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18(a) Describe the mission/purpose of your proposed gTLD

gTLDFull Legal NameE-mail suffixDetail
.audioHolly Castle, LLCdonuts.coView
Q18A CHAR: 7985

ABOUT DONUTS
Donuts Inc. is the parent applicant for this and multiple other TLDs. The company intends to increase competition and consumer choice at the top level. It will operate these carefully selected TLDs safely and securely in a shared resources business model. To achieve its objectives, Donuts has recruited seasoned executive management with proven track records of excellence in the industry. In addition to this business and operational experience, the Donuts team also has contributed broadly to industry policymaking and regulation, successfully launched TLDs, built industry-leading companies from the ground up, and brought innovation, value and choice to the domain name marketplace.

DONUTS’ PLACE WITHIN ICANN’S MISSION
ICANN and the new TLD program share the following purposes:
1. to make sure that the Internet remains as safe, stable and secure as possible, while
2. helping to ensure there is a vibrant competitive marketplace to efficiently bring the benefits of the namespace to registrants and users alike.

ICANN harnesses the power of private enterprise to bring forth these public benefits. While pursuing its interests, Donuts helps ICANN accomplish its objectives by:

1. Significantly widening competition and choice in Internet identities with hundreds of new top-level domain choices;
2. Providing innovative, robust, and easy-to-use new services, names and tools for users, registrants, registrars, and registries while at the same time safeguarding the rights of others;
3. Designing, launching, and securely operating carefully selected TLDs in multiple languages and character sets; and
4. Providing a financially robust corporate umbrella under which its new TLDs will be protected and can thrive.

ABOUT DONUTS’ RESOURCES
Donuts’ financial resources are extensive. The company has raised more than US$100 million from a number of capital sources including multiple multi-billion dollar venture capital and private equity funds, a top-tier bank, and other well-capitalized investors. Should circumstances warrant, Donuts is prepared to raise additional funding from current or new investors. Donuts also has in place pre-funded, Continued Operations Instruments to protect future registrants. These resource commitments mean Donuts has the capability and intent to launch, expand and operate its TLDs in a secure manner, and to properly protect Internet users and rights-holders from potential abuse.

Donuts firmly believes a capable and skilled organization will operate multiple TLDs and benefit Internet users by:

1. Providing the operational and financial stability necessary for TLDs of all sizes, but particularly for those with smaller volume (which are more likely to succeed within a shared resources and shared services model);
2. Competing more powerfully against incumbent gTLDs; and
3. More thoroughly and uniformly executing consumer and rights holder protections.

THIS TLD
This TLD is attractive and useful to end-users as it better facilitates search, self-expression, information sharing and the provision of legitimate goods and services. Along with the other TLDs in the Donuts family, this TLD will provide Internet users with opportunities for online identities and expression that do not currently exist. In doing so, the TLD will introduce significant consumer choice and competition to the Internet namespace – the very purpose of ICANN’s new TLD program.

This TLD is a generic term and its second level names will be attractive to a variety of Internet users. Making this TLD available to a broad audience of registrants is consistent with the competition goals of the New TLD expansion program, and consistent with ICANN’s objective of maximizing Internet participation. Donuts believes in an open Internet and, accordingly, we will encourage inclusiveness in the registration policies for this TLD. In order to avoid harm to legitimate registrants, Donuts will not artificially deny access, on the basis of identity alone (without legal cause), to a TLD that represents a generic form of activity and expression.

DONUTS’ APPROACH TO PROTECTIONS
No entity, or group of entities, has exclusive rights to own or register second level names in this TLD. There are superior ways to minimize the potential abuse of second level names, and in this application Donuts will describe and commit to an extensive array of protections against abuse, including protections against the abuse of trademark rights.

We recognize some applicants seek to address harms by constraining access to the registration of second level names. However, we believe attempts to limit abuse by limiting registrant eligibility is unnecessarily restrictive and harms users by denying access to many legitimate registrants. Restrictions on second level domain eligibility would prevent law-abiding individuals and organizations from participating in a space to which they are legitimately connected, and would inhibit the sort of positive innovation we intend to see in this TLD. As detailed throughout this application, we have struck the correct balance between consumer and business safety, and open access to second level names.

By applying our array of protection mechanisms, Donuts will make this TLD a place for Internet users that is far safer than existing TLDs. Donuts will strive to operate this TLD with fewer incidences of fraud and abuse than occur in incumbent TLDs. In addition, Donuts commits to work toward a downward trend in such incidents.

