gTLD	Full Legal Name	E-mail suffix	Detail
.MAIL	GMO Registry, Inc.	gmoregistry.com	View

i. What is the goal of your proposed gTLD in terms of areas of specialty, service levels, or reputation?

Specialty
.MAIL provides a unique TLD choice that is unavailable in the current spread of gTLDs. The term “mail” is immediately recognizable, universal and memorable, and is commonly associated with email when applied to an online context.

The current new gTLD program offers unprecedented levels of protection to rights owners. Rights protection mechanisms embedded within the program rules are a culmination of years of community efforts and bottom-up consensus processes developed at ICANN. This alone means .MAIL, as a gTLD that is compliant with the current new gTLD requirements, offers significant advantages compared to legacy gTLDs.

Service Levels
Recognizing that email is a critical service that is expected to be highly available and reliable, the Applicant is committed to providing industry leading service levels in order to maintain an impeccable reputation for security, reliability and availability.

The Applicant aims to operate the .MAIL TLD in a secure and stable manner, adopting industry best practices where applicable. The Applicant’s operational goals are to have DNS load dispersion that is resilient to DDoS attacks, industry-leading level of Whois information change and DNS record change reflection time, substantial registrar support, and abuse window operation 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The Applicant will also implement proven security measures at every level of business and technical operation in order to provide maximum protection for its stakeholders. This includes stringent security policies and procedures, as well as comprehensive abuse handling mechanisms to mitigate security threats to the TLD. In addition, the Applicant will strive to provide an outstanding level of technical and operational support to registrars.

Reputation
The Applicant aims to achieve a reputation for .mail as a secure and reliable namespace. Its unique concept is coupled with industry leading service levels, proven track record by GMO Registry, its parent organization GMO Internet, and the GMO Internet Group. The Group also comprises globally trusted online security brand, GlobalSign, and some of the longest established ISP service brands in Japan meaning the Applicant is uniquely positioned to understand the needs of ISPs, one of the intended markets. The Applicant believes that it will earn the trust of registrants and users, amass a strong database of domain names with quality and relevant contents and services, and establish a highly trusted namespace.


ii. What do you anticipate your proposed gTLD will add to the current space, in terms of competition, differentiation, or innovation?

.MAIL will expand choice in the current gTLD space by offering a unique TLD with high quality, relevant content. Because email and related online communications tools are used by most Internet users regardless of gender, nationality, or age, the target audience of .MAIL will have significant overlap with registrants of other TLDs. As such, the Applicant anticipates being in direct competition with current and new TLDs.

.MAIL is unique because it provides a clearly defined context for registered domain names. This affords registrants a more powerful and expressive online brand and identity when compared to existing, broadly defined gTLDs. Being a new gTLD with a specific meaning and purpose, the .MAIL namespace will likely be less cluttered than current TLDs, and therefore provide more opportunities for registrants to adopt a direct and meaningful online identity.

.MAIL aims to be a pervasive name space for innovative online communication products and services. For example, introduction of smartphones helped create a ubiquitous network society that spurred innovations in messaging; by using certain applications, smartphone users can text and call one another for free. Although the importance of phone numbers has diminished, that of email accounts has only increased; Android, the most widely used smartphone operating system, requires users to register an email account during initial setup. According to comScore Reports, “82.2 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during the three months ending in July 2011, up 10 percent from the preceding three month period.” (comScore Reports July 2011 U.S. Mobile Subscriber Market Share) Usage of devices that require email accounts is growing rapidly, and the Applicant believes that .MAIL will contribute value to the Internet namespace as email platforms and methods of online communication continue to evolve.


iii. What goals does your proposed gTLD have in terms of user experience?

The Applicant will endeavor to achieve the following goals relating to user experience;
• Users find that the services and contents associated with .MAIL are relevant, and of high quality;
• Users do not experience performance or reliability issues with regards to the registry services that .MAIL provides;
• Users are not exposed to abusive or malicious content.

iv. Provide a complete description of the applicant’s intended registration policies in support of the goals listed above.

