Bayern Connect

Type:	Privately held
Industry:	Internet Industry
Founded:	2009
Founder(s):	Caspar von Veltheim
Headquarters:	Hohenzollern Strasse 7 80801 Munich
Country:	Germany
Website:	www.bayernconnect.com
Blog:	Bayern Blog
Facebook:	BayernConnect
Twitter:	Connect @Bayern Connect
Key People
Caspar von Veltheim Antony Van Couvering, Managing Directors

Bayern Connect is a company based in Germany appointed by the State Government of Bavaria to apply for the .bayern (bavaria) top level domain name (TLD) with the ICANN. Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd. (TLDH) has a majority holdings in the company. Bayern Connect was established by Caspar von Veltheim in 2009. He serves as managing director of the company together with Antony Van Couvering. TLDH's subsidiary, Minds + Machines, will provide back-end registry solutions to the proposed .bavaria (.bayern) TLD. The .bavaria (.bayern) is classified as a GeoTLD representing the German state of Bavaria.

The company's bid for .bayern gTLD is supported by the Bavarian State government, and leading Bavarian businesses and institutions. Prince Leopold of Bavaria, a strong advocate for the preservation of Bavarian traditions, serves as the company's Senior Adviser, while Dr. Andreas Schulz, an intellectual property attorney will advise in the development of policies to protect the intellectual property rights of registrants under the .bayern gTLD.

Bayern Connect plans to donate a significant amount of its revenue to charities and cultural organizations in Bavaria.

Leadership

Bayern Connect's leadership include:

• Prince Leopold of Bavaria, Patron
• Caspar von Veltheim, Managing Director
• Antony Van Couvering, Managing Director
• Jacob Pranter, Assistant Manager
• Elaine Pruis, Technical Director
• Peter Dengate Thrush, Executive Chairman TLDH
• Dr. Andreas Schulz, Partners of the Firm Lawyers KLAKA
• Dr. Ralf Hackbarth, Partners of the Firm Lawyers KLAKA

ICANN Involvement

Since its establishment Bayern Connect has actively participated in the different activities within the ICANN Community. The company attended ICANN meetings such as the ICANN 38 meeting in Brussels and the ICANN 36 meeting in Seoul.

On January 25, 2009, Bayern Connect supported ICANN's Expression of Interest program and submitted the following comments to the ICANN Board:

• The $55,000 submission fee is adequate and a fair compromise.
• The submission of EOI should be mandatory to help ICANN determine the extent of new gTLD applicants.
• The submitted EOI will not be reliable and it would be easier for applicants to pull out their application if the submission fee is refundable.
• A comprehensive communication campaign is necessary to increase the global awareness about the EOI.
• The information submitted in the EOI such as the contact details and string being applied for should be published.

Top-Level Domain