E16      Introduction

In this Section III, we will first give an explanation of our general approach, and then in the light of this summary, specifically answer the Application form questions E17-E21. Our explanation section will be divided into sections numbered E16.1, E16.2, etc.

E16.1    Summary of Approach
As explained in Section E1, our objective in restricting registrations to the New TLD is to ensure that those that register SLDs under this designation will use them to run a “real business” on the Internet.

Each application for an SLD under the New TLD will be assessed according to various accounting and business criteria (described in Sections E16.6.1 and E16.6.2 below) and only approved if, according to these criteria, the applicant is an Eligible Business. The entrepreneur will pay $2,000 for an approved SLD under the New TLD. The entrepreneur can therefore get the domain name that they want (as long as its not owned by another Eligible Business) for a less than the price of paying off a cyber-hoarder.

We will also check all applications to ensure that they do not attempt to infringe on a Major Mark or an existing trademark. The procedures used for these checks are explained in Section E5.0.2.

E16.2    Name Registration
Only Eligible Businesses will be allowed to register names under the New TLD (see Eligibility for Registration Section E16.6.1). The application process is described in detail in Section E16.13.

E16.2.1 Company Name Registration
A business can only register one “Company Name”.

E16.2.2 Product Line Registration

In order to obtain a Product Line Registration, a business must have a Company Name SLD Registration, and each product line must meet the Product Line Registration Eligibility Criteria (Section 16.7.2). Subject to these requirements, a company can have as many Product Line Registrations as they wish where the selected name corresponds to a name for which they are able to show trademark ownership.  A company can have only up to five product line registrations for which they do not have trademark ownership.

E16.3    Name Reservation
When an entrepreneur starts a business on the Internet, one of the prime considerations may be the availability of a suitable name.  We therefore wanted to create a process which would exclude cyber-hoarders, but would allow genuine entrepreneurs to reserve an appropriate name for a business which is still in the idea stage.

If an Applicant is unable to meet the Eligibility Criteria, but believes that they will shortly be able to do so, they will be able to reserve an SLD for a period of six months at a cost of $500. The Reservation will be renewable once, for an additional three months, for an additional $500 at the end of this period. Reservation fees will not be refundable. When a name has been reserved, other applicants will be prevented from registering or reserving that name, any name that differs solely by punctuation, or any name that is designated by the Applicant (and accepted by the TLD Management Group) to be a Substantially Similar Name (see Section E5.0.5).  At any time during the application period the Applicant can file a full application for Registration. The Applicant’s fees will be reduced from $2,000 to $1,650 if the Reservation has not been renewed, and to $1,300 if the Reservation has been renewed. In other words, $350 of each Reservation fee will be allowable against the full cost of an application. If the Registration Application is rejected, or the Reservation period expires without a full application being made, the name(s) are returned to the pool of available SLDs and the Applicant forfeits all reservation fees paid.

If a Reservation is made by an individual at the time the full application is filed, the individual must present a notarized statement of their identity and a notarized statement signed by a senior officer of the company (which could be themselves) showing that they own at least a 5% equity interest, or a 5% partnership interest, in the company applying for a Registration. Similarly, if the name Reservation is made by a company other than that which files the full application for Registration, then at the time the full application is filed, the reserving company must present a copy of their articles of organization or incorporation and a notarized statement signed by a senior officer of the registering company, confirming that the reserving company owns at least a 5% equity interest or a 5% partnership interest in the registering company.  If this documentation is not submitted, the Registration Application will be cancelled and $500 of the application fee will be retained.  These provisions will help to prevent individuals or companies obtaining multiple reservations using false names, and the Reservation of names by individuals or companies wishing to resell their reservation rights to others.  In addition, if it is determined that a payment has been made to the individual or company making the Reservation, for a transfer of the Reservation right, then the Reservation will be cancelled and all fees will be retained.

In order to Reserve an SLD, the applicant will have to meet the Criteria for Reservation Application (Section E16.6.2).

We selected a relatively high price for Reservation ($500), and made this fee non-refundable, because we wanted to deter warehousing of names by those that have no definite intention to use the SLD to start a business.

