.lat Pre-Register Domain - .lat Domain Information

.LAT MISSION AND PURPOSE

Internet continues growing day by day, touching more and more people every day. This means that internet users need to identify and differentiate themselves, even beyond their own region, in an effort to reflect their identity in their cultural, social and business activities.

In response to this need, in recent years we have seen the advent of some new top level domains such as: ‘.biz', ‘.info', ‘.name', ‘.travel', ‘.mobi', and notably the regional identity TLDs - ‘.eu', and ‘.asia' and cultural identity domains such as ‘.cat' . These two latter domains, offer their registrants the option of registering domain names that enable them to establish a regional or cultural identity in the Internet, in comparison with, for example, a national identity obtained by registering their domain names under a country code top level domain (ccTLD).

With the purpose of responding to the need of choice, and to give latino individuals and organizations from all over the world a new choice to identify themselves with the rest of the internet, eCOM-LAC and NIC Mexico have partnered together to participate in ICANN's New gTLDs Program and apply to obtain the delegation of a new top level domain for latinos: .LAT

.LAT is easily recognizable and has intrinsic meaning as oriented to latinos and has the potential to serve as a virtual space that brings together the diverse actors that make up the latino community.

ABOUT ECOM-LAC

eCOM-LAC is the Latin America and Caribbean Federation of Internet and Electronic Commerce. Founded in March 1999 in a meeting of stakeholders held in Rio de Janeiro, eCOM-LAC was conceived as a non-profit regional entity, which could congregate non-profit industry associations, chambers of commerce and corporations, interested in contributing to the development of the Internet and Electronic Commerce in the region. The entity registered formally in the Republic of Uruguay as an International Non-Profit Entity, and has legal and administrative offices in the LACNIC building in Montevideo.

The entity's main activities can be summarized thus:

* Participation in ICANN since 1999, attending every ICANN meeting worldwide
* Founding member of LACNIC - 1999
* Organizer of two Regional e-Commerce Summits - Sao Paulo 2000, Buenos Aires 2001
* Participation in the World Summit of the Information Society (WSIS)-2003-2005
* Social inclusion educational project titled "Mi lugar, Atlas de la diversidad" - 2002-2004 (As member of group of NGOs in the European Commission @lis program)
* Became a member of Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP) in 2006
* Became member of GKP Board of Directors (2009), and then a Trustee of the new GKP Foundation (registered in Gijòn - Asturias, March 2011)
* Organized two "Future of the Internet" conferences - Chile and Brazil (2010)
* Organized two Latin America/Caribbean Public Policy Forums - Miami 2010 and 2011

A TLD FOR LATINOS

Latin or Hispanic population, latinos, refers to people who have in common or share a strong heritage of any country from Latin America, this special link is strengthened by their own cultural influence. Being that the most common languages in Latin America have the same origin, it is easy to understand why language is one of the most important cultural influences in this culture.

Notwithstanding the existing and clearly visible geographic differences in Latin America, latinos are noted for preserving a strong identity connection with people from their same origins. This linkage is reinforced by the existing similarities that are characteristic of latino countries, be it in their political histories, their social structures and their economies.

The latinos that live in a country they were not born in, tend to miss their old way of life, such as the habits and customs they performed daily. This homesickness becomes a factor that increases the latino sentiment, with this the latino population generates and develops a series of activities within their community, in order to link up and remember their past, be it through specialized commercial products, integration cultural activities, religious festivities, etc. In the United States, these activities are generating a resurgence of the latino identity, which to a degree, is caused by the increase in purchasing power of the new latino generations and the migrations of the last decades.

OBJECTIVES OF THE .LAT

The .LAT is an initiative to give latino individuals and organizations from all over the world a new choice to identify themselves with the rest of the internet, enabling them to promote their culture, interests and heritage through internet presence with latin identity.

