gTLD	Full Legal Name	E-mail suffix	Detail
.art	Dadotart, Inc.	deviantart.com	View

18.3.1 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)?

Dadotart believes the proposed operating rules that undertake to initially reserve key names including trademarks, as well as its proposed policies on eligibility, name selection and name use will provide clarity and predictability to name registration, thereby reducing social costs. In full operation the .ART gTLD will provide a trusted online environment for the arts community. There should be no need for other trademark and brand owners to defensively register in the gTLD. This verified eco-system also provides consumers with a single trusted source for arts information and communication. Dadotart also believes that the safeguards set forth in the Applicant Guidebook and the proposed business modeled outlined in Sections 18.1 and 18.1.2 and the policies planned and noted in 18.2.4 will minimize and potential negative social costs.


18.3.2 What other steps will you take to minimize negative consequences⁄costs imposed upon consumers?
Dadotart believes that the proposed operation of the .ART gTLD as set forth in this application has no known negative consequences or cost implications for consumers. To the contrary, the proposed operation of this registry will likely lead to direct and quantifiable benefits to consumers. Dadotart believes that by following the core values as identified in Section 18.2 it will be able provide real value to the consumer and minimize any potential negative consequences⁄costs.

More particularly, the three phases of PAB creation, pre-launch, and launch and ongoing registration of the .ART gTLD are designed to minimize social costs and negative externalities. They protect potential registrants and potentially affected parties while maximizing the value of the name space to its registrants and users.

This approach is based on the premise that extensive screening efforts by the registry in the early stages will create a fair and orderly name space with lower compliance costs in the long term.

18.3.3 How will multiple applications for a particular domain name be resolved, for example, by auction or on a first-come⁄first-serve basis?
In phases and areas where the first-come-first-served principle tends to yield perverse results, alternative modes will be used.

(1) In the PAB creation phase community research will identify names to be entered into reserved lists and the rules by which they will be allocated;
(2) In the pre-launch phase key portal names of use to the entire community will be registered and used for communication and outreach; and
(3) A launch phase led by protection for and registration by trademark holders and those eligible to hold names on reserved lists.


It is anticipated that the pre-launch portal development program identified in (2) above will involve key participants in the Art Community. The portal development program will allocate domain names based on an open and transparent project selection process. This process is highly economical in terms of social costs and yields substantial external benefits.

The portal development program is an essential part of .ART outreach. It begins before delegation of the TLD. In terms of workload and it mainly affects proposers who themselves are required to demonstrate support for their projects. Support will be required to come from the segment of the community concerned with the respective portion of the name space. Given the high value of the resulting on-line resources for the community and the public interest, and given the economic benefits that can be derived from their operation, the administrative effort is largely justified. To further protect affected parties, all adjudications in name space mandates have a safety-valve clause, allowing for later adjustments based on community input. The principle of the safety-valve is that affected parties can obtain adjustments to a component of a mandate if they propose (and commit to) an improved use of the underlying domain names from a public interest perspective.

The launch programs referred to in (3) above combine the so-called “sunrise” and “landrush” processes simultaneously in one phase. The use of domain applications instead of domain registrations means that the registry accepts multiple applications the same domain name. (By contrast, only a single registration can exist for a given domain.) In this way, contention resolution can take place without time pressure in a transparent, fair and orderly manner.


At the time of ongoing registration the first-come rule will be followed. Registrations will be checked in a post-validation process and subject to an enforcement program based on statistically targeted random investigation and complaint follow-up. This program minimizes both costs to registrants and third parties. In particular, it strongly diminishes the attractiveness of rights violations, abuse or malignant behavior. Having been preceded by a controlled launch phase, the validation and enforcement workload faces no resource bottleneck and thus achieves a high degree of credibility, further dissuading abuse from the start. This mode of operation has a strong positive side effect in the interest of trademark holders.