E16.4    Waiting List
If a name has status Reserved or Application in Process, an applicant can join the Waiting List for the name.  An Applicant can join the waiting list to make a full application or to reserve a name; however, those waiting to apply for Registration are always given priority over those wishing to merely reserve a name.  A $20 fee is charged to join the Waiting List.  If the previous holder of a Reservation fails to submit an application, or a Registration application is rejected, the next member of the Waiting List is sent an e-mail and has one week to file their Reservation or their full application.  If the first member of the Waiting List fails to respond in the designated time, he/she forfeits the $20 fee and the next member of the list is contacted, and so on.

The fee is allowable against the costs of Registration or Reservation. The fee is refunded if the name is Registered by another Applicant.  A fee is charged for joining the Waiting List in order to prevent individuals or companies filing multiple Waiting List entries in false names, so as to keep a particular SLD off the market.

E16.5    Substantially Similar Names
As explained in Section E5.0.5, when an applicant Reserves or Registers a name others will be prevented from registering or reserving names which differ only by hyphens.  Applicants for Registration or Reservation will also be allowed to specify up to five names, which differ only by “regular plurals” (i.e. in English adding an ‘s’) or by regular possessives. The applicant pays $25 for each Substantially Similar name that they wish to have pointing to their website, and $10 for each where they just wish to prevent others from using the name.

Registration, Reservation, Maintenance and Transfer Criteria

E16.6    Criteria for Application
Several automatic checks are performed when a Registration Application or Reservation Application is submitted.

E16.6.1 Criteria for Registration Application

(1)     In order to apply for Registration, the applicant must be a Company. No computational check is performed at this stage of the legitimacy of the corporate entity; however, the applicant is informed that the company name must match that on the bank statements that they will be submitting for the assessment of their application materials. Applications for Registrations from individuals will not be accepted.

(2)     For a Company Name Registration application to be accepted, the company in question must have no other active Company Name Registrations.

(3)     For a Product Line Registration application to be accepted, the company must have either have an active Company Name Registration or must have a Company Name Registration application in process.

(4)     A company can have a total of no more than 10 applications in process at any one time.

E16.6.2 Criteria for Reservation Application

(1)     Company Name Reservation applications can be made by companies or individuals. Note that if a company is making a Company Name Reservations it may be doing so either to provide a website for their own operations or with the view to starting a new venture.

(2)     Product Line Reservations can be made only by companies that already have a Company Name Registration.

(3)     Companies can have no more than five Product Line Reservations active at any one time.

(4)     Companies and individuals can have no more than three Company Name Reservations active at any one time.

(5)     If a name is already Reserved, a company or individual can join the Waiting List for Registration or for Reservation (see Section E16.4).

E16.7    Registration Eligibility Criteria
The criteria defining what is an Eligible Business or an Eligible Product Line, are at the very center of the policies for managing the New TLD.  As described in the accompanying Sponsoring Organization’s Proposal, we will hold meetings on a regular basis to review the criteria that are used to make this determination.  We will also seek input from registrants, from business associations, and from the Internet community in general to determine how these criteria could best be modified.  Although our current criteria will be used to apply to what are broadly considered "developed countries", it is our intention to also develop policies requiring lower levels of restriction to apply to enterprises in developing economies.

E16.7.1 Company Name Registration Eligibility Criteria
In order for a Registration to be granted, a business must have a bank account.  The Bank account must be in exactly the same name as that supplied for the business on application.  The business must be able to demonstrate at least one of the following to be granted a Business Name Registration:

(a)     Bank statements from the three months preceding the application showing at least $30,000 in the account at each statement date.

(b)     Expenditures of more than $20,000 over the preceding three months, or $40,000 over the preceding one year.  In order to show this, the business should show both bank statements and invoices from the period.  A company might, for example, meet this requirement by showing its payroll records, utility bills and rental agreement for the period.

(c)     More than $20,000 in sales over the previous year.  In order to demonstrate this, the business should present copies of sales invoices from the period.

In addition, the requested SLD must be granted Name Approval under the procedures explained in Section E5.0.2

We fully understand that these criteria are not foolproof, and that someone operating cynically could aim to capture a valuable name in the New TLD by circumventing these restrictions.  However, each application will be thoroughly checked (see Section E16.13 below), and if a Registration Administrator becomes suspicious that the application is fraudulent (that is, that the Applicant is not truly a company doing business) they will be empowered to request further evidence of business activities as explained in Section E16.12 below.