The objectives the .LAT initiative pursues are:

* Adopt a new gTLD oriented to the latino community. This translates to the development and promotion of a new category of specialized domain names for the latino community, becoming a real alternative to the current TLDs.
* Establish a gTLD that is easily recognizable. The .LAT, due to its number of characters and intrinsic meaning, will be easy to memorize, and will represent a cultural legacy more than a geographic space.
* Facilitate regional communication between latinos. The .LAT will serve as a means of drawing close, targeted at the worldwide latino community, be they residents of their country of origin, or people who have had to migrate to another country.
* Guarantee a virtual space that brings together the diverse actors that make up the latino community. The latino diversity does not center only on country of origin, but it also includes their social environment and economic activity: companies, institutions and civil society.
* Turn the .LAT domain into a platform for the growth of the Internet, and as a tool for business in the latino market. The .LAT will be a digital component that will increasingly enable more latino companies and individuals to initiate or continue their growth and conquer new markets on a global scale. Thus, the gTLD will promote the visibility of the latino market, offering a communication channel via the Internet by leveraging the high label recognition, multiplying the efforts of companies and individuals seeking to offer services and/or products for the latino market through the Internet.
* Promote and develop the use of information technologies. The .LAT will contribute to the process of developing technologically based initiatives, that promote the development of the Internet, focused on the welfare of latinos and reinforcing their identity on the Internet.
* Complement the development of the latino ccTLDs, The existing links between the diverse latino ccTLDs will be reinforced and thus, between the communities that make up and use these ccTLDs, taking the integration between the users of these ccTLDs to the next level, to a global scale. This will result in an important impulse in the category of latino domain names, projecting them as an increasingly attractive market. A specialized domain will assist in the acceleration and self-evolution of the latino identity, which will complement the national identity.

In summary, the .LAT TLD is the "logical home" for latinos all over the world seeking internet presence with latin identity.

With the development of the .LAT new gTLD, eCOM-LAC will get the funds necessary to finance projects and initiatives contained in the main directives of the organization, like the development of information technologies in Latin-America , and also the promotion and support to projects and initiatives that focus on reducing the digital divide.

I. WHAT IS THE GOAL OF YOUR PROPOSED GTLD IN TERMS OF AREAS OF SPECIALTY, SERVICE LEVELS, OR REPUTATION?

The aim of .LAT, as far as specialization, reputation and levels of service, is to offer a gTLD directed specifically to the latin market, with an ongoing commitment to maintain stability of the Internet, implementing the highest levels of service to offer a service that is trustworthy and up to par with the industry. The .LAT will undertake the necessary marketing and communication efforts to ensure a high degree of identification with the latin market. With .LAT we aim to create a TLD that really knows the latin market, and which permanently is keeping abreast of the needs of this market, in order to respond appropriately with services and policies which will address these needs.

II. WHAT DO YOU ANTICIPATE YOUR PROPOSED GTLD WILL ADD TO THE CURRENT SPACE, IN TERMS OF COMPETITION, DIFFERENTIATION, OR INNOVATION?

Competition promotes innovation, since it can multiply the benefit of innovating. The .LAT will present a platform for innovation, for the offer of online services and products from and to the latin market. The .LAT itself has an important differentiation factor since it relates directly to latinos, enabling their easy identification and adoption by the consumers.

The .LAT is presented as a globally visible domain that provides a space for the spirit of integration of the latinos, that need not depend on the limitations of the existing generic TLDs. At the same time it participates in expanding the distribution of the Internet infrastructure outside of the more developed countries.

.LAT TLD will be dedicated to serve the interests of the latino market, focusing on a differentiated marketing effort which will be tailored for this market, offering services of the highest level suitable to the market and it's special characteristics.

Knowing the market enables us to approach it, enter into alliances to ensure that the TLD penetrates the market, guaranteeing effective distribution and promotion to the market that we wish to serve. We will differentiate from the other TLDs in the service and the marketing.

III. WHAT GOALS DOES YOUR PROPOSED GTLD HAVE IN TERMS OF USER EXPERIENCE?

Latinos have in common a strong heritage, a mixture of vestiges of an ancient civilization and the language and religion brought from the old continent by the colonizers. If diverse in various aspects, latinos from different countries and origins have found the way to set common grounds to facilitate supranational cooperation mechanisms, while preserving what makes them different and unique.

