Community Applicants: Difference between revisions

[[EFLUX.ART, LLC]] notes that it  "already enjoys the support of a vast international community of individuals, organizations and companies that are active in the art community, with whom e-flux has extensively discussed its plans. This is shown by the vast amount of support letters from leading public and private art institutions as well as noted international artists, critics and curators, received by e-flux, and attached to our response to Question 20." Their eligibility and verification processes will include the need for registrants to be endorsed as legitimate by two existing .art registrants. Thereby creating a network of verifiable art professionals.<ref>gTLD Application 1-1675-51302</ref>

2. <big>'''[[.bank]]'''</big>, has been applied for by two applicants, with only one, [[fTLD Registry Services LLC]] applying as a community applicant. That company is a partnership between the [[American Bankers Association]] (ABA) & [[BITS]], the technology policy arm of the Financial Services Roundtable.<ref>[http://domainincite.com/bits-may-apply-for-six-financial-gtlds/ BITS may apply for six financial gTLDs]</ref> The ABA and Roundtable initiative is endorsed by the Australian Bankers' Association, American Bankers Insurance Association, British Bankers' Association, European Banking Federation, Independent Community Bankers of America, the International Banking Federation, and numerous financial services institutions.<ref>[http://insurancenewsnet.com/article.aspx?id=344544 ABA and the Financial Services Roundtable Apply for Financial Domains to Protect Consumers]</ref>

The non-community applicant for [[.bank]] is [[Radix]], a portfolio applicant and subsidiary of [[Directi]] that has applied for 31 new gTLDs.

3. '''<big>[[.cpa]]'''</big>, there are a total of 5 applicants submitting 6 applications for [[.cpa]]; one of the applicants, The [[American Institute of Certified Public Accountants]], has submitted a community priority application and a general application, this is done to ensure that the applicant still has a chance to manage the TLD even if it is denied community status by [[ICANN]]. The other community priority applicant is the [[CPA AUSTRALIA LTD]].

[[CPA AUSTRALIA LTD]] (CPA Australia) represents a membership of 139,000 Certified Practicing Accountants (CPAs) spread across 114 countries, with a particularly strong presence in the fast growing Asia-Pacific region including China, Hong Kong and Singapore. Registration will be open to full CPA members and students; and "[a]t some point in the future, the CPA Australia community may review and consider expanding the community to include practicing accountants and other members of various CPA organisations around the world which also use a similar CPA designation."<ref>Application 1-1744-1971</ref>

4. <big>'''[[.eco]]'''</big>, There are 4 applications for [[.eco]], including the one community application from [[Big Room Inc.]]. "In 2009, Big Room, itself a Certified B Corporation obliged to consider environmental, social and financial interests, launched an international multi-year stakeholder consultation process with the Community on the potential for .ECO to exist as a Community TLD. The process included 7 in-person consultations on 5 continents. Draft policies were published for 3 public comment periods of at least 30 days each...Since establishment, this international multi-stakeholder community council, made up of leading environmental organizations including WWF International, Greenpeace International, Green Cross International and others, has worked to define the mission, purpose and policies for a .ECO Community TLD that reflects the Community’s interests. The council’s work included 2 in-person meetings (Brussels ⁄ Washington, DC) and more than 20 conference calls between members. In September 2010, the council unanimously adopted a charter for the .ECO Community TLD - the .ECO Policy Consensus. The purpose and principles outlined in the .ECO Policy Consensus define what .ECO will mean as an active expression of the goals, values and interests of the Community. The Consensus has been reviewed and affirmed by the Big Room board of directors."

Eligibility for registration will largely depend on being able to furnish proof of membership to an environmental organization or the implementation of an environmental mission purpose.<ref>Application 1-912-59314</ref>

5. <big>'''[[.gay]]'''</big> There are 4 total applicants for the [[.gay]] TLD, including one community applicant, [[dotgay LLC]]. The company is supported by the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA), National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) and the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, New York (NGLCCNY). dotgay LLC plans to donate 67% of the revenue generated from the sales of .gay domain names to non-profit LGBT organizations.<ref>[http://dotgay.com/ About dotgay]</ref> Their registration policies will include participation by "authentication partners", which will be gay and lesbian membership organization, ".gay is restricted to members of the Gay Community. Eligibility is determined through formal membership with any of dotgay LLC’s Authentication Partners (AP) from the community." Generic terms, such as "travel", will be reserved at the second level to create community resources, i.e. "travel.gay". <ref>gTLD Application 1-1713-23699</ref>

6. <big>'''[[.gmbh]]'''</big>, there are 6 applicants for [[.gmbh]], one of them being a community application submitted by [[TLDDOT GmbH]]. The CEO of the company is the long-time ICANN participant, [[Dirk Krischenowski]]. GmbH is an acronym for the German corporate mark "Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung",  which means "company with limited liability". The designation is equivalent to an LLC mark elsewhere, and it is used in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. The applicant delineates the GmbH community along 3 layers: first, the Government, responsible for the oversight of the title; second, Chambers and Associations, which represent whole collections of GmbH companies, and are sometimes required to exist by law; and thirdly, the GmbH companies themselves.  