18.3.3 How will multiple applications for a particular domain name be resolved, for example, by auction or on a first-come⁄first-serve basis?
As described below, during pre-launch and launch phase, the first-come-first-served principle is NOT applied. Adjudication by auction is one of the solutions available to the parties in the context of the contention resolution process. In the phase of ongoing registrations the first-come⁄first-served basis of name allocation will be followed, unless the name is one that is on a reserved list, in which case the allocation rules applicable to that list will be followed.

In phases and areas where the first-come-first-served principle tends to yield perverse results, alternative modes will be used.

(1) In the PAB creation phase community research will identify names to be entered into reserved lists and the rules by which they will be allocated;
(2) In the pre-launch phase key portal names of use to the entire community will be registered and used for communication and outreach; and
A launch phase led by protection for and registration by trademark holders and those eligible to hold names on reserved lists.

It is anticipated that the pre-launch portal development program identified in (2) above will involve builders and users in the Art community. The portal development program will allocate domain names based on an open and transparent project selection process. This process is highly economical in terms of social costs and yields substantial external benefits.

The portal development program is an essential part of .Art outreach. It begins before delegation of the TLD. In terms of workload, it mainly affects proposers who themselves are required to demonstrate support for their projects. Support will be required to come from the segment of the community concerned with the respective portion of the name space. Given the high value of the resulting on-line resources for the community and the public interest, and given the economic benefits that can be derived from their operation, the administrative effort is largely justified. To further protect affected parties, all adjudications in name space mandates have a safety-valve clause, allowing for later adjustments based on community input. The principle of the safety-valve is that affected parties can obtain adjustments to a component of a mandate if they propose (and commit to) an improved use of the underlying domain names from a public interest perspective.

The launch programs referred to in (3) above combine the so-called “sunrise” and “landrush” processes simultaneously in one phase. The use of domain applications instead of domain registrations means that the registry accepts multiple applications the same domain name. (By contrast, only a single registration can exist for a given domain.) In this way, contention resolution can take place without time pressure in a transparent, fair and orderly manner.

At the time of ongoing registration the first-com rule will be followed. Registrations will be checked in a post-validation process and subject to an enforcement program based on statistically targeted random investigation and complaint follow-up. This program minimizes both costs to registrants and third parties. In particular, it strongly diminishes the attractiveness of rights violations, abuse or malignant behaviour. Having been preceded by a controlled launch phase, the validation and enforcement workload faces no resource bottleneck and thus achieves a high degree of credibility, further dissuading abuse from the start. This mode of operation has a strong positive side effect in the interest of trademark holders.

18.3.4 Explain any cost benefits for registrants you intend to implement (e.g., advantageous pricing, introductory discounts, bulk registration discounts).
The focus of the .ART gTLD is a competitive cost to registrants and stakeholders that takes into account the limited community nature of the gTLD. This takes into account all burdens, including the effort needed to register or the potential alternative cost to obtain a name on the secondary market. The direct per-unit cost is merely a component of the bottom-line cost.

The cost is greatly reduced by avoiding contention between legitimate community-based applicants and speculators. Community-specific promotion code programs will be used from time to time to offer registrations at low cost. This is a way to avoid perverse effects of low prices, such as speculation with ultimately high costs to registrants, large-scale confusion and waste of the name space, or cybersquatting.

The portal development program will have special terms in order ensure that key portions of name space are used in the public interest.

18.3.5 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 .ART TLD will not be based on or otherwise involve contractual clauses regarding price escalation between the .ART Registry and its registrars.

The .ART business plan is designed to avoid any future necessity to increase registry price in real terms. The fundamental principle is prudence: starting from conservative price levels that allow self-sustainability at the registration levels projected and gradually lowering prices as registration volumes increase beyond the minimum necessary for self-sustained operation. This method ensures sufficient financial reserves, favors optimal allocation of domain names, helps prevent misuse and supports an orderly registration process.

gTLD	Full Legal Name	E-mail suffix	Detail
.spa	Asia Spa and Wellness Promotion Council Limited	tld.asia	View

The Registry is committed to introducing the .spa TLD in an orderly manner to minimize the social costs and maximize the social value of the TLD. Following the successful launch of the .ASIA TLD, and leveraging the experience and knowledge from the DotAsia (through Namesphere), the Registry is committed to developing and implementing a comprehensive startup process that would include, besides Sunrise and Landrush processes, a Multi-Category Pioneer Domains Program.

