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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
.SECURITYDefender Security Companydefenderdirect.comView
The .SECURITY TLD will benefit the registrants and internet users by providing an immediately identifiable, secure, and exclusive domain for security-related entities and individuals, especially if their preferred domain name selection is not currently available under .COM or another TLD of their choice. These benefits are detailed in the below.
18b (i) Defender Security’s expertise in the security-related business is well known. Since its inception in 1998, Defender Security has emerged as a leading dealer for a prestigious portfolio of home security and digital communications brands. The company recently broadened its portfolio of residential service offerings with the addition of an Outsourced Sales Center Division and continues to use its sales force expertise to improve lead acquisition for outside clients in other industries. Defender Security employs more than 2,100 individuals in 50 states with over 120 branch offices nationwide.
Defender’s stellar growth has been fueled by an aggressive direct-marketing focus and national expansion. The company mission is, “businesses don’t grow—people do.” This mission which fostered continuous employee development has permitted the company to grow faster than many of its peers because defender employees have grown as individuals. Defender sales have doubled because the capacity and talents of its leaders have doubled. A few years ago, Defender stopped trying to double its business and realized the way to grow was to double its team members’ enthusiasm, optimism, and skills. Defender offers a culture of continuous learning including; seminars, leadership conferences, and self-help programs. The company builds a culture, on purpose, not by accident. This same focus will be directed to grow Defender’s .SECURITY business.
The goal of .SECURITY is matching the Defender Security existing business goals by creating world class results in brand awareness and new customer acquisition. Defender will utilize its existing experienced marketing resources to rapidly create a unique persona and marketing strategy for .SECURITY. It will leverage its existing marketing channel relationships in digital, print, direct mail, television and emerging channels to develop and support the .SECURITY initiative. This will be established by providing a secure, differentiated security-branded domain to be registered and used by the global Internet community in an appropriate manner under strict anti-abuse and use-policies. Defender Security and its back-end operator, Afilias, will provide an unmatched secure technical platform which will be facilitated to signify technical security and identification to Internet users.

SECURE OPEN gTLD
The primary goal of .SECURITY is to add value to security-related entities and internet users that exceed current DNS standards through its highly reliable, resilient and stable technical registry system, its protection policies and its associated compliance functions. .SECURITY will generate trust in application developers by establishing a highly secure TLD with appropriate use, anti-abuse policies aligned with the highest available technical operational standards. Trust will be key to the future of the Internet, especially with the anticipated high volume of new gTLDs being introduced. Historically application developers have incorporated protection mechanisms for some TLDs. As described in response to question #16, Defender Security is aware of this risk and will communicate its established policies and operational functionalities to the operators involved in the application-layer of the DNS to ensure usability and acceptance of the TLD across applications to ensure a streamlined user experience. This will for example enable search engines to trust .SECURITY domains more in security-related searches given their higher likelihood of relevance to security pertaining to serving the most optimal and reliable search results.
.SECURITY PREMIUM DOMAIN CHANNEL
Defender Security’s objective is to connect trusted, security-related entities to their target consumer base while benefitting law-enforcement agencies mitigate online criminal activities and malicious conduct.
Traditionally premium names under newly-launched TLDs have been auctioned to generate immediate income to the TLD registry operator. Defender Security will use the premium names under .SECURITY to:
- Develop sites to promote the TLD and its mission.
- Engage in partnerships with entities specializing in different security-related industries to develop dedicated destinations to drive Internet users to law-abiding security-related entities.
- Develop local and regional directories specialized for the security-related industries to help connect them with their target audience.
The Premium Names sites will be developed with security entities in mind and to benefit Internet users and other stakeholders, such as law-enforcement and governmental stakeholders.
Premium Channels will be search engine optimized and will also enable direct navigation under the most popular security-related terms. For example, a consumer searching for a home security system can directly visit “home.SECURITY” to find relevant services in the home security business.
Defender Security today has national marketing expertise with over 7 billion of pieces of print marketing collateral distributed throughout the US each year and millions of digital impressions. Defender Security employs 2,100 individuals in 50 states with over 120 branch offices nationwide. Defender has expertise in brand positioning and strategy, marketing communications, target market identification and analysis’s and marketing brand development. Defender will augment this existing distribution channel to reach consumers and provide them information to the .SECURITY Premium Names.
18b (ii) The primary differentiation of the .SECURITY TLD that is non-existent in the current TLD space is the meaning of the extension symbolizing security-related activities, and the security-focused strategy adopted by Defender Security. The .SECURITY TLD will provide competition to gTLDs and ccTLDs that Internet users might otherwise choose by providing value-added innovations as described earlier; by differentiating by instilling trust and secure focused values to Internet users as well as fulfilling the high accountability requirements that define the security sector. Secure TLD management is established following the registration policies and compliance measures as described below, and also through responses to questions #23-44 in which every element of registry operations will facilitate the most optimal technical resources, especially in regards to protocol implementations, hardware, security access requirements, and the anti-abuse policy and monitoring.
Furthermore, this is enhanced by the opportunity for registrants to register their domain in their preferred TLD niche that identifies them as a member of the security-related industry.
18b (iii) When visiting .SECURITY sites, Internet users are provided an experience with an immediate identification and a level of confidence and trust that is not available today. The message a .SECURITY domain name sends to its users is that they are engaging with safer entities than they normally would. Defender Security will back this experience by providing optimal secure technical operations, including adopting operational policies that take action against any illegitimate use or abuse in relation to a .SECURITY domain name.
Traditional search engine results pages are agnostic to whether security-related domains within their search pages are legitimate or not. Defender Security will change this experience for the global Internet user by providing a unique symbol of trust and protection to the users in when engaging with .SECURITY domains.
If a domain under .SECURITY is used for any illegitimate uses it will be taken down. As discussed in abuse-prevention section below and also in response to question #28 and #29 repeat offenders will be placed on a special monitoring list by Defender Security and in extreme cases will be denied domain name registrations under .SECURITY.
Defender Security will work directly with law-enforcement agencies. Furthermore the .SECURITY back-end registry provider also indirectly engages in Internet security-focused activities such as with the SSAC and APWG, to ensure that they have the latest technologies and resources available in the operations of .SECURITY.
While .SECURITY domains cannot be validated to belong to security industry members, they are required to follow continuously updated use and anti-abuse policies. And in addition Defender Security will implement a validation of the registrant data ensuring that such data is valid thus ensure access to registrants in case of issues. As a result, the user experience with .SECURITY domains will be trusted, giving confidence that purchases or other type of interaction with secure entities in the security-related industries are legitimate and safe.
The .SECURITY Premium Domains will be operated and developed directly by Defender Security to promote the TLD through their existing activities in the security-related industries; or by Defender Security partners. Such partners are selected in accordance with strict requirements for existing activities and for management of the Premium Names. The Premium Names will set a standard for all other .SECURITY registrants and as a result will reduce users’ exposure to malicious conduct by serving secure and high quality relevant content to search engines. This in turn will help obtain higher search engine results for a long tail of security-related keywords served by the differentiated, unique and focused .SECURITY Premium Names incorporating local, national and regional searches. This type of search result ranking criteria is already implemented by search engines such as Google and Bing with existing TLDs (such as .GOV for government-related content or .EDU for education-related content) and ccTLDs (such as .DE for local content served to users in Germany) since those results are deemed trusted and⁄or highly relevant.
Search engines are expected to modify their algorithms to accommodate relevant, high quality and unique content, especially if it can be used to filter and counter illegitimate and infringing websites. 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 the .SECURITY Premium Names to benefit .SECURITY registrants and achieve higher search rankings.

