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

Prototypical answer:

1. Minimizing costs and various types of vulnerabilities
The following key operational rules and steps will be taken to minimize social costs, various types of vulnerabilities and minimize negative consequences and costs imposed upon consumers:
1.1. APAN (Aesthetics Practitioners Advisory Network Pty Ltd) has secured an agreement with Aus Registry International to provide the registry services (See: “ARI - Master Supply Agreement – APAN” at http:⁄⁄www.apanetwork.com⁄ARI_MSA_APAN.pdf and “ARI - Managed Services Guide – APAN” at http:⁄⁄www.apanetwork.com⁄ARI_MSGuide_APAN.pdf ). In this agreement it is stipulated that most fees will be paid a year in advance and therefore will be set for 12 months. There will be no increase in the price of services from an indexing perspective. The only increase will be for the use of several domain names.
1.2 Only in the event of a change request process will there be a seven (7) per cent increase in fees (e.g. if AusRegistry is required to build something additional and out of the scope of the existing agreement, which is highly unlikely). The aim of the ARI Master Supply Agreement which also covers this issue, is to minimise and protect registrants from unpredictable increases in pricing resulting in additional costs and charges.
1.3. To safeguard consumers from immediate rises in costs APAN has a 30 day notification policy of any potential price rises. Registrars will be required to communicate this policy to all registrants in line with the Registrar Agreement, (which will be subsequently legally drafted and established).
1.4. In accordance with Policy Rules as presented in this document, registrants who apply for multiple domain name years will qualify for a discounted rate. These will be for two years, five years or 10 years in line with ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) recommendations.
1.5. The advantage of registering with the domain space DOT SALON is that it will be financial advantages in providing a more cost-effective optimized option that will eliminate the necessity of multiple domain names in the domain name space that are less specific.
1.6. Price rises will not be random, but will be linked to base costs of ARI (AusRegistry International) supplied services pricing and all other costs incremented by the Australian Consumer Price Index (CPI) recommendations. A 5 per cent annual price increase has been factored into the fees. This will be included in the Registrar Agreement (which will be subsequently legally drafted and established by APAN and AusRegistry International). However, all fees will be carefully reviewed annually to determine if they are warranted.
1.7 After the first year APAN will reassess its options with a view of introducing a range of incentive pricing and discounting policies to optimize uptake of the new domain name, subject to the activities and feedback that its first year of operations have demonstrated. A review process will determine appropriate discounting and incentive offers.

2. Minimizing negative consequences

In consultation with AusRegistry International, APAN has developed a comprehensive Anti-Abuse Policy, which is the main instrument that captures our strategy in relation to abuse in the TLD (Top Level Domain). This Anti-Abuse Policy is described in detail in our answer to question 28.

2.1 Definition of Abuse
Abusive behaviour in a TLD is clearly defined in our answer to question 28 and may relate to the core domain name-related activities performed by Registrars and registries including, but not limited to:
– The allocation of registered domain names.
– The maintenance of and access to registration information.
– The transfer, deletion, and reallocation of domain names.
– The manner in which the registrant uses the domain name upon creation.

Challenges arise in attempting to define abusive behavior in the TLD due to its broad scope. Defining abusive behavior by reference to the stage in the domain name lifecycle in which the behavior occurs presents difficulty given that a particular type of abuse may occur at various stages of the life cycle.

With this in mind, Aus Registry International has fully adopted the definition of abuse developed by the Registration Abuse Policies Working Group (Registration Abuse Policies Working Group Final Report 2010, at http:⁄⁄gnso.icann.org⁄issues⁄rap⁄rap-wg-final-report-29may10-en.pdf), which does not focus on any particular stage in the domain name life cycle.

Abusive behavior in a TLD may be defined as an action that:
– Causes actual and substantial harm, or is a material predicate of such harm.
– Is illegal or illegitimate, or is otherwise considered contrary to the intention and design of the mission⁄purpose of the TLD.

In applying this definition the following must be noted:
1. The party or parties harmed, and the severity and immediacy of the abuse, should be identified in relation to the specific alleged abuse.
2. The term ʺharmʺ is not intended to shield a party from fair market competition.
3. A predicate is a related action or enabler. There must be a clear link between the predicate and the abuse, and justification enough to address the abuse by addressing the predicate (enabling action).
For example, WhoIs data can be used in ways that cause harm to domain name registrants, intellectual property (IP) rights holders and Internet users. Harmful actions may include the generation of spam, the abuse of personal data, IP infringement, loss of reputation or identity theft, loss of data, phishing and other cybercrime-related exploits, harassment, stalking, or other activity with negative personal or economic consequences. Examples of predicates to these harmful actions are automated email harvesting, domain name registration by proxy⁄privacy services to aid wrongful activity, support of false or misleading registrant data, and the use of WhoIs data to develop large email lists for commercial purposes. The misuse of WhoIs data is therefore considered abusive because it is contrary to the intention and design of the stated legitimate purpose of WhoIs data. This is part of our Anti-Abuse Policy covered in detail in our answer to question 28.

3. Safety measure to ensure the success of proposed gTLD (Global Top Level Domain)

As this is a new initiative APAN will be putting in place regular assessment and review strategies to examine the status, progress and effectiveness of their current policies. The aims of these reviews will be to:

3.1. Identify ineffective strategies and ascertain the reasons for these, while determining the necessary changes that need to be implemented.
3.2. Identify successful strategies and investigate ways to continue to improve and enhance these for on-going growth and productivity.
3.3. On a continual basis review cost-saving, financial responsible strategies and risk-management mechanisms to support productivity and ensure the strategies in force are in fact commercially-relevant and on track to meet the set goals.

Executive Summary

Having strong expertise and extensive and continued involvement and influence in the beauty industry APAN is confident that the proposed TLD will substantially improve communication between stakeholders through a more focused pathway that will allow registrants greater exposure to more quickly reach their target audience. Furthermore, consumers will now be able to identify and access their products and services with greater ease, while registrars will be able to design more effective products for their end users. The proposed TLD will therefore provide an innovative way of enhancing competition in the current space, optimizing consumer access to information they are seeking, while enhancing business exposure and growth.

In understanding the beauty and salon industry and its needs APAN is confident in applying to become an ICANN accredited Top Level Domain (TLD) registry and believes it meets the operational, technical and financial capability requirements to win and securely operate the TLD registry.

Accordingly, the Mission and Purpose statement of the proposed TLD reflects the goals, strategies and Policy Rules that are necessary to achieve the objectives, which are also supported by the financial and technical requirements as set out in this Application.

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