I. GENERAL TLD POLICIES
E1. In General.
E2. TLD String.
E3. Naming conventions.
E4. Registrars.
E5. Intellectual Property Provisions.
E6. Dispute Resolution.
E7. Data Privacy, Escrow, and Whois.
E8. Billing and Collection.
E9. Services and Pricing.
E10. Other.
II. REGISTRATION POLICIES DURING THE START-UP PERIOD (Required for all TLDs)
E11. Start-up Policies:
E12. Rush for Registration Policies
E13. Registration Limits
E14. Pricing Mechanisms
E15. Sunrise Period
III. REGISTRATION RESTRICTIONS (Required for restricted TLDs only)
IV. CONTEXT OF THE TLD WITHIN THE DNS (Required for all TLDs)
E22. Benefits of the TLD
E23. Distinquishing TLDs
E24. Markets Served
E25. Unmetn Needs
E26. DNS Systme Enhancement
E27. Competition
V. VALUE OF PROPOSAL AS A PROOF OF CONCEPT (Required for all TLDs)
E28. "Proof of Concept"
E29. What concepts are likely to be proved/disproved by evaluation of the introduction of this TLD in the manner you propose?
E30. How do you propose that the results of the introduction should be evaluated?
E31. In what way would the results of the evaluation assist in the long-range management of the DNS?
E32. Are there any reasons other than evaluation of the introduction process that this particular TLD should be included in the initial introduction?
Image Online Design has implemented a number of policies which govern the operation of the .Web registry. Current policies include:
.Web User Agreement (attachment E1_A)
.Web Dispute Policy (attachment E1_B)
.Web Privacy Policy (attachment E1_C)
ICANN Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy
The proposed TLD string is "web." Image Online Design has been operating the .Web registry for the past four years. The registry to date has received substantial worldwide support from the Internet community and is widely regarded as a desirable new TLD string.
The .web registry will be operated in an open and competitive fashion. Specifically, the registry will compete directly with .com, .net, .org and any new TLD. Registrants will be allowed to register second level domain names within the .web registry without any additional hierarchical structure.
Initially, all registrations will be processed by the registry operator. Soon after entering the root, all domain name registrations will be processed through ICANN accredited registrars. Image Online Design will divest its registrar operations, forming aseparate company (Image Online Design Registrar Company) facilitating complete competition for .web registrations. Similar to the process used by Network Solutions, Image Online Design may require an initial test period which will include a number of test bed registrars to ensure technical stability. The respective roles, functions, and responsibilities for the registry operator and registrars will closely follow the current .com working model. As all registrars will be ICANN accredited registrars, it is expected that Image Online Design Registrar Company will seek ICANN accreditation.
E5. Intellectual Property Provisions.
E5.1. What measures will be taken to discourage registration of domain names that infringe intellectual property rights?
Image Online Design recognizes the long standing and legitimate concerns with regard to trademark violations on the Internet. We are committed to protecting intellectual property rights of trademarks holders. Accordingly, we have adopted ICANN's Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy to ensure trademarks are afforded the proper protection. Additionally, we propose to give trademark holders preemptive rights to challenge existing .web registrations. Once .web isaccepted by ICANN as a new TLD, this process would allow trademark holders, during a phase in period, to place existing .web registrations on hold pending the resolution of a dispute under either the Uniform Dispute Policy or filed with acourt of competent jurisdiction. Lastly, during a phase in period, we intend to offer a free one-for-one exchange of any .web registration currently held by a registrant for any other available .web name. It is our aim that this one-for-one exchange will encourage those registrants who may have registered a domain name which infringes upon rights of another to exchange that domain name for one which does not. The exchange program will be offered until the 14 day blackout period prior to entering the root. See E5.3 below. Taken as a whole, we believe these policies will substantially reduce trademark violations in the .Web TLD.
E5.2. If you are proposing pre-screening for potentially infringing registrations, how will the pre-screening be performed?