18b (iv) To reach the above mentioned goals, Defender Security has implemented several measures to protect intellectual property rights in registrations under .SECURITY, and to ensure that .SECURITY domains are used in a manner benefitting the security-related industries resulting in reducing online abuse that currently exists.
The policies are built to take advantage of the latest technology in DNS security resources and using TLD best practices and experience from the previous ICANN new gTLD introductions; and they are established to ensure a higher security level for .SECURITY domains than what is considered standard requirements for gTLDs. Defender Security will work with law enforcement agencies, government entities, security-focused DNS technical stakeholders, and partners in all security-related industries to continuously ensure that the TLD management operations exceed expectations.
Aside from the below described policies, the .SECURITY TLD will be launched with all the standard gTLD registration rules, e.g. in terms of grace-periods. See response to question #27 for .SECURITY lifecycle. Defender Security will adhere to all ICANN mandated rights protection mechanisms and consensus policies in accordance with the ICANN Registry Agreement.
RESERVATION PROTECTION: second-level names will be reserved per ICANN requirements, including country-territory names (see response #22) and names for registry operations.
INNOVATIVE PREMIUM NAMES RESERVATIONS: premium name reservations to develop the Premium Channels (e.g home.SECURITY) to (i) promote the .SECURITY TLD through Defender Security’s existing activities in the security-related industries, (ii) for Partnerships with actors in the security industry to generate dedicated information sharing and access to security industries, and (iii) to generate local directories to enable efficient local security-related discovery.
Defender Security will also reserve a list of highly-sensitive names under .SECURITY, such as homeland.SECURITY. These can only be registered by the relevant authority it is reserved for, or it will forever be blocked for registration.
RIGHTS PROTECTION AND NOTIFICATIONS SYSTEM:
• Trademark Clearing House will be implemented in accordance with ICANN specifications.
• Introductory Sunrise phase to allow trademark holders fulfilling the ICANN established marks criteria a first access to register under .SECURITY. Trademarks will be validated to control access into the Sunrise phase.
THREE TIME-RESTRICTED LAUNCH PHASES in the following order (i) Sunrise for and to protect trademark holders (ii) Landrush and (iii) General Availability to ensure all Internet users have access to .SECURITY creating fair competition with other gTLDs.
Multiple applications for the same domain in either the Sunrise or Landrush phase will be decided upon via a mini-auction after the phase. In General Availability the domains are available for all applicants on a first-come-first-serve basis.
ANTI-ABUSE POLICY for all registrants under .SECURITY; incorporated in the registration agreement for all .SECURITY registrants. It is in place to prevent malicious use of domains which can lead to security and stability issues for the registry, registrars, and registrants, and general users of the Internet. It is detailed in response to question #28.
REGISTRY DATA VALIDATION: Defender Security will validate elements of the received WHOIS data as a requirement for .SECURITY domain registration. If registrants do not comply with the data validation requirements, after notification and adequate time to cure such incompliance, the domains will go through the deletion process. Exact validations will continuously be evaluated to be sufficient based on continuously evaluations of the security level of the TLD, and increased if deemed necessary. Defender Security will take advice from law-enforcement agencies, government stakeholders, technical bodies focused on DNS security, and premium names partners from across security-related industries to always ensure that .SECURITY is managed with best available resources. The initial validation data will be determined based on additional reviews of resources such as for example the Five C’s WHOIS model [http:⁄⁄costarica43.icann.org⁄node⁄29531] presented at the recent ICANN meeting in Costa Rica, but is anticipated to at minimum include:
1.The registrant’s email address through validation links
2.The registrant’s phone number through validated PIN-codes