In order to achieve the goals stated above, the plans for .MAIL domain name registration policies are as follows. All .MAIL TLD registrars are required to include policies and restrictions in the registration agreements with their customers, including but not limited to, the following, and registrants must agree to comply.

Draft Abusive Use Policy
The Applicant defines abuse as any activity that may harm the stability and security of the DNS and Internet, including, but not limited to:

- Illegal or fraudulent activities;
- Phishing;
- Pharming;
- Using or distributing malicious software (malware);
- Sending unsolicited bulk messages (spam);
- Posting, trading, or exchanging information that harms minors;
- Posting, trading, or exchanging child pornography;
- Posting information that encourages illegal acts, crimes, murders, or suicides; and
- Posting information that is offensive to public order or morals.

The Applicant reserves the right to deny, cancel or transfer any registration or transaction, or place any domain name on lock, hold or similar status, at its sole discretion, to enforce the policy.

In addition, the Applicant intends to set up an abuse support service (abuse report form and abuse support window) that will be operated 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

In case an abuse use is reported, the Applicant will take appropriate measures in accordance with the suspension flow provided separately (Please refer to Question 28).

2. Accuracy of Registration Information
In order to ensure that Internet users can interact with the .MAIL namespace with confidence, registration data associated with domain names must be appropriate and accurate, and there should be no fraudulent registration or usage. For this reason .MAIL registrants are obligated to provide and maintain correct, complete, and current registration information (Whois information).

Failure to comply with this policy may result in the domain name registration being denied, cancelled, or transferred; the Registry Operator shall also be entitled, in such cases, to delete any such domain names, or place them on lock, hold, or similar status.

3. ICANN Policies
The Applicant will adopt and comply with the Uniform Rapid Suspension System, Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy, and all other mandatory ICANN consensus policies, regulations and rules (collectively the “ICANN policies”). All .MAIL domain name registration will be subject to the ICANN policies.

v. Will your proposed gTLD impose any measures for protecting the privacy or confidential information of registrants or users? If so, please describe any such measures.

.MAIL will comply with the applicable laws of Japan, as well as applicable ICANN consensus policies. As part of its responsibility as the registry operator of the .MAIL TLD, the Applicant will exercise due care to protect all information it receives from registrants or users through registrars, and will not disclose such information to any third party, with the exception of public Whois data.

The Applicant does not provide any additional measures beyond its obligation as a registry operator. The Applicant places no restrictions on the use of Whois proxy services, to the extent permissible by law.

Describe whether and in what ways outreach and communications will help to achieve your projected benefits.

In order to achieve the projected benefits, .MAIL must gain substantial mindshare among Internet users. The Applicant believes that the primary method of increasing recognition and registration numbers in the TLD is to gain strong support from .mail registrars. For that reason, the Applicant intends to:
- Maintain regular communication with registrars;
- Attend ICANN meetings and domain name⁄Internet related events and have face to face meetings with registrars; and
- Organize events for registrars
Feedback from registrars will be then taken into account, and integrated into public relations and marketing activities that the Applicant organizes where appropriate.

gTLD	Full Legal Name	E-mail suffix	Detail
.yokohama	GMO Registry, Inc.	gmoregistry.com	View

i. What is the goal of your proposed gTLD in terms of areas of specialty, service levels, or reputation?

Specialty
As a distinctive TLD representing City of Yokohama, .yokohama provides a strong context and association for the domain names registered under it. As such, the Applicant expects .yokohama to bring about expectations of increased marketing and branding values. The goal of the TLD in this respect is to build a high quality and meaningful domain name space to complement the inherent .yokohama advantages: direct, simple, easy-to-understand, and memorable.

The Applicant believes that .yokohama will bring about tangible benefits to the following groups of stakeholders:

For .yokohama registrants: a namespace that effectively provides information on City of Yokohama, as well as businesses and services offered by the registrants.

For Internet users: a namespace where Internet users can discover new information about City of Yokohama and communicate with entities in City of Yokohama in a safe and productive way.