No pre-screening of registrations for potential infringement will take place. Any pre-screening process would require Image Online Design to evaluate the strength or merits of a trademark and domain name. We are not qualified nor have authority to make such an evaluation. Therefore, we will defer such evaluations to courts of law or similar administrative bodies or panels. The publicly accessible look-up system (whois) currently in use offers sufficient search capabilities for trademark holders to monitor the registration database for potential infringement of trademarks. The operation of the look-up system is detailed in section E5.6 below.
E5.3. What registration practices will be employed to minimize abusive registrations?
In addition to the measures discussed in E.5.1 and E.5.2, the registry will cease taking new registrations during a 14 day blackout period prior to entering the root. This blackout period will enable trademark holders to scan domain names currently registered for any potential infringement and to bring an appropriate action to remedy that infringement. This policy will be aggressively publicized to allow trademark holders sufficient opportunity to police their trademarks during the blackout period.
Additionally, at no time will Image Online Design allow anyone to register a domain name without the payment of the registration fee. For customers with established credit with Image Online Design, payment may be made within a limited amount of time, but must be paid. For customers without established credit with Image Online Design, payment must be made at or before the time of the domain name registration. This policy will prevent persons from stockpiling numerous domain names without payment of registration fees, only to re-register the same domain names when an arbitrary payment deadline expires, again without payment of registration fees.
E5.4. What measures do you propose to comply with applicable trademark and anti-cybersquatting legislation?
Image Online Design is in full compliance with all United States law pertinent to trademark and anti-cybersquatting issues. Additionally, Image Online Design will comply with orders from courts of competent jurisdiction and arbitration decisions issued under the UDRP.
E5.5. Are you proposing any special protections (other than during the start-up period) for famous trademarks?
No. Much like pre-screening for potentially infringing registrations (see E5.2), affording any special protection to famous trademarks would require Image Online Design to evaluate the strength of those marks. Accordingly, because Image Online Design is not qualified nor does it have authority to make such an evaluation, we defer such evaluations to courts of law or similar administrative bodies or panels. The publicly accessible look-up system (WHOIS) currently in use offers sufficient search capabilities for trademark holders to monitor the registration database for potential infringement of trademarks. The operation of the look-up system is detailed in section E5.6 below.
E5.6. How will complete, up-to-date, reliable, and conveniently provided Whois data be maintained, updated, and accessed concerning registrations in the TLD?
Complete data on all registrations, registrants and DNS zone information is contained in the .Web Registry database, and is made available both via a web-based form and a traditional port-43 whois interface. Both interfaces retrieve their data directly from the registry database so as to provide up-to-the-minute information.
E6.1. To what extent are you proposing to implement the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy?
Image Online Design has adopted the ICANN Uniform Dispute Policy and will honor opinions from ICANN approved arbitration providers. Additionally, Image Online Design will comply with any court orders from courts of competent jurisdiction regarding any .Web domain registration.
Our User Agreement (attachment E1_A) and Dispute Policy (attachment E1_C) detail our adherence to the UDRP.
E6.2. Please describe any additional, alternative, or supplemental dispute resolution procedures you are proposing.
Image Online Design is committed to improving the UDRP to ensure aproper balance between property rights and user's rights. To that end, we will actively participate in industry working groups addressing this pressing issue.
E7. Data Privacy, Escrow, and Whois. Describe the proposed policies on data privacy, escrow and Whois service.
Image Online Design intends to adopt the policies on data privacy, escrow and Whois service set forth in www.icann.org\nsi\nsi-registry-agreement-04nov99.htm.
Additionally, our User Agreement (attachment E1_A) and Privacy Policy(attachment E1_C) further detail our policies.
Complete data on all registrations, registrants and DNS zone information is contained in the .Web Registry database, and is made available both via a web-based form and a traditional port-43 whois interface.
E8. Billing and Collection. Describe variations in or additions to the policies for billing and collection.
As indicated above, at no time will Image Online Design allow anyone to register a domain name without the payment of the registration fee. For customers with established credit with Image Online Design, payment may be made within a limited amount of time, but must be paid. For customers without established credit with Image Online Design, payment must be made at or before the time of the domain name registration. This policy will prevent persons from stockpiling numerous domain names without payment of registration fees, only to re-register the same domain names when anarbitrary payment deadline expires, again without payment of registration fees.
