18(c) What operating rules will you adopt to eliminate or minimize social costs?

Prototypical answer:

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)?

GEGTLD’s and General Electric’s proposed operating rules to limit registration to General Electric and its partners and affiliates within a very small amount of domain names will provide a trusted online environment for consumers and others looking for information about GE, its brands, and its products and services. By its very nature, this will minimize social costs. The .GECOMPANY gTLD will provide consumers with a single trusted source for General Electric information with a substantially lower risk of fraud, scams, or counterfeit or infringing products or services. No cybersquatters or typosquatters will be allowed in this new space, so there will be fewer social costs in this sort of closed gTLD system, unlike an open system where many brand owners may need to register second level domain names defensively or where consumers have to worry about how carefully they type in a domain name address. The application for .GECOMPANY accomplishes some of these defensive needs globally through its closed-platform brand model.

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

GEGTLD believes that the proposed operation of the .GECOMPANY gTLD as set forth in this application will have no known negative consequences or cost implications to consumers. On the contrary, the proposed operation of this registry will likely lead to direct benefits to consumers as explained in other areas of the Answer to this Question 18.

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

Because General Electric will control the distribution of all domain names so as to accomplish the goals listed throughout the Answer to this Question 18, there will never be multiple applicants for the same domain name.

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

GEGTLD does not anticipate any such cost differences for domain names or any costs at all for the purchase of a second level domain. Because General Electric will control the distribution of all domain names so as to accomplish the goals listed throughout the Answer to this Question 18, there will never be outsiders looking to register bulk domain names and so forth. It is the current intention of GEGTLD to provide domain name registrations to General Electric (and possibly, eventually, to GE’s partners) at no cost; any change to this policy would likely only adopt a transfer price environment where General Electric or its partners or affiliates will handle the minimal cost established.

Do you intend to make contractual commitments to registrants regarding the magnitude of price escalation? If so, please describe your plans.

As stated above, GEGTLD does not anticipate any price increases for domain names or any costs to the registrants of domain names at all. Because General Electric will control the distribution of all domain names so as to accomplish the goals listed throughout the Answer to this Question 18, there will never be outsiders looking to register bulk domain names and so forth It is the current intention of GEGTLD to provide domain name registrations to General Electric (and possibly, eventually, to GE’s partners) at no cost; any change to this policy would likely only adopt a transfer price environment where General Electric or its partners or affiliates will handle the minimal cost established. It would not be in General Electric’s best interest to charge itself or its partners for domain names and then escalate those prices unreasonably. Therefore, the plan is to keep the price to registrants at zero for the indefinite future.

Similar gTLD applications: (1)