View source for Donuts

==New gTLD Applications==
On June 5, 2012, Donuts announced that it submitted applications for 307 [[gTLD|generic top level domain names]] (gTLDs), including [[IDN]] TLDs, and secured $100 million in capital from multi-billion dollar private equity and venture funds.<ref>[http://domainnamewire.com/2012/06/05/donuts-raises-100-million-applies-for-307-new-tlds/ Donuts raises $100 million, applies for 307 new TLDs], DomainNameWire.com. Published 5 June 2012.</ref>  

According to Daniel Schindler, one of Donuts' four co-founders, the company originally came up with a list of 3,000 prospective domain names.  He said, "We made a long list of dictionary terms, in multiple languages and character sets. We created our own proprietary way of valuing the [gTLDs], and that helped us narrow it down. But 307 is still a lot, obviously."<ref>[http://money.cnn.com/2012/06/05/technology/donuts-domains-funding/index.htm?source=cnn_bin 'Donuts' startup lands $100 million for dot-brand domains], CNN.com. Published 5 June 2012.</ref>

At one point, an article from Bloomberg reported that the company plans to apply for 10 gTLDs. <ref>[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-10/go-daddy-verisign-bet-on-windfall-from-web-address-expansion-ge-opposes.html Go Daddy Bets on Windfall From Web-Address Expansion Beyond .Com], Bloomberg. Published 10 January 2012.</ref> Mason Cole, the company's Vice President of Communications and industry relations explained that the reporter from Bloomberg misunderstood or had a miscommunication with Stahura. He said that at the time of the interview, the exact number of the gTLDs to be applied for hadn't been finalized. Mr. Cole also said that the company is well prepared to operate all the 307 gTLDs.<ref>[http://domainnamewire.com/2012/06/05/a-tasty-conversation-with-donuts-which-just-applied-for-307-tlds/ A tasty conversation with Donuts, which just applied for 307 TLDs], DomainNameWire.com. Published 5 June 2012.</ref>

In terms of [[Intellectual Property|intellectual property]] rights protection, the company said that it created rights protection mechanisms for new gTLDs and it will implement an open Internet philosophy. According to Stahura, "The Internet is an engine of information, ideas and commerce, and one that’s not restrictive unnecessarily. Donuts intends to preserve that openness for all users, not operate a ‘by invitation only’ section of the Internet."<ref>[http://domainincite.com/9227-donuts-applies-for-307-yes-307-gtlds Donuts applies for 307 (yes, 307) gTLDs], DomainIncite.com. Published 5 June 2012.</ref> This statement can be seen to reference the plans of other large portfolio applicants such as [[Google]] and [[Amazon]], that are not only applying for [[brand TLD]]s for exclusive corporate use, but are also applying for generic terms with no plans to offer public registration.
===Partnerships===
Donuts signed a strategic partnership with [[Demand Media]] in pursuit of certain gTLDs. According to a press statement, under the agreement, Demand Media has the right to acquire some of the approved gTLDs applied for by Donuts.<ref>
[http://ir.demandmedia.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=215358&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1704010&highlight= Demand Media to Participate in Historic Expansion of Generic Top Level Web Domain Name Extensions]</ref> Furthermore, [[Demand Media]]'s wholly owned subsidiary, Demand Media Europe Limited, will serve as the back-end registry service provider for Donuts.<ref name="funding">[http://donuts.co/images/stories/donuts_launch_release.pdf Donuts Launches Domain Namespace with 307 gTLD Applications, More than 100 Million in Funding], Donuts.co. Published 5 June 2012.</ref>

In October 2012, Donuts announced that they would use [[Architelos]]' NameSentry [[SaaS|software-as-a-service]] to detect and mitigate domain name abuse. The patent-pending NameSentry application protects new gTLDs from phishing, malware, spam, botnets and other types of abuse. It is the first independent, third-party resource of its kind for the domain name industry.<ref>[http://www.domainnamenews.com/up-to-the-minute/donuts-to-use-architelos-namesentry/12158 Donuts To Use Architelos NameSentry], DomainNameNews.com. Published 10 October 2012.</ref>

It was reported on May 1st, 2013 that '''Donuts''' will not be pursuing joint ventures in its [[gTLD]] applications, asserting that its strategy continues to be focused on securing their applications and solely managing them.<ref>[http://domainincite.com/12837-donuts-not-pursuing-new-gtld-joint-ventures Donuts Not Pursuing New gTLD Joint Ventures, Domain Incite]Retrieved 10 Sept 2013</ref>

===Auctions===
During [[ICANN 45]] in Toronto, auction expert [[Peter Cramton]] outlined a private [[gTLD Auctions|gTLD auction]] model as a solution for resolving 158 new gTLD contention sets. Donuts co-founder [[Jon Nevett]] says that Donuts will handle as many of its contention sets as possible via this method, as auctions will be cheaper and faster for applicants than ICANN's original method. "The cost of losing an ICANN auction is greater than the cost of losing a private auction," Nevett said. "If you lose an ICANN auction you get nothing, zero, you lose your asset... [but with private auctions] it doesn't hurt as much to lose, so the theory is the second-place guys won't stretch as much."<ref>[http://domainincite.com/10828-heres-how-donuts-wants-to-resolve-its-158-new-gtld-contention-fights Here's how Donuts wants to resolve its 158 new gTLD contention fights]. Domain Incite. Published 2012 October 23. Retrieved 2012 November 13.</ref>