Thus, Latin society shares literature, music, movies and more. The communication and entertainment industry (TV, radio, newspapers, books, films) recognizes the relevance of the Latino community and how fundamental this segment is for its business purposes. This segmentation allows them to customize products and services focusing in a single community that regardless of their nationality will always be part of the Latino community.

Since this is a TLD meant for the latinos, we seek to offer the possibility of being able to register Internet domain names that reinforce the latin identity. With the .LAT, the users of the net will find it easier to locate sites and people they are familiar with. The latinos can be present with an identity that enables them to identify with their roots, tell the world who they are and where they come from. They could expect that a website or service under a .LAT will contain elements they are familiar with, or that they will be directed in a manner that enables easy access.

As part of the marketing and brand positioning efforts, we will seek agreements with the largest possible amount of ICANN Accredited Registrars (NIC Mexico currently works directly with some of the biggest ones). At the same time we will promote the Accreditation of Registrars that are latin companies. By promoting the accreditation of increasing numbers of latin companies, we can also enhance the offer of services from the other TLDs (existing or new), thus promoting the entire category

At the same time, moved by domain name market growth among latinos, we could expect more and more companies looking into offering services over the internet within that market, promoting investment and economic growth. Nevertheless, market growth comes along with the necessity of providing increased security standards and abuse prevention practices altogether with rights protection mechanisms.

With this in mind, .LAT registry will look to engage with a latin organization that could become a regional dispute resolution provider. This will enhance the capabilities in the region to attend the problems related to trademark infringement and other domain use related abuses. In addition, it might drive experience to other TLDs in the region that do not have access to the UDRP (and URS) mechanisms and also catch the attention of other relevant actors in the latin community that could participate in such project.

IV. PROVIDE A COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF THE APPLICANT'S INTENDED REGISTRATION POLICIES IN SUPPORT OF THE GOALS LISTED ABOVE.

.LAT REGISTRATION POLICIES

.LAT is a self-explanatory TLD, highly recognizable and primarily associated with latinos all over the world. .LAT will be a standard, general purpose TLD so there will be no registration restrictions other than the ones being imposed by ICANN in the Guidebook and the Consensus Policies.

.LAT will only accept domain names requests from ICANN Accredited Registrars. Furthermore, .LAT has a strong commitment to develop the latino domain name market and will engage with latino registrars to help them become ICANN accredited so they can participate of market development and contribute to market growth.

REGISTRATION OF DOMAIN NAMES

By receiving and accepting a domain registration request .LAT Registry recognizes the right of the Registrant to the use and enjoyment of a Domain Name during the registration period. This does not imply the transfer and/or granting of any ownership rights.

By registering a domain name, the registrant accepts, to the best of its knowledge, that the domain name being registered or its intended use does not infringe legal rights of third parties and further, that the domain name is not registered to be used for unlawful purposes.

The registrant accepts that by registering a domain name accepts to adhere and honor the resolutions rendered by the UDRP and URS evaluation panels as defined by ICANN. Also, the registrant accepts to adhere and honor the resolutions of the ʺRegional Anti-Abuse Centerʺ should it is created.

ALLOWED DOMAINS:

.LAT will accept domain name registration at the second level only, and the registered names must comply with ICANN policies and all applicable RFCs, like 1034, 1035, and others.

NAME RULES

* The total length of a domain name must not exceed 63 characters to the left of the .LAT label.
* Allowed characters are numbers "0" to "9", hyphen "-", and all letters from "a" to "z"
* Domain names must not contain only numbers and must not begin or end with hyphen, or contain two hyphen characters put together.
* Domain names included in the reserved names schedule defined by ICANN will not be registered.

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

As part of the registration process, the registrant is required to provide certain information through the Registrar and to update it promptly as soon as such information changes so that the registry records remain current, complete and accurate. The information that must be provided corresponds to:

* The name, postal address, e-mail address, and voice and fax (if available) telephone numbers of the registrant for the domain name;
* The name, postal address, e-mail address, and voice and fax (if available) telephone numbers of the administrative, billing and technical contact for the domain name;

The maximum validity period of the Domain Name registration is 10 years, according to the Registry Agreement.

