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

Prototypical answer:

18b - Benefits to Registrants, Internet Users and Others
The .PLACE TLD will benefit the registrants and Internet users by providing a generic, secure, and clearly identifiable domain name, especially if their preferred domain name selection is not currently available under existing TLDs of their choice. These benefits are detailed below.
DotPlace will provide a secure, differentiated and branded domain to be registered and used by the global Internet community in an appropriate manner under strict Anti-Abuse policy. DotPlace and its back-end operator will be customer-centric and will provide a secure technical platform and be accountable to its registrants in terms of openness, transparency, usability, net neutrality, responsibility towards registrants and Internet users, and respect towards governments, policy creators and regulatory bodies.

SECURE OPEN gTLD
The primary goal of the .PLACE TLD is to add branded value to its registrants and Internet users, while also meeting current DNS standards via its reliable, resilient and stable technical registry system as well as its intellectual protection policies and associated compliance functions. The TLD will generate trust and attract developers interested in developing the next wave of innovative applications by establishing a secure TLD with advanced technological standards and with appropriate use and anti-abuse policies that meet DNS technical operational criteria. Historically speaking, application developers have incorporated protection mechanisms for some TLDs, and it is not possible to predict the future application developer activities or actions with a potential large number of new gTLDs in the marketplace. . DotPlace 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 a streamlined user experience and the wide acceptance of the TLD across a wide spectrum of applications and search engines.
PREMIUM DOMAINS
DotPlace’s objective is to use the premium names under the TLD to:
- Generate immediate income to DotPlace via auctions. Income will be used to build new innovative services to benefit registrants and Internet users.
- Develop some sites to promote the TLD’s mission.
- Engage in partnerships to develop dedicated .PLACE destinations offering differentiated value to registrants and Internet users.
18b (ii) The primary differentiation of the TLD that is non-existent in the current TLD space corresponds to the semantic, generic meaning of the extension that is synonymous with Internet presence referring to “places” while also representing a broad registrant base. The TLD will provide competition to existing TLDs that Internet users might otherwise prefer by providing value-added innovations as described earlier, enhancing security, hold itself accountable to registrants and Internet users. Secure TLD management is established following the registration policies and compliance measures as described below and in responses to questions #23-44. Every element of Registry operations meets all technical requirements, especially in regards to protocol implementations, hardware, security access requirements, anti-abuse policies and monitoring.
Registrants will be able to register the domain of choice under the .PLACE TLD offering a differentiated, branded alternative to existing TLDs and provide the necessary competition to spur innovation in the domain space to cater to the rapidly changing Internet environment and unmet needs, including the evolving demands of the web such as increased usage due to a growing Internet population and the proliferation of web-enabled devices, especially mobile. The TLD will enhance competition at the registrant, registry and registrar level. The .PLACE TLD will compete with existing TLDs and be aligned with the U.S Federal Communications Commission following principles affirming that “free and open competition benefits consumers and the global community by ensuring lower prices, new and better products and services, and greater consumer choice than occurs under monopoly conditions. A competitive market promotes innovation by rewarding producers that invent, develop, and introduce new and innovative products and production processes. By doing so, the wealth of the society as a whole is increased (FCC, Competition in Telecommunications Services, www.fcc.gov⁄connectglobe⁄sec5.html).”

The launch of the .PLACE TLD will help increase competition in the TLD space, expand consumer choice in TLD options and stimulate innovation in business model diversification, improved customer service and lower pricing in the domain industry, while remaining committed to continually developing its infrastructure to enhance registry operations to adapt to the growing needs of Internet users.

18b (iii) The primary objective of DotPlace is to enhance the online user experience by providing an new open, relevant and highly desired term extension as a TLD.
DotPlace will incorporate enhanced safeguards against abuse and by providing optimally secure technical operations, including adopting operational policies that take action against any illegitimate use or malicious abuse in relation to the TLD.
If a domain is used for any illegitimate use or violates the use policy it will be taken down. Repeat offenders will be placed on a special monitoring list by DotPlace and in extreme cases will be denied domain name registrations under the TLD.
While domains cannot be validated with 100% accuracy, registrants are required to follow continuously updated registration and anti-abuse policies (such as those resulting from an ICANN consensus policy or registry best practice requirements). DotPlace will provide high level of data security robustness and privacy and confidentiality protection.
Other key objectives surrounding user experience involve adhering to industry standards in relation to privacy protection, registry-registrar agreements, offering robust levels of data escrow and security, providing accessibility, usability, network neutrality and superior customer service, and leading the DNS space.