For others: a TLD that contributes to growth of City of Yokohama.

Service Levels
The Applicant aims to operate the TLD in a secure and stable manner, adopting industry best practices where applicable.　The Applicant’s operational goals are to have DNS load dispersion that is resistant to DDoS attacks, industry-leading level of Whois information change and DNS record change reflection time, substantial registrar support, and abuse window operation 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The Applicant will also implement proven security measures at every level of the registry business and technical operation in order to provide maximum protection for its stakeholders. This includes stringent security policies and procedures, as well as comprehensive abuse handling mechanisms to mitigate security threats to the TLD. In addition, the Applicant will strive to provide an outstanding level of technical and operational support to the registrars.

Reputation
The aims for the reputations of .yokohama are:
1. to become a namespace that registrants and Internet users appreciate its quality, meaningfulness, pleasure, safety, stability, and truthfulness; and
2. to provide various benefits to registrants, registrars, Internet users, and others and become regarded as a contributing factor in the development of City of Yokohama.

ii. What do you anticipate your proposed gTLD will add to the current space, in terms of competition, differentiation, or innovation?

The Applicant believes that .yokohama will promote competition, differentiation, and innovation.

.yokohama is a new type of TLD that represents City of Yokohama. There are many TLDs that represents countries (i.e. .JP, .US, .AU) and regions (i.e. .ASIA and .EU), but there is no TLD for states⁄prefectures and cities. The Applicant believes that the TLD will provide compelling marketing and branding value and bring various advantages to entities in City of Yokohama and the locality. It anticipates a significant uptake by entities that are currently operating under legacy TLDs and wish to switch to using .yokohama domain names for their primary online identities. Therefore, the Applicant expects to infuse positive competition and differentiation in the current space.

In addition, .yokohama will be an additional choice for registrars to provide to customers. However, registrars will not select TLDs that do not bring benefits in various ways to Internet users and their businesses. In order to meet these demands, registries need to make an effort to prove better services, business operations, system operations, pricing, customer support, and so on. It is expected that this will also promote competition and differentiation in the current space. The Applicant believes that competition and differentiation in turn will spur innovation and lead to a better name space.

iii. What goals does your proposed gTLD have in terms of user experience?

The Applicant will endeavor to achieve the following goals relating to user experience:
1. Internet users find that the services and contents associated with .yokohama domain names are relevant and of high quality;
2. Internet users discover new things about City of Yokohama; and
3. Internet users are not exposed to abusive or malicious content

iv. Provide a complete description of the applicant’s intended registration policies in support of the goals listed above.

In order to achieve the goals stated above, the plans for .yokohama domain name registration policies are as follows. All .yokohama TLD registrars are required to include, policies and restrictions including but not limited to the following in their registration agreement with their customers, and registrants must agree and comply.
1. TLD Registrants and Usage
While .yokohama domain name registration is open for everyone, the Applicant will recommend that registrants to incorporate information related to City of Yokohama on websites in the TLD space. Information about best practices and prohibited usage will be published on the Applicant’s website. Seeking to ensure that .yokohama delivers high quality City of Yokohama related content supports the Applicant’s objective of making a positive contribution to the economy, industry, culture and community in City of Yokohama.

Please note: The .yokohama domain name registration is open for everyone in general. However, it does not allow registration by entities that are related to antisocial forces in Japan, consistent with the anti-gang ordinance enacted by the prefecture. In case such registration is reported, the domain name may be denied, cancelled, or transferred any registration or transaction, or may be deleted or placed on lock, hold, or similar status.

2. Draft Abusive Use Policy
The Applicant defines abuse as any activity that may harm the stability and security of the DNS and Internet, including, but not limited to:

- Illegal or fraudulent activities;
- Phishing;
- Pharming;
- Using or distributing malicious software (malware);
- Sending unsolicited bulk messages (spam);
- Posting, trading, or exchanging information that harms minors;
- Posting, trading, or exchanging child pornography;
- Posting information that encourages illegal acts, crimes, murders, or suicides;
- Posting information that is offensive to public order or morals; and
- Posting information that harms the national interest or reputation of Japan including the respective prefecture and city.

