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
.MUTUAL	Northwestern Mutual MU TLD Registry, LLC	fairwindspartners.com	View

18.3 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)?

Northwestern Mutual MU TLD Registry’s proposed operating rules to initially limit registration to Northwestern Mutual and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates will provide a trusted online environment for consumers to access Northwestern Mutual’s online content, and by default will minimize social costs. This verified ecosystem provides consumers with a single, trusted source for Northwestern Mutual products and services with a substantially lower risk of fraud and⁄or scams. Northwestern Mutual MU TLD Registry does not anticipate consumer vulnerabilities. Therefore, one example of how costs are mitigated is that there is no need for other trademark and brand owners to defensively register second-level domains in the .MUTUAL gTLD. In total, Northwestern Mutual MU TLD Registry’s expectation is that the usage of the .MUTUAL gTLD will eliminate many of the vulnerabilities that Northwestern Mutual consumers face in the Internet today.

18.3.1 What other steps will you take to minimize negative consequences⁄costs imposed upon consumers?

Northwestern Mutual MU TLD Registry believes that the proposed operation of the .MUTUAL 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.

18.3.2 How will multiple applications for a particular domain name be resolved, for example, by auction or on a first-come⁄first-serve basis?

Northwestern Mutual MU TLD Registry does not envision multiple applicants for the same domain name, as domain names will initially only be allocated to Northwestern Mutual and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates, at least for the first three years of operation. Depending on a number of evaluations, Northwestern Mutual MU TLD Registry may expand registrations so as to include Northwestern Mutual partners as potential registrants in the future.

18.3.3 Explain any cost benefits for registrants you intend to implement (e.g., advantageous pricing, introductory discounts, bulk registration discounts).

Northwestern Mutual MU TLD Registry 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 .MUTUAL gTLD as a trusted online source identifier. Moreover, it is the current intention of Northwestern Mutual MU TLD Registry to provide domain name registrations to Northwestern Mutual and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates at no cost, though the company reserves the right to reevaluate this decision and may alter it in the future.

18.3.4 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.

Northwestern Mutual MU TLD Registry is committed to providing the domain name registration periods set forth in the Registry Agreement. However, as noted above, the registration and use of .MUTUAL domain names is conditioned upon a separate relationship with Northwestern Mutual. 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 Northwestern Mutual MU TLD Registry initially providing domain name registrations to Northwestern Mutual and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates at no cost.

Northwestern Mutual MU TLD Registry 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, Northwestern Mutual and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates, as the sole registrants within the .MUTUAL gTLD will only be registering domain names on an annual basis. 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, i.e., no multi-year registration or deferred revenue.