| gTLD | Full Legal Name | E-mail suffix | Detail | | .MERCK | Merck Registry Holdings, Inc. | fairwindspartners.com | View |
18.3.1 What operating rules will you adopt to eliminate or minimize social costs (e.g., time or financial resource costs, as well as various types of consumer vulnerabilities)?
MRH has proposed operating rules to limit registration to MRH and potentially qualified subsidiaries and affiliates and will provide a trusted online environment for end-users.
Therefore, one way in which social costs will be eliminated is that there will be no defensive need for other trademark and brand owners to register second-level domains in the .MERCK gTLD. In addition, the .MERCK gTLD will provide end-users with a trusted source for MRH information, goods, and services.
18.3.2 What other steps will you take to minimize negative consequences⁄costs imposed upon consumers?
MRH believes that the proposed operation of the .MERCK gTLD as set forth in this application has no known negative consequences or cost implications to end users. On the contrary, the proposed operation of this registry will likely lead to direct and quantifiable benefits to end users.
18.3.3 How will multiple applications for a particular domain name be resolved, for example, by auction or on a first-come⁄first-serve basis?
MRH does not envision multiple applicants for the same domain name, as domain names will only be allocated to its parent company, MSD, and potentially MSD’s qualified subsidiaries and affiliates.
18.3.4 Explain any cost benefits for registrants you intend to implement (e.g., advantageous pricing, introductory discounts, bulk registration discounts).
MRH does not envision any advantageous pricing, introductory discounts, or bulk registration discounts at this time because these marketing⁄commercial initiatives are inconsistent with the mission and purpose of the .MERCK gTLD as a trusted online source identifier for MSD, and potentially its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates.
Moreover, it is the current intention of MSD to have MRH provide domain name registrations initially at no cost, at least for the first five years of operation.
However, the company reserves the right to reevaluate this decision and may choose to impose a fee in the future. Any potential registrant fees imposed upon licensees or strategic parties will be commensurate with commercial agreements and made if this class of registrants is permitted to register domain names in the .MERCK gTLD.
18.3.5 Note that the Registry Agreement requires that registrars be offered the option to obtain initial domain name registrations for periods of one to ten years at the discretion of the registrar, but no greater than ten years. Additionally, the Registry Agreement requires advance written notice of price increases. Do you intend to make contractual commitments to registrants regarding the magnitude of price escalation? If so, please describe your plans.
MRH is committed to providing the domain name registration periods set forth in the Registry Agreement. Moreover, it is the current intention of MSD to have MRH provide domain name registrations initially at no cost, at least for the first five years of operation. Therefore, providing contractual commitments in a domain name Registrant Agreement regarding the magnitude of price escalations does not seem relevant or appropriate. MRH acknowledges that the current template Registry Agreement requires that the Registry Operator “shall offer registrars the option to obtain registration periods for one to ten years at the discretion of the registrar.”
MRH acknowledges that the current template Registry Agreement requires that the Registry Operator “shall offer registrars the option to obtain registration periods for one to ten years at the discretion of the registrar.” However, MSD, as the sole registrant within the .MERCK gTLD, intends to only register domain names on an annual basis through a single registrar.
This is done to better account for costs on an annual basis as well as to provide for more concise financial statements in Question 46, (e.g., no multi-year registration or deferred revenue).
| gTLD | Full Legal Name | E-mail suffix | Detail | | .AMFAM | AmFam, Inc. | fairwindspartners.com | View |
18.3.1 What operating rules will you adopt to eliminate or minimize social costs (e.g., time or financial resource costs, as well as various types of consumer vulnerabilities)?
AmFamʹs proposed operating rules to initially limit registrations to American Family and qualified subsidiaries and affiliates will provide a number of benefits, as well as a trusted online environment for American Family policyholders and those that access its educational content. Trademark and brand ownersʹ costs will be mitigated, since there will be no need to defensively register second-level domains in .AMFAM. In addition, this verified ecosystem will provide consumers with a single, trusted source for American Family content with a substantially lower risk of exposure to phishing, fraud, and⁄or other Internet scams, thus reducing the level of consumer vulnerability.
18.3.2 What other steps will you take to minimize negative consequences⁄costs imposed upon consumers?
AmFam believes that the proposed operation of the .AMFAM gTLD as set forth in this application has no known negative consequences or cost implications to consumers.
On the contrary, the proposed operation of this registry will likely lead to direct and quantifiable benefits to consumers.
18.3.3 How will multiple applications for a particular domain name be resolved, for example, by auction or on a first-come⁄first-serve basis?
AmFam does not envision multiple applicants for the same domain name, as domain names will be initially allocated only to American Family and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates. However, if such an instance should arise in the future, AmFam believes that a phased equitable allocation approach, modeled after the ones that ICANN has previously approved in connection with numerous ICANN Registry Service Evaluation Process (RSEP) requests, would be the most prudent path forward, i.e., RFP, auction, and then first-come-first-serve.
18.3.4 Explain any cost benefits for registrants you intend to implement (e.g., advantageous pricing, introductory discounts, bulk registration discounts).
AmFam does not envision any advantageous pricing, introductory discounts, or bulk registration discounts because these marketing⁄commercial initiatives are inconsistent with the mission and purpose of the .AMFAM gTLD as a trusted online source identifier. Moreover, it is the current intention of American Family to have AmFam provide initial domain name registrations to American Family and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates at no cost, though the company reserves the right to reevaluate this decision and may choose to impose a nominal fee in the future.
18.3.5 Note that the Registry Agreement requires that registrars be offered the option to obtain initial domain name registrations for periods of one to ten years at the discretion of the registrar, but no greater than ten years. Additionally, the Registry Agreement requires advance written notice of price increases. Do you intend to make contractual commitments to registrants regarding the magnitude of price escalation? If so, please describe your plans.
AmFam is committed to providing the domain name registration periods set forth in the Registry Agreement. However, as noted above, the registration and use of a .AMFAM domain name is conditional upon a separate affiliate relationship with American Family.
Therefore, providing contractual commitments in a domain name registrant agreement regarding the magnitude of price escalations does not seem relevant or appropriate. Additionally, as noted above, the current business model envisions AmFam providing domain name registrations at no cost.
AmFam acknowledges that the current template Registry Agreement requires that the Registry Operator “shall offer registrars the option to obtain registration periods for one to ten years at the discretion of the registrar.” However, American Family, and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates, as the initial intended sole registrants within the .AMFAM gTLD, intend to only register domain names on an annual basis through a single registrar.