E9. Services and Pricing. What registration services do you propose to establish charges for and, for each such service, how much do you propose to charge?
Registration of second-level domain names in the .Web zone will be charged $15 per name, per year at the registry, and an additional $20 per name, per year at the registrar, for a total of $35 per name, per year. It is also anticipated that additional services such as DNS record hosting, web hosting, email forwarding, and other services that have been developed in our proof-of-concept and which will be developed in the future will be offered at pricing to be determined.
E10. Other. Please describe any policies concerning topics not covered by the above questions.
None.
II. REGISTRATION POLICIES DURING THE START-UP PERIOD (Required for all TLDs)
E11. In this section, you should thoroughly describe all policies (including implementation details) that you propose to follow during the start-up phase of registrations in the TLD, to the extent they differ from the General TLD Policies covered in items E1-E9. The following questions highlight some of the areas that should be considered for start-up policies:
Responsive answers are provided to the specific questions which follow.
E12. How do you propose to address the potential rush for registration at the initial opening of the TLD? How many requested registrations do you project will be received by the registry operator within the first day, week, month, and quarter? What period do you believe should be considered the TLD's "start-up period," during which special procedures should apply?
Image Online Design has taken great steps to ensure our systems will be capable of providing adequate capacity to handle such an initial rush for registrations. Specifically, section D15.2.10 ("Peak Capacities") details our ability to process up to 2 million registrations per day. Our initial registration projections are detailed in section D13.2.2 and D13.3_A page F-63. Specifically we anticipate over 853,000 new registrations during the first quarter of operation. Our systems have been designed to process more than that each day!
E13. Do you propose to place limits on the number of registrations per registrant? Per registrar? If so, how will these limits be implemented?
Image Online Design will not limit the number of registrations per registrant or registrar. Registrants will be served on a first come first serve basis.
E14. Will pricing mechanisms be used to dampen a rush for registration at the initial opening ofthe TLD? If so, please describe these mechanisms in detail.
No pricing mechanism will be used to dampen a rush or registration. A set fee, currently $35 per year, will be charged for each domain name registered. Image Online Design feels that increasing the initial cost of registrations is less desirable than providing adequate capacity to handle the rush for registrations at the initial opening of the TLD. Increasing the initial cost of registrations creates, in effect, a Dutch auction for domain names, which gives an unjustified advantage to wealthier entities in obtaining the most desirable registrations. At the same time, such a system results in a windfall for the registry and registrar unwilling to invest adequate resources to adequately handle the initial rush for registrations.
E15. Will you offer any "sunrise period" in which certain potential registrants are offered the opportunity to register before registration is open to the general public? If so, to whom will this opportunity be offered (those with famous marks, registered trademarks, second-level domains in other TLDs, pre-registrations of some sort, etc.)? How will you implement this?
The inherent difficulty in giving priority to owners of trademarks is that it is a fundamental premise of trademark law throughout the world that different entities are allowed to use the identical mark so long as there is not likelihood of consumer confusion between the two uses. For example, there are scores of entities that use the mark UNITED, or variations thereon, on a variety of different goods and services withoutconfusion to consumers. This includes United Van Lines and United Airlines whose UNITED mark is arguably one of the more famous marks in the world. Thus, just because an entity owns a registered trademark does not mean that they have exclusive rights to use that mark as a domain name. In fact, even an entity that has a famous mark often does not have exclusive rights to any use of that mark. Additionally, in many jurisdictions, owners of unregistered trademarks ("common law trademark rights") may have rights that are superior to registered trademark rights and even the rights in famous marks.
Thus, there is no simple formula or criteria that would identify one class of entities or individuals that should always have priority over another class of entities or individuals. Rather, every mark owner's particular rights in a particular mark would have to be evaluated individually in order to properly protect every trademark owner's rights. This evaluation is something that only a judicial or quasi-judicial body has the authorityand qualifications to make.