IDN REGISTRATION

IDN registration will be provided in Spanish language.

* Allowed characters are numbers "0" to "9", hyphen "-", all letters from "a" to "z" and the following special characters from Spanish language: á, é, í, ó, ú, ü, ñ.

When registering an IDN there will be an extra availability check for an equivalent name. To construct the equivalent name first hyphens will be removed, and then all special characters will be replaced with the corresponding characters without the accent mark or in the case of "ñ" for "n". IDN registration will not be permitted if there is an equivalent domain name in the database for a different registrant.

Any change or update to these Policies will be published with a notice of at least 15 days before going into effect.

RIGHTS PROTECTION MECHANISMS AND ABUSE PREVENTION

.LAT will implement Rights Protection Mechanisms including UDRP and URS. IP Claims service will be available for 60 days following the launch of the TLD.

A searchable whois will be provided as an extended service for clients in need of such feature like intellectual property owners and firms. This service would help them to identify and contact potential infringers.

The Sunrise period and the use of UDRP and URS, together with the IP Claims service should be sufficient to prevent any abuses in registration as all those mechanisms have been streamlined as a result of the work carried out by ICANN as part of the New gTLDs Program. In addition .LAT registry will be open to requests and suggestions from the community and will adopt any new policy on registration abuse as published by ICANN.

There will be an abuse contact who will accept reports on abuses and bad use of the domain names under the .LAT TLD.

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.

.LAT Registry will take every effort needed to balance the need for privacy with the need to provide access to records that contain information on the registrant and contacts of domain names in order to maintain security and stability of the DNS. .LAT registry will operate an accurate public WHOIS service in a way that is compatible with applicable privacy laws. .LAT will request from registrants the minimal set of information needed to perform the whois functions as required by ICANN.

.LAT registry will require registrars to post privacy policies and data practices that clearly communicate to registrants the type of data that will be collected and managed by the .LAT Registry and the use of such data to perform registry functions, specially the WHOIS service. Those policies and data practices will also include the rights of the registrants to access and correct data stored in the .LAT Registry database. The submission of a domain registration request made will imply consent from the registrar and the registrant of .LAT Registry's data practices.

.LAT will allow registrars to offer data privacy services like proxy services, but will include the corresponding covenants for registrars to disclose information of domain name registrants upon request from authorities relevant to the .LAT Registry.

More detail will be provided in the description of registry services.

VI. DESCRIBE WHETHER AND IN WHAT WAYS OUTREACH AND COMMUNICATIONS WILL HELP TO ACHIEVE YOUR PROJECTED BENEFITS.

The availability of a TLD clearly related to latinos provides internet users all over the world a great opportunity to target a latin audience or, on the other side, gives latin companies and individuals the opportunity to get internet presence with latin identity. .LAT could be of great help to enhance any branding strategies for the latino market . The self-explanatory nature of the TLD could clearly facilitate its use over the internet among the targeted audience.

The .LAT will serve latino market interests, by providing the means to implement differentiated commercialization and marketing strategies, tailored for the latin market.

.LAT outreach and communication efforts will focus first on its own brand building and positioning in developed markets, and then .LAT will look into developing the market in less developed areas by promoting and facilitating the use of .LAT domain names to get Internet presence with latin identity.

eCOM-LAC is uniquely positioned to promote the .LAT domain. Some of its members, such as chambers of commerce, want to promote the domain to their members, since this is seen as an opportunity to offer latino entities, companies, businesses and professionals a specific highly recognizable domain, whereas when the Internet became available for public use, registration in the .COM space was almost a default option for a registrant seeking a non-territorial domain name. The partnership of two entities such as eCOM-LAC and NIC Mexico, together with the potential of the hundreds of companies that belong to eCOM-LAC member organizations, compose a considerable launching force.

