gTLD	Full Legal Name	E-mail suffix	Detail
.mcdonalds	McDonald’s Corporation	us.mcd.com	View

18(B)I. WHAT IS THE GOAL OF YOUR PROPOSED gTLD IN TERMS OF AREAS OF SPECIALTY, SERVICE LEVELS OR REPUTATION?

The key goals of the proposed new .mcdonalds gTLD are in line with ICANN’s Affirmation of Commitments: to promote consumer trust, competition and consumer choice. McDonald’s also seeks to foster its online reputation and provide an authoritative internet space through which McDonald’s can communicate with its customers directly and effectively. The ability to create second level domain names on demand related to specific marketing and specialty product development supports these goals.


18(B)II. WHAT DO YOU ANTICIPATE YOUR PROPOSED gTLD WILL ADD TO THE CURRENT SPACE, IN TERMS OF COMPETITION, DIFFERENTIATION, OR INNOVATION?

It is anticipated that the .mcdonalds gTLD will make positive contributions to the internet community through:

DIFFERENTIATION:
The .mcdonalds gTLD will simplify how internet users interact with McDonald’s by providing a distinctive domain space with simple navigation and easy access to information. Internet users will be able to directly navigate to the .mcdonalds gTLD site, saving time searching for an official site. By maintaining complete control over the domain names registered under the .mcdonalds domain space, Internet users will be able to rely on the authoritativeness of the domain names under .mcdonalds.

COMPETITION:
The differentiation of .mcdonalds gTLD as a trusted site for McDonald’s will drive TLD registry operators to improve consumer trust of their TLDs. Internet users will be encouraged to interact with domain names under .mcdonalds domain space. As a result, .mcdonalds will have a beneficial effect to enable increased competition. Therefore, the benefits of the proposed .mcdonalds will be distributed not only to its direct customers, but to the community at large encouraging improved services in the market place.

INNOVATION:
With the global expansion of the internet community, the existing TLD structure presents limitations to businesses establishing a coherent global online brand presence to meet their business needs. It is often difficult to register a domain name in the existing domain space due to unavailability of the desired name. This problem is amplified for organisations such as McDonald’s who work across many different geographical markets. Even when the desired domain name is available, it may come with a high price tag associated with a purchase of the desired name from a third party. Through the .mcdonalds registry, McDonald’s will have the ability to create domain names including the use of geographic names and potentially IDNs on demand which are locally relevant to its customer base and innovative new products. McDonald’s will be able to combine its use of the domain space with innovative user focused marketing and services to address the currently unmet needs in the existing domain name system.


18(B)III. WHAT GOALS DOES YOUR PROPOSED gTLD HAVE IN TERMS OF USER EXPERIENCE?

The .mcdonalds gTLD will provide a positive user experience, which meets the needs of the global internet community. McDonald’s will maintain control over the registration and use of second level domain names and will ensure that the new gTLD will only be used for purposes authorised by McDonald’s. Therefore .mcdonalds will:

- provide an easy and intuitive reference and access point for internet users;
- represent authenticity thus promoting user confidence;
- direct internet users to locally relevant information and products;
- use appropriate geographic names to connect with internet users in the relevant regions ;
- potentially use IDNs to enable customers to interact in their native language;
- enhance security and minimise security risks by implementing necessary technical and policy measures;
- strengthen brand reputation and user confidence by eliminating user confusion; and
- prevent potential abuses in the registration process reducing overall costs to businesses and users.


18(B)IV. PROVIDE A COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF THE APPLICANTʹS INTENDED REGISTRATION POLICIES IN SUPPORT OF THE GOALS LISTED ABOVE

The proposed registration policy is attached in response to Question 28.

Only the McDonald’s system will be eligible to register domain names in .mcdonalds. The domain name registration processes will address the requirements mandated by ICANN and will comply with all policy, operational and technical requirements and will adhere to applicable measures to protect customer trust and the stability of the internet.


18(B)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.

McDonald’s is committed to protection of personally identifiable and confidential information in accordance with its objective of increasing consumer trust and providing a safe and legitimate internet space for internet users. Personally identifiable and confidential information will be protected in accordance with all applicable US State and Federal laws and regulations relating to internet security, privacy and user’s confidential information, as interpreted and applied, including the Privacy Act 1974 (US). McDonald’s also complies with all applicable data protection laws and regulations in each individual country in which it operates.

