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Two-Character Letter/Letter Label Comments and Mitigation Measures

As of 13 December 2016, this page is no longer active. Please visit here for more information.

For comments submitted before 6 October 2015, view the archive of comments received.

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TLD  Two
Characters  		Comments from GovernmentLast
updated  		RO Mitigation PlanRO NameBRAND TLD
melbournehkView Comments
2015-12-03
2015-12-03View Mitigation

melbourne Mitigation

By The Crown in right of the State of Victoria, represented by its Department of State Development, Business and Innovation

Proposed Measure to Avoid Confusion

A brief explanation of the TLD:

.melbourne is a geographic TLD for the city of Melbourne, Australia and the the State Government of Victoria is the designated ‘Registry Operator’. While .melbourne is an open TLD, registration of domain names is limited to Victorian residents and businesses, and other entities with an interest in the state of Victoria, Australia as described in the Registration Policy.

The proposed protections to avoid confusion with country codes at the second level outlined below specifically apply to: ai, bh, bm, ci, cn, eg, hk, il, in, io, it, kr, ky, me, ms, pt, ru, sg, sh, su, tc, and tw

Protections

Registry Operator understands the concern that confusion may arise, and in order to avoid such confusion is willing to offer the following:
1. Registry Operator will commit to:
a. investigate any reports of misuse, including misleading or deceptive conduct, including those from the government of a related country code, and provide a written report in response; and
b. where, in Registry Operator’s sole opinion, misuse has occurred, cause the domain name’s records to be removed from the DNS.

Furthermore, contained within our Acceptable Use Policy for the .melbourne TLD is the following text:
“…The Registrant of a domain name, as recorded in the Registry Service, will be responsible for:
a. the use of their domain name;
b. ensuring that the use of the domain name, where that domain name is a two letter Label that corresponds to a country code described in the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 standard, avoids confusion with the corresponding country code;…”

Should a Registrant fail to comply with the Acceptable Use Policy, the domain name may be cancelled, locked, placed on hold, transferred or deleted. Thus all Registrants in the TLDs, have an obligation to avoid confusion with two letter country codes and we have clear penalties for any failure to do so.


2016-03-31

 The Crown in right of the State of Victoria, represented by its Department of State Development, Business and InnovationNo
miamihkView Comments
2015-12-03
2015-12-03View Mitigation

miami Mitigation

By Minds + Machines Group Limited, Bayern Connect GmbH, Minds + Machines GmbH

Registry Operator understands the concern that confusion may arise, and in order to mitigate such concern is willing to commit to:
a. investigate any reports of misuse, including misleading or deceptive conduct, including those from any relevant government and provide a written report in response; and
b. where, in Registry Operator’s sole opinion, misuse has occurred, registry operator will seek to work indirectly with the sponsoring registrar and/or directly with the registrant to address the misuse.
c. In the event that misuse continues to occur, the Registry Operator may, in its sole discretion, undertake direct action up to and including suspension or deletion of the domain name.


2016-04-22

Minds + Machines Group Limited, Bayern Connect GmbH, Minds + Machines GmbHNo
nagoyahkView Comments
2015-12-03
2015-12-03View Mitigation

nagoya Mitigation

By GMO Registry

About .NAGOYA

.nagoya is a GeoTLD for the city of Nagoya, Japan, operated by GMO Registry, Inc.
The purpose of .nagoya is to promote Nagoya and provide an opportunity for citizens,
businesses and community groups to link their identities to the city’s brand. By bringing together quality and informative content, .NAGOYA provides a platform to effectively deliver city information to Internet users both locally and globally. It is also an important goal for the Registry that .NAGOYA is operated as a trusted, safe, secure, relevant and enjoyable namespace.

Protections
Registry Operator understands the concern that confusion may arise, and in order to mitigate such concern is willing to offer the following:
1. Registry Operator will commit to:
a. investigate any reports of misuse, including misleading or deceptive conduct, including those from the governments of a related country-code and provide a written report in response; and
b. where, in Registry Operator’s sole opinion, misuse has occurred, cause the domain name’s records to be removed from the DNS.
Furthermore, contained within our Domain Name Registration Policy for the .NAGOYA TLD is the following text:

All Applicants, all Domain Name Registrants, and any party submitting a Domain Name registration request represents and warrants that:
− to its knowledge, the registration of the Domain Name mentioned in the Application
or Domain Name Registration Request will not infringe upon or otherwise violate the
rights of any third party;
− will not register a domain name for the purpose of distributing malware, abusively
operating botnets, phishing, piracy, trademark or copyright infringement, fraudulent
or deceptive practices, counterfeiting or otherwise engaging in activity contrary to
applicable laws or regulations;

Should a Registrant fail to comply with the Acceptable Use Policy, the domain name may be canceled, locked, placed on hold, transferred or deleted. Thus all Registrants in the TLDs, including ourselves, have an obligation to avoid confusion with two letter country codes and we have clear penalties for any failure to do so.


2016-04-25

GMO RegistryNo
navyhkView Comments
2015-12-03
2015-12-03View Mitigation

navy Mitigation

By United TLD Holdco

Please see attached PDF on behalf of United TLD Holdco


View Documents
2016-04-25

United TLD Holdco No
nrwhkView Comments
2015-12-03
2015-12-03View Mitigation

nrw Mitigation

By Minds + Machines Group Limited, Bayern Connect GmbH, Minds + Machines GmbH

Registry Operator understands the concern that confusion may arise, and in order to mitigate such concern is willing to commit to:
a. investigate any reports of misuse, including misleading or deceptive conduct, including those from any relevant government and provide a written report in response; and
b. where, in Registry Operator’s sole opinion, misuse has occurred, registry operator will seek to work indirectly with the sponsoring registrar and/or directly with the registrant to address the misuse.
c. In the event that misuse continues to occur, the Registry Operator may, in its sole discretion, undertake direct action up to and including suspension or deletion of the domain name.


2016-04-22

Minds + Machines Group Limited, Bayern Connect GmbH, Minds + Machines GmbHNo
nychkView Comments
2015-12-03
2015-12-03View Mitigation

nyc Mitigation

By The City of New York by and through the New York City Department of Information Technology & Telecommunications

Proposed Measure to Avoid Confusion

A brief explanation of the TLD
The .nyc is a geographic TLD representing the city of New York. The designated “Registry Operator” is The City of New York, a municipal corporation under the laws of the State of New York, by and through the New York City Department of Information Technology & Telecommunications. The .nyc TLD is open for registration to individuals or entities having a substantive and lawful connection to the city of New York. This requirement for “nexus” with the city of New York is strictly enforced and is described in our Nexus Policy which can be found at the following link: http://www.ownit.nyc/policies/nyc_nexus_policy.php. Further in order to ensure that we have complete Registrant information the .nyc TLD does not allow the use of proxy, private or anonymous domain name registrations. The .nyc TLD employs an algorithm to detect the inadvertent or intentional registration of proxy, anonymous and/or private domain name registrations, and enforces a Registrar’s obligation to not offer such services.

The proposed protections to avoid confusion with country codes at the second level outlined below specifically apply to: ai, bm, ci, cn, eg, hk, il, in, io, it, ky, me, ms, pt, sg, sh, tc and tw.

Protections
Registry Operator understands the concern that confusion may arise, and in order to avoid such confusion is willing to offer the following:
1. Registry Operator will commit to:
a. investigate any reports of misuse, including misleading or deceptive conduct, including those from the government of a related country code, and provide a written report in response; and
b. where, in Registry Operator’s sole opinion, misuse has occurred, cause the domain name’s records to be removed from the DNS.

Furthermore, contained within our Acceptable Use Policy for the .nyc TLD is the following text:
“1. By registering a name in the .nyc top-level domain (.NYC), you represent and warrant that you will not use that registration for any illegal purposes, including without limitation, to:
…
4. Infringe the intellectual property rights of any other person or entity including, without limitation, counterfeiting, piracy or trademark or copyright infringement;
5. Impersonate any person or entity, or submit information on behalf of any other person or entity, without their express prior written consent;…”

Should a Registrant fail to comply with the Acceptable Use Policy, the domain name may be cancelled, locked, placed on hold, transferred or deleted.

Thus all Registrants in the TLD have an obligation not to infringe any intellectual property rights nor to impersonate any person or entity, including the governments that are represented by these two letter country codes, and there are clear penalties in place for doing so.


2016-04-25

The City of New York by and through the New York City Department of Information Technology & TelecommunicationsNo
osakahkView Comments
2015-12-03
2015-12-03No
pharmacyhkView Comments
2015-12-03
2015-12-03View Mitigation

pharmacy Mitigation

By National Association of Boards of Pharmacy

Background

The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy® (NABP®), the impartial professional organization that supports state boards of pharmacy in protecting public health, is the exclusive Registry Operator for the .pharmacy Top-Level Domain (TLD). The .pharmacy TLD was established to provide a secure, verified, and trustworthy TLD where consumers around the globe can be sure the medications they buy online are safe. To that end, a global coalition of stakeholders, including NABP and the International Pharmaceutical Federation, developed policies and maintains standards to govern the .pharmacy TLD, ensuring those websites with a .pharmacy domain are safe and legal.

Implementation Plan to Avoid Confusion

To respond to the confusion concerns cited by several governments regarding the use of the second-level domains (SLDs) in the .pharmacy TLD, NABP notes that it currently implements a restricted registration policy for .pharmacy that recognizes the ongoing and critical need for patients’ medications to be managed by a licensed pharmacist and for their medications to be appropriately sourced in accordance with applicable standards of care. A copy of the policy can be found at http://safe.pharmacy/standards-policies. The very fact that .pharmacy verifies that each entity acquiring a .pharmacy SLD meets all applicable regulatory standards, including those addressing pharmacy licensure and valid prescription requirements, prior to allowing that entity to register a .pharmacy domain name avoids any potential confusion between the .pharmacy registration and a country code.

In order to ensure that there will be no confusion between any two character registrations and a country code sharing the same two letters, NABP will administer its verified registry operation in a manner that avoids potential confusion by:
• Continuing to implement a restricted registration policy for .pharmacy that verifies that each entity acquiring a .pharmacy SLD is an eligible member of the pharmacy community and meets all applicable regulatory standards to conduct pharmacy-related business.
• Continuing to implement a restricted registration policy that ensures website content is relevant to pharmacy services and drug information, which provides the opportunity for NABP to proactively identify any potential confusing use of the domain name with a corresponding country code.
• Maintaining, and continuing to create, ongoing “working relationship[s] with the relevant regulatory, or industry self-regulatory, bodies, including developing a strategy to mitigate as much as possible the risks of fraudulent, and other illegal, activities.” See Beijing GAC Communique. NABP will not issue a .pharmacy domain name in a given country until it has created a relationship with the appropriate health care regulators for a jurisdiction.
• Clearly publishing this registration policy on .pharmacy’s registry homepage.
• Including this registration policy in NABP’s Registry-Registrar Agreement with all accredited registrars for the .pharmacy TLD.
• Enforcing this registration policy and ensuring continued compliance. The process for obtaining a .pharmacy domain name is described here: http://www.safe.pharmacy/apply. More detailed instructions and information are available here: http://www.safe.pharmacy/apply/application-instructions.

NABP’s use of .pharmacy two-character domains would not, in and of itself and absent a verification process, cause any confusion with the corresponding two-letter country codes; nonetheless, NABP further contends that it avoids any potential confusion through its strenuous verification requirements and registration policies, which ensure only licensed and verified pharmacy-related entities are permitted to register and use .pharmacy domains.

Request to ICANN in Accordance With Specification 5 of the Registry Agreement

Based on public comments received, no government objecting to the release of its country code offered a specific explanation for the potential confusion arising from the use of a two-character SLD within a verified registry operation (as defined herein); therefore, based on the aforementioned proposal to avoid confusion as a verified registry operation and in accordance with Specification 5 of its Registry Agreement, NABP respectfully requests that Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers release the remainder of all second-level two-character country code domain names.


View Documents
2016-04-25

National Association of Boards of PharmacyNo
saarlandhkView Comments
2015-12-03
2015-12-03No
sarlhkView Comments
2015-12-03
2015-12-03View Mitigation

sarl Mitigation

By Donuts Inc.

Attached.


