gTLD | Full Legal Name | E-mail suffix | Detail | .physio | PhysBiz Pty Ltd | riseley.com.au | View |
THE MISSION AND PURPOSE OF THE NEW RESTRICTED .PHYSIO GTLD IS TO BENEFIT INTERNET USERS BY ENSURING INCREASED TRUST, CONVENIENCE & UTILITY.
The .physio gTLD will be a new generation gTLD serving the interests of members of the physiotherapy⁄physical therapy (“physio”) profession, as well as internet users more generally. The .physio domain will provide an internet space for the physio community, not in the sense of representing the existing community, but instead through the creation of an online identity for members of the profession, professional associations, affiliated persons & entities in connection with the physio profession. PhysBiz Pty Ltd (PhysBiz) intends to create and authoritative internet space and verifiable resource for internet users to access information and professional services with the .physio gTLD. In making this application, PhysBiz has the support of the World Confederation for Physical Therapy (WCPT) & intends to maintain an ongoing relationship with the WCPT to promote the global success of this initiative. The WCPT is the sole international organisation representing physio’s worldwide; with 106 national member organisations & a total 350,000 physios.
Registrations for second or third level domain names under the new .physio gTLD will only be available to those associated with the physio profession, namely qualified or registered physios, physio students, assistants, aides, professional physio associations, physio entities⁄businesses & universities that offer courses in or relating to physio. Imposing such criteria for registration aims to ensure that the .physiogTLD presents authoritative and verifiable information relating to the physio profession to the general public. Though it is a wide spread global occupation, the physio industry has limited avenues for its professionals & professional associations to interact with one another. . As such, physio intends to provide a space for a networking and enterprising physio industry to develop by providing online tools and business services to members of the profession and information to internet users.
The internet has created a means for global communication and interaction, allowing for greater levels of information exchange, as well as facilitating efficient business transactions. Information about the physio industry is increasingly presented and organised on the internet, allowing for easy interactions and transactions with customers and clients. .physio will also provide an authentic resource for members of the public in relation to physio, allowing for information and professional services to be accessed by end users in a simple and trustworthy way. The creation of an online physio community, through the .physio gTLD will increase utility, convenience and assurance of reliability in the authenticity of information to be provided. The .physio gTLD will continue to create awareness and to add legitimacy to the industry; instilling greater user confidence and trust in the profession.
The mission and purpose of the proposed .physio gTLD shares ICANN’s initiatives to promote the public interest. .physio is committed to contribute towards achieving such initiatives in line with ICANN’s Affirmation of Commitments, which includes:
- consumer trust: .physio will operate as a restricted registry, allowing only those associated with the physio profession, who meet the eligibility requirements, to register under the new gTLD, as specified in the .physio registration policy. Consumers will be able to act with greater confidence and assurance that the information that they are receiving from the .physio domain space is provided by professionals and related businesses in the physio industry. It is estimated that 60-80% of people use the internet to search for health information. There exists a large amount of unregulated information with significant issues with quality, accuracy and completeness of information (Choice Magazine, March 2012). As domain names within .physio will be subject to controlled registration standards, policies and procedures, internet users will have greater confidence in the information that they receive about the physio profession; and
- competition: the .physio gTLDis anticipated to contribute to the initiatives of competition and consumer choice through its operation focused on promoting consumer trust and convenience. It may have the effect of instilling such initiatives between prospective registrants in the physio profession who have a choice of gTLDs with which to register. Increased trust in .physio gTLD will drive existing and new top level domain (TLD) registry operators to make improvements in mechanisms to improve consumer trust of their TLDs; and
- consumer choice: the proposed new gTLD will enable user-driven improvements and innovations, with specific relevance to the physio industry and related services, with second and third level domains to be registered by those associated with the physio profession. This will allow consumers more choice for interacting with the physio profession, as well as encouraging competition between members of the profession to best interact with such consumers. The .physio gTLD will operate with a restricted registration policy to have effective control over registration and use of the domain names, which will also contribute towards general service innovations on the internet.
