.kiwi Pre-Register Domain - .kiwi Domain Information

The Mission and Purpose of the .KIWI top-level domain (the "TLD") is:

-To promote the Kiwi identity, its values, qualities and characteristics on a worldwide basis
-To provide a platform to give Kiwis and Kiwi businesses a fresh and modern online identity to showcase the cultural, commercial and social aspects of being Kiwi
-To establish a commercially viable business which will also provide an on-going charitable contribution to assist in the rebuild of Christchurch, New Zealand, following the devastating earthquakes of 2010 and 2011.

The information provided below and in following sections expands on the overall mission and purpose of .KIWI, and includes the proposed framework for assessing how the .KIWI TLD addresses ICANN's stated objectives for expanding the gTLD space.

DEFINITION - THE KIWI IDENTITY
A "Kiwi" is a flightless bird native to New Zealand, named by the Maori, the indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand. The Kiwi is iconic to New Zealand, and its image has been widely used as a symbol throughout the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries by New Zealand individuals, sports teams, the military, organisations, government and corporations. Through the symbol's prominent roots in the New Zealand military, New Zealand soldiers became known as "Kiwis". Throughout the 20th century, "Kiwi" became the widely adopted nickname used internationally for people from New Zealand, as well as being a common self-reference for those that consider themselves New Zealanders or associate with New Zealand and its culture.

There are now over 4.5 million New Zealanders in the world, including a high proportion of expatriates ("expats"), approximately one million, who feel a strong affinity to their homeland and self-identify as Kiwis. Importantly, the Kiwi name also represents national pride, values, achievements, ideologies, and aspirations that Kiwis consider unique and special to New Zealand.

.KIWI recognises that for Kiwis, New Zealand is always home, regardless of where in the world theyʹre living and working, and anticipates that .KIWI will provide them an exciting way of proclaiming their identity online. Therefore, the .KIWI TLD will become an important identifier for like-minded people, businesses and organisations with an affiliation to New Zealand and being a Kiwi.

MISSION OF .KIWI:

GLOBAL IDENTITY. The mission of .KIWI is to promote the Kiwi identity globally via the internet in a way that reflects the Kiwi culture, whilst supporting New Zealand communities and causes.

Thus, we seek to create or enhance:

- AVAILABILITY. To promote the Kiwi identity, its values, qualities, characteristics, perspectives, leaders, populace, supporters and admirers, by making available domain names ending in .KIWI, for personal, business, or other legal purposes in New Zealand and around the world.
- SHARING. To promote the Kiwi identity by having information of any and all types and for any and all legal purposes available and disseminated from websites and email addresses ending in .KIWI for the registrants and users own purposes in New Zealand and worldwide.
- ENTERPRISE. To promote the Kiwi identity by allowing businesses, not-for-profits and individuals to associate their products, services, information and themselves with the Kiwi identity for their own purposes in New Zealand and around the world.
- CONNECTIONS. To grow the number of people and organisations in New Zealand and around the world that publicly identify themselves via the internet with the Kiwi identity, through the use of .KIWI domain names and email accounts by making .KIWI domain names affordable and readily available (subject to the rules governing .KIWI, as discussed in section 18b(iv) of this application).
- PHILANTHROPY. To contribute a percentage of .KIWI's revenue and profit towards the rebuild of the city of Christchurch, New Zealand, following the devastation of the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes, resulting in the tragic death of 185 people and the wide-spread destruction of homes, buildings and key infrastructure of Christchurch. A trust chaired by Sir John Hansen, a former judge of the New Zealand High Court, is being formed to receive, administer and distribute funds.

PURPOSE OF .KIWI:

GLOBAL PLATFORM. The purpose of .KIWI is to provide an online platform for internet users to associate with and promote the Kiwi identity and brand globally.