BRAND BUILDING AND POSITIONING

.LAT Registry will implement an outreach and communication program to inform of the availability of the new TLD to create awareness and achieve positioning. The program will focus first on certain cities with the highest concentration of latin internet users. Some of the cities considered for this program are: Buenos Aires, Bogotá, Santiago, Mexico City, Chicago and New York.

The strategies consider partnering with relevant local organizations and individuals that can help in putting the word out for .LAT, for example: get feature articles on local newspapers, share information on the project with local bloggers, news shows appearances and interviews and also sponsoring of local internet related events, among other things. We are also considering for this first phase to include some urban advertising like panoramic ads, public buses and bus stops, and the subway system.

The brand building efforts will also include arrangements with some of the brands on the top of mind of consumers to use .LAT domain names on their advertising for the latin market, specially brands that have specially focused campaigns and distribution channels for latin consumers. In general, we'll try to reach organizations that could have a positive impact in the TLD's positioning.

.LAT will look for sponsoring opportunities on industry related events, to seize the opportunity to spread the word about .LAT and talk to industry protagonists and opinion leaders to find a way to aggregate efforts to promote the use of .LAT domain names.

In order to facilitate the adoption of the TLD, it'll be necessary to develop the distribution channel, so .LAT will engage with latin registrars, most of them resellers, to help them get ICANN accredited whenever possible and convenient. On the same track, .LAT registry will work with accredited registrars that have a special interest on the latin market to invite them to carry the TLD, and develop or improve their reseller program to promote the entrance of new latin resellers and in that way, all work together to offer registrants TLD services on their own language.

.LAT will also develop a Discovery Program, oriented to early adopters that commit to invest in advertising for their projects and use a .LAT domain name. There will be an RFP that'll focus on innovation; outreach and participation to ask for projects that will make an outstanding and innovative use of the desired .LAT domain name. We'll try to find those projects that foster integration and creation of on-line communities to encourage creativity and entrepreneurship over the internet with latin identity.

Special consideration will be given to Social Networks; .LAT registry will conduct a highly specialized outreach campaign over Twitter and Facebook. Specialized consulting will be retained to design and conduct these campaigns to maximize the results.

MARKET DEVELOPMENT

The market development efforts will try to promote the use and recognition of .LAT domain names within latin individuals and institutions. These efforts will be oriented to create awareness and gain visibility of the new gTLD. The market development work will focus on:

* Establish the .LAT gTLD as a domain recognized for it's global reach, but which emphasizes its presence in the latino market. This will provide an Internet domain with global recognition and coverage, but with a special focus on the latino market, targeted to satisfy the needs of the latino community in the Internet.
* A global focus. The .LAT will provide a specialized space to those global entities seeking to establish a presence in the latino community (for example, multinational companies).
* Become a reference point for the latino community vis-a-vis diverse private entities. Under this gTLD, the amount of domains, and the amount and quality of specialized third party contents, (with a global, regional or national coverage) targeted to the latino consumer, will thus be able to address them in their own language, and including references to their tastes and consumer preferences.
* Become a reference framework for events and organisms targeted to latinos. The .LAT will seek to become the official Internet platform for the diverse entities and events (public, private and civil society) interested in outreach to and from the latino community on the Internet.
* Support the growth of national companies in a multi-national environment. The .LAT will add value to the companies, because of its identification with the latino market, and due to its success in the marketing and sales of its products and services in this market. The .LAT domain will enable greater leverage to an Internet presence as a growth platform, making it increasingly attractive as an opportunity to reach a specific market, independently of its geographical distribution.

SOCIAL COSTS

LAT will not impose a social cost that is higher than the existing ones. As of today, there are dozens of ccTLDs that do not require registrants to demonstrate their place of residence to register a domain name. Nevertheless many of those ccTLDs are not widely used; they are used only by whom finds it relevant for their interests, or by whom shares the market focus of the TLD. Due to this it becomes especially important to have communications and positioning strategies specially tailored to promote the differentiation and specialized market focus of the .LAT on the latino market, as this will help potential registrars and internet users to decide if the .LAT is relevant for them or not.