View Documents
2016-04-25

Donuts Inc.No
spreadbettinghkView Comments
2015-12-03
2015-12-03View Mitigation

spreadbetting Mitigation

By dotBroker Registry, dotCFD Registry, dotForex Registry, dotMarkets Registry, dotSpreadbetting Registry, dotTrading Registry [collectively, the "Boston Ivy Registry"]

Please find attached a document which outlines the Registry's plans to avoid confusion in respect of the below TLDs:

.Markets
.Trading
.Forex
.Broker
.Spreadbetting
.CFD


View Documents
2016-04-21

dotBroker Registry, dotCFD Registry, dotForex Registry, dotMarkets Registry, dotSpreadbetting Registry, dotTrading Registry [collectively, the "Boston Ivy Registry"]No
surgeryhkView Comments
2015-12-03
2015-12-03View Mitigation

surgery Mitigation

By Donuts Inc.

Attached.


View Documents
2016-04-25

Donuts Inc.No
sydneyhkView Comments
2015-12-03
2015-12-03View Mitigation

sydney Mitigation

By State of NSW, Department of Premier and Cabinet

Proposed Measure to Avoid Confusion

A brief explanation of the TLD:
.sydney is a geographic TLD for the city of Sydney, Australia and the State Government of New South Wales is the designated ‘Registry Operator’. While .sydney is an open TLD, registration of domain names is limited to New South Wales residents and businesses, and other entities with an interest in the state of New South Wales, Australia as described in the Registration Policy.

The proposed protections to avoid confusion with country codes at the second level outlined below specifically apply to: ai, bh, bm, ci, cn, eg, hk, il, in, io, it, kr, ky, me, ms, pt, ru, sg, sh, su, tc, and tw

Protections
Registry Operator understands the concern that confusion may arise, and in order to avoid such confusion is willing to offer the following:

1. Registry Operator will commit to:

a. investigate any reports of misuse, including misleading or deceptive conduct, including those from the government of a related country code, and provide a written report in response; and

b. where, in Registry Operator’s sole opinion, misuse has occurred, cause the domain name’s records to be removed from the DNS.

Furthermore, contained within our Acceptable Use Policy for the .sydney TLD is the following text:

“…The Registrant of a domain name, as recorded in the Registry Service, will be responsible for:
a. the use of their domain name;
b. ensuring that the use of the domain name, where that domain name is a two letter Label that corresponds to a country code described in the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 standard, avoids confusion with the corresponding country code;…”

Should a Registrant fail to comply with the Acceptable Use Policy, the domain name may be cancelled, locked, placed on hold, transferred or deleted. Thus all Registrants in the TLDs, have an obligation to avoid confusion with two letter country codes and we have clear penalties for any failure to do so.


2016-04-21

State of NSW, Department of Premier and CabinetNo
taipeihkView Comments
2015-12-03
2015-12-03No
tirolhkView Comments
2015-12-03
2015-12-03View Mitigation

tirol Mitigation

By punkt Tirol GmbH







.tirol Mitigation Measures to avoid confusion with specific Country codes


Please find attached the measures to avoid confusion for 2-letter SLDs that correspond with country codes of the .tirol TLD.


View Documents
2016-04-12

View Mitigation

tirol Mitigation

By punkt Tirol GmbH

Please find our measures to avoid confusion for 2-letter SLDs corresponding with country codes in the attached PDF document. The document refers to the domains: ac.tirol; bm.tirol; gb.tirol; gi.tirol; hk.tirol; il.tirol; in.tirol; io.tirol; it.tirol; kr.tirol; ky.tirol; ms.tirol; ng.tirol; pt.tirol; ru.tirol; sg.tirol; sh.tirol; su.tirol; tc.tirol; tw.tirol; uk.tirol; vn.Tirol
Best regards, .tirol Team


View Documents
2016-04-19

punkt Tirol GmbHNo
tokyohkView Comments
2015-12-03
2015-12-03View Mitigation

tokyo Mitigation

By GMO Registry

Mitigation Plan for .tokyo

About .tokyo

.tokyo is a GeoTLD for the city of Tokyo, Japan, operated by GMO Registry, Inc. (the “Registry Operator”) with the support of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.
The purpose of .tokyo is to promote .tokyo and provide an opportunity for citizens, businesses and community groups to link their identities to the city’s brand. By bringing together quality and informative content, .tokyo provides a platform to effectively deliver city information to Internet users both locally and globally. It is also an important goal for the Registry that .tokyo is operated as a trusted, safe, secure, relevant and enjoyable namespace.


Protections
Registry Operator understands the concern that confusion may arise, and in order to mitigate such concern is willing to offer the following:
1. Registry Operator will commit to:
a. investigate any reports of misuse, including misleading or deceptive conduct, including those from the governments of a related country-code and provide a written report in response; and
b. where, in Registry Operator’s sole opinion, misuse has occurred, cause the domain name’s records to be removed from the DNS.
Furthermore, contained within our Domain Name Registration Policy for the .TOKYO TLD is the following text:

All Applicants, all Domain Name Registrants, and any party submitting a Domain Name registration request represents and warrants that:
− to its knowledge, the registration of the Domain Name mentioned in the Application
or Domain Name Registration Request will not infringe upon or otherwise violate the
rights of any third party;
− will not register a domain name for the purpose of distributing malware, abusively
operating botnets, phishing, piracy, trademark or copyright infringement, fraudulent
or deceptive practices, counterfeiting or otherwise engaging in activity contrary to
applicable laws or regulations;

Should a Registrant fail to comply with the Acceptable Use Policy, the domain name may be canceled, locked, placed on hold, transferred or deleted. Thus all Registrants in the TLDs, including ourselves, have an obligation to avoid confusion with two letter country codes and we have clear penalties for any failure to do so.


2016-04-25

GMO RegistryNo
townhkView Comments
2015-12-03
2015-12-03View Mitigation

town Mitigation

By Donuts Inc.

Attached.


View Documents
2016-04-25

Donuts Inc.No
universityhkView Comments
2015-12-03
2015-12-03View Mitigation

university Mitigation

By Donuts Inc.

Attached.


View Documents
2016-04-25

Donuts Inc.No
vegashkView Comments
2015-12-03
2015-12-03No
wienhkView Comments
2015-12-03
2015-12-03View Mitigation

wien Mitigation

By punkt.wien GmbH

Hello

please find attached our measures to avoid confusion for 2-letter SLDs that correspond with country codes - this is the document for .CI

best regards
Ronald


View Documents
2016-04-12

View Mitigation

wien Mitigation

By punkt.wien GmbH

Hello

please find attached our measures to avoid confusion for 2-letter SLDs that correspond with country codes - this is the document for .EG

best regards
Ronald


View Documents
2016-04-12

View Mitigation

wien Mitigation

By punkt.wien GmbH

Hello

please find attached our measures to avoid confusion for 2-letter SLDs that correspond with country codes - this is the document for .HK

best regards
Ronald


View Documents
2016-04-12

View Mitigation

wien Mitigation

By punkt.wien GmbH

Hello

please find attached our measures to avoid confusion for 2-letter SLDs that correspond with country codes - this is the document for .IL

best regards
Ronald


View Documents
2016-04-12

View Mitigation

wien Mitigation

By punkt.wien GmbH

Hello

please find attached our measures to avoid confusion for 2-letter SLDs that correspond with country codes - this is the document for .IN

best regards
Ronald


View Documents
2016-04-12

View Mitigation

wien Mitigation

By punkt.wien GmbH

Hello

please find attached our measures to avoid confusion for 2-letter SLDs that correspond to country codes - this is the document for .IT

best regards
Ronald


View Documents
2016-04-12

View Mitigation

wien Mitigation

By punkt.wien GmbH

Hello

please find attached our measures to avoid confusion for 2-letter SLDs that correspond to country codes - this is the document for .ME

best regards
Ronald


View Documents
2016-04-12

View Mitigation

wien Mitigation

By punkt.wien GmbH

Hello

please find attached our measures to avoid confusion for 2-letter SLDs that correspond to country codes - this is the document for .TW

best regards
Ronald


View Documents
2016-04-12

View Mitigation

wien Mitigation

By punkt.wien GmbH

Hello

please find attached our measures to avoid confusion for 2-letter SLDs that correspond to country codes - this is the document for .CN

best regards
Ronald


View Documents
2016-04-12

View Mitigation

wien Mitigation

By punkt.wien GmbH

Hello

please find attached our measures to avoid confusion for 2-letter SLDs that correspond to country codes - this is the document for .PT

best regards
Ronald


View Documents
2016-04-12

View Mitigation

wien Mitigation

By punkt.wien GmbH

Hello

please find attached our measures to avoid confusion for 2-letter SLDs that correspond to country codes - this is the document for .SG

best regards
Ronald


View Documents
2016-04-12

View Mitigation

wien Mitigation

By punkt.wien GmbH

Hello

please find attached our measures to avoid confusion for 2-letter SLDs that correspond with country codes (applicable to all 2-letter cc-SLDs)

best regards
Ronald


View Documents
2016-04-15

punkt.wien GmbHNo
worldhkView Comments
2015-12-03
2015-12-03View Mitigation

world Mitigation

By Donuts Inc.

Attached.


View Documents
2016-04-25

Donuts Inc.No
xn--vermgensberater-ctbhkView Comments
2015-12-03
2015-12-03No
yokohamahkView Comments
2015-12-03
2015-12-03View Mitigation

yokohama Mitigation

By GMO Registry

About .YOKOHAMA

.YOKOHAMA is a GeoTLD for the city of Yokohama, Japan, operated by GMO Registry, Inc. The purpose of .YOKOHAMA is to promote .YOKOHAMA and provide an opportunity for citizens, businesses and community groups to link their identities to the city’s brand. By bringing together quality and informative content, .YOKOHAMA provides a platform to effectively deliver city information to Internet users both locally and globally. It is also an important goal for the Registry that .YOKOHAMA is operated as a trusted, safe, secure, relevant and enjoyable namespace

Protections
Registry Operator understands the concern that confusion may arise, and in order to mitigate such concern is willing to offer the following:
1. Registry Operator will commit to:
a. investigate any reports of misuse, including misleading or deceptive conduct, including those from the governments of a related country-code and provide a written report in response; and
b. where, in Registry Operator’s sole opinion, misuse has occurred, cause the domain name’s records to be removed from the DNS.
Furthermore, contained within our Domain Name Registration Policy for the .YOKOHAMA TLD is the following text:

All Applicants, all Domain Name Registrants, and any party submitting a Domain Name registration request represents and warrants that:
− to its knowledge, the registration of the Domain Name mentioned in the Application
or Domain Name Registration Request will not infringe upon or otherwise violate the
rights of any third party;
− will not register a domain name for the purpose of distributing malware, abusively
operating botnets, phishing, piracy, trademark or copyright infringement, fraudulent
or deceptive practices, counterfeiting or otherwise engaging in activity contrary to
applicable laws or regulations;

Should a Registrant fail to comply with the Acceptable Use Policy, the domain name may be canceled, locked, placed on hold, transferred or deleted. Thus all Registrants in the TLDs, including ourselves, have an obligation to avoid confusion with two letter country codes and we have clear penalties for any failure to do so.


2016-04-25

GMO RegistryNo
zuerichhkView Comments
2015-12-03
2015-12-03No
aarppnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

aarp Mitigation

By AARP

.AARP gTLD Confusion Avoidance Plan

AARP, the Registry Operator for the .AARP gTLD, has executed Specification 13 to the Registry Agreement. Specification 13 already contractually requires that AARP will apply measures which, by their very nature, avoid confusion with the corresponding country code, namely the following:

1. .AARP is identical to a qualifying registered trademark;
2. .AARP is not a Generic String, as the term is defined in Specification 11 of the Registry Agreement;
3. AARP has developed and will implement a closed registration policy for .AARP that requires that all domain names in the .AARP gTLD be registered ONLY by Registry Operator, its Affiliates, and its Trademark Licensees;
4. As required under the Registry Agreement, AARP submitted this policy as part of its application for Specification 13 and has clearly published this registration policy; and
5. .AARP will conduct internal reviews at least once per calendar year to ensure continued compliance with Specification 13, as required by the Registry Agreement.

Compliance with Specification 13 prohibits the .AARP gTLD from registering domain names to unaffiliated third parties and thus clearly designates to the public that the .AARP gTLD is a proprietary space in which all second-level domains in the gTLD are being operated by AARP, its Affiliates and Trademark Licensees and not any government or corresponding country-code TLD operator.