With respect to entities already holding second level domains in other TLDs, they should not be given superior rights in new TLDs, absent a judicially or quasi-judicially determination regarding the applicability of their trademark rights to the second level domain in the new TLD. One of the primary purposes in opening up new TLDs is to relieve some of the pressure caused by a very limited number of present TLDs in which different entities can register the same second level domain name. If existing second level domain name holders were given priority in registering identical second level domain names in new TLDs, it would effectively eliminate the fundamental benefit to the Internet community in adding new TLDs.
On the other hand, entities that have already registered .web second level domain names with Image Online Design are in a different situation. Unlike many applicants to be included as new ICANN TLD registries, Image Online Design has not been accepting "pre-registration" for domain names, but rather has been accepting registrations in an operating domain name registry. Although the number of Internet users connected to domain name servers that are presently able to resolve Image Online Design .Web domain names is small relative to the total number of Internet users, this number is still real and significant. Accordingly, Image Online Design will follow the same basic policy with respect to existing Image Online Design .Web domain name registrations that has been in effect in the domain name system from the beginning, namely, first-come, first-serve.
Notwithstanding the difficulties in providing generic sunrise provisions for particular classes of trademark owners, though, Image Online Design will implement a policy that will provide significant protection to trademark owners during the full inclusion of .Web domain names into the main DNS system. First, if any trademark registration owner files a UDRP complaint or file suit to contest the ownership of a domain name registration in a court of competent jurisdiction before .Web is added to the root, Image Online Design will place the subject .Web domain name registration on hold, preventing use of that domain name by anyone. This remedy is not presently available to trademark owners in the .com, .net and .org TLDs. This remedy will allow trademark owners to block widespread potential trademark infringement through the use of a previously registered Image Online Design .Web second level domain name registration before it is allowed to begin. Additionally, Image Online Design will provide a notice of this policy to all existing Image Online Design .Web domain name registrants and encourage them to voluntarily relinquish any domain names that are likely to provoke a domain name dispute and register a different domain name in its place without charge. This offer will be revoked, however, should a domain name be formally contested, either through the filing of a complaint under the UDRP or the filing of a legal action in a court of competent jurisdiction with respect to the domain name. See section E5.1 above.
III. REGISTRATION RESTRICTIONS (Required for restricted TLDs only)
The .Web registry is an unrestricted TLD. Accordingly, this section, and items E16-E21 specifically, do not apply.
IV. CONTEXT OF THE TLD WITHIN THE DNS (Required for all TLDs)
E22. This section is intended to allow you to describe the benefits of the TLD and the reasons why it would benefit the global Internet community or some segment of that community. Issues you might consider addressing include:
E23. What will distinguish the TLD from existing or other proposed TLDs? How will this distinction be beneficial?
.Web's world-wide appeal is evident in light of our approximately 20,000 registrations from over 95 countries. See Appendix D13.2.2_B and D13.2.2_C. .Web is free from potentially limiting associations with a type of activity, as in the case of .net or.org (i.e., network providers or non-profits) or geographic associations, as in the case of .com (which is perceived as United States centric) or country codes which are always perceived centric to that particular country.
E24. What community and/or market will be served or targeted by this TLD? To what extent is that community or market already served by the DNS?
The .Web registry will service the world wide Internet community. Additionally, unlike all currently existing TLDs, .Web is not representative of a particular geographic area or function; such as the implied commercial nature of .com. .Web is unique in its direct association with the medium of the worldwide web, and shares the worldwide web's international reach and value-neutral implications.
E25. Please describe in detail how your proposal would enable the DNS to meet presently unmet needs.
.Web will be a direct competitor to .com and open for all markets and uses by Internet users. This will greatly serve the community as the availability of .com names is greatly reduced due to over registration. Currently available TLDs such as .com, .net and .org are perceived as U.S. centric and do not meet the need for a TLD that is free from geographic and functional associations; a need that .Web directly addresses.
E26. How would the introduction of the TLD enhance the utility of the DNS for Internet users? For the community served by the TLD?
