.earth Pre-Register Domain - .earth Domain Information

Interlink Co., Ltd. (Interlink) envisions that the ".earth" top-level domain (TLD) will become a symbol of worldwide unity on the Internet. ".earth" will add to the diversity of available namespaces on the Internet as well as provide a viable alternative to newly proposed gTLDs thereby creating an opportunity for Internet users to register new memorable domain names with which they can use to create thriving business models and innovative online brands, and show their support to build a better home for all of Earth's inhabitants. By registering a second-level domain in the ".earth" TLD, registrants will agree to do their part in protecting the planet, environmentally and socially, by doing away with all forms of harmful actions to Earth and its inhabitants. All registrants effectively become ambassadors to the ".earth" community.

The concept of creating the ".earth" TLD is much larger than environmental relationships, or philanthropic ideals; it's all about connecting and establishing cooperative relationships between like-minded individuals who wish to show their support for making the planet a better place. Interlink anticipates that domains under ".earth" will focus on a wide range of issues; for example, while some users will register domains associated with the preservation of wildlife, others may register names that deal with societal relationships including international and racial conflicts, and other users may use ".earth" to publicize their mission to raise support and awareness for serious illnesses. As part of the registration process, all registrants will agree to and pledge to do away with any and all hostile actions that harm earth and its inhabitants. The registration of an ".earth" name will require users to fully acknowledge equality, tolerance, and fairness among all people.

The following three points can summarize the overall purpose and existence of ".earth":

　1. Creation of a Namespace for Like-Minded People Everywhere
　2. Contribute to Worthy Causes
　3. Operate a Safe, Stable, and Secure TLD


1. Creation of a Namespace for Like-Minded People Everywhere

There are thousands of businesses, organizations, community groups, etc., that are focused on activities to protect the environment, preserve Earth, protect wildlife, and improve life on Earth. There are millions of individuals who share the same passion for supporting similar causes.

The establishment and promotion of the ".earth" TLD domain will create a unified space on the Internet where like-minded individuals can easily identify causes of interest to support and engage in. The ".earth" TLD has the potential to spark innovation and creativity among organizations, businesses, and individuals. As the TLD grows in registration ".earth" will become a powerful tool in creating a worldwide movement to enhance our existence.

Individuals and businesses that take part of activities that ".earth" intends to support are very enthusiastic about what they do. Interlink's mission in managing ".earth" is to create an online community that serves as a platform for Internet users who view themselves as part of what ".earth" embodies. The introduction of the ".earth" top-level domain will bring about new and exciting choices for consumers when selecting a domain name to show their support for various causes and initiatives.


2. Contribute to Worthy Causes

Interlink will use a portion of the proceeds from ".earth" to support worthy causes around the world beginning after registry startup costs have been recovered. Interlink is committed to the following:

　• Placing a selected percentage of all revenues a fund to assist relief efforts for natural disasters
　• Utilize revenues to help promote the growth of the Internet in developing countries.
　• Utilize revenues to promote and support select public (non-political) initiatives

Interlink envisions a tight-knit community to be formed in the ".earth" TLD and will proactively seek input from users on particular donations and projects.


3. Operate a Safe, Stable, and Secure TLD

It is essential that the ".earth" TLD be run in the most stable fashion to ensure trust among the registrants who chose to be part of the community. The registry will be responsible for creating an environment where users can trust the registry and affiliated registrars. Interlink is fully aware of the firm financial commitments needed to ensure that the TLD is properly managed from a technical perspective to ensure there are no negative effects on the stability and security of the Internet. Furthermore, from a user standpoint, Interlink understands that down time due to poorly managed registry systems will have lasting commercial consequences.

Interlink has selected to work with Neustar Inc., for backend registry services for ".earth" in order to effectively mitigate any issues with stability and security. Neustar has significant experience running existing gTLDs and ccTLDs as well as operating secure and reliable domain name services for several of the world's largest and most demanding corporations. Additionally, Neustar has successfully launched more New TLDs through each phase of the launch process than any other backend registry provider, and will prove to be an indispensable partner as ".earth" surges forward in accomplishing its goals.

