.discount

Status:	Delegated
Type:	Generic
Category:	Commerce
Priority #:	1043 - Donuts (Holly Hill, LLC) 1175 - WhatBox? (Dot Discount, LLC)
More information:

.discount is a gTLD that was proposed in ICANN's New gTLD Program. Donuts won the rights to the string over WhatBox? in a Private auction and is now the Registry Operator for the string. The Donuts application succeeded and was delegated to the Root Zone on 23 April 2014.

Registry Operator

1. Donuts (Holly Hill, LLC) - The company has applied for 307 new gTLDs. Each application was filed under a different company name. Daniel Schindler, co-founder and EVP for Marketing and Sales of Donuts, is the main contact person in the application. This applicant submitted a Public Interest Commitment, which can be downloaded here.

Background

Private Auction

Donuts won in a private auction the right to .discount, beating out fellow applicant Dot Discount, LLC. The auction was managed by Innovative Auctions and the winning bid was not disclosed.

Previous Applicants

1. Dot Discount, LLC - The contact person listed in the application is Mr. Erik Ludwick.

European Commission Communiqué

The European Commission flagged both applications for .discount outside of ICANN's defined remediation processes.

Just after ICANN's GAC issued its Early Warnings, which are advice given from one GAC member country to an applicant warning it of potential issues within its application, the European Commission issued a letter to all applicants within the new gTLD program. The letter highlights 58 applications that "could raise issues of compatibility with the existing legislation .. and/or with policy positions and objectives of the European Union." It notes a desire to open a dialogue with each offending applicant.

The Commission specifically notes that this objection is not a part of the GAC Early Warning process, and goes on to note that "the Commission does not consider itself legally bound to [ICANN] processes," given that there is not legal agreement between the two bodies.

Contract Signed

On 06 March 2014 Donuts received a Registry Agreement signed by ICANN for .discount after passing all the required processes needed to become a Registry Operator for the string.

Delegation and Availability

.discount was delegated to the Root Zone of the DNS on 23 April, 2014, completing the successful application for the string.

Governmental Advisory Committee. Considers and provides advice on the activities of ICANN as they relate to concerns of governments, particularly matters where there may be an interaction between ICANN's policies and various laws and international agreements or where they may affect public policy issues (ICANN Bylaws).