22 Describe proposed measures for protection of geographic names at the second and other levels in the applied-for gTLD

Prototypical answer:

§2 The reservation of two-character label string may be released to the extent that Registry Operator reaches agreement with the government and the country-code manager. The Registry Operator may also propose release of these reservations based on its implementation of measures to avoid confusion with the corresponding country names.

§5 the reservation of specific country and territory names may be released to the extent that the Registry Operator reaches agreement with the applicable government(s), provided, further, that Registry Operator may also propose release of these reservations, subject to review by ICANN’s Governmental Advisory Committee and approval by ICANN.


UBS AG generally respects and abides by the GAC’s Principles regarding New gTLDs, dated March 28, 2007. In particular, UBS AG adheres to and⁄or intends to adhere to the recommendations directed towards new registry operators in Sections 2.1, 2.4, 2.7(b) On the other hand, UBS AG assumes that several of the recommendations directed towards new registry operators, in general, are less applicable in the case of Single-Registrant operational models such as .ubs than in an completely open Registry model. These include without limitation Sections 2.2, 2.3, 2.7(a) and 2.9.

In order to comply with the requirements of the Registry Agreement, Specification 5, and as with all other domains in the .ubs TLD, all Two-character labels (§2) and Country and Territory Names (§5) will be initially reserved. However, UBS AG believes that the use of geographic terms can provide great benefit and simplicity to internet users because these terms are intuitive ways to resolve to UBS AG’s content that is specifically relevant and targeted to users in the particular geographic region and in line with local customs, laws and regulations. The use of the geographic terms will be valuable to internet users because they can be reassured that the content that they are viewing is relevant to their local situation thus mitigating the risk of unnecessary user confusion.

UBS AG intends to use any Two-character label and⁄or Country or Territory Name domains in UBS AG’s discretion, and to participate in or implement a process by which any Government may reasonably object to that use. UBS AG envisions a number of possible scenarios for ensuring Government agreement to the use of Country and Territory names. These will be explored in detail with ICANN and the Governmental Advisory Committee to ensure a mutually agreeable solution. Scenarios range from at a minimum; UBS AG informing the Chair of the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) to ICANN in writing of its proposed use of geographic terms and provide Governments who wish to do so with an opportunity to block the use of their relevant name in the .ubs TLD. Other plausible scenarios would include;


SCENARIO 1 (LETTER TO GAC)

In advance of any use of geographical names UBS AG will send a letter to the chair of the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) informing the GAC of its intention to use geographical names in the .ubs TLD. The letter will outline the reasons for using geographical names and provide Governments with the opportunity to contact UBS AG within 90 days to reserve their respective geographical name from use in the TLD. Should a Government inform UBS AG that it wishes to reserve the use of their respective geographical name, the name will remain reserved for the duration of UBS AG’s registry agreement with ICANN. The opportunity to reserve a name will be offered to Governments free of charge.


SCENARIO 2 (LETTER INFORMING INDIVIDUAL GOVERNMENTS)

In advance of any use of geographical names UBS AG will send a letter to the Government concerned and inform it of UBS AG’s intention to use geographical names in the .ubs TLD. The letter will outline the reasons for using geographical names and provide the Government with the opportunity to contact UBS AG within 90 days to reserve its respective geographical name from use in the TLD. Should the Government inform UBS AG that it wishes to reserve the use of its respective geographical name, the name will remain reserved for the duration of UBS AG’s registry agreement with ICANN. The opportunity to reserve a name will be offered to the Government free of charge.


SCENARIO 3 (LETTER REQUESTING PERMISSION FROM INDIVIDUAL GOVERNMENT)

In advance of any use of geographical names UBS AG will send a letter to the Government concerned and inform it of UBS AG’s intention to use geographical names in the .ubs TLD. The letter will outline the reasons for using geographical names and request the Government’s approval or non-objection to the proposed use of the geographical name. Should the Government not respond to the UBS AG within 90 days, UBS AG will understand this to mean that the Government does not object to UBS AG’s proposed use of the geographical name. However should the Government at a later stage contact UBS AG and request that the geographical name no longer be used, UBS AG will work in good faith with the Government to try to find a mutually agreeable solution.

Alternatively: However should the Government at a later stage contact UBS AG and request that the geographical name no longer be used, UBS AG will work in good faith with the Government to try to find a mutually agreeable solution. If such a solution cannot be found UBS AG will respect the Government’s wishes and reserve the name from use without cost to the Government concerned.

Generally, it is extremely unlikely that UBS AG’s tightly controlled use of any cc.UBS or countryname.UBS domain name could be confusing or detrimental to users, or otherwise offensive to any country. Nor is it likely to be detrimental to the operator of a country code top level domain. To the extent that use of any .ubs domain was ever deemed confusing or offensive, UBS AG has a strong desire to resolve the situation quickly and respectfully to any affected Government’s sovereign interests. UBS AG will ensure that its designated abuse contact is aware of the additional sensitivities that may potentially arise with respect to use of cc.ubs or countryname.ubs domains, such that any complaints of this nature are prioritized accordingly. UBS AG will not use geographic names until ICANN has approved such use.

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