With this submission, AARP confirms that all registrations of two-letter domain names shall comply with the requirements of Specification 13.


View Documents
2016-04-25

AARPYes
abbpnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

abb Mitigation

By ABB Ltd

Provide a brief explanation of the TLD:
ABB Ltd has applied for .ABB to run a closed .brand environment.

Protections
ABB Ltd for the .ABB TLD has executed Specification 13 to the Registry Agreement. Specification 13 already contractually requires that the ABB Ltd will apply measures which, by their very nature, avoid confusion with the corresponding country code, namely the following:
1. .ABB is identical to a qualifying registered trademark;
2. .ABB is not a Generic String, as this is defined in Specification 11;
3. .ABB TLD has developed and will implement a closed registration policy for .ABB that requires that all domain names in the .ABB TLD be registered ONLY by Registry Operator, its Affiliates, and its Trademark Licensees;
4. As required under the Registry Agreement, the .ABB TLD will clearly publish this registration policy;
5. .ABB TLD will conduct internal reviews at least once per calendar year to ensure continued compliance with Specification 13.

Compliance with Specification 13 prohibits the .ABB TLD from registering domain names to unaffiliated third parties and thus clearly designate to the public that .ABB TLD is a proprietary space in which all second-level domains in the TLD are being operated by ABB Ltd, its Affiliates and Trademark Licensees and not the government or the corresponding country code operator.
By this letter ABB Ltd confirms that all registrations of two letter domain names shall comply with the requirements of Specification 13.


2016-04-25

ABB LtdYes
abbottpnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

abbott Mitigation

By Abbott Laboratories, Inc.

Abbott Laboratories, Inc., the Registry Operator for the .ABBOTT gTLD, has executed Specification 13 to the Registry Agreement. Specification 13 already contractually requires that Abbott Laboratories, Inc. will apply measures which, by their very nature, avoid confusion with the corresponding country code, namely the following:

1. .ABBOTT is identical to a qualifying registered trademark;
2. .ABBOTT is not a Generic String, as the term is defined in Specification 11 of the Registry Agreement;
3. Abbott Laboratories, Inc. has developed and will implement a closed registration policy for .ABBOTT that requires that all domain names in the .ABBOTT gTLD be registered ONLY by Registry Operator, its Affiliates, and its Trademark Licensees;
4. As required under the Registry Agreement, Abbott Laboratories, Inc. submitted this policy as part of its application for Specification 13 and has clearly published this registration policy; and
5. .ABBOTT will conduct internal reviews at least once per calendar year to ensure continued compliance with Specification 13, as required by the Registry Agreement.

Compliance with Specification 13 prohibits the .ABBOTT gTLD from registering domain names to unaffiliated third parties and thus clearly designates to the public that the .ABBOTT gTLD is a proprietary space in which all second-level domains in the gTLD are being operated by Abbott Laboratories, Inc., its Affiliates and Trademark Licensees and not any government or corresponding country-code TLD operator.

With this submission, Abbott Laboratories, Inc. confirms that all registrations of two-letter domain names shall comply with the requirements of Specification 13.


2016-04-22

Abbott Laboratories, Inc.Yes
abogadopnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

abogado Mitigation

By Minds + Machines Group Limited, Bayern Connect GmbH, Minds + Machines GmbH

Registry Operator understands the concern that confusion may arise, and in order to mitigate such concern is willing to commit to:
a. investigate any reports of misuse, including misleading or deceptive conduct, including those from any relevant government and provide a written report in response; and
b. where, in Registry Operator’s sole opinion, misuse has occurred, registry operator will seek to work indirectly with the sponsoring registrar and/or directly with the registrant to address the misuse.
c. In the event that misuse continues to occur, the Registry Operator may, in its sole discretion, undertake direct action up to and including suspension or deletion of the domain name.


2016-04-22

Minds + Machines Group Limited, Bayern Connect GmbH, Minds + Machines GmbHNo
academypnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

academy Mitigation

By Donuts Inc.

Attached.


View Documents
2016-04-25

Donuts Inc.No
accenturepnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

accenture Mitigation

By Accenture plc

Proposed Measure to Avoid Confusion—Brand TLD (Specification 13)
Provide a brief explanation of the TLD: Accenture plc has applied for .ACCENTURE to run a closed .brand environment.

Protections

Accenture plc for the .ACCENTURE TLD has executed Specification 13 to the Registry Agreement. Specification 13 already contractually requires that Accenture plc will apply measures which, by their very nature, avoid confusion with the corresponding country code, namely the following:
1. .ACCENTURE is identical to a qualifying registered trademark;
2. .ACCENTURE is not a Generic String, as this is defined in Specification 11;
3. .ACCENTURE TLD has developed and will implement a closed registration policy for .ACCENTURE that requires that all domain names in the .ACCENTURE TLD be registered ONLY by Registry Operator, its Affiliates, and its Trademark Licensees;
4. As required under the Registry Agreement, the .ACCENTURE TLD will clearly publish this registration policy;
5. .ACCENTURE TLD will conduct internal reviews at least once per calendar year to ensure continued compliance with Specification 13.
Compliance with Specification 13 prohibits the .ACCENTURE TLD from registering domain names to unaffiliated third parties and thus clearly designate to the public that .ACCENTURE TLD is a proprietary space in which all second-level domains in the TLD are being operated by Accenture plc - its Affiliates and Trademark Licensees and not the Government or the corresponding country code operator.
By this letter, Accenture plc confirms that all registrations of two letter domain names shall comply with the requirements of Specification 13.


2016-04-20

Accenture plcYes
accountantpnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

accountant Mitigation

By Famous Four Media Limited

By Famous Four media Limited.

Registry Operator understands the concern that confusion may arise, and in order to avoid such confusion is willing to offer the following:

1. Registry Operator will commit to:

a. investigate any reports of misuse, including misleading or deceptive conduct, including those from any relevant governments, and provide a written report in response; and

b. where, in Registry Operator’s sole opinion, misuse has occurred, cause the domain name’s records to be removed from the DNS.

2. Registry Operator will enforce the terms of its Acceptable Use and Take down Policy against Registrants.

3. Should a Registrant fail to comply with the Acceptable Use and Take down Policy, the domain names may be cancelled, locked, placed on hold, transferred or deleted. Thus, all Registrants in the TLDs, including ourselves, have an obligation to avoid confusion with two letter country codes and we have clear penalties for any failure to do so.


2016-04-25

Famous Four Media LimitedNo
accountantspnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

accountants Mitigation

By Donuts Inc.

Attached.


View Documents
2016-04-25

Donuts Inc.No
actorpnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

actor Mitigation

By United TLD Holdco

Please see attached PDF on behalf of United TLD Holdco


View Documents
2016-04-25

United TLD Holdco No
adultpnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

adult Mitigation

By ICM Registry

Protections

Registry Operator understands the concern that confusion may arise, and in order to avoid such confusion is willing to offer the following:

1. Registry Operator will commit to:
a. investigate any reports of misuse, including misleading or deceptive conduct, including those from any governments, and provide a written report in response; and
b. where, in Registry Operator’s sole opinion, misuse has occurred, cause the domain name’s records to be removed from the DNS.

Furthermore, we have the following Anti-Abuse Policy:

Registry has the right, pursuant to its Registry-Registrant Agreement, to immediately deny, cancel, terminate, suspend, lock, hold, or transfer any domain name and/or registration to ensure registrant’s compliance with the following Anti-Abuse Policy.

1. Accurate Registration Information
Registrant represents and warrants to have provided current, complete, and accurate information in connection with its registration and agrees to correct and update this information to ensure that it remains current, complete, and accurate throughout the term of any resulting registration in a TLD. Registrant’s obligation to provide current, accurate, and complete information is a material element of the Registry-Registrant Agreement, and the registry reserves the right to immediately deny, cancel, terminate, suspend, lock, or transfer any registration if it determines, in its sole discretion, that the information is materially inaccurate.

2. Child Protection Labeling
Registrant understands that Registry Operator may label the sites in the TLD and any site to which such sites are automatically redirected irrespective of the top-level domain for child protection purposes; registrant consents to such labeling.

3. Prohibition on Child Abuse Images and Conduct or Content Designed to Suggest the Presence of Child Abuse Images
The term “child abuse images” is defined as any photograph, film, video, picture, or computer or computer-generated image or picture, whether made or produced by electronic, mechanical, or other means, depicting child sexual abuse as stated in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Registrant’s sites in the TLD shall not display any child abuse images. Registrant’s sites in the TLD shall not engage in practices that are designed to suggest the presence of child abuse images, including, without limitation, the use of meta-tags for that purpose. Registry Operator will refer any sites in a TLD that are reported to the Registry Operator to be in violation of this policy to child safety hotlines like the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), or the International Association of Internet Hotlines (INHOPE).

4. Prohibition on Abusive Registrations
No registrant may register an abusive second-level domain name in the TLD including, without limitation, domain names that infringe the intellectual property rights of a third party, including common law trademark rights; domain names that are obvious variants of well-known trademarks not belonging to the registrant; or domain names that suggest the presence of child abuse images.

5. Prohibition on Malicious Conduct
No registrant shall use or permit use of a domain name in the TLD for or in connection with email spoofing, phishing, spam, or other forms of malicious behavior.

6. Ongoing Best Practices Policies
Registry Operator will revise this Anti-Abuse Policy or the Registry-Registrant Agreement to include commercially reasonable best practices policies developed by the International Foundation for Online Responsibility (IFFOR) that are designed to promote responsible business practices related to (i) combating online child abuse images, (ii) facilitating user choice and parental control regarding access to online adult entertainment, (iii) protecting free expression rights, and/or (iv) protecting the privacy, security, and consumer rights of consenting adult consumers of online adult entertainment goods and services; registrant consents to adhere to such policies.

The Registrant of a domain name, as recorded in the Registry Service, will be responsible for:
a. the use of their domain name;
b. ensuring that the use of the domain name, where that domain name is a two letter Label that corresponds to a country code described in the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 standard, avoids confusion with the corresponding country code;”

Should a Registrant fail to comply with the Anti-Abuse Policy, the domain name may be cancelled, locked, placed on hold, transferred or deleted. Thus all Registrants in the TLD, including ourselves, have an obligation to avoid confusion with two letter country codes and we have clear penalties for any failure to do so.


2016-04-19

ICM Registry No
aegpnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

aeg Mitigation

By Aktiebolaget Electrolux

Provide a brief explanation of the TLD:
Aktiebolaget Electrolux has applied for .[TLD] to run a closed .brand environment.

Protections
Aktiebolaget Electrolux for the .[TLD] TLD has executed Specification 13 to the Registry Agreement. Specification 13 already contractually requires that the Aktiebolaget Electrolux will apply measures which, by their very nature, avoid confusion with the corresponding country code, namely the following:
1. .[TLD] is identical to a qualifying registered trademark;
2. .[TLD] is not a Generic String, as this is defined in Specification 11;
3. .[TLD] TLD has developed and will implement a closed registration policy for .[TLD] that requires that all domain names in the .[TLD] TLD be registered ONLY by Registry Operator, its Affiliates, and its Trademark Licensees;
4. As required under the Registry Agreement, the .[TLD] TLD will clearly publish this registration policy;
5. .[TLD] TLD will conduct internal reviews at least once per calendar year to ensure continued compliance with Specification 13.

Compliance with Specification 13 prohibits the .[TLD] TLD from registering domain names to unaffiliated third parties and thus clearly designate to the public that .[TLD] TLD is a proprietary space in which all second-level domains in the TLD are being operated by Aktiebolaget Electrolux, its Affiliates and Trademark Licensees and not the government or the corresponding country code operator.
By this letter Aktiebolaget Electrolux confirms that all registrations of two letter domain names shall comply with the requirements of Specification 13.


2016-04-25

Aktiebolaget ElectroluxYes
agencypnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

agency Mitigation

By Donuts Inc.

Attached.


View Documents
2016-04-25

Donuts Inc.No
aigpnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

aig Mitigation

By American International Group, Inc.

