.uno Pre-Register Domain - .uno Domain Information

To create a simple and intuitive alternative to .com with the intention of increasing the available name space in order to better accommodate the needs of Registrants. Additionally, the ".UNO" gTLD will be geared towards reaching members of the Hispanic or Italian communities and providing Registrants with the opportunity to better market themselves within those cultural niches. While ".UNO" will not be reserved for Hispanic or Italian Registrants only, it is our mission to foster competition and name recognition within those markets in order to assist Internet Users and Registrants in identifying the ".UNO" gTLD as an innovative marker for businesses and organizations wishing to provide information and products to the Hispanic or Italian cultures.

In February 2012, Microsoft issued a formal paper to compile their findings in regards to domain bias in web searches. It is Microsoft's opinion, based off a series of controlled tests and data collection mechanisms, that Internet users have the propensity to believe that a page is more relevant simply because it derives from a particular domain. Microsoft's findings indicate that consumers are looking for recognizable relationships online, that user comfort is increased by association and regardless of the impersonal experience that the Internet currently offers, Internet users are inclined to patronize domains that they feel personally connected to in someway. Reciprocally, we are able to apply this theory to the concept of gTLD's and assume that Internet users would be more apt to visit second level domains deriving from gTLD's that create user recognition and association.

With these concepts in mind, we believe that a current demand exists to create gTLD's that provide cultural, industry and community specific designations, with the intention of reaching out to specific markets, while expanding communication networks and information distribution systems. Through the development of gTLD's such as ".UNO", the Internet would begin to build a more personal user experience and in turn, drive online spending markets and Internet business expansion.

According to global population resources, the Italian and Spanish populations of the world total close to 500 million people. In 2010, PackagedFacts.com reported that Spanish-speaking cultures alone represented over $1 trillion dollars in consumer spending in the United States and it is estimated that those numbers will top $1.3 trillion dollars by 2015.

The jump in buying power can be seen as a huge motivator for companies to make the necessary adjustments to market their businesses more effectively to the Hispanic community. Registrants seeking the gTLD string ".UNO" might be those who have already been operating with multi-cultural processes in place but are poorly marketed as such, or they might be the company who is just realizing the untapped potential for growth in their business

The creation of the ".UNO" gTLD would offer a cultural differentiation in the currently overcrowded Internet name space. Acting as an alternative to .com, ".UNO" would provide businesses with a unique consumer relationship building opportunity by creating association through common language. Additionally, Google currently reports that over 16 billion searches resound on a monthly basis containing the word uno, pulling a little over one trillion results/pages for consumers to review. The obvious popularity of this particular word would additionally increase inadvertent exposure for sites bearing the ".UNO" gTLD.


While ".UNO" registrations are open to everyone, marketing will be geared specifically towards assisting to identify businesses and organizations interested in reaching out to the Italian or Spanish speaking cultures. The word uno is rooted in both languages and shares the common definition of "one". Due to the commonality of both origin and definition, one can assume that the word uno is the simplest, shortest, and most effective extension choice to reach both cultures. "UNO" would appeal to cultural organizations, companies wishing to increase their exposure to Italian or Spanish speaking industries due to the implementation of bi-lingual services, business owners of Italian or Hispanic decent, and companies wishing to expand their market reach in order to better capture the Hispanic or Italian consumer.

For example, if a primarily Spanish-speaking business owner is considering buying a domain name to market homes for sale in their community, the existence of ".UNO", would allow them to choose between www.casasenventa.uno or www.casasenventa.com from the list of results. The Italian-speaking individual, in kind, would be able to choose www.caseinvendita.uno. Since ".UNO" is a readily identifiable word in both languages, one can assume that it would be chosen over .com.

In 2007, Best Buy launched www.bestbuy.com/espanol, which allows users to view Spanish language content for more than 12,000 products, service plans, and gift cards. The site also allows for customers to toggle back and forth between English and Spanish with click-to-call features that instantly connect shoppers to Spanish-speaking customer service reps. The creation of this site allowed Best Buy to tap into an international buying market and provide Spanish preferred consumers the option to browse, research and compare products in their own language prior to purchasing. The success of Best Buy's bi-lingual site spurred the development of Best Buy stores across Latin America and according to Best Buy's Hispanic Initiative Site Manager it has additionally driven bi-lingual job creation, literature, and an increase in sales company wide.

Similarly, ".UNO" would assist businesses committed to reaching out to serve multi-lingual communities by increasing their exposure online. Businesses which offer services similar but not limited to the following: bi-lingual or multi-lingual staff, PDF files written entirely in Spanish or Italian, products specific to the Italian/Latino/Hispanic culture, or businesses which have processes in place to streamline the on-line experience for Spanish-speaking or Italian-speaking individuals have the potential to achieve excess market growth through the ".UNO" gTLD.

Additionally, ".UNO" would provide Italian or Hispanic businesses the opportunity to be easily recognizable as such online, helping consumers to support business owners from their communities. The concept is much like a consumer choosing to buy "local" vs. a ‘big-box' or superstore (ex: Home Depot, Best Buy). Not - only would consumers be able to quickly identify Italian and Hispanic based businesses, they would also be able to find stores that have customer service practices in place to cater to their lingual needs or community interests.