MULTIPLE APPLICATIONS FOR A DOMAIN NAME

The .LAT is presented as an integrating element for latinos around the world through the Internet, as a tool that enables them to draw attention to their roots and interests, and the effort will be made to make this available to the community it intends to serve, while avoiding the price factor become an impediment for its adoption.

Nonetheless, we must consider the manner in which the domain names will be assigned to the registrants. The launching plan includes a sunrise period which will have special considerations for the rights of brand and intellectual property owners. Conflicting registrations received during the Sunrise Period will be resolved with clear policy, which will take into account trademark information validated by the Trademark Clearinghouse (TMC). The landrush will feature a first-come first-served approach with the use of a special pricing scheme. There will be no auctions for premium names previously reserved by the registry. The landrush will be followed by a traditional, first-come first-served registration process in the general availability launch.

All special names and words as specified in the Guidebook will be reserved and will not be available for registration.

COST BENEFITS

In order to facilitate the introduction and adoption of the .LAT, the marketing plans will include Price strategies that offer benefits to the registrants, through the registrars, enabling them to have access to preferential prices based on volume or during specific campaigns. Among the programs we intend to implement are the following:

* Discount campaigns during special seasons. The registry will actively participate in the promotion of the TLD, investing in advertising for positioning of the TLD, together with those registrars who elect to participate.
* Other appropiate discounts and offer to all participant registrars.

NIC Mexico was one of the first registries in the world that made important efforts in marketing and price strategies, in order to promote the positioning and growth of a TLD in its market, the .MX in this particular case. Due to the positive results achieved and the experience acquired, we believe it is possible to replicate some of these most successful strategies with the .LAT.

In order to minimize the social cost that .LAT may have, verification mechanisms required to increase the trustworthiness of the information will be implemented, including

* Thick Whois
* URS
* UDRP
* IP Claims

PRICING STRATEGIES

The Pricin strategy for the .LAT will aim to find a balance between offering an attractive margin to registrars while at the same time makeing it accessible to registrants, while obtaining the necessary resources for the promotion and positioning of .LAT in the target market. A plan will be proposed that will provide incentive to the growth of the base of domain names registered, promoting registration for 2 or more years, while simultaneously it will be sought that this plan achieve a renewal rate around 70%. The price increments will only occur when necessary, and in full compliance with the ICANN contract, giving notice in appropriate form and with required anticipation, as per the contract signed with ICANN.

.LAT Registry does not consider making contractual commitments with the registrants regarding price escalation other than the ones indicated by ICANN, as we think that it would be very difficult to regulate the pricing schemes that the registrars offer to final customers. However it is our goal to gradually reduce the tariff the registrars pay, if and when possible, enabling them to pass this benefit on to the registrants.

PROTECTION OF GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES

Through the development of the Applicant Guidebook, ICANN put a great effort to protect the best interests of country and territory governments. .LAT has a strong commitment to protect geographical names as required in the Applicant Guidebook and according to GAC's "Principles Regarding New gTLDs".

.LAT registry will protect Geographic names at the second level as defined in the Applicant Guidebook following GAC's principles and recommendations.

The following GAC Principles Regarding new gTLDs apply especially to geographic names:

2.2 ICANN should avoid country, territory or place names, and country, territory or regional language or people descriptions, unless in agreement with the relevant governments or public authorities.

2.7 Applicant registries for new gTLDs should pledge to:

a) Adopt, before the new gTLD is introduced, appropriate procedures for blocking, at no cost and upon demand of governments, public authorities or IGOs, names with national or geographic significance at the second level of any new gTLD.

b)Ensure procedures to allow governments, public authorities or IGOs to challenge abuses of names with national or geographic significance at the second level of any new gTLD.

.LAT Registry will reserve the following names at the second level prior to public availability of the .LAT TLD:

* 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.
* 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
* The list of 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;

Registry Operator will propose a mechanism for the release of these reservations, following recommendations made by the Governmental Advisory Committee and approval by ICANN.

.LAT Registry considers registering domain names corresponding to all protected domain names on behalf of ICANN as the registrant of record of such domain names, as it was the case of .INFO TLD. A similar approach will be used for .LAT.