Provide a brief explanation of the TLD: American International Group, Inc. has applied for .AIG to run a closed .brand environment.
Protections
American International Group, Inc. for the .AIG TLD has executed Specification 13 to the Registry Agreement. Specification 13 already contractually requires that the American International Group, Inc. will apply measures which, by their very nature, avoid confusion with the corresponding country code, namely the following:
1. .AIG is identical to a qualifying registered trademark;
2. .AIG is not a Generic String, as this is defined in Specification 11;
3. .AIG TLD has developed and will implement a closed registration policy for .AIG that requires that all domain names in the .AIG TLD be registered ONLY by American International Group, Inc., its Affiliates, and its Trademark Licensees;
4. As required under the Registry Agreement, the .AIG TLD will clearly publish this registration policy;
5. .AIG TLD will conduct internal reviews at least once per calendar year to ensure continued compliance with Specification 13.
Compliance with Specification 13 prohibits the .AIG TLD from registering domain names to unaffiliated third parties and thus clearly designate to the public that .AIG TLD is a proprietary space in which all second-level domains in the TLD are being operated by American International Group, Inc., its Affiliates and Trademark Licensees and not the [GOVERNMENT] or the corresponding country code operator.
By this [LETTER] American International Group, Inc. confirms that all registrations of two letter domain names shall comply with the requirements of Specification 13.


2016-04-20

American International Group, Inc.Yes
airforcepnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

airforce Mitigation

By United TLD Holdco

Please see attached PDF on behalf of United TLD Holdco


View Documents
2016-04-25

United TLD Holdco No
allfinanzpnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

allfinanz Mitigation

By Allfinanz Deutsche Vermögensberatung Aktiengesellschaft

Please find Allfinanz Deutsche Vermögensberatung Aktiengesellschaft's "Mitigation Measures to Avoid Confusion" (concerning 2-letter labels in general) for the “.ALLFINANZ” attached.


View Documents
2016-04-23

Allfinanz Deutsche Vermögensberatung AktiengesellschaftNo
allypnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02Yes
amsterdampnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

amsterdam Mitigation

By City of Amsterdam

For the top level domain .AMSTERDAM we would like to use two letter domains and we propose the following measures to avoid confusion.

A brief explanation of the TLD:
.amsterdam is a geographic TLD for the City of Amsterdam; the City of Amsterdam is the designated Registry Operator. The toplevel domain is open, anyone in the world can register domain names.

Proposed measures to avoid confusion
The proposed protections to avoid confusion with country codes at the second level outlined below specifically apply to: ci, cn, eg, hk, il, in, it, me, pt and sg.

Protections
The Registry Operator understands the concern that confusion may arise, and in order to avoid such confusion is willing to offer the following:
• Registry Operator will commit to investigate any reports of misuse, including misleading or deceptive conduct, including those from the government of a related country code, and provide a written report in response; and
• where, in Registry Operator's sole opinion, misuse has occurred, cause the domain name's records to be removed from the DNS.

Policy measures
Contained within our Acceptable Use Policy for .amsterdam is the following text:
".Abuse in the context of this Policy shall be defined as an action that causes actual and substantial harm, or is a material predicate of such harm, or is illegal, illegitimate, or otherwise contrary to this Policy, including, but not limited to, the following:
...
h. Violation of any applicable local, state, national or international law or regulation by use of a Domain Name;
i . The confusing use of a 2character domain name that corresponds to a country code as described in the ISO 3166 alpha 2 standard with the corresponding country code...”

Should a Registrant fail to comply with the Acceptable Use Policy, the registry has the right to lock, transfer or cancel any offending domain name. Thus all Registrants in the TLDs, have an obligation to avoid confusion with two letter country codes and the City of Amsterdam has clear penalties for any failure to do so.


View Documents
2016-05-09

City of AmsterdamNo
analyticspnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

analytics Mitigation

By Karen L. Day

Please see the attached documents outlining our registry's plans to avoid confusion with certain 2 character labels as previously requested.


View Documents
2016-05-06

Karen L. DayNo
anzpnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

anz Mitigation

By Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited

Proposed Measure to Avoid Confusion—Brand TLD (Specification 13)
Provide a brief explanation of the TLD: Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited has applied for .ANZ to run a closed .brand environment.
Protections
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited for the .ANZ TLD has executed Specification 13 to the Registry Agreement. Specification 13 already contractually requires that Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited will apply measures which, by their very nature, avoid confusion with the corresponding country code, namely the following:
1. .ANZ is identical to a qualifying registered trademark;
2. .ANZ is not a Generic String, as this is defined in Specification 11;
3. .ANZ has developed and will implement a closed registration policy for .ANZ that requires that all domain names in the .ANZ TLD be registered ONLY by Registry Operator, its Affiliates, and its Trademark Licensees;
4. As required under the Registry Agreement, the .ANZ TLD will clearly publish this registration policy;
5. .ANZ TLD will conduct internal reviews at least once per calendar year to ensure continued compliance with Specification 13.
Compliance with Specification 13 prohibits the .ANZ TLD from registering domain names to unaffiliated third parties and thus clearly designate to the public that .ANZ TLD is a proprietary space in which all second-level domains in the TLD are being operated by Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited - its Affiliates and Trademark Licensees and not the Government or the corresponding country code operator.
By this letter, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited confirms that all registrations of two letter domain names shall comply with the requirements of Specification 13


2016-04-22

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group LimitedYes
apartmentspnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

apartments Mitigation

By Donuts Inc.

Attached.


View Documents
2016-04-25

Donuts Inc.No
applepnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02Yes
aquarellepnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02Yes
archipnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

archi Mitigation

By Starting Dot

The proposed measure to avoid confusion for .ARCHI applies across all two-character labels.

The proposed measure can be found in the file attached.


View Documents
2016-04-25

Starting DotNo
armypnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

army Mitigation

By United TLD Holdco

Please see attached PDF on behalf of United TLD Holdco


View Documents
2016-04-25

United TLD Holdco No
artepnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

arte Mitigation

By Association Relative à la Télévision Européenne G.E.I.E.

Provide a brief explanation of the TLD:
Association Relative à la Télévision Européenne G.E.I.E. has applied for .ARTE to run a closed .brand environment.

Protections
Association Relative à la Télévision Européenne G.E.I.E. for the .ARTE TLD has executed Specification 13 to the Registry Agreement. Specification 13 already contractually requires that the Association Relative à la Télévision Européenne G.E.I.E. will apply measures which, by their very nature, avoid confusion with the corresponding country code, namely the following:
1. .ARTE is identical to a qualifying registered trademark;
2. .ARTE is not a Generic String, as this is defined in Specification 11;
3. .ARTE TLD has developed and will implement a closed registration policy for .ARTE that requires that all domain names in the .ARTE TLD be registered ONLY by Registry Operator, its Affiliates, and its Trademark Licensees;
4. As required under the Registry Agreement, the .ARTE TLD will clearly publish this registration policy;
5. .ARTE TLD will conduct internal reviews at least once per calendar year to ensure continued compliance with Specification 13.

Compliance with Specification 13 prohibits the .ARTE TLD from registering domain names to unaffiliated third parties and thus clearly designate to the public that .ARTE TLD is a proprietary space in which all second-level domains in the TLD are being operated by Association Relative à la Télévision Européenne G.E.I.E., its Affiliates and Trademark Licensees and not the government or the corresponding country code operator.
By this letter Association Relative à la Télévision Européenne G.E.I.E. confirms that all registrations of two letter domain names shall comply with the requirements of Specification 13.


2016-04-25

Association Relative à la Télévision Européenne G.E.I.E.Yes
associatespnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

associates Mitigation

By Donuts Inc.

Attached.


View Documents
2016-04-25

Donuts Inc.No
attorneypnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

attorney Mitigation

By United TLD Holdco

Please see attached PDF on behalf of United TLD Holdco


View Documents
2016-04-25

United TLD Holdco No
auctionpnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

auction Mitigation

By United TLD Holdco

Please see attached PDF on behalf of United TLD Holdco


View Documents
2016-04-25

United TLD Holdco No
audipnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

audi Mitigation

By Audi Aktiengesellschaft

.audi is a closed Brand TLD for the sole and exclusive use of Audi Aktiengesellschaft.

Protections
Audi Aktiengesellschaft (Registry Operator) for the .audi TLD has executed Specification 13 to the Registry Agreement. Specification 13 already contractually requires that the Registry Operator will apply measures which, by their very nature, avoid confusion with the corresponding country code, namely the following:

.audi is identical to a qualifying registered trademark;
.audi is not a Generic String, as this is defined in Specification 11;
Registry Operator has developed and implemented a closed registration policy for .audi that requires that all domain names in the .audi TLD be registered only by Audi Aktiengesellschaft, its Affiliates, and its Trademark Licensees.

As required under the Registry Agreement, the Registry Operator published this registration policy on its website.

Registry Operator will conduct internal reviews at least once per calendar year to ensure continued compliance with Specification 13.

Compliance with Specification 13 prohibits the Registry Operator from registering domain names to unaffiliated third parties and thus clearly designate to the public that .audi TLD is a proprietary space in which all second-level domains in the TLD are being operated by the Registry Operator, its Affiliates and Trademark Licensees and not the governments or the corresponding country code operators.

By this submission Audi Aktiengesellschaft confirms that all registrations of two letter domain names shall comply with the requirements of Specification 13.


2016-04-21

Audi AktiengesellschaftYes
audiblepnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

audible Mitigation

By Amazon Registry Services, Inc.

Amazon Registry Services, Inc. (“ARSI”), the Registry Operator for the .Brand TLDs .AUDIBLE, .AWS, .FIRE, .IMDB, .KINDLE, .PRIME, .SILK, and .ZAPPOS (collectively, “the .Brand TLDs”) proposes release of the following 2-character letter-letter combinations: : ai, bh, bm, ci, cn, eg, il, in, io, it, kr, ky, me, ms, pt, ru, sg, sh, su, tc, or tw.

ARSI has executed Specification 13 to the Registry Agreement for each of the .Brand TLDs. Specification 13 contractually requires ARSI to apply measures which, in and of themselves, avoid confusion with the country codes corresponding to the 2-character letter-letter combinations listed above, namely:

1. Each of the .Brand TLDs is identical to a qualifying registered trademark;
2. Each of the .Brand TLDs is not a Generic String, as this is defined in Specification 11;
3. ARSI has developed and will implement a registration policy for each of the .Brand TLDs that requires all domain names in each such TLD be registered only by ARSI, its Affiliates, or Trademark Licensees of ARSI or its Affiliates;
4. ARSI will publish the registration policy for each of the .Brand TLDs upon delegation; and
5. ARSI has ensured, and will continue to ensure, its compliance with the registration policy through annual certification of qualification for Specification 13 for each of the .Brand TLDs.

Compliance with Specification 13 clearly designates to the public that the .Brand TLDs are proprietary spaces in which ARSI, its Affiliates, or Trademark Licensees of ARSI or its Affiliates use all second-level domain names. Accordingly, there will be no basis on which a letter-letter domain name registered in any of the .Brand TLDs could be confused with the country codes corresponding to the 2-character letter-letter combinations listed above.


2016-04-25

Amazon Registry Services, Inc.Yes
audiopnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02No
autopnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02No
autospnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

autos Mitigation

By DERAutos LLC, DERBoats LLC, DERHomes LLC, DERMotorcycles LLC, DERYachts LLC (collective Dominion Registries)

See attached document


View Documents
2016-04-26

DERAutos LLC, DERBoats LLC, DERHomes LLC, DERMotorcycles LLC, DERYachts LLC (collective Dominion Registries)No
awspnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

aws Mitigation

By Amazon Registry Services, Inc.

Amazon Registry Services, Inc. (“ARSI”), the Registry Operator for the .Brand TLDs .AUDIBLE, .AWS, .FIRE, .IMDB, .KINDLE, .PRIME, .SILK, and .ZAPPOS (collectively, “the .Brand TLDs”) proposes release of the following 2-character letter-letter combinations: : ai, bh, bm, ci, cn, eg, il, in, io, it, kr, ky, me, ms, pt, ru, sg, sh, su, tc, or tw.

ARSI has executed Specification 13 to the Registry Agreement for each of the .Brand TLDs. Specification 13 contractually requires ARSI to apply measures which, in and of themselves, avoid confusion with the country codes corresponding to the 2-character letter-letter combinations listed above, namely:

1. Each of the .Brand TLDs is identical to a qualifying registered trademark;
2. Each of the .Brand TLDs is not a Generic String, as this is defined in Specification 11;
3. ARSI has developed and will implement a registration policy for each of the .Brand TLDs that requires all domain names in each such TLD be registered only by ARSI, its Affiliates, or Trademark Licensees of ARSI or its Affiliates;
4. ARSI will publish the registration policy for each of the .Brand TLDs upon delegation; and
5. ARSI has ensured, and will continue to ensure, its compliance with the registration policy through annual certification of qualification for Specification 13 for each of the .Brand TLDs.