The applicant sees itself as a member and leader of the community, as it is itself a GmbH; that it has worked with the government's of the respective countries using GmbH within [[ICANN]]'s GAC; and that it has maintained relations with major GmbH associations, such as the BVMW (The German Association for Small and Medium-sized Businesses). The only letter of support that is attached to its application is a letter from the latter association, which is the largest such association in Germany.<ref>Application 1-1273-63351</ref>

7. <big>'''[[.hotel]]'''</big>The 7 applications for [[.hotel]] include one [[Community TLD|community priority applicant]], [[HOTEL Top-Level-Domain S.a.r.l]]. Registration would be restricted to hotels, hotel chains, hotel associations, and marketing or other representative organizations that work directly for hotels and hotel chains. The applicant is a member of 4 hotel associations, which support its application; the CEO of [[HOTEL Top-Level-Domain S.a.r.l]], [[Johannes Lenz-Hawliczek]], serves on the board of directors for the International Hotel & Restaurant Association; and the applicant has secured endorsement from the organizations to which it belongs, and other international and regional hotel associations - with 5 total letters attached to its application.  

A post-registration verification process will be put in place; whereby the domain can be registered but not fully implemented until the registrant is authorized as a legitimate member of the hotel community. "For evaluation purposes industry databases will be used, like hotel association databases or other electronically available databases. Within 48 hours after registration started, the registry will provide the evaluation result to the registrar.. Once reviewed the reviewer will confirm or deny the registration."<ref>Application 1-1032-95136</ref>

8. <big>'''[[.insurance]]'''</big>, there are 4 applicants for [[.insurance]], including one [[Community TLD|community priority application]] from [[fTLD Registry Services LLC]] (FRS). FRS is a joint partnership between the [[American Bankers Association]] (ABA) and the [[Financial Services Roundtable]. "At the behest and approval of both the ABA and the Roundtable members and Boards, FRS was formed in 2011 for the explicit purpose of applying for and operating financial services-related gTLDs. In addition, FRS seeks to protect the brand space, improve the protection available for a more secure Internet ecosystem, collaborate on delivering more innovative and secure products and services, and zealously advocate for the interests of the insurance community with ICANN."

Registration will include the submission of information to be used to verify standing as an insurance company (referral to the regulatory authority issuing its charter), or mission statements, brokerage license numbers, or association members for those members of the community that are not themselves insurance companies. "Domain names that pass the vetting process will enter a 5-day Add Grace Period (AGP), or Pending Create, before becoming valid. Applicants whose domain name fails the vetting process will be notified with reasons for denial and procedures for appeal. Any applicant who is rejected for any reason can appeal the decision to FRS." All initial registrations must be made to correspond to valid trademarks, trade names, or service marks. Generic terms will be set aside to be used by FRS or to be sold at a date post-launch.<ref>Application 1-1035-75923</ref>

9. <big>'''[[.kids]]'''</big>, the [[TLD]], [[.kids]], has been applied for by two parties; [[Amazon]] has applied for it as a generic TLD, while the [[DotKids Foundation Limited]] has applied for it as a [[Community TLD]]. The kids community includes kids (defined by the U.N. as any human under the age of 18), Parents and educators, Charities NGOs and Governmental instituions and educational instituions. The applicant has received a number of endorsements, especially from individuals and organizations based in Hong Kong, where the applicant is also based.  

"The Registry intends to remain independent to the community.  However, the Registry will work closely with community organizations and will invite community organizations in its policy development processes and governance structure. Also, we see the participation from the community crucial to our success." The applicant intends to restrict registration to kids-centric organizations and services, and registrants must adhere to a policy that limits their content to only beneficial, kid-centric material.<ref>Application 1-1309-46695</ref>

10. <big>'''[[.med]]'''</big>, there are 4 applications for [[.med]], two of them being [[community TLD|community priority applications. The two community applicants are [[DocCheck AG]] and [[HEXAP SAS]].