Thus, we seek to provide:

- FAMILIARITY. An online platform for all those interested in disseminating or seeking information, whether commercial or non-commercial, including issues, news, culture, lifestyle, entertainment, sports or other topics, with an easily recognisable domain name that associates them and/or their information with the Kiwi identity.
- COMMUNICATION. An identifiable means for people, organisations and businesses to communicate with those who associate or identify with the Kiwi identity.
- COMMERCE. An online platform for all those interested in selling or purchasing goods or services of any kind, or providing information, with an easily recognisable domain name that associates them and/or their goods or services with the Kiwi brand e.g. Tourism.
- INNOVATION. An online platform for innovation within businesses and organisations who attach themselves to the Kiwi identity.
- RECOGNITION. A platform for New Zealand expats to promote and align themselves with the Kiwi identity in an online context, providing instant recognition to New Zealanders and fellow expats, thereby creating opportunities for networking, business and social engagement.
- COMPETITION. .KIWI will offer internet users with a Kiwi affiliation the choice to choose a domain name that they identify with at a competitive price.
- INSPIRATION. An online platform for celebrating or observing matters of cultural and national significance, using a .KIWI domain to enhance the user experience and objectives of the organisers e.g. ANZAC Day Remembrances.

ASSESSING .KIWI IN EXPANDING THE gTLD SPACE:

(i) .KIWI ENHANCES CONSUMER CHOICE
Registrants that want a domain name to effectively and efficiently show an association with the Kiwi identity, or a domain name which allows them to communicate with others who openly associate or identify as being Kiwi, face a domain name marketplace that provides them with very limited options.

The .KIWI TLD will:

-Resolve this problem by providing registrants with an efficient, effective, and instantly recognised way of demonstrating their association with the Kiwi identity
-Allow registrants to reach more targeted audiences and grow their online presence. Additionally, it will allow registrants to more closely identify with a particular market segment.

(ii) .KIWI CONNECTS AND UNITES KIWIS GLOBALLY
As mentioned above, one of the key elements of .KIWI's mission is to connect Kiwi's on a worldwide basis as facilitated through an expanded gTLD space. One of the measures for success will be based on the number of non-New Zealand based .KIWI domain name registrations that occur within a one to five year period.

(iii) .KIWI'S IMPACT WITHIN NEW ZEALAND
As stated in section 18b of this application, the promotion of competition and consumer choice within New Zealand is of immediate and significant benefit. Also of special significance is the promotion of the Maori language within the .KIWI TLD. .KIWI will support "macronised" vowels in domains at the second-level. Macrons are used by the Maori language, and .KIWI will promote the adoption of Maori domain names and implement measures to protect names of cultural importance and interest. One of the measures for success will be the number of Maori .KIWI domain name registrations that occur within a one to five year period.

Additionally, .KIWI believes other matters of national significance warrant special consideration, and will commit to protecting and promoting the cultural integrity of matters of national significance.

Question 18b (i): WHAT IS THE GOAL OF YOUR PROPOSED GTLD IN TERMS OF AREAS OF SPECIALTY, SERVICE LEVELS, OR REPUTATION?

The goal of the .KIWI top-level domain is to:

- Establish itself as the primary choice for registrants who want to identify, market, or promote themselves and their websites to the internet-using public, for business, personal or any other legal purpose, through an association with the globally recognised Kiwi identity; and to
- Become the primary top-level domain name for internet consumers to look for to identify which people, businesses, information sources or other online resources associate themselves with the Kiwi identity or are communicating with a "Kiwi" audience. .KIWI will be instantly recognisable
- Market .KIWI globally to registrants who want to associate or align themselves, products, services, thoughts or ideas in a positive way as being "Kiwi", as well as to those who want to communicate with them in an easily identifiable way.

In these ways, the .KIWI top-level domain will provide an association with the Kiwi identity to the top-level domain name space that does not currently exist.

SPECIALITY:

.KIWI is not positioning itself as a "specialty" domain, but rather as specific to the Kiwi identity and brand. .KIWI will not discriminate between types or classes of registrants - it seeks to serve all those who wish to associate with the Kiwi identity and brand on a global basis. The benefit of minimal user specialisation is that it places all users on an equal footing, large/small, New Zealand resident/non-resident, individual/corporate, non-profit/governmental etc. It is simply a place where like-minded entities can identify as "Kiwi" without the generalities of existing top-level domains or the restrictions of the existing .NZ 2LD structured ccTLD.

SERVICE LEVELS:

.KIWI aims to provide a consistent level of high quality service to all registrants. To do so we have associated with proven registry services provider, Minds + Machines, to provide registry services. Our close relationship with global networking organisations allows us to connect with Kiwis both in and outside New Zealand. Within New Zealand and globally we will make .KIWI domain names readily available through existing and new registrars and reseller networks, ensuring equal and fair accessibility for all registrants.