The Applicant reserves the right to deny, cancel or transfer any registration or transaction, or place any domain name on lock, hold or similar status, at its sole discretion, to enforce the policy.

In addition, the Applicant intends to set up an abuse support window (abuse report form and abuse support window) for .yokohama that will be operated 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

In case an abuse use is reported, the Applicant will promptly take appropriate measures in accordance with the suspension flow provided separately (Please refer to Question 28).

3. Accuracy of Registration Information
.yokohama registrants are obligated to provide and maintain accurate, complete, and current registration information (Whois information).

Failure to comply with the policy, the domain name may be denied, cancelled, or transferred any registration or transaction, or may be deleted or placed on lock, hold, or similar status.

4. ICANN Policies
The Applicant will adopt and comply with the Uniform Rapid Suspension System, Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy, and all other ICANN policies, regulations, rules (collectively the “ICANN policies”), and all .yokohama domain name registration will be subject to ICANN policies.

5. Reserved Names
In addition to the reserved names specified by ICANN, the Applicant intends to reserve some names at the second level in .yokohama TLD.

[Public Interest]
Names related to the public interest will be initially reserved at the second level in the TLD. As the responsible use of these names is in the public interest, methodology to release these names will be determined by the respective government(s) and the Applicant. The list of the reserved names will be posted at the Applicant website and it shall be revised upon a request made by the relevant governments. The current list of reserved names is as follows:

- Names of government-decreed cities, wards, cities, towns, villages in Japan that the respective governments require to reserve.
- Public facilities, projects, and events
- Facilities and activities that relate to public interest, medical, welfare, education, tourism, and environment protection.
- Designated cultural properties
- Other strings that the respective governments requires to reserve.

[Others]
In addition to the reserved names that are related to the public interest, words and terms that are offensive to the public order and morals (i.e. vulgar words, obscene words, swearing words, discriminatory words, derogatory terms, etc.) will be reserved or prohibited from registration at the second level in the TLD. These names are not subject to release.

6. Website Best Practices Information Page
In order to help .yokohama domain name registrants understand the purpose of the TLD, clearly publicize usage restrictions of the TLD, and encourage registrants to use .yokohama domain names in an appropriate manner, the Applicant will publish an information page on its website describing recommended ways to use .yokohama domain names. The information page is for information purposes only and will include best practices for web contents and a list of prohibited activities under the TLD.

v. Will your proposed gTLD impose any measures for protecting the privacy or confidential information of registrants or users? If so, please describe any such measures.

.yokohama will comply with the applicable laws of Japan and regulations of respective governments, as well as applicable ICANN consensus policies. As part of its responsibility as registry operator of the TLD, the Applicant will exercise due care to protect all information it receives from registrants or users through registrars, and will not disclose such information to any third party, with the exception of public Whois data.

The Applicant does not provide any additional measures beyond its obligation as a registry operator. The Applicant places no restrictions on the use of Whois proxy services, to the extent permissible by law.


vi. Describe whether and in what ways outreach and communications will help to achieve your projected benefits.

1. Communication with Registrars
In order to achieve the projected benefits, .yokohama must gain substantial mindshare among Internet users. The Applicant believes that the primary method of increasing recognition and registration numbers in the TLD is to gain strong support from .yokohama registrars. For that reason, the Applicant intends to:
 Maintain regular communication with registrars;
 Attend ICANN meetings and domain name⁄Internet related events and have face to face meetings with registrars; and
 Organize events for registrars
Feedback from registrars will be then taken into account, and integrated into public relations and marketing activities that the Applicant organizes where appropriate.

2. Other Outreach Activities and Communication
The Applicant believes that support from the respective governments as well as individuals, organizations, and companies in City of Yokohama is also critical to achieving the projected benefits, and will establish close communications with each of these Groups. In addition, the Applicant will strive to raise awareness of the TLD which it believes will in turn promote development and growth of City of Yokohama and .yokohama.