gTLD	Full Legal Name	E-mail suffix	Detail
.SHOP	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
.SHOP is a domain for business entities or organizations that deploy commercial activities in an online or offline environment. The goal of .SHOP in this respect is to build a quality, meaningful, safe and secure domain name space that can be trusted to complement the inherent advantages of .SHOP: that it is direct, simple, and intuitive. The Applicant strives to achieve the following characterizations by each of the following groups of .SHOP stakeholders:

SHOP registrants: a namespace where registrants can effectively and efficiently provide information on goods and services offered.

Internet users: a name space where Internet users can access and interact with their target business entities or organizations in a safe and productive way, obtaining access to genuine content, products and services. The .SHOP TLD is able to contribute to reducing the sale of counterfeit and pirated goods, as registrants will be identified and remain identifiable throughout the term during which the domain name is registered in the .SHOP TLD;

For others: a TLD that contributes to growth in the industry, and hence the economy.

Service Levels
Aims for the service levels of .SHOP are:

1. Registry Operation
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 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.

2. High Quality Content
In order to maintain high quality content and provide a safe .SHOP namespace for Internet users, the Applicant will develop a set of abusive use policies and takedown processes to prevent and respond to abuse in an efficient manner. In addition, the Applicant will publish an information page on its website describing recommended ways to use the TLD. The information page will include best practices for web contents and a list of prohibited activities under the TLD. The Applicant believes that the information page will help registrants understand the purpose of the TLD, preserve the characteristics of the TLD and help mitigate abusive activities.

Reputation
The aims for the reputations of .SHOP are:
1. to become well recognized as a TLD for commercial activities;
2. to become a namespace that Internet users appreciate for its quality, meaningfulness, pleasure, safety, stability, and truthfulness; and
3. to provide various benefits to the target community and become regarded as a contributing factor to the expansion thereof..


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 .SHOP will promote competition, differentiation, and innovation for domain name registrants, Internet users, and business, considering that the .SHOP TLD is an Internet extension exclusively reserved for business entities or organizations that deploy commercial activities or provide information in relation thereto over the Internet.

However there is no TLD that is exclusively for them among the 22 gTLDs and sTLDs available for public registration. As a result, owners of related businesses are required to select domain names from the currently-available TLDs that are not necessary related to their business.

Unlike currently existing or new TLDs with broad interpretations, the Applicant believes that the specificity of .SHOP will be welcomed by business entities or organizations. Since .SHOP also provides compelling marketing and branding value, the Applicant anticipates that a significant number of business entities or organizations who are currently operating under domain names registered in existing TLDs will switch to using a .SHOP domain name as their primary online identity. The Applicant also anticipates new businesses will select .SHOP, given that it is the only TLD that exactly represents the nature and identity of their businesses. New businesses will also be attracted by the advantages that .SHOP offers them as stated in part (a) of this question. The Applicant expects to infuse positive competition and differentiation in the current space.

Furthermore, .SHOP 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 both Internet users and their businesses. In order to meet these demands, registries need to make an effort to provide quality 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.

Competition and differentiation in turn will spur innovation. In the case of .SHOP, the Applicant intends to discuss ideas with registrars and introduce tools, products, and services that are effective or necessary in achieving goals and roles set forth for .SHOP. The Applicant believes that these efforts will promote 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 goals listed in (b).i. in this section as well as to build a namespace that Internet users are satisfied with for its meaningfulness, safety and effectiveness.

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 .SHOP domain name registration policies are as follows. All .SHOP TLD registrars are required to include policies and restrictions including but not limited to the following in their registration agreement with their customers to which registrants must agree and comply.

1. Registrant Eligibility Requirements
The Applicant intends to put in place the following eligibility requirements for registrants in .SHOP:
In order to qualify for registering a domain name in the .SHOP TLD, the registrant must be a business entity or organization that deploys commercial activities in an online or offline environment, i.e. offering for sale and selling products or services on a more than occasional basis, or provide information in relation thereto over the Internet.
.SHOP domain name registrations will also be made available to business entities or organizations that currently do not deploy commercial activities, but that have expressed intention to engage in the activities within one year following the registration of a .SHOP domain name.