The Pioneer Domains Program will be designed to curb abusive registrations, whereby reducing social costs, as well as to promote the adoption of the TLD, to maximize the social value of the TLD. An important goal of the program is to allow for the introduction of showcase domains under the TLD in a well structured manner, while ensuring that the protection of the rights of others are maintained. The implementation of showcase domains support the development of positive foundation of usage of the TLD. More detailed explanation of the overall startup process is included in #29.

In response to the question specifically:

1. Mechanisms for Resolving Multiple Applications to a Domain

A comprehensive Sunrise and Landrush program will be put in place at the launch of the TLD. As an important stakeholder of the Registry, DotAsia (through Namesphere) will be lending its experience and knowledge in the development of an appropriate Sunrise and Landrush program that includes mechanisms for resolving multiple applications to a domain when the TLD is first launched. More detailed explanation of the approach is included in #29. In short, during the Sunrise and Landrush processes, a first come first served model will not be used as previous launches has demonstrated that such mechanism creates undue tension, chaos and frustration in the process. Applications for domains will be received within a designated time period and all applications received within such period will be considered to be received at the same time. All applicants will be verified first for their eligibility against the Sunrise and Landrush policies respectively. If there is only one successfully verified application for a particular domain, then it will be allocated directly. If there is more than one successfully verified application an auction will be held to resolve the contention.

During regular operations of the registry (upon GoLive and after Sunrise and Landrush), domain registrations will be accepted on a first-come-first-served basis. In cases of contention, the Registry will not prohibit the use of secondary market mechanisms for interested registrants to resolve the contention. Registrant transfers will be administered by accredited registrars without intervention by the Registry. In the cases of contention against abusive registrations, the Registry will adhere to the UDRP and URS procedures.

When a domain name registration is deleted and after completing the lifecycle according to ICANN requirements, the domain name will be re-released to the available pool and registrations will be accepted on a first-come-first-served basis. If activities to snatch names from this “dropzone” become contentious, the Registry is prepared to work closely with the community to provide better mechanisms to resolve contentions where appropriate.

2. Cost Benefits for Registrants

The Registry intends to implement periodic cost reduction programs to encourage the adoption of the TLD by registrants. Such cost reduction programs can also be targeted towards key segments of the market in relation to the mission and vision of the Registry explained above. Based on the experience of DotAsia (through Namesphere), rebate programs that essentially lower the costs for registrants are one of the most effective ways to drive the adoption of a new TLD.

Introductory programs will be important to drive awareness and interest in the TLD as well. These should include not only broad price discounts but also targeted programs. Based on DotAsia’s past experience, targeted programs, such as Home Market Growth programs are effective in raising the awareness for targeted segments. Such programs can also come in the form of special price reduction promos or rebate type programs.

Besides price reduction programs, other cost benefits can also be introduced to registrants. For example, DotAsia also pioneered the offering of free gift redemption programs to spark interest from registrants as well as to drive the cost benefits for adoption of the TLD.

3. Contractual Commitments to Registrants

The Registry will abide by the ICANN Registry Agreement requirements as well as ICANN Consensus Policies, including offering domain registrations for periods of one to ten years at the discretion of the registrar upon GoLive (when normal first-come-first-served registrations begin). During Sunrise and Landrush the Registry will request multi-year initial registrations. The Registry does not plan to implement contractual commitments to registrars regarding the magnitude of price escalation, but is committed to providing a stable environment for registrations, including a stable pricing for registrars.

Besides implementing policies and rules, the Registry believes that prudent operations as an economically viable and socially responsible TLD operator in itself is an important mitigation of increased social costs as a new gTLD is being introduced. The Registry will leverage the knowledge and expertise from its technology provider and DotAsia to ensure that a substantial portion of the costs for operating the registry is managed in variable costs leveraging the economies of scale from already established operations and focus on delivering value to registrants and consumers with the introduction of the .spa TLD and its mission and features.