In addition to running a technically sound operation, Interlink believes that registration policies and abuse policies play a major role in creating and maintaining an Internet namespace that truly serves its intended registrants and users. Interlink has fully described its registration policies in response to Question 18B, as well as its policies to protect consumers social costs in answer to Question 18C. Finally, draft language for an Acceptable Use Policy can be found in the response to Question 28.

The ".earth" TLD can be viewed as a movement in which Internet users can participate in to improve our planet. First and foremost, the goal for ".earth" is to become a trusted name for organizations, companies, governments, and individuals who have an interest in making our planet a better place or to show their support for related initiatives. Registrants can own a memorable name under the ".earth" top level to promote their actions to better the planet. With each ".earth" name sold, the registry will do its part to contribute to worthy, non-political causes.

Earth will introduce consumer choice, increase competition in the namespace, and aspire to become the standard for taking action as well as promoting and supporting activities, events, and other programs to make earth a better place for all.

Interlink has been an active member of the ICANN community for over 6 years and has gained a deep appreciation for the transparency of the multi-stakeholder model within which ICANN operates. With the delegation of ".earth", Interlink commits to fully comply with ICANNʹs requirement to cooperate with economic studies regarding the launch of new gTLDs. Interlink believes that providing such data is key to enhancing the DNS and ensuring the success of future TLD implementations to benefit global Internet users.


i. What is the goal of your proposed gTLD in terms of areas of specialty, service levels, or reputation?

Interlink believes that TLDs reputation will be largely driven by the registrants (communities, individuals, businesses, organizations, and government bodies). Legitimate registrations with legitimate content will play a vital role in the sustainability of the ".earth" TLD. Interlink plans to implement policies that will allow it to effectively manage a safe, secure namespace for registrants and Internet users interested in supporting the TLDs mission.

Additionally, the registration policies (specifically the founders program and other initial launch policies) described later on in Section IV below, will help ensure that key names are available to organizations/individuals who will use them to create value in the ".earth" namespace. By encouraging registrants to host relevant content and enforcing registration policies, Interlink will be able to effectively maintain a namespace that lives up to its purpose.

Finally, the ".earth" top-level domain will achieve high standards in terms of service levels. Interlink has partnered up with two world-class providers to ensure safe, secure, and uninterrupted services, as well as continuity of registry operations in the event of unforeseen disasters. The ".earth" TLD will take advantage of Neustar's state of the art registry solution and high SLA standards (details can be found in the responses to Questions 24 and 31) and Iron Mountain's industry leading Registry Data Escrow services (details regarding this service can be found in answer to Question 38).


ii. What do you anticipate your proposed gTLD will add to the current space, in terms of competition, differentiation, or innovation?

The underlying mission of the registry is to create a high quality namespace for organizations/individuals that have an interest in promoting activities and initiatives that help make Earth a better place.

Currently there are 22 gTLDs in use on the Internet today, however, most novice Internet users are accustomed to seeing, .com, .net, and .org. .biz and .info on the right-most side of domain names. gTLDs that have been introduced in since ICANN's inception have been able to build up a steady number of names. Some have drastically reduced pricing to do so, and therefore have an abundance of non-useful names, parking web pages, spam sites, and phishing sites. According to a report compiled by McAfee, Mapping the Mal Web in 2010, Internet criminals choose to register domain names in a TLD based on the prices, regulations, and the ease of registration. This makes generic top-level domains and non-regulated, inexpensive ccTLDs prime targets for cyber criminals. (The full report can be located at the following URL: http://www.mcafee.com/cf/about/news/2010/q4/20101026-02.aspx)

The current gTLD space does not have a TLD dedicated to causes such as ".earth", and therefore, we are confident that the addition of the ".earth" namespace will help create better specificity on the Internet to enable like-minded Internet users to more effectively collaborate and share information. The new gTLD program has been designed to increase the number of alternatives available to consumers and we anticipate that other similarly structured TLDs will come into existence during this round of applications. The ".earth" TLD is not only about environmental initiatives and therefore Interlink believes that Internet users will reap additional benefits from such TLDs as a .green or a .eco in addition to ".earth".


iii. What goals does your proposed gTLD have in terms of user experience?