Proof of Corporation⁄Company Establishment
All .SHOP domain name registrants will be required to prove that the business entities or organizations are legally established by providing the following information at the time of domain name registration:
- Country name where the business entity or organization is established
- Business entity or organization identification number type (Business ID, Tax ID, VAT, etc.)
- Business entity or organization identification number
Furthermore, registrants that are not currently engaged but have expressed intention to deploy commercial activities in an online environment may be required to submit additional information to prove their intent, anytime during the course of the registration term and as deemed necessary by the registry.

2. Restrictions on Domain Name Strings
Registrants will be entitled to register domain names that are identical or similar to their current or future trademark, business name, trade name, business identifier, name of business entity or organization, names under which they are commonly known, slogans, acronyms, etc., including combinations thereof, in the .SHOP gTLD.

3. Usage Restrictions
The purpose of the domain name usage will be restricted as follows:
a. Registered .SHOP domain names must be used for commercial activities in an online or offline environment, or to provide information in relation thereto over the internet; or
b. Registered .SHOP domain names must be intended to be used primarily for commercial activities in an online or offline environment, or to provide information in relation thereto over the internet.

Registration of a .SHOP domain name solely for the purpose of selling, exchanging, trading, leasing the domain name shall be deemed as inappropriate use or intent.

4. Random Checks
The Applicant will conduct random checks to determine compliance with registrant eligibility, name selection, and usage restrictions (hereafter ʺeligibility requirementsʺ) using sampling methodologies. In case the Applicant determines a sampled domain is in violation of the eligibility requirements, the domain name may be deleted or placed on lock, hold, or similar status.

5. 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 window (abuse report form and abuse support window) for .SHOP operating 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to be able to provide prompt responses to abuse activities.

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).

6. Accuracy of Registration Information and Restriction of Whois Proxy
In order for Internet users to use the .SHOP name space with confidence, it is important that registration data associated with domain names is appropriate and accurate, and that there are not any fraudulent registrations and uses. The Applicant believes that it is important for .SHOP registrants to be identifiable, provide bona fide information, and not use their domain names in bad faith. Therefore, .SHOP registrants are obliged to provide and maintain correct, complete, and up-to-date registration information (Whois information). In addition, no Whois protection service of any kind will be permitted.

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

7. ICANN Policies
The Applicant will adopt and comply with the Uniform Rapid Suspension System, Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy, and all other ICANN Consensus policies, regulations, and rules (the “ICANN policies”). In any case, all .SHOP domain name registration policies will apply, but nonetheless be subject to these ICANN policies.

8. Website Best Practices Information Page
In order to help .SHOP domain name registrants understand the purpose of the TLD, clearly publicize usage restrictions of the TLD, and encourage registrants to use .SHOP domain names in an appropriate manner, the Applicant will publish an information page on its website describing recommended ways to use .SHOP 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.

All .SHOP registrars will be required to place the link to the information page on their website or include it in domain name registration⁄renewal confirmation emails sent to the registrants.

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.

.SHOP will comply with the applicable laws of Japan, as well as applicable ICANN policies. As part of its responsibility as the registry operator of the .SHOP 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.

As stated earlier, the Applicant believes that it is important that .SHOP registrants are identifiable in order to ensure registrants provide bona fide information, services, and products responsibly and do not use their domain names in bad faith. Also, the Applicant believes that Internet users gain a sense of safety and security when they have a means to access the registration information. As a consequence, as previously stated, no Whois proxy service of any kind will be allowed.

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, .SHOP 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 .SHOP 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 then be taken into account and integrated into public relations and marketing activities where appropriate.

2. Other Outreach Activities and Communication
The Applicant believes that support from the community is also critical to achieving the projected benefits.

Therefore, it plans to establish communications and partnerships with related industries and their main representatives, and conduct joint promotional activities that will encourage development and growth of the industries as well as .SHOP. In addition, the Applicant will make an effort towards raising awareness of .SHOP in the relevant industries, working closely together with representatives of the community, and in particular those who have endorsed our bid for the .SHOP gTLD.

gTLD	Full Legal Name	E-mail suffix	Detail
.gree	GREE, Inc.	gmoregistry.com	View

Specialty
.gree is a TLD for the SNS community GREE, the company, and its stakeholders (companies listed in the annual securities report of GREE, Inc.). The .gree domain is different from other TLDs in that second level domain name registrations will not be open to the public. Registration will be restricted to the company, its stakeholders, and the SNS community GREE. We expect .gree to be a more powerful marketing and branding tool for the community than any other TLD before. Registrants of .gree domain names will be among the first to benefit from the value of a TLD that represents the community and the brand. Also, all information sent or published from .gree will be “officially” information from the community or the company, and that means it is dependable. Because .gree directly expresses the name of the community, it is easy to remember and associate with community activities and services. The company hopes that the .gree character string will be easy to understand, easy to remember and that people recognize it as trustworthy.