18b (iv) To reach the abovementioned goals, DotPlace has implemented various measures and enhanced safeguards under the TLD.
The policies were developed to take advantage the latest technology in DNS security, registry resources and best practices based on experience from previous ICANN TLD launches; and they are established to provide a higher level of security level for domains than what is considered standard in regards to TLDs. DotPlace will work on an ongoing basis with rights holders, law enforcement agencies, government entities, security focused DNS technical stakeholders, registrars and partners to ensure that the TLD management operations exceed expectations.
Aside from the below described policies, the .PLACE TLD will be launched with all standard TLD registration rules included, such as incorporating grace-periods when domains expire. See response to question #27 for the TLD lifecycle.
DotPlace will adhere to all ICANN mandated rights protection mechanisms and consensus policies in accordance with the ICANN Registry Agreement. See response to question #28 and #29 for rights protection mechanisms and intellectual property protections under .PLACE.
RESERVATION PROTECTION: second-level names will be reserved per ICANN requirements, including country-territory names (see response #22) and names reserved for registry operations.
INNOVATIVE PREMIUM NAMES RESERVATION: Premium Name reservations will be incorporated to (i) promote the TLD through DotPlace’s existing activities, (ii) to develop strategic partnerships or alliances to introduce innovative services, facilitate information sharing and allow equal and open access to both registrants and Internet users, and (iii) to generate additional revenues to be used to create innovative services to benefit registrants and Internet users.
RIGHTS PROTECTION AND NOTIFICATIONS SYSTEM:
• Trademark Clearing House will be implemented in accordance to ICANN specifications.
• Introductory Sunrise phase to allow trademark holders who fulfill ICANN’s trademark criteria access to register their respective domain(s) under the TLD after they have been legally validated.

THREE RESTRICTED LAUNCH PHASES in the following order (i) Sunrise Phase aimed at protecting trademark holders (ii) Landrush Phase and (iii) General Availability Phase to ensure all Internet users have the ability to register and access domains across the TLD.
Multiple applications for the same domain in either the Sunrise or Landrush Phase will be decided upon via a mini-auction after each phase is completed. In the General Availability Phase domains are available to be registered on a first-come-first-serve basis.

ANTI-ABUSE POLICY for all registrants under the TLD; incorporated in the registration agreement for all domain registrants. It is in place to prevent malicious use of domains which can lead to security and stability issues for the registry, registrars, registrants, and general users of the Internet. It is detailed in response to question #28. The primary goal of the policy is to allow registrars and DotPlace to take down domains in the case malicious activity occurring using a domain under the TLD.
DotPlace will take advice from law-enforcement agencies, government stakeholders, technical bodies focused on DNS security to always ensure that the TLD is managed in the most optimal manner using the most appropriate resources and means, while working towards adopting exemplary practices and best practices recommendations such as those highlighted in the “Five C’s” WHOIS validation model presentation at the Costa Rica ICANN meeting (http:⁄⁄costarica43.icann.org⁄meetings⁄sanjose2012⁄presentation-whois-validation-model-12mar12-en.pdf).

COMPLIANCE AND ENFORCEMENT
DotPlace will take proactive and reactive measures to enforce its TLD policies. Proactive measures are taken at the time of registration. Reactive measures are implemented via compliance and enforcement mechanisms as well as through dispute processes.
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.
DotPlace will conduct random compliance efforts across all domains registered under the TLD. Periodically a sample of domain registrations will be verified to assure compliance enforcement with all established TLD requirements.
If a Registrant is found out of compliance with any of the TLD requirements the registrant will be notified that the domain will be placed on registry lock. The registrant will be given a reasonable time period to address and fix the compliance matter or else the domain will be terminated.
Repeat offenders will be placed on a special monitoring list that DotPlace staff will conduct additional compliance checks against. DotPlace holds the right to prohibit repeat offenders from registering domains for a period of time or indefinitely.
DotPlace will review all gTLD policies and processes in comparison against the .PLACE registration requirements on a regular basis with involvement from relevant stakeholders to support its mission benefiting registrants and Internet users in regards to domain availability focusing on security, stability, accessibility, customer service, privacy, net neutrality, innovation while adopting registry best practices and exceeding minimum ICANN technical and policy standards. Any registry services modifications will naturally go through the ICANN established processes.

18b (v) The TLD will use best practices in regards to privacy and data protection. The TLD’s back-end service provider will administer specific WHOIS protections per the response to question #26, promote WHOIS accuracy per the response to question #28, and prevent WHOIS abuse by considering various best practices recommendations such as those highlighted in the “Five C’s” WHOIS validation model presentation at the Costa Rica ICANN meeting to avoid abuse of WHOIS (http:⁄⁄costarica43.icann.org⁄meetings⁄sanjose2012⁄presentation-whois-validation-model-12mar12-en.pdf).
The TLD is established to enable its registrants to better brand and identify them online with the domain name of choice under a broad, generic TLD. As a result, the .PLACE TLD will provide competition to existing registries and expand consumer choice for registrants. DotPlace will provide this unique, branded opportunity for enhanced visibility. The domain registration services and Premium Name development will be designed to respect the privacy of personally identifiable and confidential information, including respecting all applicable laws.

18b (vi) In order to meet the benefits described in responses to 18b (i-v) DotPlace is committed to continue to conduct and expand upon its activities in its corresponding space, including registrar channels. A primary goal with the TLD is to expand consumer choice, increase competition and be a catalyst for innovative services under the TLD. All-inclusive participation, openness and transparency are critical components to the Registry’s purpose.
DotPlace will also educate its registrar channels to inform registrants about the branding opportunity under the TLD as well as other innovative services provided. Furthermore, DotPlace will use traditional advertising, PR, social media and its official site to increase awareness of the benefits of .PLACE to registrants and Internet users. Partners, resellers and other supply chain beneficiaries will also be leveraged to help the outreach efforts to educate potential registrants and help them understand the benefits of the .PLACE TLD and the policies surrounding it.

Similar gTLD applications: (0)