gTLD	Full Legal Name	E-mail suffix	Detail
.NGO	Public Interest Registry	pir.org	View

PIR’s goal is to provide the NGO Community an exclusive and immediately recognized home on the Internet. To achieve this goal and ensure that .NGO domain names are allocated in a manner that serves the NGO Community, PIR has developed a set of .NGO registration restriction policies and corresponding compliance and enforcement mechanisms.

The policies are built to match the need of the NGO Community based on feedback from NGO Community members; based on experience from the .ORG gTLD management since 2003; and generally established to ensure a higher security level for .NGO domain names than what currently is considered standard global requirements for gTLDs today.

.NGO Registration Policies
The registration policies in support of the NGO Community goals are described in the following summary and are detailed later in this section.
• Registrant Eligibility Requirements – all registrants must demonstrate affiliation through NGO membership organizations or through evidence of NGO status. PIR will work with membership organization, the NGO Community Advisory Council, and other members of the NGO Community to validate their eligibility.
• Name Selection Policy – ensures that only NGO Community relevant domain names are registered.
• Reserved Name Policy – names⁄types of domain names will initially be reserved from registration under .NGO.
• Registry Name Policy – names⁄types of domain names will be held from general availability, these will be used in support of the registry.
• Content and Use Restriction Policy – ensures that usage of the .NGO domain name corresponds with NGO Community activities.
• Compliance Functions – ensures ongoing compliance of the Registrant Eligibility Requirements, and the Content and Use Restriction Policy listed below.

The following policies support of the NGO Community goals and are detailed in subsequent Evaluation Questions of the application dedicated to such policies, as noted below.
• Abuse Prevention and Mitigation – includes the Anti-Abuse Policy which addresses the identification and prompt action taken on malicious use of domain names, and the Restriction Dispute Resolution Policy (RDRP) which ensures that disputes concerning any of the .NGO Registration Policies can be solved in an appropriate manner. Detailed descriptions of both policies can be found in response to Evaluation Question #28.
• Rights Protection Mechanisms – protects intellectual property holders under the Trademark Clearinghouse, Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS), Registry Restrictions Dispute Resolution Procedures (RRDRP),Post-Delegation Dispute Resolution Policy (PDDRP), in addition to the Sunrise services and policies that can be found in response to Evaluation Question #29.

PIR will review all policies and processes on an annual basis with involvement from the PIR’s NGO Community Advisory Council and present the results to the NGO Community, allowing them to provide feedback.

Specific Policy Details

Registrant Eligibility Requirements: The .NGO domain registrations are open to NGO Community members. All registrants must demonstrate affiliation through NGO membership organizations or through evidence of NGO status. PIR will work with NGO membership organizations, the NGO Community Advisory Council, and other members of the NGO Community to validate their eligibility.

In consultation with PIR’s NGO Community Advisory Council PIR is reviewing potential NGO membership organizations who can verify the NGO status of registrants. NGO membership organizations include the following, and will expand over time:
• Global organizations: International associations and⁄or classification-based associations.
• Regional organizations: Associations across broad geographic areas, potentially including multiple countries or jurisdictions.
• Local organizations: Associations or groups that provide support and memberships at a country or local level.

During the registration process, the registrant will be asked to verify their eligibility and to demonstrate affiliation with a NGO member organization. Once the initial certification in step 1 of the verification process is confirmed, the domain is successfully created. If the .NGO registrant fails to provide any additional required information through step 2 of the verification process, the domain will be deleted and released back into the pool of available domains.

Content and Use Restriction Policy: Abusive use of the .NGO domain names will not be tolerated by PIR. The following use and content limitations apply:
• Overall the NGO domain name must be for a bona fide NGO use, as defined in the Restrictions Dispute Resolution in response to Evaluation Question #28.
• Websites must be developed with the intent to promote the corresponding .NGO registrant’s existing mission and activities, and not solely for commercialized or for-profit marketing usage.
• Use of the registered domain name to engage in activities inconsistent with the mission of a NGO is not allowed.
• Any illegal or fraudulent usage of the .NGO domain name is not allowed, including but not limited to phishing and pharming attacks, distribution of malware, and distribution of adult content.
• Registration and use of a domain name in violation of Rights Protection Mechanisms is not allowed.

Violations of any of the .NGO Registration Policies may be grounds for loss of registration, pursuant to the enforcement mechanism discussed below (with an appeal procedure).

Compliance Functions: While disputes will be managed directly by resolution providers, PIR will conduct random compliance audits across all the .NGO Registration Policies. Periodically PIRʹs compliance staff will audit a sample of .NGO registrations to verify claims to membership in a listed organization, name policy adherence, and compliance with the name and use policy.

If a registrant is found to not be in compliance the registrant will be notified that the domain will be placed on registry lock and that if the compliance issue is not cured the domain will be terminated.

As part of the compliance function PIR will also utilize its existing expertise, obtained through its management of .ORG, to monitor and take action on any abusive behavior taken place with .NGO domain names.

