, section 7.2 (or any subsequent versions that update that). Multiple applications for the same domain will not be possible since SIPL is the only single-registrant allowed to make registrations.

Following the completion of the Sunrise phase .STAR domains will be available for SIPL to register outside the Sunrise requirements but still solely through the above established procedure and eligibility requirement.

ANTI-ABUSE POLICY FOR .STAR; incorporated in the registration agreement for all .STAR registrations and thereby agreed to by SIPL when making domain name registrations under .STAR. It is in place to assure that any registration made by and for use by SIPL will not be used for malicious conduct or in a manner that can lead to security and stability issues for the registry, registrars, and registrants, and general users of the Internet. The abuse policy is detailed in response to question #28.

A point of contact for abuse related matters will be established at SIPL, but the Abuse policy is not a replacement for alleged violation of the Trademark PDDRP⁄UDRP⁄URS, which shall be enforced under the provisions contained therein.

18b (v) The .STAR TLD will use best practices around privacy and data protection, especially since .STAR is a single registrant TLD. Afilias, the back-end service provider, will administer specific WHOIS protections per response to question #26, and promote WHOIS accuracy per response to question #28. However the need for such services is limited as the WHOIS information will be accurate as only SIPL will be the registrant.

SIPL seek to have as much visibility and exposure as possible to market their activities and offer premium, niche destinations that advertiser would be interested in.

SIPL will provide this unique and branded visibility through its .STAR domain that will cater exclusively to its high profile brands and channels.

In order to meet the benefits described in responses to 18b (i-v) SIPL will include .STAR in its ongoing outreach and communication efforts continuing to build its brand as the leading media and entertainment company catering to the needs and business interests of high profile media and entertainment-related brands and channels based on trust and authenticity.

Similar gTLD applications: (1)