As the .mcdonalds gTLD will only be available to the McDonald’s system, the amount of personal data that will be collected for the purposes of operating the gTLD and made publicly available in the WHOIS database will be very limited. McDonald’s will provide a publicly available and searchable WHOIS look up facility in accordance with Specification 4 of the Registry Agreement. To prevent misuse of the WHOIS functionality, McDonald’s will utilise measures including a requirement where any person submitting a WHOIS database query is required to read and agree to the terms and conditions. This will include the terms of use that the WHOIS database is provided for information purposes only and that the user agrees not to use the information for any other purposes such as allowing or enabling the transmission of unsolicited commercial advertising.


18(B)VI. DESCRIBE WHETHER AND IN WHAT WAYS OUTREACH AND COMMUNICATIONS WILL HELP TO ACHIEVE YOUR PROJECTED BENEFITS.

McDonald’s currently intends to include the proposed new gTLD in certain advertising communications to drive consumers to the new branded URLs as appropriate for each country or campaign. This may also result in recognition of the new gTLD within the internet community to be a trusted site and as a sign of authenticity.

gTLD	Full Legal Name	E-mail suffix	Detail
.banque	GEXBAN SAS	gexban.net	View

18(B)I. WHAT IS THE GOAL OF YOUR PROPOSED gTLD IN TERMS OF AREAS OF SPECIALTY, SERVICE LEVELS OR REPUTATION?

The key goals of the proposed new .app gTLD are in line with ICANN’s Affirmation of Commitments: to promote consumer trust, competition and consumer choice. TRI Ventures also seeks to foster the online reputation of the community of app developers and publishers and provide an internet space through which TRI Ventures is able to offer appropriate domain names to app developers that relate to their apps. The .app gTLD will create a user-friendly, recognisable central location for internet users to search for and discover new apps. The ability to create domain names on demand related to specific app products, related services and marketing supports these goals. Strengthened security measures, service levels and more effective functionality will provide a trusted and positive user experience.


18(B)II. WHAT DO YOU ANTICIPATE YOUR PROPOSED gTLD WILL ADD TO THE CURRENT SPACE, IN TERMS OF COMPETITION, DIFFERENTIATION, OR INNOVATION?

It is anticipated that the proposed .app gTLD will make positive contributions to the wider internet community by providing:


DIFFERENTIATION (INCREASED TRUST):

The .app gTLD will simplify how internet users interact with the community of app developers and service providers by offering a distinctive domain space. Internet users will be able to directly navigate to the .app gTLD site, saving time and resources searching for individual app sites. The current domain name system has shown that it is vulnerable to malicious abuses due to registration of domain names which seek to exploit consumer confusion. TRI Ventures can address some of these vulnerabilities by maintaining eligibility criteria associated with the registration of domain names under the .app domain space. The new .app gTLD will become an immediately recognisable, reliable location where app developers can provide authoritative information about their apps and internet users and consumers can easily search for and discover new apps with trust and confidence. Together with consumer trust, internet users will be able to rely on the authoritativeness of the domain names under .app domain space, which will differentiate interaction between internet users and TRI Ventures.


COMPETITION:

The differentiation of .app gTLD as a trusted site for the app development community will drive existing and new Top Level Domain (TLD) registry operators to make improvements in mechanisms to improve consumer trust of their TLDs. The .app gTLD will drive competition with other gTLDs by providing the community of app developers and publishers with a memorable and valuable alternative domain space to register appropriate domain names relating to their apps. Internet users will be encouraged to interact with domain names under .app domain space when searching for information about new apps. As a result, the benefits of the proposed .app will be distributed not only to app developers and publishers and their direct customers, but to the internet community at large by promoting improved services and competitive pricing in the market place. Furthermore the .app gTLD will through offering fair, open and easily accessible registrations provide a competitive alternative to current app platforms.


INNOVATION:

With the expansion of the internet community to all corners of the world, the existing TLD structure presents limitations, not only in the availability of domain names for registrants, but also to businesses and organisations establishing a coherent global online brand presence to meet their evolving business needs. It is often difficult to register a domain name in the existing domain space due to unavailability of the desired name. Even when the desired domain name is available, it may come with a high price tag associated with a purchase of such desired name from a third party. App developers and publishers, such as TRI Ventures, are currently faced with a severe lack of appropriate domain names for their apps. Under the new .app gTLD, TRI Ventures intends to offer the community of independent app developers and publishers fair and open access to previously unavailable second level domain names that relate to their apps. TRI Ventures will be able to combine its use of the domain space with innovative user focused marketing and services to address the currently unmet needs in the existing domain name system providing greater consumer choice.


18(B)III. WHAT GOALS DOES YOUR PROPOSED gTLD HAVE IN TERMS OF USER EXPERIENCE?