Compliance with Specification 13 clearly designates to the public that the .Brand TLDs are proprietary spaces in which ARSI, its Affiliates, or Trademark Licensees of ARSI or its Affiliates use all second-level domain names. Accordingly, there will be no basis on which a letter-letter domain name registered in any of the .Brand TLDs could be confused with the country codes corresponding to the 2-character letter-letter combinations listed above.


2016-04-25

Amazon Registry Services, Inc.Yes
azurepnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

azure Mitigation

By Microsoft Corporation

Proposed Measure to Avoid Confusion—Brand TLD (Specification 13)

Provide a brief explanation of the TLD:

.AZURE TLD is a closed Brand new gTLD operated by Microsoft Corporation

Protections:

Microsoft Corporation for the .AZURE TLD has executed Specification 13 to the Registry Agreement. Specification 13 already contractually requires that Microsoft Corporation will apply measures which, by their very nature, avoid confusion with the corresponding country code, namely the following:

1. .AZURE is identical to a qualifying registered trademark;
2. .AZURE is not a Generic String, as this is defined in Specification 11;
3. .AZURE TLD has developed and will implement a closed registration policy for .AZURE that requires that all domain names in the .AZURE TLD be registered ONLY by Registry Operator, its Affiliates, and its Trademark Licensees;
4. As required under the Registry Agreement, the .AZURE TLD will clearly publish this registration policy;
5. .AZURE TLD will conduct internal reviews at least once per calendar year to ensure continued compliance with Specification 13.

Compliance with Specification 13 prohibits the .AZURE TLD from registering domain names to unaffiliated third parties and thus clearly designate to the public that .AZURE TLD is a proprietary space in which all second-level domains in the TLD are being operated by Microsoft Corporation, its Affiliates and Trademark Licensees and not the government or the corresponding country code operator. By this Microsoft Corporation confirms that all registrations of two letter domain names shall comply with the requirements of Specification 13.


2016-04-05

Microsoft CorporationYes
bandpnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

band Mitigation

By United TLD Holdco

Please see attached PDF on behalf of United TLD Holdco


View Documents
2016-04-25

United TLD Holdco No
bankpnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

bank Mitigation

By fTLD Registry Services, LLC

Please see the attached file that details fTLD Registry Services' implementation plan for .BANK and .INSURANCE to avoid confusion with corresponding country codes.


View Documents
2016-04-20

fTLD Registry Services, LLCNo
barclaycardpnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

barclaycard Mitigation

By Barclays Bank PLC

.barclaycard is a closed top-level domain name for the sole and exclusive use of Barclays Bank PLC.

Protections
Barclays Bank PLC is the Registry Operator for the .barclaycard TLD and has executed Specification 13 of the Registry Agreement. Specification 13 already contractually requires that Barclays Bank PLC will apply measures which, by their very nature, avoid confusion with the corresponding country code, namely the following:
1. .barclaycard is identical to a qualifying registered trademark;
2. .barclaycard is not a Generic String, as this is defined in Specification 11;
3. .barclaycard TLD has developed and will implement a closed registration policy for .barclaycard that requires that all domain names in the .barclaycard TLD be registered ONLY by Registry Operator, its Affiliates, and its Trademark Licensees;
4. As required under the Registry Agreement, the .barclaycard TLD will clearly publish this registration policy;
5. .barclaycard TLD will conduct internal reviews at least once per calendar year to ensure continued compliance with Specification 13.
Compliance with Specification 13 prohibits the .barclaycard TLD from registering domain names to unaffiliated third parties and thus clearly designate to the public that .barclaycard TLD is a proprietary space in which all second-level domains in the TLD are being operated by Barclays Bank PLC, its Affiliates and Trademark Licensees and not the government or the corresponding country code operator.
By this text Barclays Bank PLC confirms that all registrations of two letter domain names shall comply with the requirements of Specification 13.


2016-04-08

Barclays Bank PLCYes
barclayspnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

barclays Mitigation

By Barclays Bank PLC

.barclays is a closed top-level domain name for the sole and exclusive use of Barclays Bank PLC.

Protections
Barclays Bank PLC is the Registry Operator for the .barclays TLD and has executed Specification 13 of the Registry Agreement. Specification 13 already contractually requires that Barclays Bank PLC will apply measures which, by their very nature, avoid confusion with the corresponding country code, namely the following:
1. .barclays is identical to a qualifying registered trademark;
2. .barclays is not a Generic String, as this is defined in Specification 11;
3. .barclays TLD has developed and will implement a closed registration policy for .barclays that requires that all domain names in the .barclays TLD be registered ONLY by Registry Operator, its Affiliates, and its Trademark Licensees;
4. As required under the Registry Agreement, the .barclays TLD will clearly publish this registration policy;
5. .barclays TLD will conduct internal reviews at least once per calendar year to ensure continued compliance with Specification 13.
Compliance with Specification 13 prohibits the .barclays TLD from registering domain names to unaffiliated third parties and thus clearly designate to the public that .barclays TLD is a proprietary space in which all second-level domains in the TLD are being operated by Barclays Bank PLC, its Affiliates and Trademark Licensees and not the government or the corresponding country code operator.
By this text Barclays Bank PLC confirms that all registrations of two letter domain names shall comply with the requirements of Specification 13.


2016-04-08

Barclays Bank PLCYes
bargainspnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

bargains Mitigation

By Donuts Inc.

Attached.


View Documents
2016-04-25

Donuts Inc.No
bayernpnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

bayern Mitigation

By Minds + Machines Group Limited, Bayern Connect GmbH, Minds + Machines GmbH

Registry Operator understands the concern that confusion may arise, and in order to mitigate such concern is willing to commit to:
a. investigate any reports of misuse, including misleading or deceptive conduct, including those from any relevant government and provide a written report in response; and
b. where, in Registry Operator’s sole opinion, misuse has occurred, registry operator will seek to work indirectly with the sponsoring registrar and/or directly with the registrant to address the misuse.
c. In the event that misuse continues to occur, the Registry Operator may, in its sole discretion, undertake direct action up to and including suspension or deletion of the domain name.


2016-04-22

Minds + Machines Group Limited, Bayern Connect GmbH, Minds + Machines GmbHNo
bbvapnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

bbva Mitigation

By BANCO BILBAO VIZCAYA ARGENTARIA, S.A.

Provide a brief explanation of the TLD:
BANCO BILBAO VIZCAYA ARGENTARIA, S.A. has applied for .BBVA to run a closed .brand environment.


Protections

BANCO BILBAO VIZCAYA ARGENTARIA, S.A. for the .BBVA TLD has executed Specification 13 to the Registry Agreement. Specification 13 already contractually requires that the BANCO BILBAO VIZCAYA ARGENTARIA, S.A. will apply measures which, by their very nature, avoid confusion with the corresponding country code, namely the following:
1. .BBVA is identical to a qualifying registered trademark;
2. .BBVA is not a Generic String, as this is defined in Specification 11;
3. .BBVA TLD has developed and will implement a closed registration policy for .BBVA that requires that all domain names in the .BBVA TLD be registered ONLY by Registry Operator, its Affiliates, and its Trademark Licensees;
4. As required under the Registry Agreement, the .BBVA TLD will clearly publish this registration policy;
5. .BBVA TLD will conduct internal reviews at least once per calendar year to ensure continued compliance with Specification 13.

Compliance with Specification 13 prohibits the .BBVA TLD from registering domain names to unaffiliated third parties and thus clearly designate to the public that .BBVA TLD is a proprietary space in which all second-level domains in the TLD are being operated by BANCO BILBAO VIZCAYA ARGENTARIA, S.A., its Affiliates and Trademark Licensees and not the [GOVERNMENT] or the corresponding country code operator.

By this [LETTER] BANCO BILBAO VIZCAYA ARGENTARIA, S.A. confirms that all registrations of two letter domain names shall comply with the requirements of Specification 13.


2016-04-15

BANCO BILBAO VIZCAYA ARGENTARIA, S.A.Yes
beatspnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02Yes
beerpnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

beer Mitigation

By Minds + Machines Group Limited, Bayern Connect GmbH, Minds + Machines GmbH

Registry Operator understands the concern that confusion may arise, and in order to mitigate such concern is willing to commit to:
a. investigate any reports of misuse, including misleading or deceptive conduct, including those from any relevant government and provide a written report in response; and
b. where, in Registry Operator’s sole opinion, misuse has occurred, registry operator will seek to work indirectly with the sponsoring registrar and/or directly with the registrant to address the misuse.
c. In the event that misuse continues to occur, the Registry Operator may, in its sole discretion, undertake direct action up to and including suspension or deletion of the domain name.


2016-04-22

Minds + Machines Group Limited, Bayern Connect GmbH, Minds + Machines GmbHNo
bentleypnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

bentley Mitigation

By Bentley Motors Limited

Proposed measures to avoid confusion relating to all two-character labels

.Bentley
.Bentley TLD is a closed Brand new gTLD operated by Bentley Motors Limited. Within the .Bentley namespace, Internet traffic will be driven to sites that are a reflection of the brand and users will gain the full benefit of the Bentley experience, secure in the knowledge of its authentic, credible and reliable source. .Bentley will be positioned, promoted and deployed as the single, dependable and trustworthy domain for Internet users to access information relating to the brand.

Protections
Bentley Motors Limited for the .Bentley TLD has executed Specification 13 to the Registry Agreement. Specification 13 already contractually requires that Bentley Motors Limited will apply measures which, by their very nature, avoid confusion with the corresponding country code, namely the following:

1. .Bentley is identical to a qualifying registered trademark;
2. .Bentley is not a Generic String, as this is defined in Specification 11;
3. .Bentley TLD has developed and will implement a closed registration policy for .Bentley that requires that all domain names in the .Bentley TLD be registered ONLY by Registry Operator, its Affiliates, and its Trademark Licensees;
4. As required under the Registry Agreement, the .Bentley TLD will clearly publish this registration policy;
5. .Bentley TLD will conduct internal reviews at least once per calendar year to ensure continued compliance with Specification 13.

Compliance with Specification 13 prohibits the .Bentley TLD from registering domain names to unaffiliated third parties and thus clearly designate to the public that .Bentley TLD is a proprietary space in which all second-level domains in the TLD are being operated by Bentley Motors Limited, its Affiliates and Trademark Licensees and not the government or the corresponding country code operator.

By this notice Bentley Motors Limited confirms that all registrations of two letter domain names shall comply with the requirements of Specification 13.


2016-04-22

Bentley Motors LimitedYes
berlinpnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

berlin Mitigation

By dotBERLIN GmbH & Co. KG

Proposed Measures to Avoid Confusion within the Community-based GeoTLD .BERLIN for ci, cn, eg, hk, il, in, it, me, pt, sg, tw

“.BERLIN is the top-level domain for the Community of Berliners in the Internet (the .BERLIN Community). The local domain names available with the .BERLIN top-level domain are concise and create an identity for citizens, companies and institutions. Those providing and looking for information, goods and services can thus intuitively come together. The .BERLIN domain names strengthen the feeling of community amongst Berliners, improve communication and make interaction easier, thus providing a stimulus for innovation and development. Both for Berliners and for non-Berliners, Berlin becomes more attractive as a place to visit, as a commercial location and as a place to live.”

Protections

To address the confusion concerns cited by the governments regarding the use of the second-level domains cited above in the .BERLIN, the Registry Operator dotBERLIN GmbH & Co. KG has implemented a restricted registration policy for .BERLIN that mitigates the potential confusion. To these ends, Registry Operator commits to the following (as mentioned in its application at https://gtldresult.icann.org/application-result/applicationstatus/applicationdetails:downloadapplication/1777?t:ac=1777):

dotBERLIN developed and implemented a restricted registration policy and enforces this restricted Registration Policy for .BERLIN including:

Eligibility Requirements: To meet the requirements of ICANN to a community-based designation of the application and to meet a sufficient reference to BERLIN, the group of registrants is limited. Exclusively eligible to register a domain name under the top-level domain .BERLIN is any natural person, legal person, organization or association of persons, if they can demonstrate that they have an economic, cultural, historical, social or any other connection to the German capital Berlin, verifiable by
-their residence or second home, office or place of business, a branch or permanent establishment in the City of BERLIN, or
-a contact listed in the Whois database with a domicile in the City of BERLIN, or
-other appropriate proof e.g. the certification by an employer to enroll at a school or college, or birth certificate.