In June 2014, Donuts' CEO Paul Stahura posted a blog entry noting that  Donuts had spent $50 million so far on Private auctions for New gTLDs and that it has won roughly 50% of the auctions it has participated in. As the exact figures of most private auctions are not disclosed, it is not known how much was spent or gained on individual auctions.<ref>[http://domainincite.com/16882-donuts-spends-50-million-on-new-gtld-auctions Donuts Spends 50 Million on New gTLD Auctions] (16 June 2014) Kevin Murphy, ''DomainIncite''; Retrieved 16 June 2014</ref><ref>[http://www.donuts.co/blog/donuts-by-the-numbers-50/ Donuts by The Numbers] (11 June 2014) Paul Stahura, ''Donuts.co''; Retrieved 16 June 2014</ref>

===GAC Early Warnings===
Donuts received 49 [[GAC]] Early Warnings, which represents about 17% of its portfolio. The Early Warnings do not constitute GAC consensus and only represent one government's view. The large majority of Donuts' warnings came from the Australian GAC Representative and GAC Chair, [[Heather Dryden]]. She stated that a number of their strings were related to regulated markets and that Donuts had not sufficiently addressed verification or protection mechanisms to prevent consumer fraud and confusion. This arguably can be seen as a result of Donuts filing every one of their applications with the exact same wording, and not addressing the relevant market at hand. Ms. Dryden issued the most of any GAC representative, and also warned some of Donuts' largest competitors, such as [[Google]] and [[Amazon]], that they should not be allowed to obtain a generic word, such as "blog", and use it for their sole corporate purposes. Donuts does not propose any closed TLDs and consequently can be seen to benefit from those styles of warnings.<ref>[http://www.tldh.org/2012/11/icann-prioriisation-draw/ ICANN Prioritization Draw, TLDH.org] Retrieved 1 Dec 2012</ref><ref>[https://gacweb.icann.org/display/gacweb/GAC+Early+Warnings GAC Early Warnings, GACweb.ICANN.org]Retrieved 1 Dec 2012</ref>

===PICs===
Donuts submitted a [[PIC|Public Interest Commitment]] (PIC) for every one of its gTLD applications. PICs are voluntary amendments that applicants can create, sign, and undertake along with the general registry agreement in order to hold their registry operations to certain standards. They seem to originally have been developed as a way to allow applicants to appease [[GAC]] members that may be concerned about how their application stands as is, or how ICANN will be able to ensure a potential registry remains compliant with its aspirations and mandate as it defined in its summary of its proposed operations in the TLD application. Prior to PICs, there was no clear way of defining operating procedures when moving from the long-form essays in the TLD application to the Registry Agreement. 

The PICs Donuts submitted largely reinforce the best practices and protections it defined in its applications. The PIC submission process and proposed New TLD Registry Accreditation Agreement controversially include provisions giving the [[ICANN Board]] the unilateral right to amend further agreements and restrict registries to working with registrars that have signed a non-existent but forthcoming update to the 2009 [[Registrar Accreditation Agreement]]. Donuts notes in its PICs that it does not support these provisions.

Their PICs provide for: open registration policies; geographic names protections; frequent [[Whois]] database audits; establishment of a [[Domains Protected Marks List]] (DPML); establishment of a claims notification service for additional trademark protection; binding registrants to terms of use that define abusive behavior; reservation of the right to exclude non-compliant registrars from distribution; reserve the right to suspend, cancel, or otherwise take control of names that are suspected or proven of being involved in abusive activities; and maintaining a clear, singular point of contact for all abuse-related correspondence.<ref>[[https://gtldresult.icann.org/application-result/applicationstatus/applicationdetails/1731 PIC Download, gTLDresult.ICANN.org] Retrieved 12 Mar 2013</ref>

===Contracting===
Donuts became one of the first applicants in the [[New gTLD Program]] to sign a [[Registry Agreement]] (RA) with [[ICANN]]. The company's application for [[.游戏]] (as Spring Fields LLC) was one of the first 4 applications to receive an [[RA]].<ref>[http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/announcements-and-media/announcement-15jul13-en Announcement 15 July 2013, ICANN.org] Retrieved 11 Oct 2013</ref> Donuts has since received many signed [[RA]]s from [[ICANN]] for various applications.

===Sunrise Periods===
Donuts became the first new gTLD [[Registry]] to announce [[Sunrise Period]]s for a number of its applications. The Sunrise began on October 29, 2013 for nine strings: [[.camera]], [[.clothing]], [[.equipment]], [[.guru]], [[.holdings]], [[.lighting]], [[.singles]], [[.ventures]] and [[.voyage]]. The period ended after 60 days.<ref>[http://domainincite.com/14688-donuts-first-gtld-sunrise-slated-for-october-29 Donuts first gTLD Sunrise Slated for Oct 29, Domain Incite] Retrieved 11 Oct 2013</ref>

===General Availability===
Although it is customary to hold a [[Landrush Period]] following the closing of the Sunrise Period, Donuts will instead go directly to General Availability with its current New gTLDs. However, they are holding an "Early Access Program" that takes place during the first few days of General Availability. A list of premium domain names will be on sale for at least $10,000 on the first day of General Availability, and fall in price each consecutive day until they settle at average market prices. A select number of registrars are offering this early program.<ref>[http://domainincite.com/15668-moment-of-truth-as-first-seven-new-gtlds-go-on-sale First Seven New gTLDs go On Sale, Domain Incite] Retrieved 29 Jan 2014</ref>