The second community applicant, [[HEXAP SAS]], has significantly more endorsement letters attached to its application, including letters from The Mayo Clinic, Stanford, The World Dental Federation, The French Medical Order of Physicians, and other international and regional organizations. <ref>[http://gtldresult.icann.org/application-result/applicationstatus/applicationdetails/1236 Application Details, gTLDResult.ICANN.org]</ref> "Registrants cannot be anonymous in that sense that they have to provide accurate and full-contact information to the Registry Operator, which information will be published in the .MED Whois. In order to register a domain name, the candidate registrant must certify that he or she is a health-care professional who is licensed to practice in the country where he purports to be working. Any such information will need to be reported to the Medical Clearinghouse, operated by HEXAP, and must be kept up-to-date at all times throughout the lifecycle of the domain name."<ref>Application 1-1192-28569</ref>

11. <big>'''[[.mls]]'''</big>, there are a total of 3 applications for [[.mls]], a TLD aimed at the real estate agency. "MLS" is an acronym for multiple listing service, which is a widely used real estate database in North America. There are 3 applications, but only 2 applicants, as the Canadian Real Estate Association applied as a [[Community TLD|community priority]] applicant and as a standard gTLD applicant. This is a means of ensuring that the Canadian Real Estate Association is still in a place to be delegated the TLD, even if it is not accepted as a community TLD.

While [[.mls]] has been applied for by the Canadian Association, it has already reached a deal to allow partners in America, the MLS Domains Association, to verify and sell its domains in the USA.<ref>[http://www.inman.com/profile/innovator/canadian-real-estate-associationmls-domains-association Canadian Real Estate Association, Inman.com]</ref>  Their registration policies state: "Only members of CREA and its Foreign Affiliates will be permitted to register .MLS websites.  The .MLS TLD will initially be made available to CREA’s Board members and Foreign Affiliate members.  After undertaking any required assessments, CREA may enter into a second phase where the TLD would be made available to broker and salespeople members of CREA.  Boards using the .MLS TLD will be required to use their corporate name, or an acronym of their corporate name, as the second level domain.  Foreign Affiliate members will be required to include geographical modifiers in their second level domains on the .MLS TLD or clearly indicate the geographical area served by their system on any site page.  For example, the Durham MLS would not be able to simply register Durham.mls, as this domain could be confusing with Durham, Ontario.  The Durham MLS would be required to include a geographical modifier, like DurhamNorthCarolina.mls, or they would have to display something like a map of North Carolina on their home page."<ref>gTLD Application 1-1888-47714</ref>

12. <big>'''[[.music]]'''</big>, there are 8 applications for [[.music]], including 2 [[community TLD|community priority application]], [[DotMusic|DotMusic / CGR E-Commerce Ltd]] and [[Far Further|.music LLC]] (Far Further).

The other community applicant is [[Far Further]] (.music LLC). Many of its executives are also members of music organizations and associations, and the applicant claims that "there are forty-two (42) clearly delineated, organized and pre-existing music community organizations that have provided individual written statements of support. This unparalleled level of global music community representation is referred to as the Charter Member Organizations of the Global Music Community (GMC). Collectively they represent over 4 million individual members within more than 1,000 associations in over 150 countries...Potential domain registrants must be members of or affiliated with at least one Member Organization of the Global Music Community."<ref>Application 1-959-51046</ref>

13. <big>'''[[.radio]]'''</big>, there are 4 applicants for the [[.radio]] TLD, including one community priority applicant, the [[European Broadcasting Union]] (EBU). The EBU is the largest international association of national broadcasters, and it counts the World Broadcasting Unions (WBU), the Association Mondiale des Radiodiffuseurs Communautaires (AMARC) among its supporters. It intends to support local and national radio programs, online radios and podcasts that maintain consistent programming, and amateur radio broadcasters. Membership validation will depend on in what way the applicant participates and has been registered within the broadcasting community.<ref>Application 1-1083-39123</ref>

During [[ICANN 44]] in Prague, the [[European Broadcasting Union]] requested permission to become a recognized observer in [[ICANN]]'s [[GAC]]. This move raised questions of conflicts of interest, given that [[GAC]] advice is to be strongly considered by the [[ICANN Board]] during application proceedings.<ref>[http://domainincite.com/9640-radio-gtld-applicant-joins-the-gac Radio gTLD Applicant Joins the GAC, DomainIncite.com]</ref> Fellow .radio applicant, [[BRS Media]], sent a letter to a chair of the [[GAC]], [[Heather Dryden]], complaining that granting the EBU observer status would cause a conflict of interests, and requesting that the EBU withdraw its GAC application immediately in order to recuse itself from all new gTLD discussions.<ref>[http://domainincite.com/9732-radio-applicant-slams-gac-conflict-of-interest Radio Applicant Slams GAC Conflict of Interest, DomainIncite.com]</ref> The EBU went on to be accepted into the GAC.<ref>[http://radioforward.com/ebugac/ EBUGAC.RadioForward.com]</ref>

14. <big>'''[[.shop]]'''</big>, there are 9 applications for [[.shop]] from 8 applicants. One community priority applicant, [[GMO Registry]], also submitted a generic application in order to still have a chance at the TLD should they not be awarded the community designation. The other community applicant, [[Commercial Connect LLC]], submitted only the one community application.

