| 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 | | .FAIRWINDS | FairWinds Partners, LLC | 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)?
FairWindsʹ proposed operating rules to limit registration to FairWinds and FairWinds-affiliated entities and, potentially, to strategic partners and clients, will provide a trusted online environment for Internet users and will minimize social costs by default. This verified ecosystem will provide users with a single, trusted source for FairWinds content and information about its services, with a substantially lower risk for the types of misdirection, infringement, and scams that consumers are typically plagued by in .COM and other open gTLDs. FairWinds does not anticipate consumer vulnerabilities. In fact, social costs will actually be eliminated in that there will be no need for other trademark and brand owners to defensively register second-level domains in the .FAIRWINDS gTLD. FairWindsʹ expectation is that use of the .FAIRWINDS gTLD will eliminate many of the vulnerabilities that Internet users face in the wider Internet today.
18.3.2 What other steps will you take to minimize negative consequences⁄costs imposed upon consumers?
FairWinds believes that the proposed operation of the .FAIRWINDS gTLD, as set forth in this application, will have no negative consequences or cost implications to Internet users. On the contrary, the proposed operation of .FAIRWINDS will likely lead to direct benefits for users as outlined above.
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?
FairWinds does not envision multiple applicants for the same domain names given that domain names will only be allocated by FairWinds for internal company use or, potentially, to strategic partners or clients.
18.3.4 Explain any cost benefits for registrants you intend to implement (e.g., advantageous pricing, introductory discounts, bulk registration discounts).
FairWinds will not offer any advantageous pricing, introductory discounts, or bulk registration discounts because these marketing⁄commercial initiatives are inconsistent with the mission and purpose of the .FAIRWINDS gTLD as a trusted online source identifier. Moreover, it is FairWindsʹ current intention to provide domain name registrations to itself and, potentially, strategic partners and clients, at no cost.
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.
FairWinds is committed to providing the domain name registration periods set forth in the Registry Agreement. However, as noted above, as a brand gTLD, the registration and use of .FAIRWINDS domain names will be conditional upon a separate strategic partnership or client relationship with FairWinds. 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 involves FairWinds providing domain name registrations to itself, FairWinds-affiliated entities, and strategic partners and clients at no cost.
FairWinds 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, FairWinds and FairWinds-affiliated entities, as the sole registrants within the .FAIRWINDS gTLD, will only be registering domain names on an annual basis. This is to better account for costs on an annual basis, as well as to provide for more concise financial statements in Question 46 of this application, i.e., no multi-year registration or deferred revenue.