18(c) What operating rules will you adopt to eliminate or minimize social costs?

Prototypical answer:

The .reit TLD has been developed to serve the REIT community as well as protect the general public, so the elimination of social costs has been interwoven into the fabric of the TLD’s design. A description of how it will both serve and protect members of the sponsored community and the general public follows:

i. NAREIT has taken great care to develop the most fair registration policy possible. We will offer a phased launch consistent with ICANN requirements to ensure the protection of Trademark holders and the satisfaction of potential registrants. The ICANN-mandated Sunrise period open to TM holders who also satisfy the community eligibility criteria will precede a general availability period during which time eligible entities are able to acquire .reit domains on a first-come, first-served basis. Because we are currently unaware of any potentially conflicting REIT names (i.e. no two REITs currently have the same name), we do not foresee any issue with conflicting domain name requests. Because there may be a conflict in the future, the registry (NAREIT) will work with the applicant to agree upon a successful and acceptable alternative domain name (as fully described in response to question 20). NAREIT firmly believes this policy will satisfy all potential registrants.

ii. NAREIT will not implement any promotions or registrant discounts. Not only will such promotions or discounts not be of benefit to potential registrants due to the size and financial capabilities of REITs, but also the work involved in validating that potential registrants are, in fact, legitimate REITs in good standing does not render the implementation of promotions and discounts financially viable.

iii. .reit domain names will be available for registration on a one-year basis and are renewable provided that the REIT submits the required re-validation criteria and that the re-validation is approved. It will not be possible to register a .reit domain for more than one year. This requirement has been designed for the protection of the .reit zone as well as the general public, thereby ensuring that only legitimate REITs which remain in good standing continue to possess and use .reit domains (by requiring a thorough examination of the REIT on a yearly basis to ensure it remains in compliance with the requirements of the .reit TLD). Interim takedowns of non-compliant domains (or REITs) are possible, also to protect the integrity of the zone.

Due to the unique and restricted nature of the TLD and the significant additional resources required for validating registrant applications, we expect registration fees to be significantly higher than those traditionally charged for traditional open TLDs. At this time we do not foresee a need to increase the registry fees, but the registry will certainly give ample notice of any change in fees as required by the Registry Agreement.

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