Interlink believes that creating a high quality namespace is about attracting legitimate registrations, encouraging relevant content, and reducing speculative registrations. Successfully achieving both will allow for a better user experience. As Internet users get used to the various new gTLDs that will launch as a result of this New gTLD application round, we believe that Internet users will find that ".earth" is a relevant and trusted TLD.

To accomplish its goal, Interlink will focus on attracting legitimate registrations where actual use of the domain name occurs. Interlink envisions that managing a TLD with a high usage rate is key to creating a positive user experience. Wen consumers navigate to a page under a ".earth" domain name they should have the assurance that the content will be useful and targeted to their needs.

Interlink has carefully considered various factors that will likely play a role in creating a successfully TLD and positive experience for its uses. Among the factors analyzed were;

　• defining its user base;
　• marketing techniques used in today's TLDs;
　• analysis of how various price points impact the number, quality;
　• and type of registrations and associated content.

In addition, Interlink has worked closely with its backend provider, Neustar to come up with a viable plan to launch a successful registry that achieves Interlinks intended goals as described above. These factors were taken into account and have been implemented in Interlink's business approach as described in Questions 45-50.


iv. Provide a complete description of the applicant's intended registration policies in support of the goals listed above.

Interlink will launch the TLD in the following phases, Sunrise, Founders Program, Landrush, and finally a General Registration Period. The general policies for each of the launch phases are described further below.
The objective of the registry is to allow legitimate registrations by prospective users as well as allowing seamless implementation by participating registrars.

　1. ".earth" Domain Name Eligibility Requirements
　2. Acceptable Use Policy
　3. Reserved Names
　4. Founders Program
　5. Sunrise Launch Policies
　6. Landrush Launch Policies
　7. Rights Protection Mechanisms


1. ".earth" Domain Name Eligibility Requirements

".earth" Domain Name Eligibility Requirements defines who or what entities can register a domain name, the types of names that maybe registered, as well as the technical criteria for allowable labels within the ".earth" top-level domain. A brief description of each criterion is briefly outlined below:

Registrant Restrictions

In general there are no restrictions on who or what entities can register a domain name. However, all registrants of a ".earth" second-level domain name will be required to agree become ambassadors to the ".earth" by taking a pledge. The pledge will be part of the registration agreement between the registrant (domain name holder) and the registry.

All registrants must apply for registration, renewal and transfer of domain names through an ICANN accredited registrar which has signed an agreement with the registry operator, Interlink Co., Ltd. Furthermore, Interlink will make an list of registrars available on its website.

Domain Name Restrictions

A domain names that will be accepted as valid for registration is a domain name that;

　• has not been blocked or reserved by the registry (see Reserved Names policy below)
　• meets the technical requirements (defined below)
　• has not already been registered (registrants will be encouraged to use the WHOIS database provided
　　by the registry to ensure the availability of a domain)

Internationalized Domain Names (IDN) registrations will be permitted in the ".earth" TLD to ensure greater participation in the ".earth" TLD. Interlink's philosophy regarding the implementation of IDNs is to take a very cautious approach to ensure that conflicts with naming do not occur. At the time of launch, Interlink plans to make IDNs available in Japanese, Korean, and Chinese. Additional information regarding Interlink's IDN implementation can be found in response to Question 44.


