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
.SAFETY	Safety Registry Services, LLS	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)?

Over the past decade, ICANN has approved fifteen new gTLDs that have historically been classified as either generic (.INFO, .BIZ, .NAME) or sponsored (.ASIA, .COOP, .TRAVEL, .JOBS, etc.) gTLDs. It is anticipated that in this current new gTLD application round, many large international corporations will take the opportunity to register generic strings as top-level domains.

Safety Registry’s plan presented here, which is a new approach to the operation of a gTLD and different from the approach of gTLDs that were approved in the 2001 and 2004 rounds of expansion, removes the risk and uncertainty of prior gTLDs by relying on these defining factors:

-.SAFETY is planned as a gTLD well within the registration range of those having more than a decade of gTLD industry development and experience;
-.SAFETY will rely on an experienced back-end provider; and
-Safety Registry will push to leverage the leading position of its parent company, Grainger, in the safety industry to bring the .SAFETY gTLD to market.

In addition, Safety Registry believes that the safeguards set forth in the Applicant Guidebook and the additional RPM identified in Section 18.2.5 are primary drivers to help minimize potential negative social costs.

Moreover, it is intended that all registrants within this gTLD will comply with the membership criteria established by Safety Registry, and⁄or be a member of the Safety Network if it is created. This requirement will hopefully create a legal obligation of the registrant to comply with all the Charter requirements, including but not limited to Registrant Eligibility, Name Selection Criteria, and Authorized Usage policies. These requirements will aim to establish that only authoritative and trusted organizations and individuals operating within the safety industry are entrusted to register domain names. This operating rule to limit registration will help to establish a more trusted online environment for customers and potential customers to access authoritative safety-related online content, and by default, will minimize social costs. This environment aims to provide customers and potential customers with a single, trusted source for safety-related information, goods, and services with a lower risk of fraud and⁄or scams.

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

Safety Registry believes that the proposed operation of the .SAFETY gTLD as set forth in this application has no anticipated negative consequences or cost implications to customers or potential customers. To the contrary, the proposed operation of this registry may lead to direct and quantifiable benefits to customers and potential customers.

Due to the restrictive nature of the .SAFETY gTLD, there is no need for other trademark and brand owners to defensively register second-level domains in the .SAFETY gTLD. Safety Registry intends to limit registration to approved entities and individuals operating and involved in the safety industry.

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?

If such instances should arise, Safety Registry believes that a phased equitable allocation approach modeled after those that ICANN has previously approved in connection with numerous ICANN Registry Service Evaluation Process (“RSEP”) requests would probably be the most prudent path forward, e.g., 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).

Safety 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 .SAFETY gTLD as a trusted online source identifier.

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.

Safety Registry aspires to provide domain name registration services in accordance with the periods set forth in the Registry Agreement and to provide domain name registrants with pricing notice and predictability. However, as noted in the proposed business model (18.1.3), Safety Registry intends to limit domain name registration services to only those registrants that agree with Charter⁄membership requirements. Should a Safety Network be created as envisioned above, membership in this organization would likely be a pre-requisite prior to being able to register in the .SAFETY gTLD. Therefore, failure to comply with these requirements in either scenario would likely result in the suspension and⁄or cancellation of the domain name registration.

Safety 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, Safety Registry does not plan to offer any refunds should a domain name registration be canceled for non-compliance with the Charter and or other membership criteria.