E16.7.2 Product Line Registration Eligibility Criteria

(a)     A statement from an auditor that at least $15,000 has been spent on development of the product line over the last three months.

(b)     More than $20,000 in sales over the preceding year. In order to demonstrate this, the business should present copies of sales invoices from the period.

(c)     A separate bank account for the product meeting any of the criteria for a business registration.

In addition, the requested SLD must be granted Name Approval under the procedures explained in Section E5.0.2

A company applying for a Product Line Registration must also have, or be applying for, a Company Name Registration. The Product Line Registration will not be awarded unless the Company Name Registration is awarded.

E16.8    Reservation Eligibility Criteria
In order to reserve an SLD, the applicant gives only their name and the name of the company, if any, on behalf if which they are applying.  A Reservation is always approved as long as the application is accepted (see Section xE16.6.2 - Criteria for Reservation Application), i.e. no further checking is done. When the Registration Application is submitted, however, as explained in Section E16.3, the identity of the Applicant is checked and the Application is rejected if this is different from the identity of the individual or company filing the registration.

E16.9    Registration Renewal Criteria
SLDs will have to be renewed on an annual basis. The annual renewal fee will be $150. In order to renew an SLD under the New TLD, the Registrant will have to have an active website. In addition, the Registrant will file an on-line statement claiming at least one of the following renewal criteria:

For Company Name Registrations:

(a)     A bank account with at least $20,000 at each statement over the preceding three months.

(b)     $20,000 in expenditures over the preceding six months.

(c)     $10,000 in sales over the preceding six months.

For Product Line Registrations:

(a)     A separate bank account with at least $10,000 at each statement over the preceding three months.

(b)     A statement from an auditor that at least $15,000 has been spent on development of the product line over the previous six months.

(c)     More than $10,000 in sales over the preceding year.  In order to demonstrate this, the business should present copies of sales invoices from the period.

Renewal applications will be checked only in a limited manner as described in Renewal Procedures in Section E16.17.1.

E16.10  Minimum Maintenance Criteria
The Minimum Maintenance Criteria are the same as the Renewal Criteria given in Section E16.9 above.  If a site fails to maintain the Minimum Maintenance Criteria, a complainant will be able to require the registrant to submit to arbitration proceedings on the basis that their site is inactive.  The provision allowing this action by the complainant will be included in the NTDRP (see Section E9).  If the complainant succeeds in showing that a site is inactive through these proceedings, that complainant will then be given the option to apply for the SLD and their Application will be processed in the usual way as described in section E16.13. If the complainant succeeds in showing that a site is inactive but does not wish to apply for the SLD then that SLD will be returned to the pool of Available names.

E16.11  Registration Transfer Criteria
An SLD can only be transferred from one business to another if the first business or product line is purchased by the second.  In this case, both the selling business and the buying business must demonstrate that they meet the criteria for SLD transfers on the date for which transfer is requested.  If Registration transfer is requested retrospectively, both the buying and selling business must show records to demonstrate that each met the criteria at the date of transfer.  A fee of $2,000 will be charged to the transferee for a Registration Transfer.

E16.11.1  Transfer Criteria for Business Wishing to Transfer SLD
For either the transfer of a Company Name Registration or of a Product line Registration, the transferring company must show that the business transferred was active at the time of transfer. The transferring company will therefore be required to meet the following criteria:

(a)     A company will only be permitted to transfer a Company Name Registration if at least a 50% equity interest in the transferring company is transferred to the Transferee.

(b)     For a Company Name Registration Transfer or for a Product Line Registration Transfer, the transferring company must demonstrate that at the time of transfer it met at least one of the following criteria:

(1)     Bank statements for the company or for the separate product line from the three months preceding the application showing at least $30,000 in the account at each statement date.

(2)     Expenditures of more than $20,000 over the preceding three months or $40,000 over the preceding one year.

(3)     More than $20,000 in sales over the previous year.  In order to demonstrate this, the business should present copies of sales invoices from the period.

E16.11.2  Transfer Criteria for Business Wishing to Receive Transfer of SLD
For a Registration Transfer to be approved under the New TLD, the transferee company must show that at the time of transfer it meets (or met if the transfer is requested retrospectively) the Company Name Registration Eligibility Criteria listed in Section E16.7.1.