Technical Requirements

　• Labels containing letters ʺaʺ to ʺzʺ or ʺAʺ to ʺZʺ in standard US ASCII character set, the digits ʺ0ʺ to ʺ9ʺ and the hyphen (ʺ-ʺ);
　　(the registry plans to initially reserve all one and two letter domain names as briefly described below under
　　ʺ2. Reserved Namesʺ below. The release of one and two character strings will be implemented at the
　　registryʹs discretion.)
　• Labels may contain a maximum of 63 characters. (This does not include the ".earth" suffix)
　• Labels may not begin or end with a hyphen (ʺ-ʺ) and may not include a hyphen (ʺ-ʺ) in the third and fourth
　　positions unless they represent valid internationalized domain names in their ASCII encoding).


2. Acceptable Use Policy

The Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) is one of central policies of the ".earth" registry that will be implemented to ensure that Interlink maintains the rights to protect the integrity of its registry and achieve its goal of maintaining a safe and stable operation. The policy further describes the process for applying for and registering, renewing, and transferring an ".earth" domain name as well as any restrictions, and how Interlink, the registry can enforce its policies. Additional details can be found in response to Question 28.


3. Reserved Names

This Reserved Names Policy will be implemented in order to satisfy ICANN contractual requirements, protect the interests of governmental organization, and be utilized for the general promotion of the registry. All strings, or domain names, included in reserved names policy are not necessarily considered to as prohibited, and may, if relevant policies so dictate, be activated by the registry. Amendments to this policy may occur from time to time.

Interlink will reserve all names according to Specification 5 of the New gTLD Registry agreement as described below. Additionally, Interlink may, at it's own discretion, reserve other names it sees fit.

　a. ʺExampleʺ The term ʺexampleʺ will be reserved at the second level. No other levels will be available for registration.
　b. Two-Character Labels: All two-character labels will be initially reserved, however may be released in the event that the
　　 registry reaches an agreement with the relevant government or country code manager or so long as the implementation
　　 of the two-character labels does not cause confusion with existing country codes.
　c. Tagged Domain Names: These are names with hyphens in the third and fourth position that do not represent valid
　　 IDN (Internationalized Domain Names) in ASCII encoding.
　d. Second-Level Reservations for Registry Operations: The following names will be reserved or registry operations:
　　 NIC, WWW, IRIS, and WHOIS.
　e. Country and Territory Names: All country and territory names indicated in Specification 5 of the New gTLD Agreement
　　will be initially reserved. A process for the release of these names as well as names listed above in
　　ʺb. Two Character Labelsʺ is further described in question 22.


4. Founders Program

The ".earth" founders program is an initiative recruit Internet users who are enthusiastic about ".earth" to come forward with their idea and plan to launch a name or names that will help relay the message about ".earth" to worldwide audiences.

It is anticipated that this program will be launched as soon as the Registry Agreement with ICANN is signed. The registry will publish a proposal format as criteria on which the proposals will be evaluated against. Approved applicants will be required to agree to some basic terms and conditions and have their name launched before the official pubic launch of the registry.

Specific timelines and criteria are currently under development and depend on the progress of this application for the ".earth" TLD.


5. Sunrise Launch Policies

The sunrise period is a pre-launch mechanism that will allow Trademark holders to the first right to register their trademarks as ".earth" domain names. The overall purpose of the ".earth" sunrise launch is to ensure that trademark holders have the ability to secure domain names in a straightforward and equitable fashion as well as ensure that their brand names are not victimized by cybersquatting. The sunrise period will run for a at least a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of 60 days in total.

The process for administering the sunrise period is very straightforward. The registry will collect all the applications submitted through ICANN accredited registrars throughout the duration of the sunrise period. All applications will be considered as having been received at the same time. The registry will verify that each application matches the data in the Trademark Clearinghouse. Duplicate applications having met the criteria specified by the registry will auctioned off at a later date. Legitimate applications that to not have any duplicates will be processed and assigned accordingly. Interlink will fully publish details and policy related information regarding the auction on its website well in advance of the launch.

The ".earth" Registry will employ the Trademark Clearinghouse for this phase and will employ the use of the Trademark Notification Service for the life of the registry. Eligible participants in the sunrise phase will be constrained to entities which have a valid mark registered in the Trademark Clearinghouse. As of the submission date of this application, the Trademark Clearinghouse is still in the early stages of development and the actual protocol for connecting to the clearinghouse is not yet known. Further details regarding the sunrise launch can be found in answer to question 29.