It is difficult to anticipate the number of registrations in the restricted registry for .physio as the number may be determined by the effectiveness of marketing and the reception of internet users to the new gTLDs more generally. Projections for the number of gTLDs to be registered under .physio are based upon an estimated potential registrant population of 700,000, consisting of 600,000 physios, as well as an additional number of students, assistants, businesses and affiliates of the profession. The minimum estimated number of registrations for .physio in the first 3 years is 22,500 registrants or around 3% of the estimated potential registrant population of 700,000. The minimum estimate of 3% is considered reasonable based on the experience of small registries, such as .pro & .cat, in their first few years. It is anticipated that no more than 45,000 registrants (7% of the estimated potential registrant population) will register domain names in the .physio gTLD within the first three years.
In its endeavour to promote and expand the .physio gTLD, PhysBiz will continue to comply with all operational, technical & policy requirements, as well as maintaining consumer trust & the stability of the internet. PhysBiz will keep ICANN reasonably informed of any material developments relating to .physio gTLD including compliance with the continued operations instrument obligations as set out in Spec. 8 of the Registry Agreement.
The .physio gTLD will provide the opportunity to create relevant domain names for use including product, services or geographic names in the second or third level domain names. In accordance with registration policies and the proposed measures for the protection of geographic names as outlined in response to Q22, the .physio gTLD will allow the use of geographic names to localise its websites. The use of geographic names at the second level will be reserved for use by the relevant national member organisations of the World Confederation for Physical Therapy Member Organisation, which intends toconnect internet users with relevant information as applicable to the territory and comply with required rules and regulations in the national territory.
At this stage, the .physio gTLD does not intend to utilise Internationalised Domain Names at the second level. However, as the use of the .physio gTLD evolves, IDNs may be utilised within the domain space to allow internet users to engage with .physio and the physio profession in their native language, creating a more positive user experience & encouraging diversity.
gTLD | Full Legal Name | E-mail suffix | Detail | .softbank | SOFTBANK CORP. | softbank.co.jp | View |
The mission and purpose of the new restricted .softbank gTLD is to achieve strengthened integrity and trust from users and provide them with appropriate benefits and values by operating online businesses with more relevant, secure and user oriented features.
The new .softbank gTLD will operate as a restricted registry, in which SOFTBANK CORP. (Softbank) can create and control domain names under the .softbank domain space that promote Softbankʹs brand identity and authenticity. In this regard, .softbank will be used by Softbank to provide information, services and resources to consumers in a way that promotes trust, convenience and utility. The new .softbank gTLD is applied to be used as Internet vehicle for Softbank and consolidated subsidiaries which have met necessary criteria set forth by Softbank (licensed companies). Internet vehicle means websites of information disclosure and online businesses operated by the licensed companies, which are to be managed by Softbankʹs websites quality management standard and are designed to improve the integrity of Softbank brand.
Softbank will serve as a registry which creates and manages .softbank domain names soon after the application has approved. .softbank is intended to be used as an official domain of websites for the licensed companies to provide credible information regarding Softbank to all the Internet users who access to these Websites. Second level domains in .softbank will be used for administrative purpose in accordance with Softbankʹs websites quality management standard and strings for domain names are intended to be set as names of the licensed companies, names of goods and services or those strings which explicitly demonstrate the usage.
Softbank group of companies (Softbank Group) which consists of Softbank, its consolidated subsidiaries, and affiliates, headquartered in Japan, is engaged in various internet, information and communication services, including: the provision of mobile networks, broadband infrastructure, fixed-line telecommunications, distribution of internet and telecommunication related products, and the promotion and application of wider internet culture in internet advertising, e-commerce and membership services. Softbank Group consists of 178 subsidiaries and 92 affiliates (both figures are as of March 2011). Softbankʹs mobile and network business is one of the largest communication carriers in Japan and Softbank aims to be the number one provider of mobile internet services throughout Asia.