The proposed .app will provide a positive user experience, which meets the changing and growing needs of the app development community as well as the global internet audience. TRI Ventures will put in place an appropriate policy for the registration and use of domain names and will ensure that the new gTLD will only be used for purposes in line with the .app registration policy. Therefore, the .app gTLD will:

- provide the community of app developers and publishers with open, fair and easy access to previously unavailable domain names that relate to their apps;

- provide consumers and internet users with a trusted, accessible and memorable central location to easily search for and discover new apps;

- provide an easy and intuitive reference and access point for internet users;

- represent relevance both in domain name registrations and in content thus promoting user confidence;

- direct internet users to relevant information in a timely manner by creating domain names on demand;

- use geographic names to localise websites to connect with app developers and internet users in the relevant regions and to comply with local laws;

- potentially use IDNs to enable customer to interact directly in their native language;

- enhance security and minimise security risks by implementing necessary technical and policy measures; and

- prevent potential abuses in the registration process reducing overall costs to businesses and users.


TRI Ventures does not intend to utilise Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) at the second level initially. However, as the use of the .app gTLD evolves, it is anticipated that TRI Ventures will utilise IDNs to allow app developers and publishers and internet users to engage with .app in their native language, creating a more positive user experience and encouraging diversity.

The .app gTLD should address some of the concerns that the current domain name system is open to potential malicious abuse and user confusion in the registration processes. Although the current system allows an eligible party to lodge a claim through existing Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) or other dispute resolution processes, through its eligibility requirements the .app gTLD may reduce potential abuses in the registration processes and overall costs to internet users. User confidence in the domain name system will be strengthened, which will ultimately contribute towards promoting ICANN’s core values in benefiting the public interest.


18(B)IV. PROVIDE A COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF THE APPLICANTʹS INTENDED REGISTRATION POLICIES IN SUPPORT OF THE GOALS LISTED ABOVE.

The proposed registration policy is attached in response to Question 28.

Registrations under the .app gTLD will be open to entities and persons with an interest in software applications (apps). Domains names within .app will need to comply with the usage policies prohibiting use of the domain names for phishing, spamming and other abusive practices defined in the registration policy, and will the names will also need to be used consistently with the mission and purpose of the gTLD - i.e. that the domain names must be used to provide information and services regarding a wide range of published software apps to internet users.

In addition, the domain name registration processes will address the requirements mandated by ICANN, including, but not limited to, minimum rights abuse prevention measures such as the use of the Trademark Clearinghouse.

If registrants are found in breach of the terms and conditions in the registration policy, the registry will be able to exercise the right to suspend or cancel the registration of the domain name.


18(B)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.

TRI Ventures is committed to protection of privacy and confidential information in accordance with its objective of increasing consumer trust and providing a safe and legitimate internet space for internet users. Privacy and confidential information will be protected in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations relating to internet security, privacy and user’s confidential information, including local, state and federal privacy laws in the US and other countries in which TRI Ventures operates. TRI Ventures, through Aquent, is Safe Harbour Certified and has a dedicated privacy team that meets on a weekly basis.

TRI Ventures will provide a publicly available and searchable WHOIS look up facility, where information about the domain name status, registrant information including administrative and technical contact details can be found in accordance with Specification 4 of the Registry Agreement. In order to prevent misuse of the WHOIS look up facility, TRI Ventures will utilise measures including a requirement where any person submitting a WHOIS database query is required to read and agree to the terms and conditions in accordance with the registration policy. This will include the terms of use that the WHOIS database is provided for information purposes only and that the user agrees not to use the information for any other purposes such as allowing or enabling the transmission of unsolicited commercial advertising or other communication.

TRI Ventures will deploy Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) which is intended to benefit both TRI Ventures and its users interacting with TRI Ventures online. DNSSEC provides additional security by validating information in the transmission, therefore it is intended to benefit those who publish information in the domain name system (DNS) and the users who retrieve information from the new .app gTLD.

TRI Ventures will continue to apply all security measures currently implemented and will comply with all other policies and practices required by ICANN in the Registry Agreement and any relevant Consensus Policy for protecting the privacy and confidential information of registrants and users in the new .app domain space.


18(B)VI. DESCRIBE WHETHER AND IN WHAT WAYS OUTREACH AND COMMUNICATIONS WILL HELP TO ACHIEVE YOUR PROJECTED BENEFITS.

The proposed new .app gTLD will be publicised by a media plan to promote recognition of the new gTLD within the internet community to be a trusted site and as a sign of authenticity.
Over time it is foreseen that increased recognition of the proposed new .app gTLD amongst the app development community and internet users and encouragement to utilise the trusted site will contribute towards minimising malicious abuses and protecting internet users.