E16.12  Registration Administrators
The Registration Administrators are either employees of the TLD Management Group or accounting or legal professionals that have been contracted by the TLD Management Group to process applications.  In the course of processing applications, Registration Administrators will be in contact by e-mail, by mail, and where necessary by telephone, with the Applicant to request the documentation to prove the eligibility and if necessary to discuss these documents.  If necessary, and with the permission of the Applicant, the Registration Administrators may contact third parties possibly including, but not limited to, the Applicant’s bank, suppliers, and customers in order to verify the applicant’s status as an eligible business.  All information submitted by an Applicant in pursuit of an application will be kept completely confidential and will never be used for any purpose other than the assessment of the Applicant’s eligibility to obtain an SLD under the New TLD designation.

Registration, Reservation and Transfer Process

E16.13  Registration Application Process
Staff employed directly by the TLD Management Group and external organizations employed by the TLD Management Group will process applications for Registration. These individuals will be called Registration Administrators in this document.

(1)     Applicant wishes to apply for Registration of a name through any Accredited Registrar.

(2)     On the Registrar’s website, the Applicant is informed of Application Criteria and of Approval Criteria for Registration.

(3)     The specified SLD is checked automatically for availability. This includes ensuring that the requested name does not differ only by dashes from any name which has already been granted or reserved or from any SLD which has been designated “Substantially Similar” to an existing Reservation or Registration (see Section E5.0.5).

(4)     If the name is available, the applicant is automatically checked against the Criteria for Registration Application (see Section E16.6.1).

(5)     If the applicant is eligible to apply, he/she may also specify up to five Substantially Similar Names (see Section E5.0.5).

(6)     The Applicant uses a credit card, or other approved payment system, to pay the required fees to the Registry Operator. This fee will be $2,000 plus fees for Substantially Similar Names (see Section E5.0.5), less any fees applied from the Applicant’s previous Reservation of the Name (see Section E16.6.2) or Waiting List Fees (see Section E16.4).

(7)     The Name Status of the primary name and the Substantially Similar Names is updated to Application in Process, subcategory Pending Review.

(8)     Registration Administrators continuously review the database to check for applications Pending Review.  A Registration Administrator accepts the application for review, and changes the Name Status to Under Review.

(9)     The Registration Administrator makes contact with the applicant and requests materials necessary to show that they are an Eligible Business.  If the Applicant originally held a Reservation for the same SLD, this material will include proof of identity and proof of the Applicant’s equity or partnership interest in the business (see Section E16.3).  In any case, the materials will include bank statements for the past three months and invoices or bills required to prove revenues or expenditures as specified in the Eligibility Criteria (see Section E16.6.1). 

(10) The Registration Administrator checks the requested TLD and determines whether to grant Name Approval under the procedures specified in Section E5.0.2.  If Name Approval is rejected, the Applicant may cease the Application process or elect to request an alternate SLD.  If the Application is discontinued, $1,500 of the fee is retained and $500 is returned.  If the Applicant wished to request an alternate SLD, they will be required to pay an additional $300 fee to continue processing the Application.

(11) The Applicant has four weeks to submit the required materials.  If the materials are not submitted within this time frame, the Application will be cancelled and $500 or the application fee will be retained. The remainder of the fee will be returned to the Applicant. The applicant will be sent e-mail reminders every week informing of the time remaining to submit materials. In addition, the Registration Administrator will make efforts to be flexible and to allow the applicant additional time if necessary.

(12) If the Registration Administrator does not receive sufficient proof of eligibility to accept the application, he/she will contact the Applicant and request any further materials that are required.

(13) The Registration Administrator either approves or rejects the application for the Primary Name and each of the Substantially Similar Names.  A message is sent to the Applicant and to the Registry Operator informing them of the outcome of the process.

(14) If the name(s) are approved, the:

a.       The names are registered;

b.       The SLD Status of the Primary name and the Substantially Similar Names are updated to Registered;

c.       The Waiting List applying to that name is deleted and sends e-mails to all on that list. The Waiting List fees of $20 are refunded to those on the list;

d.       The Waiting Lists are deleted for any name which differs only by punctuation and for Substantially Similar Names.  E-mails are sent to all on that list and the Waiting List fees of $20 are refunded.