The application by [[GMO Registry]] leaves greater room in its use of language for shops providing "offline" commerce services. Their application is supported by a few commerce associations, such as the European Multi-channel and Online Trade Association (EMOTA) and the Japan Foundation for Electronic Commerce (JFEC). THere are not strong membership requirements delineated in the application.<ref>Application 1-890-52063</ref>

15. <big>'''[[.spa]]'''</big>, there are 3 applications for the [[.spa]] TLD, including 1 community priority application from [[Asia Spa and Wellness Promotion Council Limited]] (ASWPC). It is "connected with over 400 licensed spas across Asia and over 2000 spa professionals participating in and attending its events." While the organization is focused on Asia, they intend to operate the TLD as an open, international community space for all members of the spa community, which includes Spa operators, professionals and practitioners, Spa associations and their members, and spa products and services manufacturers and distributors. The ASWPC will create an International Registry board to oversee the registration policies for the TLD.<ref>Application 1-1309-81322</ref>

16. <big>'''[[.sport]]'''</big>, there are 2 applicants for [[.sport], including one community application; there is also a non-community application for the plural version, [[.sports]]. The community application comes from [[Sport Accord]], and it has engaged the International Sports Federations and the International Olympic Committee to comprise a Policy Advisory Board (PAB). "[R]egistrants in .sport must be recognized performers, organizers, promoters or supporters of federated Sport, or belong to categories of registrants recognized by the .sport Policy Advisory Board (PAB)." The Olympic Committee has previously been involved in discussions in [[ICANN] regarding universal protections for its trademarks across all new gTLDs.

17. <big>'''[[.swiss]]'''</big>, There are two applicants for the [[.swiss]] TLD; [[Swiss International Air Lines Ltd.]] and the [[Swiss Confederation]], the latter is a [[Community TLD|Community Priority Applicant]]. The .swiss registry is fully recognized by the Sovereign Confederation of Switzerland. It has secure [[CORE]] at its backend registry operator. "The purpose of the TLD .swiss is to serve the Swiss community, defined as the community of individuals, legal entities and public institutions with a bona fide presence in Switzerland."

"A bona fide presence in Switzerland (and thus community membership) (A) is a necessary but NOT in itself a sufficient condition for the right to hold any imaginable .swiss domain name. As the policy principles under (B) above show, there are additional requirements specific to the intrinsic role and importance of the domain name in question. These requirements will be defined in detail in specific registration regulations. They concern in particular the nature of the registrant’s presence in Switzerland and the registrant’s use of the domain name. Again, this will based on the fundamental principle of prudence: starting with a conservative registration policy in order to establish quality of and confidence in the .swiss TLD and then gradually opening up the policy as long as it does not endanger this quality and confidence."<ref>Application 1-1328-58462</ref>

18. <big>'''[[.taxi]]'''</big>, There are 3 applicants for [[.taxi]], including a community priority application submitted by [[Taxi Pay GmbH]]. Its primary supporters include taxi organizations and associations in Germany and Austria. It identifies four type of taxi community members: The core industry of taxi drivers and offices; the related industries involved in hardware and software suppliers, automotive repair shops, and insurance companies; subordinate organizations affiliated with government supervision and policy development; and major institutions and locations that rely heavily on taxi services in and around their venue(s).  

"First, an applicant for a .taxi second level domain has to submit proof of his or her affiliation with the taxi industry to the desired registrar. This process does not involve any formalities on the side of TaxiPay GmbH except an official document, such as a taxi license or a commensurate certificate of registration stating the purpose of the company and aligning it with a strong affiliation to the taxi community."<ref>Application 1-1025-18840</ref>

19. <big>'''[[.tennis]]'''</big>, There are 4 applicants for [[.tennis]], including one community applicant, [[Tennis Australia Ltd]], which is the governing body for Tennis in Australia. "Only individuals and entities belonging to the Tennis Australia community will be eligible to register  a domain name within the .tennis TLD, as strict eligibility criteria will be introduced...Tennis Australia provides benefits to 2,176 affiliated tennis clubs and their over 180,000 tennis player members throughout Australia."

Current language in its application does not seem to leave room for any registration of the [[.tennis]] TLD outside of Australia.<ref>Application 1-1723-69677</ref>

To begin with the TLD will be a [[Single Registrant TLD]], meaning that the applicant will use it for their own commercial and internal profits and not offer registration to the wider community. "At a later stage, in addition to the Applicant and⁄or its subsidiaries, members of the Webs community will possibly be entitled to register domain names in .WEBS. That is to say, one of the main eligibility criteria will be that the interested party wishing to register a domain name in the .WEBS TLD is either a member of the Applicant or has a sufficiently close link to the Webs community."<ref>Application 1-1033-22687</ref>