With the registration of a .BERLIN domain name each registrant implicitly signs the registration policies and agrees with the fact that he acknowledges compliance with the registration guidelines. A review of whether the applicant meets the required eligibility, does not take place regularly on the date of registration, however, anyone can check compliance with the registration requirements by initiating an extrajudicial dispute resolution procedure (ʺ.BERLIN Eligibility Requirements Dispute Resolution Policyʺ) or an objection process.

Content and Use Requirements: To meet the requirements of ICANN to a community-based designation of the application, the registrant must satisfy the following criteria for the content and the use of .BERLIN domain names:
- The contents of the website under a domain name must be directly related to the eligibility requirements, and
- the domain must be in use within 12 months of registration.

Legal Safeguards, Enforcement and continued Compliance: To meet the requirements of ICANN to a community-based designation of the application, the registrant must use the .BERLIN domain in an economic, cultural, social or any other meaningful connection to the City of Berlin.

This designation of .BERLIN to the .BERLIN Community will be enforced by specific language in the Registry-Registrar-Agreement that holds gTLD registrars responsible to include the restrictions as outlined above in respective agreements with their gTLD registrants.

The .BERLIN Registry will, from time to time in its sole discretion or upon evidence or advice manually conduct continuing or recurring audits of domain names registered to ensure continued compliance with these requirements. Failure to comply will result in a notice providing 20-days to comply. Non-compliance following such a notice period may result in take-down of the relevant domain name, at the discretion of the Registry.

Those policies have been clearly publishing policy on Registry Operator’s homepage for .BERLIN.

This registration and usage policy would prevent governments from registering domains in the .BERLIN TLD. It would clearly designate to users that .BERLIN was a restricted space in which all second-level domains were registered by eligible Registrants.


2016-04-25

View Mitigation

berlin Mitigation

By dotBERLIN GmbH & Co. KG


Proposed Measures to Avoid Confusion within the Community-based GeoTLD .BERLIN for su, ru, uk, it, gb, ac, gi, tc, sh, ms, ky, io, bm, fk, ng, kr, il, sg, hk, pn, gs, tw, vn, ln, in, pt

“.BERLIN is the top-level domain for the Community of Berliners in the Internet (the .BERLIN Community). The local domain names available with the .BERLIN top-level domain are concise and create an identity for citizens, companies and institutions. Those providing and looking for information, goods and services can thus intuitively come together. The .BERLIN domain names strengthen the feeling of community amongst Berliners, improve communication and make interaction easier, thus providing a stimulus for innovation and development. Both for Berliners and for non-Berliners, Berlin becomes more attractive as a place to visit, as a commercial location and as a place to live.”

Protections

To address the confusion concerns cited by the governments regarding the use of the second-level domains cited above in the .BERLIN, the Registry Operator dotBERLIN GmbH & Co. KG has implemented a restricted registration policy for .BERLIN that mitigates the potential confusion. To these ends, Registry Operator commits to the following (as mentioned in its application at https://gtldresult.icann.org/application-result/applicationstatus/applicationdetails:downloadapplication/1777?t:ac=1777):

dotBERLIN developed and implemented a restricted registration policy and enforces this restricted Registration Policy for .BERLIN including:

Eligibility Requirements: To meet the requirements of ICANN to a community-based designation of the application and to meet a sufficient reference to BERLIN, the group of registrants is limited. Exclusively eligible to register a domain name under the top-level domain .BERLIN is any natural person, legal person, organization or association of persons, if they can demonstrate that they have an economic, cultural, historical, social or any other connection to the German capital Berlin, verifiable by
-their residence or second home, office or place of business, a branch or permanent establishment in the City of BERLIN, or
-a contact listed in the Whois database with a domicile in the City of BERLIN, or
-other appropriate proof e.g. the certification by an employer to enroll at a school or college, or birth certificate.

With the registration of a .BERLIN domain name each registrant implicitly signs the registration policies and agrees with the fact that he acknowledges compliance with the registration guidelines. A review of whether the applicant meets the required eligibility, does not take place regularly on the date of registration, however, anyone can check compliance with the registration requirements by initiating an extrajudicial dispute resolution procedure (ʺ.BERLIN Eligibility Requirements Dispute Resolution Policyʺ) or an objection process.

Content and Use Requirements: To meet the requirements of ICANN to a community-based designation of the application, the registrant must satisfy the following criteria for the content and the use of .BERLIN domain names:
- The contents of the website under a domain name must be directly related to the eligibility requirements, and
- the domain must be in use within 12 months of registration.

Legal Safeguards, Enforcement and continued Compliance: To meet the requirements of ICANN to a community-based designation of the application, the registrant must use the .BERLIN domain in an economic, cultural, social or any other meaningful connection to the City of Berlin.

This designation of .BERLIN to the .BERLIN Community will be enforced by specific language in the Registry-Registrar-Agreement that holds gTLD registrars responsible to include the restrictions as outlined above in respective agreements with their gTLD registrants.

The .BERLIN Registry will, from time to time in its sole discretion or upon evidence or advice manually conduct continuing or recurring audits of domain names registered to ensure continued compliance with these requirements. Failure to comply will result in a notice providing 20-days to comply. Non-compliance following such a notice period may result in take-down of the relevant domain name, at the discretion of the Registry.

Those policies have been clearly publishing policy on Registry Operator’s homepage for .BERLIN.

This registration and usage policy would prevent governments from registering domains in the .BERLIN TLD. It would clearly designate to users that .BERLIN was a restricted space in which all second-level domains were registered by eligible Registrants.


2016-04-25

dotBERLIN GmbH & Co. KGNo
bestpnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02No
betpnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

bet Mitigation

By Afilias

Afilias has reviewed the comments submitted for the release of certain 2 character labels. We have taken these comments into consideration and will will continue to block the respective labels at the second level until further notice to avoid confusion.


2016-04-20

AfiliasNo
bhartipnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02Yes
biblepnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

bible Mitigation

By American Bible Society

.BIBLE Proposed Measure to Avoid Confusion—Registry Operator with Open Registration

The .BIBLE TLD is owned and operated by the American Bible Society (Registry Operator). .BIBLE is a Top Level Domain with a vision to be the trusted online source for all things Bible. The .BIBLE TLD will make available .BIBLE domain names that are memorable, meaningful, and shorter to help people, organizations and communities come together online to engage with Scripture and share Bible-related content.
The mission of .BIBLE is to encourage Bible engagement, translation, innovation, and global partnerships so that all people may experience the life-changing message of the Bible

Protections

Registry Operator understands the concern that confusion may arise, and in order to avoid such confusion is willing to offer the following:

1. Registry Operator will commit to:

a. investigate any reports of misuse, including misleading or deceptive conduct, including those from the governments of Côte d'Ivoire, China, Egypt, Israel, India, Italy, Montenegro, Portugal and Singapore and provide a written report in response; and

b. where, in Registry Operator’s sole opinion, misuse has occurred, cause the domain name’s records to be removed from the DNS.

Furthermore, contained within our Acceptable Use Policy for the .BIBLE TLD is the following text:

5.1.1.14 Use of the domain name, where that domain name is a two letter Label that corresponds to a country code described in the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 standard, avoids confusion with the corresponding country code.

Should a Registrant fail to comply with the Acceptable Use Policy, the domain name may be cancelled, locked, placed on hold, transferred or deleted. Thus all Registrants in the TLDs, including ourselves, have an obligation to avoid confusion with two letter country codes and we have clear penalties for any failure to do so.


View Documents
2016-04-15

American Bible SocietyNo
bidpnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

bid Mitigation

By Famous Four Media Limited

By Famous Four media Limited.

Registry Operator understands the concern that confusion may arise, and in order to avoid such confusion is willing to offer the following:

1. Registry Operator will commit to:

a. investigate any reports of misuse, including misleading or deceptive conduct, including those from any relevant governments, and provide a written report in response; and

b. where, in Registry Operator’s sole opinion, misuse has occurred, cause the domain name’s records to be removed from the DNS.

2. Registry Operator will enforce the terms of its Acceptable Use and Take down Policy against Registrants.

3. Should a Registrant fail to comply with the Acceptable Use and Take down Policy, the domain names may be cancelled, locked, placed on hold, transferred or deleted. Thus, all Registrants in the TLDs, including ourselves, have an obligation to avoid confusion with two letter country codes and we have clear penalties for any failure to do so.


2016-04-25

Famous Four Media LimitedNo
bikepnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

bike Mitigation

By Donuts Inc.

Attached.


View Documents
2016-04-25

Donuts Inc.No
bingpnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

bing Mitigation

By Microsoft Corporation

Proposed Measure to Avoid Confusion—Brand TLD (Specification 13)

Provide a brief explanation of the TLD:

.BING TLD is a closed Brand new gTLD operated by Microsoft Corporation

Protections:

Microsoft Corporation for the .BING TLD has executed Specification 13 to the Registry Agreement. Specification 13 already contractually requires that Microsoft Corporation will apply measures which, by their very nature, avoid confusion with the corresponding country code, namely the following:

1. .BING is identical to a qualifying registered trademark;
2. .BING is not a Generic String, as this is defined in Specification 11;
3. .BING TLD has developed and will implement a closed registration policy for .BING that requires that all domain names in the .BING TLD be registered ONLY by Registry Operator, its Affiliates, and its Trademark Licensees;
4. As required under the Registry Agreement, the .BING TLD will clearly publish this registration policy;
5. .BING TLD will conduct internal reviews at least once per calendar year to ensure continued compliance with Specification 13.

Compliance with Specification 13 prohibits the .BING TLD from registering domain names to unaffiliated third parties and thus clearly designate to the public that .BING TLD is a proprietary space in which all second-level domains in the TLD are being operated by Microsoft Corporation, its Affiliates and Trademark Licensees and not the government or the corresponding country code operator. By this Microsoft Corporation confirms that all registrations of two letter domain names shall comply with the requirements of Specification 13.


2016-04-05

Microsoft CorporationYes
bingopnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

bingo Mitigation

By Donuts Inc.

Attached.


View Documents
2016-04-25

Donuts Inc.No
biopnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

bio Mitigation

By Starting Dot

This response applies across all two-character labels.

PROPOSED MEASURE TO AVOID CONFUSION – .BIO

StartingDot is the Registry Operator of the .BIO generic Top Level Domain string (gTLD) since June 2, 2014.

The .BIO gTLD is generally available to all Registrants, and among others, to actors in the fields of agriculture, food and farming. The .BIO gTLD intends to serve all of these topics and areas, while ensuring that national and international organic standards are respected.

The .BIO gTLD is established on the basis of the core organic agriculture principles that have been formulated by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (“IFOAM – Organics International”). IFOAM – Organics International is an official Partner of the .BIO Registry Operator.

The Principles of Organic Agriculture (“POA”) aim to inspire the organic movement in its full diversity, and to help steer the development of positions, programs and standards in the organic community. They are used as the principal framework for defining the .BIO registration policies. In order to apply for a .BIO domain name, the registrant is required to comply with specific requirements related to organic agriculture compliance mechanisms.

To address the confusion concerns cited by the relevant governments regarding the use of second-level domains (SLDs) in .BIO, StartingDot, has (i) implemented a registration policy for .BIO and (ii) established an Anti-Abuse Policy that mitigates the potential confusion addressed by the governments. Based on the above, StartingDot has:

• Developped and implemented a restricted registration policy for .BIO included in the .BIO Domain Name Policy (“.BIO DNP”). According to the .BIO DNP, although a .BIO domain name can be registered by anyone, specific terms of use apply to Registrants who are producers, transformers and retailers, or otherwise involved in the field of agriculture, food and farming when there is:

- A nexus with the European Union (i.e.: selling, exporting to or trading agricultural or food product in the European Union) or other relevant markets where the word “bio” may be used to refer to legally labeled and marketed organic, biological, ecological, biodynamic, or similarly named goods or intending to do so (“nexus with the European Union”); and

- No nexus with the European Union.

b. The Registrant who has no nexus with the European Union must commit to abiding by the POA.

c. The Registrant who has a nexus with the European Union must commit to abiding by both:

- The POA; and

- The Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 of 28 June 2007 on organic production and labeling and its derived legislation, or any regulations in force in other relevant markets (the “E.C Regulations”).