OUR PROTECTIONS
Donuts has consulted with and evaluated the ideas of international law enforcement, consumer privacy advocacy organizations, intellectual property interests and other Internet industry groups to create a set of protections that far exceed those in existing TLDs, and bring to the Internet namespace nearly two dozen new rights and protection mechanisms to raise user safety and protection to a new level.

These include eight, innovative and forceful mechanisms and resources that far exceed the already powerful protections in the applicant guidebook. These are:

1. Periodic audit of WhoIs data for accuracy;
2. Remediation of inaccurate Whois data, including takedown, if warranted;
3. A new Domain Protected Marks List (DPML) product for trademark protection;
4. A new Claims Plus product for trademark protection;
5. Terms of use that prohibit illegal or abusive activity;
6. Limitations on domain proxy and privacy service;
7. Published policies and procedures that define abusive activity; and
8. Proper resourcing for all of the functions above.

They also include fourteen new measures that were developed specifically by ICANN for the new TLD process. These are:

1. Controls to ensure proper access to domain management functions;
2. 24⁄7⁄365 abuse point of contact at registry;
3. Procedures for handling complaints of illegal or abusive activity, including remediation and takedown processes;
4. Thick WhoIs;
5. Use of the Trademark Clearinghouse;
6. A Sunrise process;
7. A Trademark Claims process;
8. Adherence to the Uniform Rapid Suspension system;
9. Adherence to the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy;
10. Adherence to the Post Delegation Dispute Resolution Policy;
11. Detailed security policies and procedures;
12. Strong security controls for access, threat analysis and audit;
13. Implementation DNSSEC; and
14. Measures for the prevention of orphan glue records.