REPUTATION:

Dot Kiwi Ltd, is committed to protecting its reputation. We are aware of the potential artistic, economic, social and political issues, all of which can be associated with .KIWI, which can provoke heated debate and cause controversy. However, while keeping these issues in mind .KIWI recognises and supports the free speech rights of both registrants and internet users as a fundamental right, and believes observing such free speech rights is important to the success of the .KIWI business plan. Stifling free speech in any way would be more harmful to .KIWI's reputation and business success than any attempt to govern speech. That being said, to protect .KIWI's reputation and the associational benefits it offers registrants and internet users, .KIWI will actively promote and enforce its Acceptable Use and Abuse Prevention policies and procedures, which will combat improper or unlawful unprotected speech and online conduct. We believe that these mechanisms will be effective in protecting the reputation of the .KIWI top-level domain, its registrants, and internet users, as well as the public.

Question 18b (ii): WHAT DO YOU ANTICIPATE YOUR PROPOSED GTLD WILL ADD TO THE CURRENT SPACE, IN TERMS OF COMPETITION, DIFFERENTIATION, OR INNOVATION?

We believe that the .KIWI top-level domain will provide differentiation, innovation and competition, in the top-level domain space, both for registrants and internet users.

DIFFERENTIATION:

.KIWI is a unique identifier that differentiates registrants and users as a distinct online community.

Existing generic top-level domains names, such as .COM, .NET and .ORG no longer require and no longer represent any real differentiation in regards to purpose or content. Newer top-level domains, such as .XXX, .AERO and .MUSEUM represent differentiation, but may be inappropriate or, because of registration restrictions, unavailable to most prospective registrants whom .KIWI is targeting.

Therefore, .KIWI will further increase differentiation by providing a platform for registrants to be associated with, and for users to know that the registrant seeks to be associated with the Kiwi identity. This benefits all who adopt a .KIWI domain name by efficiently connecting them to a distinct community of interest.

COMPETITION:

Registrants are presently limited in the choice of domain names that allow them to efficiently and effectively associate themselves with the Kiwi identity. The availability of useful, effective, straight-forward domain names in existing top-level domains, such as .COM, .NET and .ORG, is scarce. Even if available, names in existing top-level domains may be for sale at prices beyond the means of potential registrants. Therefore, the .KIWI top-level domain will allow registrants to obtain useful, effective, straight-forward domain names of their choosing, rather than having to purchase a domain that may not relate to the registrant's purpose or use of the domain name, and may be potentially confused with similar domain names. In addition, more recent existing generic top-level domain names, such as .XXX, may be inappropriate for registrants due to content associational reasons, while ccTLD's, though numerous, are often not useful or appropriate for registrants for geographical associational reasons. Thus, .KIWI will increase choice for registrants who want a domain name that clearly, effectively and efficiently associates them with the Kiwi identity, whether the registrant is based in New Zealand or not, as well as for those registrants who want to reach like-minded internet users who identify themselves as being "Kiwi".

While the .NZ ccTLD provides an association with New Zealand, it does not cover the wider realm of associations that .KIWI encompasses. Introducing a new top-level domain with specific relevance to New Zealand will provide the first instance of genuine competition within the isolated New Zealand domain name market. Unlike .NZ, .KIWI will differentiate itself further by not enforcing a 2LD hierarchical structure.

.KIWI will provide competitive pricing in the top-level domain name space by assuring .KIWI domain names are suitably priced and affordable to potential .KIWI registrants.

Internet users will benefit from this competition, as easily identifiable .KIWI domain names will make it easy for them to know that the owner of the second-level domain name seeks to associate with the Kiwi identity.

INNOVATION:

The .KIWI top-level domain will be new. There has not previously been a top-level domain dedicated to meeting the needs of those wanting a Kiwi online identity.

While introducing .KIWI is an innovation within the domain space, our global marketing, pricing and policies have been developed with innovation in mind.

For commercial reasons we cannot share further specific information regarding these plans. Suffice it to say that the success of the .KIWI top-level domain depends on the ability to demonstrate benefits to both registrants and registrars by providing competitive and innovative products and services.