(15) If the Primary name is rejected:

a.       The Applicant is told the reason for rejection of the Application and is given one week to request an appeal (see Section E16.1.6).  If the Applicant does not appeal:

b.       $1,500 of the application fee is returned to the Applicant ($500 is retained).

c.       If there is a Waiting List for the primary name or for any Substantially Similar Names, an e-mail is sent to the first member of the list giving them one week to submit an application for the name. The Name Status is changed to Awaiting Waiting List Response.

d.       If there is no Waiting List, the SLD Status of all names applied for (the Primary Name and Substantially similar Names) is returned to Available.

(16) After a short period of time, the Registration Administrator will check to determine that the requested names have been registered, returned to the available pool, or passed to the next in line in the Waiting List as appropriate.

E16.14  Reservation Application Process
(1)     The Applicant wishes to apply for Reservation of a name through any one of a number of Accredited Registrars.

(2)     The Applicant is informed of Reservation Application Criteria and of Approval Criteria for Registration.

(3)     The specified SLD is checked automatically for availability. This includes ensuring that the requested name does not differ only by dashes from any name which has already been granted or reserved or from any SLD which has been designated “Substantially Similar” to an existing Reservation or Registration (see Section E5.0.5).

(4)     If the name is available, the Applicant is automatically checked against the Criteria for Reservation Application.

(5)     If the Applicant is eligible to apply, he/she may also specify up to five Substantially Similar Names.

(6)     This fee will be $500 less any Waiting List Fees that have been paid (see Section E16.4).

(7)     The Name Status of the primary name and the Substantially Similar Names is updated to Reserved, subcategory Reservation in Progress.

(8)     Registration Administrators continuously reviews the database to check for new name Reservations.  A Registration Administrator accepts the application for review.

(9)     The Substantially Similar Names requested will be either approved or rejected by the Registration Administrator.  A message will be sent to the Registry Operator to remove any rejected Substantially Similar Names. The Registry Operator will then change the status of these names back to Available and a message will be sent to the applicant informing them of the rejected names. This will occur within a few days of the original Reservation.

(10) The Applicant can renew their Reservation for three months at the end of the initial six-month Reservation period for a cost of an additional $500.

(11) At any time prior to the end of the Reservation period, the Applicant can chose to file a full application for Registration. If the Reservation has not been renewed, the cost for a full application will be $1,650. If the Application has been renewed, the cost for the Application will be $1,350 (i.e. $350 from each $500 fee is allowable towards the cost of the application).

(12) When a full Registration application is submitted, the status of the name(s) is updated to Application in Process sub-category Pending Review, and the application process then continues as from step 6 above in the Registration Processes section.

(13) Every month, before the end of the Reservation period, the Applicant is sent an automatic reminder of the time that remains to them to file a Registration Application.

(14) If the Reservation period ends without a Registration application being received:

a.       If there is a Waiting List for the primary name or for any Substantially Similar Names, an e-mail is sent to the first member of the list giving them one week to submit an application for the name. The Name Status is changed to Awaiting Waiting List Response. If this member of the Waiting List fails to respond within this period, their $20 fee is forfeited and the next member of the Waiting List is contacted, and so on.

b.       If there is no Waiting List, the Name Status of all names applied for is returned to Available.

E16.15  Registration Transfer Process
(1)     The Company Wishing to receive a Registration Transfer applies online by filling in a standard form.

(2)     The Applicant uses a credit card or other approved payment system to pay the required fees to the Registry Operator. This fee will be $2,000 plus fees for the transfer of Substantially Similar Names (see Section E16.5).

(3)     The transfer is assigned for review to a Registration Administrator.

(4)     The Registration Administrator makes contact with the Applicant and requests materials necessary to show that the transfer meets eligibility criteria as listed in Sections E16.11.1 and E16.11.2.

(5)     If the Registration Administrator does not receive sufficient proof of eligibility to accept the application, he/she will contact the Applicant and request any further materials that are required.

(6)     The Registration Administrator either approves or rejects the Transfer Application. If the transfer application is accepted for the Primary Name it is also accepted for each of the Substantially Similar Names.  A message is sent to the Applicant and to the Registry Operator informing them of the outcome of the process.