6. Landrush Launch Policies

The registry will offer a landrush period that will allow any interested party to submit one or more applications to purchase high value domains at reasonable costs. Only domain names that have not been reserved, restricted, registered will be available for this launch period. Applications in the landrush period will be accepted throughout the period and will be considered as accepted at the same time. At the end of the period, applications that do not have any competing applications will be approved and the domain name will be allocated to the registrant.

Applications for domain names having one or more competing applications will be auctioned at prescribed date and time.



7. ICANN Consensus Policies and Rights Protection Mechanisms

Interlink is aware of and understands all current ICANN consensus policies listed at http://www.icann.org/en/general/consensus-policies.htm. As the registry operator for ".earth", Interlink will ensure continuing compliance with all existing and future consensus policies.

Furthermore, Interlink is committed to ensuring that all rights holders have adequate protections for their intellectual property assets in the ".earth" TLD and will implement the rights protection mechanisms mandated by ICANN as described in Question 18 Part C.


v. Will your proposed gTLD impose any measures for protecting the privacy or confidential information of registrants or users? If so, please describe any such measures.

Interlink takes the privacy of its users very seriously and will not market information obtained from registrars pertaining to registrants in any way. All data obtained with regards to a registration of a domain name will only be used for the purposes of running the ".earth" registry. No personal data will be shared with unrelated third parties and such data will only be accessed in cases where the registry needs it to be necessary for the operation of ".earth".

All registrant data as required by the WHOIS policy and ICANN standards will be publicly available where the registrant does not use privacy registration services at their registrar of choice. Registrars will be responsible for ensuring the safety and security of the payment information used in conjunction with a domain name registration.

The Registry operator will notify each ICANN-accredited registrar of their requirement to adhere to specific consensus policies. Additionally Interlink is aware of the current work being done to analyze the current WHOIS model as well as the movement to improve it. Our partners are involved deeply in the ICANN community and Interlink is committed to implementing any and all new procedures as approved by ICANN.


vi. Describe whether and in what ways outreach and communications will help to achieve your projected benefits.

Communication and outreach will play a significant role in getting the ".earth" TLD off the ground. The registry plans to launch the TLD on a global scale with an emphasis on the growth of Internet, the ability to register a memorable name under a new TLD, and the ability to participate in a good cause by registering a ".earth" domain name.

Timing of the marketing and communications campaign may prove challenging due to several anticipated issues with timelines in the New gTLD evaluation process, however, Interlink will use appropriate judgment on when to implement and subsequently ramp up marketing communication and outreach programs. Interlink plans to commence the communication phase sometime during the evaluation process. This will mostly be done via the web, i.e., social media, and blogs.

Once the TLD has been allocated to the registry, a pre-launch outreach and communications plan will be executed. This includes the launch of the founders program, followed by charity auctions. Interlink anticipates that participating registrars will be a key component in the promotion and growth of the TLD. Interlink will work with all registrars to facilitate marketing activities by providing a number of materials and tools. Interlinks funding for marketing is further described in the financial section of this application.

Numerous parties have expressed concerns over the introduction of the new gTLD program stating that new TLDs could harm consumer welfare due to consumer confusion. Trademark holders have also brought up the issue of new TLDs imposing additional costs due to the necessity of participating in "defensive" registrations.