• Made public on StartingDot’s website (www.startingdot.com) the abovementioned .BIO DNP;

• Included the .BIO Domain Name Policy in the StartingDot Registry – Registrar Agreement (RRA) signed with all the appointed registrars for .BIO;

• Enforced the .BIO Domain Name Policy by monitoring registrations on a random basis. StartingDot performs quarterly controls of .BIO registrations together with IFOAM – Organics International and ensures that registrants meet the eligibility criteria established in the .BIO DNP. StartingDot has also developped an Anti-Abuse Policy published on its website, which establishes StartingDot’s actions in case of an abuse of the .BIO domain space.

• Made public on StartingDot’s website (www.startingdot.com) the abovementioned Anti-Abuse Policy which contains specific text with regards to domain names that correspond to a country code described in the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 standard.

The .BIO Domain Name Policy would not prevent governments from registering domains in the .BIO TLD. However, if the latter register a .BIO domain name they must abide by the principles established under the .BIO DNP .

Finally, as stated in the Anti-Abuse Policy, should a Registrant fail to comply with the Anti-Abuse Policy, the domain name may be subject to cancellation or other penalty measures (domain being locked, placed on hold, transferred or deleted). Thus all Registrants in the .BIO gTLD, have an obligation to avoid confusion with two letter country codes and we have clear penalties for any failure to do so.


View Documents
2016-04-25

Starting DotNo
blackfridaypnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02No
bloombergpnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

bloomberg Mitigation

By Bloomberg IP Holdings LLC

Bloomberg IP Holdings LLC for the .BLOOMBERG TLD has executed Specification 13 to the Registry Agreement. Specification 13 already contractually requires that Bloomberg IP Holdings LLC will apply measures which, by their very nature, avoid confusion with the corresponding country code, namely the following:
1. .BLOOMBERG is identical to a qualifying registered trademark;
2. .BLOOMBERG is not a Generic String, as this is defined in Specification 11;
3. .BLOOMBERG TLD has developed and implemented a closed registration policy for .BLOOMBERG that requires that all domain names in the .BLOOMBERG TLD be registered ONLY by Registry Operator, its Affiliates, and its Trademark Licensees;
4. As required under the Registry Agreement, the .BLOOMBERG TLD has published this registration policy;
5. .BLOOMBERG TLD will conduct internal reviews at least once per calendar year to ensure continued compliance with Specification 13.
Compliance with Specification 13 prohibits the .BLOOMBERG TLD from registering domain names to unaffiliated third parties and thus the public understands that .BLOOMBERG TLD is a proprietary space in which all second-level domains in the TLD are operated by Bloomberg IP Holdings LLC, its Affiliates and Trademark Licensees and not the Government or the corresponding country code operator.
By this letter Bloomberg IP Holdings LLC confirms that all registrations of two letter domain names in the .BLOOMBERG TLD shall comply with the requirements of Specification 13.


2016-04-19

Bloomberg IP Holdings LLCYes
bmwpnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

bmw Mitigation

By Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft

Please find Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft's "Mitigation Measures to Avoid Confusion" (concerning 2-letter labels in general) for the “.MINI” and the ."BMW" TLDs attached.


View Documents
2016-04-23

Bayerische Motoren Werke AktiengesellschaftYes
bnpparibaspnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

bnpparibas Mitigation

By BNP PARIBAS

Brief explanation of the TLD: The TLD .BNPPARIBAS belongs to BNPPARIBAS a financial institution of high repute, known worldwide and is a closed TLD restricted to BNPPARIBAS its Affiliates and Trademark Licensees. The BNPPARIBAS gTLD is intended for the exclusive use of BNPPARIBAS products, services and branding purposes.

Protections:
BNPPARIBAS for the .BNPPARIBAS TLD has executed the Specification 13 to the Registry Agreement. Specification 13 already contractually requires that BNPPARIBAS will apply measures which, by their very nature, avoid confusion with the corresponding country code, namely the following:
1. .BNPPARIBAS is identical to a qualifying registered trademark;
2. .BNPPARIBAS is not a Generic String, as this is defined in Specification 11;
3. .BNPPARIBAS TLD has developed and implemented a closed registration policy for .BNPPARIBAS that requires that all domain names in the .BNPPARIBAS TLD be registered ONLY by Registry Operator, its Affiliates, and its Trademark Licensees;
4. As required under the Registry Agreement, the .BNPPARIBAS TLD clearly published this registration policy;
5. .BNPPARIBAS TLD will conduct internal reviews at least once per calendar year to ensure continued compliance with Specification 13.
Compliance with Specification 13 prohibits the .BNPPARIBAS TLD from registering domain names to unaffiliated third parties and thus clearly designate to the public that .BNPPARIBAS TLD is a proprietary space in which all second-level domains in the TLD are being operated by BNPPARIBAS, its Affiliates and Trademark Licensees and not the designated country or the corresponding country code operator.

By this proposed plan BNPPARIBAS confirms that all registrations of two letter domain names shall comply with the requirements of Specification 13.

It can be added that all domain name registration requests under the TLD BNPPARIBAS are centralized within BNPPARIBAS to ensure that all deposits comply with Specification 13 when they are processed.

As regards risks of potential malicious use of the gtld BNPPARIBAS, it is a problem widely taken into account by BNPPARIBAS. Indeed BNPPARIBAS has a CSIRT (Corporate Security Incident Response Team) member of the FIRST (Forum of Incidental Response and Security Teams) and of the Task Force-CSIRT. This task force promotes collaboration and coordination between CSIRTs in Europe and neighboring regions, whilst liaising with relevant organisations at the global level and in other regions. The gTLD BNPPARIBAS is part of the CSIRT processes.

Thus BNPPARIBAS processes in place and the use of the gTLD BNPPARIBAS avoid confusion with the ISO code representing the designated country.


View Documents
2016-04-21

BNP PARIBASYes
boatspnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

boats Mitigation

By DERAutos LLC, DERBoats LLC, DERHomes LLC, DERMotorcycles LLC, DERYachts LLC (collective Dominion Registries)

See attached document


View Documents
2016-04-26

DERAutos LLC, DERBoats LLC, DERHomes LLC, DERMotorcycles LLC, DERYachts LLC (collective Dominion Registries)No
boehringerpnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

boehringer Mitigation

By Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH

Provide a brief explanation of the TLD:
Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH has applied for .BOEHRINGER to run a closed .brand environment.
Protections

Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH for the .BOEHRINGER TLD has executed Specification 13 to the Registry Agreement. Specification 13 already contractually requires that the Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH will apply measures which, by their very nature, avoid confusion with the corresponding country code, namely the following:
1. .BOEHRINGER is identical to a qualifying registered trademark;
2. .BOEHRINGER is not a Generic String, as this is defined in Specification 11;
3. .BOEHRINGER TLD has developed and will implement a closed registration policy for .BOEHRINGER that requires that all domain names in the .BOEHRINGER TLD be registered ONLY by Registry Operator, its Affiliates, and its Trademark Licensees;
4. As required under the Registry Agreement, the .BOEHRINGER TLD will clearly publish this registration policy;
5. .BOEHRINGER TLD will conduct internal reviews at least once per calendar year to ensure continued compliance with Specification 13.

Compliance with Specification 13 prohibits the .BOEHRINGER TLD from registering domain names to unaffiliated third parties and thus clearly designate to the public that .BOEHRINGER TLD is a proprietary space in which all second-level domains in the TLD are being operated by Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH, its Affiliates and Trademark Licensees and not the government or the corresponding country code operator.
By this letter Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH confirms that all registrations of two letter domain names shall comply with the requirements of Specification 13.


2016-04-25

Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbHYes
bompnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

bom Mitigation

By Núcleo de Informação e Coordenação do Ponto BR - NIC.br

Here follows the measures to avoid confusion submitted by NIC.br for its gTLDs .bom and .final are attached. We note the incorrect usage of the word "mitigation" in ICANN 2-char website since it's not what is prescribed in the registry agreement.

.bom and .final are Portuguese words and the target market for such domains is mostly Brazil, the largest Portuguese speaking country in the world, although not restricted to Brazilians.

We divided our comment into 3 sets of 2-letter combinations.

Set 1: ci, cn, eg, il, sg
=========================
Although we do not perceive any of these combinations as confusing, we won't file measures for these combinations at this time. We reserve the right to refile for these combinations in the future, as they might be referenced in the yet to be published registration policies.


Set 2: in, it, me
=================
Although not a native language, most Internet users in Brazil have at least a rudimentary understanding of the English language. The 3 2-letter combinations in this set are incredibly common words of the English language that are known even by less skilled Internet users. Also of notice is that the word "it" is also known as the acronym "IT" for Information Technology; IT specialists have a higher understanding of English than the average Internet user and commonly see "IT" as referencing their area of expertise. Considering this, we understand that no further measures to avoid confusion with these combination are required.

Set 3: pt
=========
pt is not only the country designation for Portugal, it's also the language designation in ISO 639-1 code for the Portuguese language. A myriad of websites use the form pt.example.com or example.com/pt for their Portuguese versions, which makes pt most known for Internet users as a language designator rather than a country designator. We note that this reasoning has already been accepted in RSEP2014007 for all ISO 639-1 and 639-2 codes, and is even more applicable to this context considering it being the native language of the target registrants and the likely target users of such domains.

"PT" is also widely recognized in Brazil for the acronym of the Workers's Party ("Partido dos Trabalhadores"), the ruling party in Brazil since 2002.

"PT" is also known in the Brazil, and possibly other Portuguese speaking countries, as an abbreviation for "Ponto" (dot). In telegrams or telex messages of the previous century, it was used to replace "Ponto" due to having less letters at a time each character was costly to transmit.

"PT" is also commonly used as acronym of "Perda Total", which is a total loss of an insured property (usually a car). This become a slang used not only in the insurance business but to mean that anything was beyond repair, or even to mean that a person was totally drunk.

Considering the many uses of the 2-char combination 'pt', it would be surprising for someone to understand it as a reference to Portugal or .pt domains, and we understand that no further measures to avoid confusion with this 2-char combination are required.




2016-04-22

Núcleo de Informação e Coordenação do Ponto BR - NIC.brNo
bookpnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

book Mitigation

By Amazon Registry Services, Inc.

Amazon Registry Services, Inc. (“ARSI”), the Registry Operator for the .BOOK TLD, proposes release of the following 2-character letter-letter combinations: ai, bh, bm, ci, cn, eg, es, il, in, io, it, kr, ky, me, ms, pt, ru, sg, sh, su, tc, and tw. ARSI further proposes the following measures to avoid confusion with the corresponding country codes.

ARSI will commit to:
1. Investigate in a timely manner a report by the government of the country, state, or territory for which a 2-character letter-letter combination listed above (ai, bh, bm, ci, cn, eg, es, il, in, io, it, kr, ky, me, ms, pt, ru, sg, sh, su, tc, or tw) corresponds to its country code:
a. the use in the .BOOK TLD of a domain name consisting of a 2-character letter-letter combination listed above; and
b. corresponds to that government’s country code; and
c. implies or represents that it is, or has the approval of, such government; and
2. Where, in ARSI’s sole opinion, such use has occurred, ARSI, in its sole discretion:
a. will seek to work indirectly with the sponsoring registrar and/or directly with the registrant to address such use, or
b. may cause the domain name’s records to be removed from the DNS; and
3. Provide a written response within a commercially reasonable time period.

ARSI’s Acceptable Use Policy for the .BOOK TLD will require registrants of a domain name in the .BOOK TLD to ensure that their use of a 2-character letter-letter combination does not imply or represent that it is, or has the approval of, any government. ARSI will reserve the right to cancel, lock, place on hold, transfer or delete the domain name in accordance with our commitment above.


2016-04-25

Amazon Registry Services, Inc.No
bootspnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

boots Mitigation

By THE BOOTS COMPANY PLC

.boots is a closed top-level domain name for the sole and exclusive use of THE BOOTS COMPANY PLC.

