.bayern

Status:	Contract Signed
country:	Bavaria
Manager:	Bayern Connect
Registry Provider:	Minds + Machines
Type:	GeoTLD
PIC Submitted:	Download Here
Priority #:	155
More information:

.bayern is a proposed new GeoTLD in ICANN's new gTLD program, "bayern" is the German word for "Bavaria", and thus would be a top level signifier for people and companies who wish associate themselves with that region of Germany. Bayern is the largest German state by area and the second most populous.

At one point, there were two entities vying for support of their .bayern proposals: Bayern Connect and dotBayern. The former recieved government support and was thus able to apply for the TLD with ICANN. Minds + Machines was selected to run the registry, and its parent company Top Level Domain Holdings is the majority owner of Bayern Connect. It was one of the first companies to announce a state-centric TLD bid.

Application Details

The following is excerpted from the applicant's response to question #18:

"PUBLIC BENEFIT The .BAYERN top-level domain will enable the Free State of Bavaria, with its strong national identity and unique cultural background, to have its own name space on the world wide web. The strong online presence of the Free State of Bavaria will greatly promote the recognition and identity of this region, open up new opportunities for businesses and offer the population of Bavaria a new domain name space for their purposes.

In light of the, under 18(a), mentioned figures and data, the demand for a .BAYERN top-level domain is high and the many small and medium sized companies in Bavaria will greatly profit from this new extension, in addition to the Free State’s population and economy in general.

Therefore the government of the Free State of Bavaria fully supports the implementation and operation of the .BAYERN top-level domain. The government, like us, strongly believes in the benefits of the .BAYERN top-level domain, for the population as well as for the economy of the Free State of Bavaria. The government endorses our application to manage and operate the .BAYERN top-level domain in all respects. The implementation of the .BAYERN top-level domain shall be carried out in close cooperation with the Free State of Bavaria.

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We specifically examined more restrictive registration policies, such as limiting registration to members of organizations with a specific relation to the Free State of Bavaria. We rejected such limitations because they would interfere with .BAYERN’s primary mission, purpose and goals--which is to encourage as many registrants as possible to associate themselves with the Free State of Bavaria for any legal purpose. Factors that we took into account when considering a more restrictive registration policy included:

- Our recognition that registrants of a .BAYERN domain name will self-select because they have an interest in the Free State of Bavaria , and this fact will naturally reduce the number of potential registrants; and, because restrictive policies such as, for example, requiring membership in a specific organization or organizations, would exclude many legitimate registrants from obtaining a .BAYERN domain name. For example, and by way of illustration, if membership in an organization were required for registration, businesses and charitable organizations that would find a .BAYERN top-level domain name an effective marketing tool would be excluded from registering a .BAYERN domain name as they might not be eligible to be members in an organization that accepted only natural persons for membership.

The .BAYERN top-level domain will be marketed to registrants who want to associate themselves, their products, services, thoughts, ideas or anything else in a positive way with the .BAYERN top-level domain, as well as to those who want to communicate with them in an easily identifiable way. Therefore we believe that the great majority of registrants who apply for a .BAYERN domain name will do so because of its association with the Free State of Bavaria or because they want to reach those who do, and not for other reasons. In these ways, the .BAYERN top-level domain will bring a special association to the top-level domain name space."

Contract Signed

On 23 January 2014 Bayern Connect received a Registry Agreement signed by ICANN for .bayern after passing all the required processes needed to become a Registry Operator for the string.

Top-Level Domain