Question 18b (iii): WHAT GOALS DOES YOUR PROPOSED GTLD HAVE IN TERMS OF USER EXPERIENCE?

A user experience goal of .KIWI is to provide users with a top-level domain name that easily allows them to recognise that the registrant seeks to have its second level domain name (and content) associated with the Kiwi identity. We believe this will benefit internet users, providing an easily recognised identifier when understanding the purpose or focus of the registrant's website or email, allowing for efficient and effective use of usersʹ time online.

.KIWI aims to further enhance user experience by protecting third party rights as well as preventing abusive use of a .KIWI domain name. We intend to achieve this goal by making the .KIWI Naming Policy, Acceptable Use Policy and other policies easily comprehendible, and ensuring the mechanisms for enforcing rights and preventing abuse (such as the Complaint Resolution Service) operate effectively, efficiently and fairly. These policies will also work symbiotically with other ICANN-mandated procedures for rights protection mechanisms, such as the Universal Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP).

Question 18b (iv): PROVIDE A COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF THE APPLICANT'S INTENDED REGISTRATION POLICIES IN SUPPORT OF THE GOALS LISTED ABOVE.

A draft framework for registration of .KIWI domains that fully supports the goals, mission and purposes has been developed. The draft registration framework is based on advice from ICANN, WIPO, as well as applicable laws and a variety of other sources of expertise. Specifically, the .KIWI draft framework includes these interrelated sets of agreements setting forth our policies and regulations, all of which registrants must agree to be bound.

These include:

- The Registrant Agreement, which registrars contracted with .KIWI must present to registrants. This is a collateral agreement to the Registrar-Registry Agreement (detailed below), and will bind registrants to .KIWI's Acceptable Use Policy (as detailed below), .KIWI's Privacy & Whois Policy (as detailed below), ICANN-mandated rights protection mechanisms, including the Universal Dispute Resolution Policy ("UDRP"), and the Complaint Resolution Service

- The Acceptable Use Policy ("AUP"), which details the proper use of domain names that end in .KIWI, which is incorporated by reference in the Registrant Agreement that registrants must agree to

- The Privacy and Whois Policy, which describes how a registrant's personal data is to be used, which is also incorporated by reference in the Registrant Agreement

- The Registrar-Registry Agreement, which is the contract between .KIWI and its ICANN-accredited registrars which sets forth, inter alia, the duties and obligations of the registrar with respect to .KIWI registrants and the .KIWI registry

- The Naming Policy, which sets out .KIWI's policies governing prohibited, blocked or reserved domain names.

These agreements and policies are designed to ensure transparent and non-discriminatory policies for the registration of .KIWI names; fair and competitive pricing; protection of personal data and privacy; adherence by registrars and registrants to the AUP; protection of trademarks and other rights; the names of natural and juristic persons and other property rights; prevention of the registration of illegal names; prevention of violations of the law. Moreover, our policies promote competition amongst registrars; combat abuse of the Domain Name System, address cybercrime; to protect intellectual property rights; and to align the .KIWI top-level domain with applicable regulatory and legislative environments and internet registry best practices.

We specifically examined more restrictive registration policies, such as limiting registration to New Zealand citizens. We rejected such limitations because they would interfere with .KIWI's primary mission, purpose and goals, which are to welcome as many registrants as possible to associate themselves with the Kiwi identity, for any legal purpose.

Factors that we took into account when considering a more restrictive registration policy included:

- Our recognition that registrants of a .KIWI domain name will self-select because they have an interest in the Kiwi identity, and this fact will naturally reduce the number of potential registrants
- Because restrictive policies such as, requiring citizenship, or membership could exclude many legitimate registrants from obtaining a .KIWI domain name. For example, if membership in a specific organisation were required for registration, businesses and charitable organisations that could find a .KIWI top-level domain name an effective marketing tool would be excluded from registering a .KIWI domain name as they may not be members

Where possible .KIWI will collaborate and seek to create policy consistent with the .NZ ccTLD, we believe this will benefit registrants and internet users by reducing possible confusion regarding policy within our target markets.

These policies will effectively support the key mission, purposes and goals of the .KIWI top-level domain, which is to allow any and all registrants who want to associate themselves with the Kiwi identity, while at the same time protecting third party rights and preventing abuse.

Question 18b (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.