Interlink believes that these concerns are valid and is confident that costs associated with these issues may be avoided by working together with the ICANN community to address the issues. The ICANN community has worked hard to implement new Rights Protection Mechanisms and rules for new TLDs that would minimize these costs. Interlink will fully comply with all consensus policies, including all ICANN required Rights Mechanisms, including:

　1. Trademark Clearinghouse
　2. Sunrise and Trademark Claims Process
　3. Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP)
　4. Uniform Rapid Suspension URS
　5. Trademark Post-Delegation Dispute Resolution Procedure (PDDRP)
　6. Registration Restriction Dispute Resolution Procedure (RRDRP)


1. Trademark Clearinghouse

The trademark clearinghouse is a mandatory RPM that as been developed in order to serve as a central repository for information to facilitate other RPMs such as the Sunrise Period and Trademark Claims process. Though this RPM is still under development, Interlink has joined the Implementation Assistance Group (IAG) to monitor the progress and provide feedback on solidifying the policy for its implementation. In addition, the back-end registry services provider for ".earth", Neustar, is actively playing a key role on the IAG to ensure that protections afforded by the clearinghouse and associated RPMs are feasible and implementable. Further information regarding the implementation of this mechanism can be found in reference to Question 29: Rights Protection Mechanisms.


2. Sunrise and Trademark Claims Process

The Sunrise Period is a mandatory launch phase that a registry is required to implement for a minimum of 30 days. As described above, the ".earth" Sunrise Period serves pre-launch phase in which eligible trademark owners have an opportunity to register second-level domains under the ".earth" TLD. Interlink has participated as a registrar, and a registrant in several sunrise periods, and its back-end registry service provider, Neustar has extensive experience in implementing sunrise registration periods, most recently under the .CO TLD. Interlink will build upon its own experience and the expertise of Neustar to ensure that a simple, seamless process is implemented.

The Trademark Claims process is tied into both the Trademark Clearinghouse and the Sunrise Period. The trademark claims process is also a mandatory RPM that is intended as means to provide ʺclear noticeʺ to a potential registrant if he/she attempts to secure a domain name that matches a trademark, which is currently registered in the Trademark Clearinghouse. Though only required by ICANN to implement for 60 days during open registrations, Interlink believes that implementing the service over the life of the registry will greatly reduce the number of cybersquatted domain names and other cases of abuse in its zone. Interlinkʹs back-end provider, Neustar became the first TLD with a Trademark Claims service with the launch of the .BIZ TLD in 2001 and Interlink plans to work closely with Neustar to ensure the service is run smoothly.

The sunrise implementation process is described in more detail above, and in response to Question 29: Rights Protection Mechanisms. More information about Interlinkʹs implementation of the Trademark Claims process can be found in answer to Question 29: Rights Protection Mechanisms.


3. Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP)

The UDRP is an ICANN Consensus Policy that was instituted in 1998. The UDRP provides trademark holders an alternative method to resolve domain name disputes. Interlink will monitor UDPR decisions regarding domains in the ".earth" zone and take the necessary steps to ensure that the decisions are implemented by its registrars. In the event that the registry is notified by a trademark owner that a registrar failed to implement a decision Interlink will investigate the claim and take action by either notifying the registrar of its obligations or by proactively implementing the decision itself.


4. Uniform Rapid Suspension

During the planning and policy discussion that took place in the past few years regarding the New gTLD Program, trademark owners identified that the UDRP may not be the most cost effective means to protecting trademark owners marks when there are hundreds of new TLDs in operation. Furthermore, the majority of UDRP cases were clearly cases of cybersquatting, however the UDRP did not produce immediate results. The URS is the result of many discussions with rights holders and offers a more cost effective and speedy mechanism for trademark owners to enforce their rights.

The URS requires a greater deal of participation from the registry than the UDRP. Interlink is fully aware of the requirements involved in the URS and has been actively monitoring the discussions and the development of the RPM. In the event that a ".earth" domain name is part of a URS proceeding, Interlink will follow the procedures outlined in the final policy.

According to the current draft procedures Interlink will lock the name within 24 hours or receipt of the complaint from the URS provider in order to ensure the name is not transferred or deleted and to restrict all changes to the registration data. The name will continue to resolve as normal at this point.

Once a determination has been made, and the URS provider has received notification of such a decision, Interlink will act accordingly to implement the determination. Therefore, in the event of a decision for the complainant (trademark owner), Interlink will immediately suspend the name in accordance with the policy, currently for the balance of the registration period. Additionally, the name will no longer be allowed to resolve to the original website, thus the registry will change the nameservers to redirect to an informational page provided by the URS provider.