Name Selection Policy: The .NGO registrant must fulfill certain name policy criteria. PIR will employ the following restrictions concerning the names that eligible .NGO registrants can register. As such a .NGO registrant cannot register any name they wish but is limited by the following restrictions. A .NGO registered domain name may be:
1) the name of (entire or portion of) the NGO, e.g. its “doing business as” name,
2) an acronym representing the NGO,
3) a name that recognizes or generally describes the NGO, or
4) a name related to the mission or activities of the NGO.

Reserved Name Policy: The following names⁄types of domain names will initially be reserved from registration:
• All single- and two-character second-level domain names;
• Domains of an inappropriate nature, e.g., adult-related terminology, pursuant to a list defined by PIR and its NGO Community Advisory Council;
• Names provided by ICANN as required reserved names;
• A list of generic names defined by PIR and its NGO Community Advisory Council based on the overall criteria that the names represent the NGO Community in a general manner. Such names will be released in a specific RFP process ensuring that the names will benefit the NGO Community.

Registry Name Policy: The following names⁄types of domain names will be held from general availability; they will be used in support of the registry.
• Names to support registry operations, e.g., directory.ngo;
• Names to support PIR’s NGO Community Advisory Council.

Compliance and Enforcement Mechanisms
PIR will take both proactive and reactive measures to enforce the policies of the gTLD. Proactive measures are taken at the time of registration by requiring .NGO registrants to meet the .NGO Registration Policies and to agree to all policies and procedures of the gTLD. Reactive measures are addressed via our audit process and through our defined dispute resolution processes.

A violation of the .NGO Registration Policies will be enforced on a case-by-case, fact specific basis under the processes set forth below:
1. Any allegation that a domain name is not used primarily for NGO purposes shall be enforced under the provisions of the Restrictions Dispute Resolution Policy (ʺRDRPʺ) as described in Evaluation Question #28. The RDRP will be included as an appendix to the Registry Agreement. An appeal procedure is included in the RDRP.
2. Any alleged violation of the Rights Protection Mechanisms shall be enforced under the provisions contained in each of them.

Disputes resulting from violations of the .NGO Registration Policies will be resolved through the Compliance Functions and the Rights Protection Mechanisms. The Rights Protection Mechanisms (as detailed in Evaluation Question #29) will be made applicable by the ICANN-Accredited Registrarsʹ registration agreements with registrants. Proceedings under the Rights Protection Mechanisms will be conducted in accordance with the policies and procedures that will be included in an appendix to the Registry Agreement. As set forth in the Compliance Functions, the registry operator will review on a random basis, monitor, and verify that any particular domain name is being used primarily for NGO purposes and that a domain is being used in compliance with the Rights Protection Mechanisms processes.

Resource Plans
PIR will devote 2 compliance officers to handle compliance and disputes as they arise, although currently for .ORG this need is rare. Most compliance checks on registration eligibility are expected to be handled in an automated process.

gTLD	Full Legal Name	E-mail suffix	Detail
.art	EFLUX.ART, LLC	e-flux.com	View

The Applicant intends to use a coherent set of registration policies in support of the community-based purpose of the .art gTLD.

With a resource such as this, e-flux is acutely aware of the necessity to use its knowledge to select deserving applications, resolve conflicts, and mediate between the needs of well-established and emerging entities in global art. For this reason, we believe that the administration of the art domain should be overseen as a public resource in order for it to be accessible and affordable to art organizations and individual practitioners from all parts of the world. By firmly establishing its credibility with historical centers of art, while also providing access for individuals and not-for-profit organizations in global capitals and developing economies alike, under e-flux’s custodianship the .art gTLD will become a valuable and encyclopedic resource for anyone interested in art.


In particular, the Applicant plans to limit the eligibility to register second-level names in the gTLD to members of the art community, impose restrictions on the second-level names that may be registered in the .art gTLD as well as on the content and use. Finally, the Applicant intends to implement enforcement measures (with appeal mechanisms) to ensure compliance with the rules and restrictions.

With respect to the creation, implementation and set-up of the .art gTLD, e-flux will play a key role in order to certify that the .art extension is and remains a credible domain. More in particular, e-flux will either:

- review prospective registrants, as well as the domain names for which they have expressed an interest, in order to verify whether they meet the eligibility criteria for the .art gTLD; and
- over time, in particular when the TLD is opened up to individual artists, allow domain name registrations by these artists upon certification of their qualification by at least two existing registrants of .art domain names that have been verified and certified by e-flux. These individuals could be living artists, administrators, curators, and the like.

By carefully selecting and relying on the certification by recognized professionals in the art world, e-flux intends to execute its mission in order to create a high quality, reliable, focused and specialized domain.

Furthermore, through its complaints point of contact, e-flux will investigate any complaint regarding registrant non-compliance with its policies for the .art TLD, in particular the eligibility requirements set out above.



1) Eligibility

Strict eligibility requirements should allow the Applicant to build awareness among the members of the art community and the Internet community at large that the .art gTLD exists, that the domain names registered under .art and the content provided on the websites to which those domain names point are in fact related to art. This way, the Applicant would provide an incentive for other members of the art community to use domain names in this extension.