With respect to protecting registrant privacy and confidential information, .KIWI will comply with applicable ICANN rules, including Whois policies, and all applicable laws, rules and regulations of appropriate jurisdictions. Registrant privacy and use of confidential information are set forth in the .KIWI Privacy & Whois Policy. Information concerning updates and changes to the Registry's Privacy & Whois Policy will be promptly and prominently displayed on .KIWI's website. .KIWI's back-end registry services provider will also be required to employ industry standard procedures and firewalls, and other protections to prevent the unauthorised or illegal access of registrant privacy or confidential information.

With respect to users, .KIWI's Registration Agreement will require all registrants to comply with any and all applicable laws, rules or regulations concerning user privacy and confidential information for applicable jurisdictions, and that failure to do so may result in suspension or loss of their .KIWI domain name, and may in addition result in legal actions by appropriate authorities.

OUTREACH AND COMMUNICATIONS TO ACHIEVE PROJECTED BENEFITS:

Outreach to targeted potential registrants will be important for .KIWI to achieve its projected benefits, by allowing it to cost-effectively and quickly market to registrants most likely to be interested in the .KIWI gTLD. Also to promote the ways in which .KIWI will allow registrants to associate themselves with the Kiwi identity, and how their association with .KIWI helps further their interest and that of anything "Kiwi". To achieve this outreach, we intend to leverage our existing relationships with groups with a Kiwi association, as well as engaging in advertising, promotion, social media outreach and other methods of reaching potential registrants. Outreach to individuals and organisations that already identify with the Kiwi identity will provide a strong platform to launch the top-level domain, giving it the best chance of long-term viability, and the best chance of providing its projected benefits.

Broader communications and PR will add another dimension to complement our focused outreach in order to achieve the projected benefits of .KIWI. .KIWI will be an open top-level domain, available to anyone interested in having a .KIWI domain name, and .KIWI's best chance of establishing itself as a viable top-level domain is to have as many potential registrants as possible know about .KIWI and why a .KIWI domain name may be right for them. However, many potential registrants for .KIWI domain names who may want to associate their internet presence with the Kiwi identity, or use a .KIWI domain name to communicate with those who do, will be missed by .KIWI's direct outreach efforts. Broad communications, in particular social media, editorial content, blogs and word of mouth will be able to reach other potential registrants.

PR communications will help .KIWI realise its goal of serving registrants beyond just New Zealand. Given our finite marketing resources, communications through free resources, such as social networks and blogs will allow us to promote .KIWI to members of the international community and New Zealand expats who want a domain name that associates them with the Kiwi identity, or use a .KIWI domain name to communicate with those who do.

Communications will help .KIWI keep in touch with its registrants, to understand how they would like to see .KIWI develop, and to understand how we can improve our policies, registration rules, or other aspects of our operations or administration.

MEASURING THE BENEFITS

The numerous benefits to registrants, internet users and other parties can best be measured in three ways: adoption, satisfaction and complaints.

- ADOPTION refers to the number of .KIWI domains registered over a set period of time. This can be measured as an absolute as well as against obvious competitors, such as .NZ and other such TLDs. Adoption will also be tracked by a number of categories, including, types of registrants such as individuals/commercial, period/cycle (Sunrise/Landrush/regular) and other relevant categories.

- SATISFACTION measures will be based on surveys of registrants as well as other interested parties, such as registrars, resellers, community partners and user associations. During a period of initial registration we will ask a subset of registrants for the reasons why they chose a .KIWI domain name. Subsequently, follow up surveys will measure the user's perception of benefits, value and overall satisfaction with .KIWI.

- COMPLAINT measures will be threefold: technical issues, naming disputes and other. Records of issues will be monitored with responses tracked over time.

With the measures outlined above we believe both the absolute values as well as tracking of trends over time will provide useful insights which can be extrapolated to highlight the success of the expanding gTLD space. Using this framework, .KIWI can provide the necessary input to inform future assessments.

Question 18c (i) HOW WILL MULTIPLE APPLICATIONS FOR A PARTICULAR DOMAIN NAME BE RESOLVED?