4. Other Operating Rules Which Eliminate Or Minimise Social Costs

Abusive registrations will be prevented through having in place and enforcing a robust anti-abuse policy; this policy is described in detail in the response to Question 28. ARI, as provider of back-end registry services, has robust preventative and responsive mechanisms to address DDOS attacks, spamming, phishing, data theft, and similar nefarious activity. In addition to compliance with Trademark Clearing House (TMCH) requirements, policy will include processes to address issues involving trademark, copyright and intellectual property.

Furthermore, understanding that the string “spa” may be used in other contexts, special provisions will be put in place to ensure that such exploitations will not adversely compromise the integrity of the TLD. Further discussions about these provisions are included in #20e, #22 and #29.

5. Mandatory Guideline for Registrants

In alignment with the community-based purpose of the .spa TLD, all .spa domain registrations must abide by a set of mandatory guidelines. The following are 3 broad based principles that the provisions within the guidelines will follow (detailed development of the Mandatory Guidelines will be completed by the .SPA Registry Community-Advisory-Council -- SPARC, and further discussed in 20b below):

A. Revitalizing Vigour: allegiance to the community purpose of .spa (as articulated in section #20c below).

B. Positive Energy: promote a positive and socially responsible attitude with strong tolerance to diversity, balanced with vigilance against abusive behaviours.

C. Curative Spirit: support a highly ethical and professional approach in its guard against fraudulent and deceptive activities, beyond adherence to laws and regulations, especially in the equitable and non-discriminatory treatment of people, and the considerations for the environment.

Details of the mandatory guidelines and the implementation of the above principles will be developed and published before the acceptance of registrations in the .spa TLD. All registrants must adhere to these guidelines and the violation of which will constitute grounds for suspension and⁄or cancellation of the domain registration (further discussion in #20e below). The mandatory guidelines apply to content and other uses of the domain, including the name itself where applicable.

The mandatory guidelines will also include clear enforceable parameters of what constitutes violation of the principles. For example:

- Illegal activities
Illegal activities contradict with the community purpose of “.spa”. Suspected illegal activities will be investigated following the abuse prevention and mitigation (APM) processes (#28), including being referred to appropriate law enforcement agencies. Suspected activities not otherwise handled by the APM will be referred to the SPARC as potential deceptive behaviour.

- Promoting violence
The promotion of violence is against the community purpose of the .spa TLD. For illustrative purposes, the following would be considered in violation of the community purpose of the .spa TLD:
i) A substantiated complaint to a domain that is supported by at least one Associate (i.e. a spa and wellness community association) and not objected to by any other Associate and not responded to by the registrant; or
ii) A substantiated complaint to a domain that is supported by at least one Associate and not objected to by any Associate and responded by the registrant explaining that no action can be taken by the registrant to mitigate the issue (e.g. that the domain⁄host has been hijacked or that it is operating a sub-domain or sub-site of the registrant).

- Deceptive behaviour
Deceptive behaviours counter the positive spirit of the .spa TLD. A similar type of process as described for “promoting violence” will be used to consider whether or not a violation of the community purpose is established and what action should be taken.

- Copyright infringement
Copyright infringement will be considered contradictory to the highly ethical and professional approach of the .spa TLD, and therefore considered in violation of the community purpose. For illustrative purposes, the following general framework can be put in place to establish if a domain is in violation:
i) Substantiated claims from bona fide copyright holders that are not responded to by the registrant; or
ii) Substantiated claims from bona fide copyright holders that have been responded by the registrant explaining that no action can be taken by the registrant to mitigate the issue.

- Excessive speculation
Excessive speculation of domain names is considered abusive behaviour in the .spa TLD. For illustrative purposes, the following would be considered excessive speculation:
i) Registering a .spa domain name solely for the purposes of selling, trading or leasing the domain name for compensation; or
ii) Unsolicited offering of registered .spa domains for the purposes of selling, trading or leasing the domain name for compensation;

6. Warning and Suspension Process

All registered .spa domain names must abide by the mandatory guidelines to ensure that .spa domain names are consistent with the community based purpose of the .spa TLD. These guidelines regulate the name selection, #20e B), as well as content and use, #20e C), of .spa domain names.