The introduction of .Web will increase the number of attractive second-level domains available to be registered, thereby increasing the utility of the DNS as a whole. Since the DNS was invented as a mnemonic device to allow Internet users to easily remember locations (as opposed to having to remember and use IP numbers), the introduction of new TLDs increases this utility. .Web in particular is an attractive TLD that will particularly serve this purpose.
E27. How would the proposed TLD enhance competition in domain-name registration services, including competition with existing TLD registries?
.Web will enhance TLD competition for domain name registration services because it will directly compete with .com, .net, .org, and other newly added unrestricted TLDs. Additionally, Image Online Design facilitates competition among the registrars by allowing ICANN accredited registrars to register .Web names.
V. VALUE OF PROPOSAL AS A PROOF OF CONCEPT (Required for all TLDs)
E28. Recent experience in the introduction of new TLDs is limited in some respects. The current program of establishing new TLDs is intended to allow evaluation of possible additions and enhancements to the DNS and possible methods of implementing them. Stated differently, the current program is intended to serve as a "proof of concept" for ways in which the DNS might evolve in the longer term. This section of the application is designed to gather information regarding what specific concept(s) could be evaluated if the proposed TLD is introduced, how you propose the evaluation should be done, and what information would be learned that might be instructive in the long-term management of the DNS. Well-considered and articulated responses to this section will be positively viewed in the selection process. Matters you should discuss in this section include:
Responsive answers are provided to the specific questions which follow.
E29. What concepts are likely to be proved/disproved by evaluation of the introduction of this TLD in the manner you propose?
The most important concept to be proved by evaluation of the introduction of the .Web TLD and others is that adding additional TLDs will not adversely affect the operation of the existing Internet domain name resolution system. Other concepts to be proved include: high quality domain name registry and registrar services may be provided effectively by private, for-profit organizations under a free market system, domain name registry services need not be "owned by the Internet community" or otherwise be highly and tightly regulated, Internet users will accept and use .Web domain names, both in using the world wide web and in other Internet usages.
E30. How do you propose that the results of the introduction should be evaluated? By what criteria should the success or lack of success of the TLD be evaluated?
The criteria for evaluating the level of success of the introduction of the TLD, listed from most important to less important are as follows:
1. Absence of negative impacts on the existing Internet domain name resolution system
2. Stability and smooth technical operation of the registry
3. A diversity of registry operators-operators operating a diversity of TLDs.
3. An increase of available options, both TLDs and second level domain names, for Internet users and domain name registrants.
4. Level of satisfaction by domain name registrants in the customer service received from the Registrar(s) and Registry
5. Acceptance by the Internet community as measured by numbers of registrations in the TLD
E31. In what way would the results of the evaluation assist in the long-range management of the DNS?
The primary manner in which the results of the evaluation of new the operation TLDs, including .Web will benefit the long range management of the DNS is in proving the numerous important benefits to the Internet community in adding new TLDs. While careful oversight of the operation of new registries and registrars by ICANN is needed in order to assure the smooth, safe operation of the Internet, free-market competition is the most effective way to provide the most utilitarian Internet while providing the best service to the Internet community in the most economically efficient manner. The introduction of more TLDs will simply increase the utility of the Internet and provide even greater competition with corresponding greater service and better pricing for the Internet community.
E32. Are there any reasons other than evaluation of the introduction process that this particular TLD should be included in the initial introduction?
Image Online Design has been running a .Web domain name registry for over four years and has registered nearly 20,000 domain name names from 95 countries. The quality and extent of Image Online Design's experience in this regard is second in theworld, only to Network Solutions. This experience will insure the highest degree ofsuccess, particularly with respect to the important criteria of: Absence of negative impacts on the existing Internet domain name resolution system; Stability and smooth technical operation of the registry; and Satisfaction by domain name registrants in the customer service received from the Registrar(s) and Registry.
By signing this application through its representative, the Applicant attests that the information contained in this Description of TLD Policies, and all referenced supporting documents, are true and accurate to the best of Applicant's knowledge.
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