At a later stage, in addition to the Applicant and⁄or its subsidiaries, members of the art community will possibly be entitled to register domain names in .art. That is to say, one of the main eligibility criteria will be that the interested party wishing to register a domain name in the .art TLD is, directly or indirectly, a professional or semi-professional member of the art community.

The initial registrants of the domain will be primarily art museums, art centers and galleries, publishing houses and publications, schools and academies of art, research and fellowship institutes and programs, public and private collections, funding organizations and NGOs, residency programs and international exhibitions such as biennials—in essence, the entities that bear the most responsibility and are most visible to art audiences.

Their eligibility will be verified by e-flux prior to the actual registration of the domain name.

After establishing credibility in this way, the domain would then be opened up to commercial entities and individuals within the art world.

In order to ensure that these individuals, who will include artists, curators, etc., meet the standards and eligibility requirements set by e-flux, it will require at least two existing .art registrants to vouch for the candidate registrant and the applied-for domain name. This way, art professionals who have already registered a .art domain name will be entitled to invite other art professionals and, hence, perform a peer review of the candidate registrant’s eligibility. This way, the .art TLD can continue to grow and its quality continues to be guaranteed without having one centralized supervisory body in place, and minimizing the impact (if any) on the domain name life cycle.

In lieu of these endorsements, the applicant may complete a more extensive application.

In any event, the Applicant reserves the right to change or restrict any policies, procedures and practices at any point in time if it is of the opinion that there would be a risk that the reputation of the Applicant’s .art business would be damaged.

The eligibility to register domain names would in any event be limited to the Applicant, its members and subsidiaries and other members of the art community, as established above.

Registration of domain names in the .art TLD would be reserved to members of the art community who represent that they are fully able and competent to enter into the terms, conditions, obligations and warranties set forth in the policies, procedures and practices applicable in that point in time.

Members of the art community will need to make representations and warranties similar to the following: that (a) all registration information they submit is truthful and accurate; (b) they will maintain the accuracy of such information; and (c) their use of the services offered by the Registry Operator or its affiliates does not violate any applicable law or regulation.


2) Name selection

The registration of domain names that could directly or indirectly damage, impair or disrupt the reputation and⁄or activities of the Applicant, the integrity of any of the brands and⁄or any of the trademarks from the Applicant and⁄or its subsidiaries will not be allowed. Registrants will also need to represent and warrant that the registration of domain names complies with all applicable laws and does not infringe upon or otherwise violates the rights of any third party.

Moreover, the Applicant will possibly draw up a list of reserved names which will not be available for registration and also put possibly special provisions in place for geographic names (see the Applicant’s answer to Question 22 below). The Applicant will however reserve the right to allocate to and register a domain name mentioned on the list of reserved names in the name of a party indicated by the Applicant.


3) Content and use restrictions

The Applicant will in any case require that all content and use offered under the .art TLD complies with all applicable laws, including, but not limited to, trademark laws, criminal laws, data protection laws etc.

To that end, the Applicant will likely require applicants for a second-level domain name registration to warrant that:

- to their knowledge, the registration of the domain name will not infringe upon or otherwise violate the rights of any third party;
- the applicant is not submitting the domain name registration request and, upon registration, will not use the domain name for an unlawful purpose, contrary to public policy or morality, for offensive purposes, to mislead the public and⁄or contrary to good and fair business practices; and
- it will not knowingly use the domain name in violation of any applicable laws or regulations, including third party interests; and
- it will keep the WHOIS information related to the domain name accurate and up-to-date at all times, both with its accredited registrar and the Applicant and⁄or its affiliates.

Furthermore, the Applicant will likely require applicants for a second-level domain name to choose carefully the content they post on any website and that they provide to other users: Community members shall not be allowed to use the services provided through the .art TLD to post, disseminate or communicate any obscene, lewd, excessively violent, harassing, sexually explicit or otherwise objectionable subject matter.

The Applicant reserves the right to change or restrict any policies, procedures and practices at any point in time if it is of the opinion that there would be a risk that the reputation of the .art business would be damaged by the content or use made by a registrant of a second-level domain name in the .art TLD.


4) Enforcement

Community members that become aware of any third party violation of the terms and conditions applicable at that time will likely be invited and may be obliged to report this to the Applicant or its designee, who may, at its sole discretion delete any content and revoke, temporarily or permanently suspend, delete or cancel at any time the registration of domain names in the .art TLD. The Applicant also reserves the right to revoke, temporarily or permanently suspend, delete or cancel at any time the registration of domain names in the .art TLD, when the registration or use of the domain name is in violation of the terms and conditions applicable at the time.

The Applicant may also implement technical and operational measures to monitor the compliance with the applicable registration policies.

The Applicant will make sure that there are alternative dispute procedures in place to ensure that complaints in relation to the registration and use of a domain name are in place. This shall include procedures to challenge decisions from the Applicant or its designee to revoke, temporarily or permanently suspend, delete or cancel the registration of a domain name.