Service Levels
In terms of service levels, the company aims to operate the .gree TLD in a secure and stable manner, adopting industry best practices where applicable.
The registry’s operational goals are to have DNS load dispersion that is resistant to DDoS attacks, an 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 registry will also implement proven security measures at every level of the .gree business and technical operation to provide maximum protection of the SNS community GREE, and .gree stakeholders. This includes stringent security policies and procedures, as well as comprehensive abuse handling mechanisms to mitigate security threats to the TLD.

Reputation
Aims for the reputation of .gree are
1. for .gree to become well recognized as GREE’s official TLD, and
2. for the .gree name space to become one which Internet users can access with confidence.

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

GREE, Inc. believes that company⁄brand name TLDs such as .gree will promote competition, differentiation, and innovation for domain name registrants, Internet users, and business.

.gree is a new type of TLD in that the top-level string, not the second level, represents the community name. It has several important elements of a good Internet address: it is direct, simple, easy-to-understand, and memorable. As well as community protection, the company believes these same elements will have a strong marketing and branding impact that will also contribute to community growth and development.

The existence of this kind of differentiated TLD will encourage domain name registrants to consider the top-level as well as the second level when choosing an appropriate identity on the Internet. Also, registries and registrars will be encouraged to differentiate in terms of services, operations, systems, pricing, support, etc., promoting positive competition, differentiation, and innovation.

In addition, .gree is different from existing TLDs because it will be only available to limited registrants. With restrictive rules and comprehensive abuse handling processes, the company expects minimal abusive domain name registrations in the .gree name space. This means that information provided via .gree will be reliable and Internet users will be able to enjoy the name space with confidence. .gree will deliver unprecedented trust to Internet users, which the company believes will spur further positive competition and innovation in the industry.

Going forward, in order to encourage growth and development of the community through .gree, registrations will be accepted from community members working together with the company. This type of registration will be called a “Community member participant” registration. Please refer to Question 18 (a) iv for details. The company expects to see dynamic innovation in the community not only from the operational side but also through the cooperation of approximately 190 million members.

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

In terms of user experience, .gree aims to provide a name space recognized by community members and Internet users in general as one that:
1. provides access to GREE related information safely and effectively,
2. facilitates discovery of new things about GREE, and
3. is meaningful and trustworthy.

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 .gree domain name registration policies are as follows. All .gree TLD registrars and registrants must agree to abide by the policies. Failure to comply with the policies may result in denial, cancelation or transfer of any registration or transaction, or being placed on lock, hold or similar status.

1. Registration Eligibility
The company considers the primary objective of .gree to be protecting the GREE community and maintaining a trusted reputation. We believe that allowing registrations on the basis of membership in the community alone would not benefit the community and would open the TLD to increased risk of abusive use. Further, an important feature of the GREE community is anonymity. Permitting individual members to register domain names poses the difficulty of striking an appropriate balance between member anonymity and Whois publishing responsibility. However, future growth and development of the community depends on the participation and cooperation of members. Therefore the company will adopt the following registration policy to allow for community members to register domain names, in addition to the operators of the community.

Domain Name Registration Categories
Domain name registration will be divided into the following two types.
A. GREE SNS community operator registration
B. GREE SNS community member participant registration
It is anticipated that allowing registrations in Category A (operational side of the community) as well as Category B (community members) will contribute to development and vitalization of the community.

A. GREE SNS Community Operator Registration
Domain names registered in this category must be registered solely by an entity that contributes to operation of the community. A community operator must be one of the following.
- GREE, Inc.
- Companies listed in the annual securities report of GREE, Inc.
- Contributors to the operation of GREE

Important Note: No individual-basis registrations will be allowed. In other words, the board members, employees, and contract staff of the companies listed above are not permitted to be registrants of .gree domain names.