Finally, Interlink will take steps to ensure that the WHOIS information appropriately reflects the current status of the domain name. In doing so, Interlink will leave all the original registration data, except for the nameservers, in place, and clearly reflect that the domain name cannot be transferred, deleted, or modified for the remainder of the registration period.

The current draft policy states that there shall be an option for a successful complainant to extent the registration period for one additional year at commercial rates.
Additional details regarding the implementation of the URS can be found in response to Question 29: Rights Protection Mechanisms

In addition to the implementation and compliance with proposed and existing rights protection mechanisms, Interlink will implement an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) (described above in answer to "iv") that will effectively secure the registry's rights to swiftly takedown abusive domain registrations.

According to Dennis Carlton's study "Impact of New gTLD on Consumer Welfare" new gTLDs introduced as a result of the application round in 2000, such as .info and .biz, indicates that the need for defensive registrations in new gTLDs is limited. Interlink is confident that proposed rights mechanisms listed above and enforcement of the AUP will be sufficient to minimize social costs resulting from abusive domain registrations.


i. How will multiple applications for a particular domain name be resolved?

The goal of the registry is to maximize the benefit ".earth" for its users. As such it is the Registryʹs responsibility to minimize the number of speculative registrations that ultimately turn into parked pages or remain unused.

Multiple applications for names under the Founders Program will be handled by objectively reviewing the application against the criteria set forth in the RFP. At which time, the Registry shall make a final selection based on how well each applicant fulfilled the evaluation criteria.

Multiple applications for the same domain name in both the Sunrise and Landrush will be resolved by an auction as described above in the section related to registration policies (section iv). The use of an auction to allocate names with multiple legitimate applications will benefit sunrise applicants because they will not have to rush in order to be the first to submit such an application. This also reduces the load to the systems as in past first-come, first-served launches, applicants have been known to place registration requests with several other registrars in order to optimize their chances of being the first in line.

In general, Interlink believes that settling competing applications though an auction mechanism is more desirable than a first-come, first-served method. This is due to a number of factors; for example, sunrise applicants (trademark holders) should not have to rush to submit an application for a domain name. If an applicant is forced to try to be first in line, the applicant is likely to submit a registration request through multiple registrars. This causes a sub-optimal use of energy on behalf of the applicant, causes unnecessary work on behalf of the registrars and registry. Another important factor in Interlinkʹs decision settle competing applications through an auction mechanism is due to an assumption that the highest bidder has more desire for the name, therefore, the winning applicant is likely provide more utility to Internet users.

Below is a brief description of the auction policy:

Auctions will be handled by Interlinkʹs auction partner. (Interlink is still evaluating potential partners, all of which have many years of experience in the domain name industry and have processed Sunrise and Landrush launches for several TLDs in the past).

The general rules of the policy are standard to auctions that have existed for recent TLD launches. Each participant of the auction will receive a notification at a certain time prior to the start of the auction and a subsequent email on the day of the auction that announces the commencement of the bidding. The Auction management system will notify participants of any bid changes as well as any extensions to the length of the auction. The winner will be announced at the close of the auction period and the domain name will be allocated accordingly.


ii. Explain any cost benefits for registrants you intend to implement.

The Registry will clearly communicate its registry policies and launch plans to potential registrants directly as well as though partner registrars. The registry will give special rights to governments to register their geographic names (names and two letter codes on the ISO 3166-1 list) at the second-level. The registry will offer the first rights to these names for a period of no less than a year. This special provision for governments will ensure that they have first rights to register their names for a minimal cost from an ICANN accredited registrar rather than have to dabble in the speculative markets.

Interlink will also hold a Sunrise and Landrush period as described in part "iv" above. Interlink anticipates that the several competing applications may be submitted in both periods, and, therefore, proposes to implement an auction mechanism as a fair way to solve the issue of competing applications. A traditional first come first served mechanism will create more load for registrars as one prospective registrant may chose to place the same application for a domain name through several registrars. Then there is the issue of which connection hits the registry first for a certain name.