Additionally, Defender Security will reserve the right to implement content & use policy, as well as a name-restriction policy for which names can be registered under .SECURITY and restrictions in terms of usage and content of websites associated with .SECURITY. Defender Security will perform due diligence in making such determination including seeking advice from its Advisory Committee. In such case Defender Security will also implement a corresponding .SECURITY Policy Dispute Resolution Process (SPDRP) to solve dispute concerning compliance with such policies.
COMPLIANCE AND ENFORCEMENT
Defender Security will take proactive and reactive measures to enforce its TLD policies. Proactive measures are taken at the time of registration. Reactive measures are addressed via compliance and enforcement mechanisms and through dispute processes.
Any potential SPDRP is not a replacement for the UDRP⁄URS and alleged violation of the UDRP⁄URS shall be enforced under the provisions contained therein.
The UDRP and URS are required in the registrarsʹ registration agreements with registrants, and proceedings must be brought by interested third parties in accordance with the associated policies and procedures to dispute resolution providers.
Defender Security will conduct random compliance efforts across all the .SECURITY criteria. Periodically a sample of .SECURITY registrations will be verified for compliance with all established .SECURITY criteria.
If a Registrant is found out of compliance with any of the .SECURITY criteria the registrant will be notified that the domain will be placed on registry lock and the registrant will be given a reasonable time period to cure the compliance matter or the domain will be terminated.
Repeat offenders of the .SECURITY criteria will be placed on a special monitoring list that Defender Security staff will conduct additional compliance checks against. Defender Security holds the right to prohibit repeat offenders from registering .SECURITY domains for a period of time or indefinitely.
Defender Security will review all policies and processes on a regular basis with involvement from the .SECURITY Advisory Committee.
18b (v) The .SECURITY TLD will use best practices around privacy and data protection. 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.
The .SECURITY TLD is established to allow entities in security-related industries to identify themselves online and be discovered and have as much visibility and exposure as possible. Defender Security will provide this unique and branded visibility. The domain registration services and Premium Name development will be designed to respect the privacy of personally identifiable information and confidential information, including with respect to applicable local laws for regional or local focused premium names.
18b (vi) In order to meet the benefits described in responses to 18b (i-v) Defender Security is committed to continue to conduct and expand upon outreach and communication activities. A primary goal with .SECURITY is trust, and from that goal a long range of benefits is met. To reach trust communication and outreach is key, as well as allowing participation through that outreach and communication, including the following:
1. Create an advisory committee in support and development of .SECURITY. The advisory committee will be created from holders of .SECURITY premium names. The goal of this committee will be to create trust in and knowledge of the .SECURITY brand. The association will be developed under the following principles:
1.1. Developed for the interest and benefit of premium .SECURITY name holders
1.2. Community will be solicited on ideas to create and promote a successful association
1.3. Premium name holders will be requested to provide input on the associations operational guidelines
1.4. Public meeting will be held with participating stakeholders
1.5. Interim group will be established
1.6. Inaugural meeting will be held to create bylaws and association rules
2. Participate in trade shows and communities tangential to the .SECURITY brand with the goal to create and expand awareness of the .SECURITY brand.
3. Launch a .SECURITY website to promote .SECURITY awareness
4. Create a digital⁄print .SECURITY newsletter that will be distributed to groups interested in .SECURITY
5. Establish .SECURITY annual conference, marketing summit and educational opportunities to expand the use and penetration of the .SECURITY brand.
6. Create membership organization for members holding non-premium names.
gTLDFull Legal NameE-mail suffixDetail
.winFirst Registry 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 .win 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 .win 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 .win will provide significant competition for existing and forthcoming gTLDs. The .win 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 .win 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.

Secondly, the Applicant will require that Registrants agree to the Registry’s “Abuse and Rights Protection” Terms and Conditions as part of the registration process for the second-level domain, which includes displaying the APM Seal on the homepage. The APM Seal will provide users and legal rights holders with a direct link to an Abuse Prevention and Mitigation Report Website which will provide instructions on how to report abusive conduct to the Registry and law enforcement.

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.

.win 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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