To manage the warning and suspension process, a simple webform will be established on the Registry website to receive substantiated complaints. A simple web-based system will be maintained by the Registry for this process, and each Associate (member of the SPARC, further discussion in #20b below) will receive a login to view the complaints received.

Any one from the public may lodge a complaint (Community Compliance Complaint) by utilizing the web or email form.

- Substantiated Complaint
A Substantiated Complaint is a Community Compliance Complaint filed that includes a clear description as to why the complainant believes that a .spa domain is in violation of the community purpose requirements according to the mandatory guidelines. A substantiated complaint should include at a minimum:
-- a valid email address of the complainant (will not be disclosed)
-- the .spa domain in question
-- specify which guideline the complainant believes the .spa domain is in violation of
-- explanation of why the complainant believes the .spa domain violated the mandatory guidelines
-- evidence of such violation (e.g. screen capture of the website)

- Supported Complaint
A Substantiated Complaint that have received an affirmative confirmation of support from An Associate (i.e. a member of the SPARC, who would be a representative of a participating spa and wellness association -- further discussion in #20b below) is regarded as a Supported Complaint.

The following describes the framework of the warning and suspension process:

i) Upon the receipt of a Community Compliance Complaint, the Registry will conduct a preliminary review to see whether the minimum requirement as a Substantiated Complaint has been reached. If not, the complainant will be notified of the incompleteness and asked to resubmit (and the case will be closed).

ii) Upon the identification of a Substantiated Complaint, the Registry will determine if the complaint concerns are of an abusive nature relevant for the Abuse Prevention & Mitigation (APM) mechanisms (e.g. illegal activities, etc., further discussions in #28) or not. If so, the complaint will be referred to the APM process. Otherwise, the Substantiated Complaint will enter this warning and suspension process. The Registry will first notify the SPARC. Any Associate (i.e. member of the SPARC) may respond to provide an affirmative confirmation of support to the Community Compliance Complaint.

iii) Upon the receipt of such affirmative confirmation, i.e. the establishment of a substantiated and supported complaint against a domain, the Registry will issue a warning letter to the registrant (and⁄or the sponsoring registrar where appropriate) of the domain, and will provide a 15 calendar day window for the registrant to respond with a description of how the issue would be rectified and remedied.

iv) If a response containing a remedy is received within the 15 days, the domain will be considered cleared until further complaints are received.

v) If no response is received, upon the lapsing of the 15 days, another warning letter along with a notice that the domain will be suspended if the notice is not responded to in 15 calendar days will be sent to the registrant (and⁄or the sponsoring registrar where appropriate). At the same time, the SPARC will also be notified.

vi) If a response containing a remedy is received within the 15 days, the domain will be considered cleared until further complaints are received.

vii) If no response is received upon the lapsing of the 15 days, the domain will be suspended.

viii) Upon or before the suspension of a domain a registrant may appeal the suspension by responding with a clear description of how the issue would be rectified and remedied. Upon the receipt of such appeal, the domain will be considered cleared until further complaints are received.

ix) If at any point in time an objection against the suspension of the domain is received from an Associate, such objection will be considered a substantiated appeal. The domain will be considered cleared until further complaints are received.

ix) Upon the occurrence of ii), iv), vi) or ix) above, the complainant will be notified. If the complainant is unsatisfied with the remedy, the complainant may further advance the complaint through an Administrative Proceeding (explained in c. below).

It is important to note that failure to respond by a registrant will be considered a violation and the domain will be suspended accordingly. Furthermore, a response from a registrant indicating that it is unable to rectify or remedy the issue will also be considered a violation and result in the domain being suspended. These conservative steps are taken to ensure the integrity of the .spa namespace, and to establish that should a registrant be unable to advance the community purpose requirements to its users, such inability would not be considered defence and the domain will still be suspended.

If the domain expires while it is in suspension, the domain registration will not auto-renew, but will enter into redemption grace period and be deleted upon the conclusion of the pending delete period.