DONUTS’ INTENTION FOR THIS TLD
As a senior government authority has recently said, “a successful applicant is entrusted with operating a critical piece of global Internet infrastructure.” Donuts’ plan and intent is for this TLD to serve the international community by bringing new users online through opportunities for economic growth, increased productivity, the exchange of ideas and information and greater self-expression.
gTLDFull Legal NameE-mail suffixDetail
.shriramShriram Capital Ltd.shriram.comView
About our company:
Shriram Capital Limited (SCL) is the overarching holding company for the Financial Services and Insurance entities of the Shriram Group. The Shriram Group, which was incepted in 1974, has grown over the last three decades to become a Rs. 40,000 crore ($ 8 billion) group. Today, Shriram has grown to become one of India’s largest financial groups, with an increasing interest by investors. Shriram Group’s businesses strive to serve the largest number of common people (referred to ‘aam admi’ or ‘bottom of the pyramid’), through various products: Commercial Vehicle Financing, Consumer & Enterprise Finance, Retail Stock Broking, Life Insurance, Chit Funds, investment, Life Insurance and General insurance Products. Although financial services is the strength of the group (accounting for 90% of businesses), the group is growing and expanding in various non-financial businesses such as Real estate⁄ property, manufacturing, engineering, IT, Infrastructure and Power andAuto Machine.
The key business of the group is commercial vehicle financing, managed by Shriram Transport Finance Company, the largest asset financing company in India. Another group company, Shriram City Union Finance Ltd, is a leader in Retail Financeacross a wide range of products in the Industry. Shriram Life Insurance is a joint venture with the South African Insurance giant, Sanlam Insurance.
Shriram Capital, on a consolidated basis, has an overall customer base of 7 Million, 33,000 employees across 2700 offices, net profit of over Rs. 15 Billion ($ 300 million) with Assets Under Management (AUM) of over Rs. 500 Billion ($ 10 billion). SCL is well-positioned to take the Group to the next strategic level through consolidating its position in some of the key businesses like Transportation, Equipment Finance and providing the necessary impetus to grow its Retail Finance businesses. SCL will also help to grow the Insurance businesses (both Life & General Insurance) in the Group with optimal profit. The strategic reorientation of SCL will help Shriram Group to be a significant and profitable enterprise in various facets of the Financial Services businesses in India and overseas.
The Shriram group boasts of various senior level management, who are highly experienced and respected personalities in the financial services industry space. Going forward, the group looks to expand its partnership with global players, enter the banking industry, and grow its operations in non financial businesses.
Mission and Purpose of gTLD:
Shriram Capital intends to own a TLD, as it is looking for having a complete control on the second level domain names. Shriram Group overall has more than 15 subsidiary companies, various investors and partners, and numerous small businesses. To bring all these companies⁄partners underone umbrella name, Shriram is looking to apply for a gTLD (.shriram).
In the current situation, the group companies hold various different types of domains in current TLDs, such as ‘.com’, ‘.in’ and so on. This makes it difficult for one to remember the company website URL, and gives an impression of poor branding or communication of the group, as there is no standardisation within the domain names.
Although the Internet is a fast growing medium, there iswidespread possible naming conventions and elements of Cybersquatting. The existing TLDsmay mislead any financial institutional customers to various phishing⁄malicious websites, leading to online fraud. Shriram wants to have an exclusive ownership of a TLD (.shriram), so it can provide a complete level of security and comfort to its stakeholders, with respect to online fraud, malicious websites and the likes.
The Group would like to have complete ownership and control over the .shriramTLD, allowing it to market the Shriram brand, created over the past three decades, efficientlyand in a standard manner. The group began in 1974, and since then has grown in numbers multifold, as well as in the view of its customers and employees. The group does not want the brand value created by Shriram over the last three decades to be misused, and hence seeks to own this gTLD.
Shriram Capital sees the Internet as a strong and growing medium to reach out to its audience and various stakeholders. An increasing number of the group’s customers (low-income level) are becoming more technology savvy as compared to recent times, and see the Internet as an easily accessible tool for communication with the company, either in the form of payments, remittances, product information, customer portals or simply feedback and so on. For employees, the group sites are accessed for web-basede-mails, submitting claims, re-imbursements, leave applications and viewing dashboards⁄ performance reports.
Hence, Shriram Capital (SCL) plans to invest in owning its own TLD (.shriram). This will bring the following benefits to the Shriram Group:
1. Direct and easy navigation to URLs, causing less inconvenience
2. Marketing and building of the ‘Shriram’ brand in an efficient and proper manner
3. Uniformity and standardisation in the usage of prefixes across all group companies, bringing them all under one cloud
4. ‘Shriram’ brand protection
5. Control over second level domain names
6. Possibility to avoid communication errors from Company to Customers or Customers to Company. The same can be avoided in communication with other stakeholders such as employees, agents, investors, partners, and board members. This will build our relationship with all our stakeholders in the long term
7. Showcase ourself as a leader in this space, maintaining the reputation of our brand
8. As most of our businesses are public, this will be a good reach for future businesses⁄ forays, such as Banking
9. Aligning customers into a common domain name
10. Effective tool to avoid malicious sites and increase security
11. Search Engine Marketing⁄Optimization cost reductions
12. Greater Internet presence and control for the group
13. Reduction in costs for site maintenance
14. Increased opportunities for digital marketing⁄Online branding⁄Campaigns
15. Less dependence on search engines as company URLs will be easier to remember⁄recall
Shriram Capital will be using .shriram exclusively for its internal divisions and its subsidiary group companies. Currently, Shriram group hasregistered more than 20 domains ending in “.com”, “.in”, or “.org”.These include all the groups companies. Businesses which currently have a domain include:
Shriram Group: www.shriram.com; Shrriam Capital: www.shriramcapital.com (and .in); Shriram Transport Finance: www.stfc.in; Shriram City Union Finance: www.shriramcity.inand so on.
In addition to the above existing domains, there are various smaller companies which Shriram has acquired, or has a partnership with. Going forward, as the group expands it presence and reach to customers, more companies will be formed and⁄or acquired. Hence, there will be an increase in the number of domains which will be registered to cater to the new businesses and services offered by the group.
Assuming that our application for gTLD .shriram is approved, we have estimated and projected that in the first year, 25 domain names will be booked⁄registered. In the second year 150 domains will be live, and in the 3rd year 225 domains will be live. In the first year, we will allot domains to the above existing company URLs⁄domains, so as to bring all Shriram companies under a common cloud at the earliest. Going forward from the second year onwards, the smaller group companies will be bought under this TLD .shriram.
Once the gTLD has been allotted and approved for .shriram, we assume the above mentioned websites would become:
Shriram Group: www.group.shriram; Shriram Capital: www.capital.shriram; Shriram Transport Finance: www.stfc.shriram; Shriram City Union Finance: www.scuf.shriram and so on.