An auction at the early stages of a registry will benefit registrants by allowing them to purchase the domain name for much less that the cost that they would incur in the domain aftermarket. Furthermore, an auction will allow the users to place a value on the domain name. It can be assumed that the bidder who places the higher bid places a higher value on the domain name, and therefore will be more likely to develop the domain name to be beneficial for Internet users.


iii. Do you intend to make contractual commitments to registrants regarding the magnitude of price escalation?

As stated in draft registry agreement in the New gTLD Applicant guidebook, the ".earth" registry will commit to only adjusting prices based on market conditions and staying consistent with the current inflation rate. The issue of price increases will be adequately reviewed on a biannual basis.

Interlink Co., Ltd, (Interlink) will implement strict policy restrictions concerning the registration and use of geographic names under the ".earth" top-level domain and will work closely with the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) and ccTLD managers to ensure that geographic names are adequately protected.


Two-Letter Domain Names

Country Code Top-Level Domains (ccTLDs) are two letter strings on the right side of the dot that correspond to the two-letter country codes for each country listed on the ISO 3166-1 list. The registry will, at no cost of governments or public authorities, initially reserve all two-letter characters strings, inclusive of the country code names as defined on ISO 3166-1 and mandated by the New gTLD Registry Agreement (see Specification 5).

Use of two-letter strings as second level registrations in the ".earth" TLD will be permitted after the Registry reaches an agreement with relevant government or country-code TLD managers.

At its discretion, the Registry will propose usage of a limited number of two-letter strings for domain names that include, but are not limited to; company names, brand names, meaningful words, partial phrases, or local abbreviations. The Registry will inform each ccTLD manager and/or applicable government of its proposal to use such a name and reach an agreement with the ccTLD manager and/or applicable government before such a name is registered for use.


Country and Territory Domain Names

In addition to the initial reservation of two-letter country codes pursuant to the ISO-3166-1 list, the Registry will initially reserve country and territory names contained on the following internationally recognized lists:

• ISO 3166-1 lists (including country, territory name, and its short form name in English)
• The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names Technical Reference Manual for the Standardization
　of Geographical Names, Part III Names of Countries of the World
• The List United Nations member states in 6 official United Nations member states in 6 official United Nations languages
　prepared by the Working Group on Country Names of the United Nations Conference on the Standardization of
　Geographical Names

The Registry will cooperate with ICANN and the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) to expand such a list of reserved/protected geographic names at the second level should this be required. Additionally, the list will expand according to updates in any of the lists listed above.

The release of names will not occur until after a minimum of one full year of operations. The release of geographic names will only occur upon reaching an agreement with applicable government.


Procedure for Registration of Geographic Names by Relevant Authorities

During the reservation period, the Registry will allow the relevant government authorities to register their country name, or short form English name under the ".earth" TLD as a second level registration. The opportunity for such registrations will not be shorter that one year and will be available for governments until the Registry reaches an agreement with the GAC, relevant governments and/or ccTLD managers for the release of such names. Upon reaching such an agreement, the Registry will notify governments of the registration deadline 3 months prior to the release of geographic names.

The process for registering a country name or its English short form equivalent as a second level domain name in the ".earth" TLD for a relevant government authority is as follows:

1. The Government or relevant authority contacts the GAC Secretariat with the requested
domain name and beneficiary information
2. The GAC Secretariat will ensure the authenticity of such a request and forward the request
to the Registry.
3. The Registry will verify the availability of the requested domain name, notify ICANN of the
registration request, and issue approval after the validity of the request has been approved.
4. The registrant government or beneficiary will then be able to register the name through an ICANN-Accredited Registrar that has executed the
Registry-Registrar Agreement with the Registry.


Abuse of Geographic Names

After the release of geographic names governments can submit a complaint directly to the registry for a domain name that is not in compliance with the registration policies.