B. GREE SNS Community Member Participant Registration
Domain names registered in this category must be registered by a community operator in conjunction with a community member. Community members who wish to register a domain name under this category will be required to undergo evaluation. The evaluation will seek to determine whether the applied for domain name would benefit the community. For evaluation purposes, applicants must submit a proposal to GREE, Inc. addressing at minimum the following four points.

- The domain name being applied for
- Purpose of applied for domain name registration
- Specific intended content restriction and use of the applied for domain name
- Reason the applied for domain name registration would benefit the community

Community members whose evaluations are successful will operate the applied for domain in partnership with the company and in accordance with the submitted proposal.

Domain names registered under .gree as GREE SNS Community Member Participant registrations are intended to benefit the community as a whole, not individual community members. For this reason, the registrant shall be GREE, Inc. and all other associated information on Whois shall be the company or an outsourcing partner appointed by the company.

2. Verification of Registration Eligibility
Registration and management of .gree domain names will be via the .gree dedicated account provided by a .gree accredited registrar. Access to .gree dedicated accounts will be limited to the registrants and their authorized administrative contacts, subject to verification of registration eligibility. The verification will be conducted by the registry, and organizations that wish to apply for a .gree dedicated account will be required to provide proof of registration eligibility to the registry via a .gree accredited registrar. All .gree domain name registration phases are subject to the verification. Proposed valid forms of documentary proof include, but are not limited to,
* company seal (registered or unregistered)
* signature of management staff

The registry will conduct verification on a per-registrant basis only. Once verified, a registrant or its authorized administrative contact will have access to the .gree dedicated account, through which it may apply for multiple .gree domain names without further verification, under the condition that the registrant and administrative contact information of an applied-for domain name are identical to the ones the registry has verified. If there are any material changes to the verified information, the registrant or administrative contact must notify the registry of the change.

3. Restrictions on Domain Name Strings
In order to achieve the objectives described above, the company will limit registration to domain names associated with the company, its stakeholders and the community (eg. Service or event names).

4. Whois Accuracy
The registry believes that it is important to keep and publish correct Whois data; registrants will be required to provide and maintain accurate, complete and current Whois data. In addition, no Whois protection service of any kind will be allowed.

5. Content Restrictions
Website content under .gree domain names shall be exclusively related to the company, stakeholders and community. All content must uphold the trust and security of the community.

6. Registration Policy Compliance Dispute Resolution Policy
The registry will also develop a Registration Policy Compliance Dispute Resolution Policy so as to allow third parties to file complaints against purported violations of the policies. Complaints may be filed on at least the following bases:
- eligibility
- name selection
- content and use

Complaints may be filed to the registry directly, will be handled by the registry or a registry-appointed company.

After receiving a complaint, the registry or the appointed company will investigate claim. If the claim is valid, and depending on the nature of the violation, the complaint will be resolved by one or more of the actions from the following non-exhaustive list:
- working with the registrant to remedy the situation
- referral of the matter to the abuse point of contact
- suspending, deleting or locking the domain name in question

7. Draft Abusive Use Policy
The registry 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; and
- Posting information that is offensive to public order or morals.

The registry 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 registry intends to set up an abuse support window (abuse report form and abuse support window) for .gree operating 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to be able to provide prompt responses to abuse activities.

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


8. Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS) System
The Registry is committed to adopting and abiding by the URS System for trademark owners who seek a rapid system to take down domain names which infringe on their rights.

9. Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP)
UDRP is applicable to all .gree domain name registrations.

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.

.gree 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 .gree TLD, the registry 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 .gree registration policies only allow registrations by companies and not individuals. As such, the registry will publish on Whois all information required by ICANN as it regards all required information as public. The registry believes that it is important to maintain Whois data accuracy, and no Whois protection service of any kind will be allowed.

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

.gree is intended exclusively for the GREE community, company and its stakeholders. Therefore, the company will direct its outreach and communications efforts towards raising awareness of the .gree identity among Internet users. The company will also consider calling for GREE SNS community member participation registrations via the community and its corporate web site to encourage further development of the community. In addition, by consolidating GREE community related domain names under the .gree umbrella, GREE, Inc. hopes to gain mindshare of the .gree TLD among users, thereby contributing to the projected benefits stated above.