(7)     If the transfer(s) are approved:

a.       The name registration(s) is/are transferred.

b.       The Whois information is automatically updated.

(8)     If the name transfer is rejected:

a.       The Applicant is told the reason for rejection of the Application and is given one week to request an appeal (see Section E16.16).  If the Applicant does not appeal then:

b.       $1,500 of the application fee is returned to the Applicant ($1,000 is retained).

(9)      After a short period of time, the Registration Administrator will check to determine that the requested names have been correctly transferred.

E16.16  Appeal Process

If a Registration Application or a Transfer Application is rejected, the Applicant is informed of the reasons for rejection and is given one week to request an appeal.  If an appeal is filed, the Applicant is asked to explain in writing why they believe that the materials which they submitted constitute proof of the eligibility criteria. The appeal is considered independently by two senior Registration Administrators, different from the individual that first assessed the Application.  Further materials may be requested to prove Eligibility. A final decision is given in writing by the Registration Administrators assigned to the appeal.

If the appeal is rejected, $1,250 of the application fee is returned. Therefore, there is an additional charge of $250 for filing and losing an appeal, as in the case of a rejected application where no Appeal is filed, $1,500 of the application fee is returned. This fee is levied to cover the cost of the appeal process to the Registry Operator and also to deter frivolous appeals whenever an Application is rejected.

If the Appeal is rejected, the Applicant will be free to further pursue their case by applying to an approved arbitration authority. In the case that the Applicant states their intention to pursue this option, the requested SLD will not be registered with any other Applicant until these proceedings are complete.  If the arbitrator finds in favor of the Applicant, the liability of the Registry Operator will be limited to a refund of fees, a reversal of the decision instigating the action and reasonable legal fees, but under no circumstances will include damages, lost opportunities, punitive awards, etc.

E16.17  SLD Ongoing Enforcement of TLD Policies

Registration Administrators will visit the Registrants website six and nine months after initial registration or after each annual renewal.  If the site is inactive, or if the domain is being used to promote the interests of a business other than the Registrant, the following procedures will be followed:

E16.17.1 Inactive Site

If the site is inactive six months from registration or from the latest annual renewal, the registrant will be warned by e-mail that if the site remains inactive until renewal at the end of the year, the renewal will not be granted. The registrant will be asked to send an e-mail to report when the site is again active. If no such report is received, the site will be checked at month nine, ten and eleven, and if the site is still inactive further warnings will be sent to the registrant. If the site remains inactive for one year from the Registration date, or from the previous renewal, the Renewal Application request (if any) from the registrant will be denied

E16.17.2 Improperly Transferred Site

If the site appears to be operating for the benefit of a business other than that of the registrant, the Registrant will be contacted by a Registration Administrator and asked for an explanation.  If the domain has been transferred without going through the Registration Transfer Procedure (see Section E16.15), the registrant will then be given the opportunity to apply for a Registration Transfer.  If the registrant declines to apply for a Registration Transfer, the Registration will be revoked and the SLD returned to the pool of available domains.

E17  Criteria For Registration

The criteria for Registration and Reservation are given in Sections E16.6.1 and E16.6.2. The reasoning behind these criteria is to provide a TLD which is available only to those who are actually in business, and to deter those wishing to purchase SLDs for cyber-hoarding or to unfairly make use of the trademarks or famous marks of others. The reasons for using these criteria are given in detail in Sections E22 and E23.

E18      Application Process

The Application process for Registrations and Reservations is given in Sections E16.13 and E16.14.

E19      Enforcement Procedures

The enforcement mechanisms for ensuring that applicants meet the required application criteria are described in detail in Sections E16.13 and E16.14.  Essentially, these mechanisms consist of requiring that appropriate documents are submitted in support of the Application. These documents will be reviewed by a Registration Administrator who may, if necessary, directly contact third parties to verify the information in the submitted documentation.

E20      Appeal Process

The appeal process is described in Section E16/16.

E21      Third Party Cancellation

We support and will require that all Registrants abide by a slightly expanded version of the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy described in Section E6.  This gives the right to third parties to seek cancellation of a TLD registration for failure to comply with restrictions.

return to contents page