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

Prototypical answer:

(c) What operating rules will you adopt to eliminate or minimize social costs (e.g., time or financial resource costs, as well as various types of consumer vulnerabilities)?

What other steps will you take to minimize negative consequences⁄costs imposed upon consumers? Answers should address the following points:

i. How will multiple applications for a particular domain name be resolved, for example, by auction or on a first-come⁄first-serve basis?

ii. Explain any cost benefits for registrants you intend to implement (e.g., advantageous pricing, introductory discounts, bulk registration discounts).

iii. Note that the Registry Agreement requires that registrars be offered the option to obtain initial domain name registrations for periods of one to ten years at the discretion of the registrar, but no greater than ten years. Additionally, the Registry Agreement requires advance written notice of price increases. Do you intend to make contractual commitments to registrants regarding the magnitude of price escalation? If so, please describe your plans.

The .世界TLD (.shijie) is intended to function with leading-edge technologies and business practices, ensuring a trustworthy and positive user experience. The goal is to use the Company’s online infrastructure and services to encourage Chinese-speaking Internet users to interact online with each other.

In general, the Company intends for users to perceive the TLD as a trustworthy and intuitive indicator of online information and services. The Company intends to provide a safe and trustworthy Internet space, enhancing user experience by mitigating security-associated risks. Precise details are set forth in answers to Questions 26, 28 and 29.

In addition, the TLD will provide an easily navigable and predictable domain name space. For example, geographicnames.世界 for localized websites, and product.世界 for websites related to products relevant to Chinese speakers and readers. All of this will lessen users’ confusion when interacting online.

(i) How will multiple applications for a particular domain name be resolved, for example, by auction or on a first-come⁄first-serve basis?

The Company will offer a phased launch, consistent with many prior gTLD domain name launches. First, a Sunrise Period will be offered as required by ICANN, for trademark holders to register domain names that correspond to their marks. If there is more than one qualified Sunrise applicant, then they will be invited to participate in an auction to select the registrant of the contested name. After the close of the Sunrise Period, the Company will conduct a Premium Name Availability Period, accepting applications for registrations of any available .世界 domain names. In the event of more than one applicant contending for any domain during this Period, all such applicants will be invited to participate in an auction to select the registrant of the contested name. After the Premium Name Availability Period, the Company will make names generally available for open registration by any interested person or entity, on a first-come⁄first-served basis.

(ii) Explain any cost benefits for registrants you intend to implement (e.g., advantageous pricing, introductory discounts, bulk registration discounts).
(iii) Do you intend to make contractual commitments to registrants regarding the magnitude of price escalation?

The Company intends to promote early adoption of the .世界TLD (.shijie) by initially offering substantial discounts for multi-year registrations and for purchase of multiple domain registrations. Ultimately, this promotional pricing would provide a registrant who chooses a multi-year registration a lower effective price for the second and successive years, when be paid in advance. A registrant who chooses to register multiple domain names at one time will receive a discount on the second and successive registrations made at the same time. It may be possible to combine both discounts for greater savings.

Additionally, promotional pricing programs would provide registrants who choose to spend extra effort and budget in promoting the .世界TLD (.shijie) may be eligible for additional discounts from The Company. These types of promotions may last more than 5 years. The Company is aware that it may need to spend many years’ efforts educating the Chinese internet population, create the awareness of the .世界TLD (.shijie) and ultimately convince the Internet users to prefer the .世界TLD (.shijie) address in search to other TLDs. In addition, the Company is also aware that it may take several years to convince a critical mass of the target registrant market to adopt the .世界TLD (.shijie) and build high profile content associated with it. In fact, although it is counter-intuitive, it may take a number of years for Chinese users to get used to Chinese gTLDs, since they have never had much choice other than ASCII TLDs.

The Company also intends to make clear contractual commitments to registrants regarding the magnitude of price escalation upon renewal. This will be clearly stated in Registry-Registrar Agreement, requiring registrars to include this commitment in all .世界TLD (.shijie) Domain Name Registration Agreements. The Company will take risks in pioneering innovative pricing for IDN domains for Chinese speaking people. The price escalation or fluctuation may be higher than ASCII new gTLDs, since there are many precedents for pricing in those categories.

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