We plan to minimise social costs primarily through clearly written, widely disseminated and comprehendible policies, rules and procedures. For example:

-Our AUP will clearly delineate unacceptable behaviour and prohibited content by registrants using domain names in the .KIWI zone

-Our policies concerning applications for the same domain name will establish clearly delineated rules, and will be published well in advance. They provide adequate safeguards for the rights of all participants as well as expeditious and cost-effective challenge procedures in the event of disputes

-Our rules for the Sunrise periods and Landrush periods will specify that multiple applications for the same name will be resolved by auction. UDRP or URS will be used if there are disputes as to rights to a name

-Our rules for after the Sunrise and Landrush periods specify that domain names will be allotted on a first-come, first-served basis. All domains are subject to UDRP and URS challenges

-Our Complaint Resolution Service will be available at all times, to registrants as well as to the public in the case of alleged prohibited use or content.

Question 18c (ii): EXPLAIN ANY COST BENEFITS FOR REGISTRANTS YOU INTEND TO IMPLEMENT.

.KIWI intends to provide a number of cost benefits to registrants of .KIWI domain names. For example:

- Our financial model (as discussed in other sections of this application) reflects that a percentage of each .KIWI domain name sale will be donated to support the rebuild of the earthquake devastated city of Christchurch in New Zealand
- We plan to discount the registration and renewal pricing for members of qualifying organisations who seek to globally promote the Kiwi identity and brand
- We plan to discount first-time registrants of .KIWI domain names.

Bulk registration discounts are not being considered at this time.

Question 18(c)(iii): DO YOU INTEND TO MAKE CONTRACTUAL COMMITMENTS TO REGISTRANTS REGARDING THE MAGNITUDE OF PRICE ESCALATION?

.KIWI plans to make contractual commitments to registrants regarding the magnitude of price increases. .KIWI will contract with its registrars that any percentage increase in renewal and first registration fees will be applied uniformly across all registrations, subject to the provisions of Clause 2.10 (c), and that notice of any price increases will be provided on the registrar's website and by the registrar to registrants via email - in accordance with Clause 2.10 (b) of the Registry Agreement with ICANN.

At various periods in time, some .KIWI domain names will be reserved by .KIWI and sold by auction. Additionally, some .KIWI domain names will be reserved by .KIWI and allocated via a tendering process where the applicant best meeting the criteria for allocation will be awarded the name.

--PROPOSED MEASURES FOR PROTECTION OF GEOGRAPHIC NAMES AT THE SECOND AND OTHER LEVELS IN THE APPLIED-FOR GTLD--

We have accepted the advice of the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) that we should adopt appropriate procedures to block names with national or geographic significance at the second and other levels, and will do so in the manner described below:

The country and territory names contained in the following internationally recognized lists will be initially reserved at the second level, as follows:

The short form (in English) of all country and territory names contained on the ISO 3166-1 list, as updated from time to time, including the European Union; on 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; and on the list of United Nations member states in the six official United Nations languages prepared by the Working Group on Country Names of the United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names.

Procedurally, the geographical names contained in these lists, as described in Specification 5 of the New gTLD Agreement, will be added to the registry software system "prohibited word" function. This function, part of Espresso, our registry platform, allows strings to be blocked from registration. Upon an attempt via the EPP or web interface, the registration will not be allowed. Any attempt to register a domain containing those geographical names will be automatically denied, as they were similarly blocked in the .INFO TLD. If a Government or public authority decides to register a geographic name which has been blocked by the process describe above, the .INFO procedure for notice, authentication, and registration will be substantially adhered to, as follows:

1. The Government or public authority concerned informs the GAC Secretariat of their request to register the name, and the designated beneficiary.
2. The GAC Secretariat authenticates the request and transfers it to the ICANN staff and to the registry operator.
3. The registry operator verifies the availability of the name and issues an authorization number that is transmitted directly to the designated beneficiary in the country concerned.
4. The designated beneficiary (the Registrant) registers the name, paying the normal fee, with an ICANN-accredited registrar contracted with the registry operator using the authorization number as their authority.

The registry operator may at some point seek agreement with the applicable governments to release these reservations, subject to review by ICANN's Governmental Advisory Committee and approval by ICANN.

For protection of geographic names at other levels, we have a complaint mechanism in place and any geographic entity may register a complaint if they feel their national rights have been violated.

We believe that the measures outlined above incorporate GAC's advice and serve as a pledge to block, at no cost to governments, geographically significant names and allow a means of challenging any abuse of the use of a geographically significant name.