22 Describe proposed measures for protection of geographic names at the second and other levels in the applied-for gTLD

Prototypical answer:

Q22 CHAR: 4979

As previously discussed (in our response to Q18: Mission ⁄ Purpose) Donuts believes in an open Internet. Consistent with this we also believe in an open DNS, where second level domain names are available to all registrants who act responsibly.

The range of second level names protected by Specification 5 of the Registry Operator contract is extensive (approx. 2,000 strings are blocked). This list resulted from a lengthy process of collaboration and compromise between members of the ICANN community, including the Governmental Advisory Committee. Donuts believes this list represents a healthy balance between the protection of national naming interests and free speech on the Internet.

Donuts does not intend to block second level names beyond those detailed in Specification 5. Should a geographic name be registered in this TLD and used for illegal or abusive activity Donuts will remedy this by applying the array of protections implemented in this TLD. (For details about these protections please see our responses to Questions 18, 28, 29 and 30).

Donuts will strictly adhere to the relevant provisions of Specification 5 of the New gTLD Agreement. Specifically:

1. All two-character labels will be initially reserved, and released only upon agreement between Donuts and the relevant government and country code manager.
2. At the second level, country and territory names will be reserved at the second and other levels according to these standards:
2.1. Short form (in English) of country and territory names documented in the ISO 3166-1 list;
2.2. Names of countries and territories as documented by the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names, Technical Reference Manual for the Standardization of Geographical Names, Part III Names of Countries of the World; and
2.3. The list of United Nations member states in six official UN languages, as prepared by the Working Group on Country Names of the United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names.
Donuts will initially reserve country and territory names at the second level and at all other levels within the TLD. Donuts supports this requirement by using the following internationally recognized lists to develop a comprehensive master list of all geographic names that are initially reserved:

1. The short form (in English) of all country and territory names contained on the ISO 3166-1 list, including the European Union, which is exceptionally reserved on the ISO 3166-1 List, and its scope extended in August 1999 to any application needing to represent the name European Union [http:⁄⁄www.iso.org⁄iso⁄support⁄country_codes⁄iso_3166_code_lists⁄iso-3166-1_decoding_table.htm#EU].

2. The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names, Technical Reference Manual for the Standardization of Geographical Names, Part III Names of Countries of the World.

3. The list of UN member states in six official UN languages prepared by the Working Group on Country Names of the United Nations Conference on the standardization of Geographical Names

4. The 2-letter alpha-2 code of all country and territory names contained on the ISO 3166-1 list, including all reserved and unassigned codes

This comprehensive list of names will be ineligible for registration. Only in consultation with the GAC and ICANN would Donuts develop a proposal for release of these reserved names, and seek approval accordingly. Donuts understands governmental processes require time-consuming, multi-department consultations. Accordingly, we will apportion more than adequate time for the GAC and its members to review any proposal we provide.

Donuts recognizes the potential use of country and territory names at the third level. We will address and mitigate attempted third-level use of geographic names as part of our operations.

Donuts’ list of geographic names will be transmitted to Registrars as part of the onboarding process and will also be made available to the public via the TLD website. Changes to the list are anticipated to be rare; however, Donuts will regularly review and revise the list as changes are made by government authorities.

For purposes of clarity the following will occur for a domain that is reserved by the registry:
1. An availability check for a domain in the reserved list will result in a “not available” status. The reason given will indicate that the domain is reserved.
2. An attempt to register a domain name in the reserved list will result in an error.
3. An EPP info request will result in an error indicating the domain name was not found.
4. Queries for a reserved name in the WHOIS system will display information indicating the reserved status and indicate it is not registered nor is available for registration.
5. Reserved names will not be published or used in the zone in any way.
6. Queries for a reserved name in the DNS will result in an NXDOMAIN response.

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