Protections
THE BOOTS COMPANY PLC is the Registry Operator for the .boots TLD and has executed Specification 13 of the Registry Agreement. Specification 13 already contractually requires that THE BOOTS COMPANY PLC will apply measures which, by their very nature, avoid confusion with the corresponding country code, namely the following:
1. .boots is identical to a qualifying registered trademark;
2. .boots is not a Generic String, as this is defined in Specification 11;
3. .boots TLD has developed and will implement a closed registration policy for .boots that requires that all domain names in the .boots TLD be registered ONLY by Registry Operator, its Affiliates, and its Trademark Licensees;
4. As required under the Registry Agreement, the .boots TLD will clearly publish this registration policy;
5. .boots TLD will conduct internal reviews at least once per calendar year to ensure continued compliance with Specification 13.
Compliance with Specification 13 prohibits the .boots TLD from registering domain names to unaffiliated third parties and thus clearly designate to the public that .boots TLD is a proprietary space in which all second-level domains in the TLD are being operated by THE BOOTS COMPANY PLC, its Affiliates and Trademark Licensees and not the government or the corresponding country code operator.
By this text THE BOOTS COMPANY PLC confirms that all registrations of two letter domain names shall comply with the requirements of Specification 13.


2016-04-25

THE BOOTS COMPANY PLCYes
boutiquepnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

boutique Mitigation

By Donuts Inc.

Attached.


View Documents
2016-04-25

Donuts Inc.No
bridgestonepnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

bridgestone Mitigation

By Bridgestone Corporation

Proposed Measure to Avoid Confusion—Brand TLD (Specification 13)

Provide a brief explanation of the TLD:

.bridgestone is a closed Brand new gTLD operated by Bridgestone Corporation

Protections:

Bridgestone Corporation for the .bridgestone TLD has executed Specification 13 to the Registry Agreement. Specification 13 already contractually requires that the Bridgestone Corporation will apply measures which, by their very nature, avoid confusion with the corresponding country code, namely the following:

1. .bridgestone is identical to a qualifying registered trademark;

2. .bridgestone is not a Generic String, as this is defined in Specification 11;

3. .bridgestone TLD has developed and will implement a closed registration policy for .bridgestone that requires that all domain names in the .bridgestone TLD be registered ONLY by Registry Operator, its Affiliates, and its Trademark Licensees;

4. As required under the Registry Agreement, the .bridgestone TLD will clearly publish this registration policy;

5. .bridgestone TLD will conduct internal reviews at least once per calendar year to ensure continued compliance with Specification 13.

Compliance with Specification 13 prohibits the .bridgestone TLD from registering domain names to unaffiliated third parties and thus clearly designate to the public that .bridgestone TLD is a proprietary space in which all second-level domains in the TLD are being operated by Bridgestone Corporation, its Affiliates and Trademark Licensees and not the government or the corresponding country code operator. By this Bridgestone Corporation confirms that all registrations of two letter domain names shall comply with the requirements of Specification 13.


2016-04-25

Bridgestone CorporationYes
brokerpnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

broker Mitigation

By dotBroker Registry, dotCFD Registry, dotForex Registry, dotMarkets Registry, dotSpreadbetting Registry, dotTrading Registry [collectively, the "Boston Ivy Registry"]

Please find attached a document which outlines the Registry's plans to avoid confusion in respect of the below TLDs:

.Markets
.Trading
.Forex
.Broker
.Spreadbetting
.CFD


View Documents
2016-04-21

dotBroker Registry, dotCFD Registry, dotForex Registry, dotMarkets Registry, dotSpreadbetting Registry, dotTrading Registry [collectively, the "Boston Ivy Registry"]No
budapestpnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

budapest Mitigation

By Minds + Machines Group Limited, Bayern Connect GmbH, Minds + Machines GmbH

Registry Operator understands the concern that confusion may arise, and in order to mitigate such concern is willing to commit to:
a. investigate any reports of misuse, including misleading or deceptive conduct, including those from any relevant government and provide a written report in response; and
b. where, in Registry Operator’s sole opinion, misuse has occurred, registry operator will seek to work indirectly with the sponsoring registrar and/or directly with the registrant to address the misuse.
c. In the event that misuse continues to occur, the Registry Operator may, in its sole discretion, undertake direct action up to and including suspension or deletion of the domain name.


2016-04-22

Minds + Machines Group Limited, Bayern Connect GmbH, Minds + Machines GmbHNo
bugattipnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

bugatti Mitigation

By Bugatti International SA

.bugatti is a closed Brand TLD for the sole and exclusive use of Bugatti International SA.

Protections
Bugatti International SA (Registry Operator) for the .bugatti TLD has executed Specification 13 to the Registry Agreement. Specification 13 already contractually requires that the Registry Operator will apply measures which, by their very nature, avoid confusion with the corresponding country code, namely the following:

.bugatti is identical to a qualifying registered trademark;
.bugatti is not a Generic String, as this is defined in Specification 11;
Registry Operator has developed and implemented a closed registration policy for .bugatti that requires that all domain names in the .bugatti TLD be registered only by Bugatti International SA, its Affiliates, and its Trademark Licensees.

As required under the Registry Agreement, the Registry Operator published this registration policy on its website.

Registry Operator will conduct internal reviews at least once per calendar year to ensure continued compliance with Specification 13.

Compliance with Specification 13 prohibits the Registry Operator from registering domain names to unaffiliated third parties and thus clearly designate to the public that .bugatti TLD is a proprietary space in which all second-level domains in the TLD are being operated by the Registry Operator, its Affiliates and Trademark Licensees and not the governments or the corresponding country code operators.

By this submission Bugatti International SA confirms that all registrations of two letter domain names shall comply with the requirements of Specification 13.


2016-04-21

Bugatti International SAYes
buildpnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02No
builderspnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

builders Mitigation

By Donuts Inc.

Attached.


View Documents
2016-04-25

Donuts Inc.No
businesspnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

business Mitigation

By Donuts Inc.

Attached.


View Documents
2016-04-25

Donuts Inc.No
buzzpnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02No
bzhpnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02No
cabpnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

cab Mitigation

By Donuts Inc.

Attached.


View Documents
2016-04-25

Donuts Inc.No
cafepnView Comments
2015-12-02
2015-12-02View Mitigation

cafe Mitigation

By Donuts Inc.

Attached.


View Documents
2016-04-25

Donuts Inc.No

hk Comments

By Dominic Kwong, Alternate GAC Representative of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China, Office of the Government Chief Information Officer

In response to ICANN’s request for clarification of 6 October 2015 on how the release of two-character country codes as the second level domain (SLD) in new gTLDs would create confusion, we would like to reiterate our views on 24 March and 27 May 2015, which have stated the confusion and rationale related to the release of "hk" as SLD on the following two categories of new gTLDs, that they shall NOT be released for ALL requests:

(a) New gTLDs associated with Highly-regulated Sectors/Closed Entry Requirements in Multiple Jurisdictions and Inherently Governmental Functions as set out in ICANN NGPC Resolution No. 2014.02.05.NG01; and

(b) New gTLDs falling within the category of Geographic gTLDs referred to in ICANN’s New gTLD Program (i.e. the gTLD string is a geographic name as provided in the ICANN's gTLD Applicant Guidebook), and .capital, .city, .country, .town, and .world.

For easy reference, texts of our previous submitted views are reproduced below:

HKSARG’s VIEWS ON 24 MARCH 2015

‘I am writing to express the view of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government on the release of "hk" as the second level domain (SLD) in new gTLDs.

Our ccTLD, .hk, is commonly understood as the abbreviated name of Hong Kong. HK means Hong Kong to the Internet community globally and locally. The use of "hk" as SLD in new gTLDs would give the perception that the domain names in question belong to or are related to Hong Kong and the Hong Kong community.

(I) gTLDs for Regulated Sectors

As pointed out by GAC, gTLD strings that are linked to regulated or professional sectors should operate in a way that is consistent with applicable laws. These gTLD strings or Category 1 gTLDs are likely to invoke a level of implied trust from consumers, and carry higher levels of risk associated with consumer harm. GAC advised ICANN to apply safeguards (GAC Safeguard Advice 1 - 5) to these strings. In addition, for a limited subset of the Category 1 gTLDs that are associated with market sectors which have clear and/or regulated entry requirements (i.e. highly-regulated sectors), additional safeguards (GAC Safeguard Advice 6 - 8) should apply.

In this context, for the use of "hk" as SLD in new gTLDs associated with (1) Highly-regulated Sectors/Closed Entry Requirements in Multiple Jurisdictions and (2) Inherently Governmental Functions as set out in the ICANN NGPC Resolution No. 2014.02.05.NG01, The Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR Government) requests that :

(a) Registry operator should consult HKSAR Government on any request for domain name registration;
(b) The registry operator should implement measures in line with GAC safeguards 6-8 on verification and validation of credentials of registrants;
(c) Registry operator should consult HKSAR Government on any complaint expressing doubt with regard to authenticity of licences or credentials.

(II) Geographic gTLDs

For geographic gTLDs which are names of cities, countries or regions, or have strong geographic connotation, putting "hk" at the second level may cause confusion or perception of subordination. Among the current requests posted from 23 February 2015 to 19 March 2015, these gTLDs include: .amsterdam, .bayern, .berlin, .budapest, .capital, .city, .country, .frl, .hamburg, .kyoto, .london, .miami, .nagoya, .nrw, .nyc, .osaka, .taipei, .tirol, .tokyo, .town, .wien, .world, .yokohama, and .zuerich.

In this context, HKSAR Government requests that Registry operator should consult HKSAR Government on any request for domain name registration on such gTLDs.’


HKSARG’s VIEWS ON 27 MAY 2015

‘For the current requests of R000375 to R000466 and ALL FUTURE requests, “hk” shall NOT be included in ICANN's Authorization for Release of Two-character Letter/Letter ASCII Labels at the Second Level and shall NOT be released as SLD for -

(a) New gTLDs associated with Highly-regulated Sectors/Closed Entry Requirements in Multiple Jurisdictions and Inherently Governmental Functions as set out in ICANN NGPC Resolution No. 2014.02.05.NG01; and

(b) New gTLDs falling within the category of GEOGRAPHIC gTLDs referred to in ICANN’s New gTLD Program (i.e. the gTLD string is a geographic name as provided in the ICANN's gTLD Applicant Guidebook), and NAMELY .melbourne, .saarland, and .sydney in the current requests.'


Best Regards,
Dominic Kwong
Alternate GAC Representative of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China

uk Comments

By Nick Shorey, Senior Policy Officer, Department for Culture, Media & Sport

The administration in the Pitcairn Islands (UK overseas territory) have no objection to the use of two character domains which coincide with their ccTLD at the second level, and do not wish to be notified of such requests by registries.

Domain Name System
Internationalized Domain Name ,IDN,"IDNs are domain names that include characters used in the local representation of languages that are not written with the twenty-six letters of the basic Latin alphabet ""a-z"". An IDN can contain Latin letters with diacritical marks, as required by many European languages, or may consist of characters from non-Latin scripts such as Arabic or Chinese. Many languages also use other types of digits than the European ""0-9"". The basic Latin alphabet together with the European-Arabic digits are, for the purpose of domain names, termed ""ASCII characters"" (ASCII = American Standard Code for Information Interchange). These are also included in the broader range of ""Unicode characters"" that provides the basis for IDNs. The ""hostname rule"" requires that all domain names of the type under consideration here are stored in the DNS using only the ASCII characters listed above, with the one further addition of the hyphen ""-"". The Unicode form of an IDN therefore requires special encoding before it is entered into the DNS. The following terminology is used when distinguishing between these forms: A domain name consists of a series of ""labels"" (separated by ""dots""). The ASCII form of an IDN label is termed an ""A-label"". All operations defined in the DNS protocol use A-labels exclusively. The Unicode form, which a user expects to be displayed, is termed a ""U-label"". The difference may be illustrated with the Hindi word for ""test"" — परीका — appearing here as a U-label would (in the Devanagari script). A special form of ""ASCII compatible encoding"" (abbreviated ACE) is applied to this to produce the corresponding A-label: xn--11b5bs1di. A domain name that only includes ASCII letters, digits, and hyphens is termed an ""LDH label"". Although the definitions of A-labels and LDH-labels overlap, a name consisting exclusively of LDH labels, such as""icann.org"" is not an IDN."