SOFTBANK MOBILE Corp., one of the consolidated subsidiaries of Softbank offers the mobile network business under ʺSoftbankʺ brand which has 27,830,000 mobile users (as of the end of December 2011). Mobile units which bear ʺSoftbankʺ brand are sold in 2,677 stores (as of the end of December 2011) throughout Japan. SOFTBANK MOBILE Corp. continuously implements an exceptional communication including 86 different kinds of annual TV commercials and tops the list for the fifth year running (unprecedented) for the popularity ratings for TV commercial, and as a result of these business activities, the ʺSoftbankʺ brand has gained a high recognition. This is supported by the subsidiary SOFTBANK HAWKS Corp., which operates a professional baseball team, which also contributes to the recognition of the Softbank brand. As for objective evaluations of these ʺSoftbankʺ brands, they are also confirmed that the ʹSoftBankʹ brand was ranked third in the survey ʺJapanʹs Best Domestic Brands 2011ʺ conducted by Interbrand.
The .softbank gTLD intends to provide the relevant information in a timely and efficient manner to business users, customers, investors and employees and other internet users to access information on Softbank online. The .softbank gTLD will enable Softbank to have greater control over the operation of the registry to improve security, service levels and reputation.
Softbank shares ICANNʹs initiatives to promote public interest. Softbank is committed to contribute towards achieving such initiatives in line with ICANNʹs Affirmation of Commitments, which includes:
- consumer trust: the .softbank gTLD registry will be managed and operated by the dedicated team within Softbank in accordance with a restrictive registration policy prepared by Softbank. Softbank will demonstrate to the internet users that .softbank domain names are trustworthy through its centrally managed registration, modification and deletion of domain names. Therefore, .softbank domain names will avoid the possibility of malicious conduct within the .softbank domain space;
- competition: the proposed new gTLD is not intended to instigate competition and consumer choice, at the level of domain name registration, among prospective registrants. Instead it is anticipated to enhance consumer trust through its precise and secure operation. Increased trust in .softbank gTLD will drive existing and new top level domain (TLD) registry operators to make improvements in mechanisms to improve consumer trust of their TLDs; and
- consumer choice: the proposed new gTLD will enable user-driven improvements and innovations assisting Softbankʹs marketing efforts through its ability to create new second and third level domain names on demand, with well-recognized and memorable .softbank domain names. These names will provide the consumers with more choices for interacting with Softbank in a user-friendly manner. As Softbank has effective control over the registration and use of domain names under .softbank domain space, this will also contribute towards general service innovations on the internet and create synergies to in achieving ICANNʹs initiatives
In order to ensure that .softbank domain space represents brand authenticity and consumer trust, it is anticipated that up to 20 domain names will be registered in the first year, which will increase up to 100 domain names by the end of third year.
The licensed companies will participate in the promotion of user recognition and increased use of .softbank domain names through the use of various communication methods. As the use and recognition of the .softbank gTLD expands Softbank may consider providing second or third level domains to companies other than the licensed companies at a later date. Softbank will keep ICANN reasonably informed of any material developments relating to the .softbank gTLD, including compliance with the continued operations instrument obligations as set out in Specification 8 of the Registry Agreement.
Softbank intends to create relevant domain names for use including company names, product names, services or geographic names in the second or third level domain names. In accordance with registration policies and the proposed measures for protection of geographic names as outlined in response to Question 22, Softbank will use geographic names to localize its websites in the countries in which it operates. The use of geographic names is intended to:
- connect internet users with relevant information as applicable to the territory; and
- comply with required law, regulations and business custom in the national territory.
Softbank is a well-recognized global brand with its trademarks registered in 32 countries and territories, throughout Asia, North America, Latin America, Africa, Oceania and Europe. These trademarks, such as classes 9, 38 and 41, are registered under the categories required for its business in telecommunications services and infrastructure. Further, Softbank has an extensive portfolio of existing domain names, including domain names with an exact match or containing the Softbank trademark in the following spaces:
- gTLDs: .biz, .com, .info, .mobi, .net, .org,
- ccTLDs: .bj.jp, .cc, .cn, .co.jp, .jp, .ne.jp, .sg, .tv, .uk
Recently, Softbank was successful in securing sunrise application for the .xxx domain space based on existing trademark registration.