Internet users would reap multiple benefits from the addition of ".UNO" to the current name space. Through the creation of this new gTLD, Registrants would have increased naming availability, which in turn allows them to choose a domain that more appropriately represents their businesses. This simple convenience will assist Internet users in more accurately identifying companies and patronage options because businesses will be more appropriately delineated online. For the Hispanic or Italian user ".UNO" would create a virtual "yellow pages" of sorts, assisting users in quickly identifying businesses and organizations wishing to market themselves directly to those communities. These benefits would additionally inspire advertising growth on ".UNO" domains, by allowing advertisers to more easily identify sites geared towards a particular user and, in turn, structure their advertising content more appropriately. Users would then be represented with advertisements more intrinsically matched to their lingual or cultural inclinations while viewing ".UNO" sites, creating more beneficial exposure for both the consumer and the advertiser.

Successful implementation of the ".UNO" gTLD will require a robust marketing initiative. DOT Latin, LLC plans to actively pursue the following marketing goals in order to best fulfill our intentions and secure a prominent location in the market;

1) Build strong relationships with Registrar services in order to capture new domain registrations.
2) Create a prominent and consistent image, representative of our mission and expressed clearly through branding, advertisements, and corporate relationships. It is essential to educate consumers and create brand recognition for ".UNO" in order to adequately capture the appropriate markets for our Registrants.
3) Secure "key" Registrants through our Founders program (described further in question 29 of this application) that will act as innovative leaders to assist us in appropriately exposing our target audience to the existence of ".UNO".
4) Cultivate relationships with both domestic and global organizations such as the Business Association Italy America, The Italia Trade Commission, The Hispanic Business Association USA, The Latin Business Association, National Hispanic Business Group, and The Association of Hispanic Advertising, which would assist us in isolating and targeting businesses interested in reaching ".UNO"'s suggested end users. Additionally, partnerships with these organizations and others like them would increase DOT Latin's knowledge base in regards to efficiently meeting the needs of both the Hispanic and Italian communities.
5) Partner with global marketing firms that specialize in Hispanic or Italian marketing campaigns in order to efficiently structure our marketing process to reach the desired Registrants.
6) Increase exposure for ".UNO" by creating a strong international presence through membership to applicable global organizations and attendance at conferences appropriate to our visibility in the market.
7) Reach out to US based companies that offer multi-lingual options to consumers in order to enhance their web presence by registering a ".UNO" domain and clearly indicate the growing commercial benefit of marketing their businesses more directly to the Hispanic or Italian cultures.

In addition DOT Latin, LLC will implement the following Registration Guidelines and naming conventions in order to best protect Registrants and Internet users:

1) Any individual or business will be allowed to register for a ".UNO" domain.

2) Registrant's should understand that name availability is not guaranteed and that names will be issued on a first-come, first-served basis. Should a Registrant's requested name be unavailable, the Registrant will be offered the option of re-wording, changing, or adapting their initial naming request until a suitable solution is found.

3) Registrants will not be allowed to register names that infringe on the legal rights of other individuals or companies, allude to criminal activities, or contain in any part racially offensive language.

4) DOT Latin, LLC reserves the right to deny, cancel, or transfer any registration or transaction (as more fully described in our Abuse Policies in question 28 below), or place any domain name(s) on registry lock, hold, or similar status, that it deems necessary to; (1) to protect the integrity and stability of the registry; (2) to comply with applicable laws, government rules or requirements, or court orders; (3) to avoid any liability, civil or criminal, on the part of DOT Latin, LLC, as well as its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers, directors, and employees; (4) to correct mistakes made by the DOT Latin, LLC, registry services provider, or any Registrar in connection with a domain name registration; (5) during resolution of any dispute regarding the domain; and (6) if a Registrant's pre-authorization or payment fails; or (7) to prevent the bad faith use of a domain name that is identical to a registered trademark and being used to confuse users.

5) DOT Latin's registry services operator will provide thick WHOIS services that are fully compliant with RFC 3912 and with Specifications 4 and 10 of the Registry Agreement. Additionally, DOT Latin will provide a Web-based WHOIS application, which will be located at www.whois.uno. The WHOIS Web application will be an intuitive and easy to use application. A complete description of these services can be found in Question 26 below.
6) All Registrants awarded a ".UNO" domain will agree to a one year minimum contract, which will need to be renewed on an annual basis. Renewal is the sole responsibility of the Registrant. Registrant's failing to renew their awarded domains by their expiration dates will be given a sixty (60) day renewal grace period prior to their domain being revoked and returned to general availability.

7) DOT Latin, LLC is not liable or responsible in any way for any errors, omissions or any other actions by any third party (including any Registrar service) arising out of or related to a given Registrant's application for, registration of, renewal of, or failure to register or renew a particular domain name.

8) Through the registration process, all Registrants will be expected to designate an administrative contact for their application. This contact would possess all the rights granted by DOT Latin, LLC or its designated agents to act in respect to the given domain including, but not limited to, managing the domain name or any services associated thereto.

9) DOT Latin, LLC will implement a reserved names policy consisting of both names DOT Latin wishes to reserve for our own purposes as the registry operator and names protected by ICANN. DOT Latin will respect all ICANN reserved names including, but not limited to, two letter country codes and existing TLD's. Additionally, DOT Latin, LLC will seek ICANN approval on any additional names we plan to reserve in order to appropriately secure them prior to the opening of general availability.


DOT Latin, LLC will additionally implement a series of Rights Protection Mechanisms (RPM) included but not limited to: Support for and interaction with the Trademark Clearinghouse ("Clearinghouse"), use of the Trademark Claims Service, segmented Sunrise Periods allowing for the owners of trademarks listed in the Clearinghouse to register domain names that consist of an identical match of their listed trademarks, subsequent Sunrise Periods to give trademark owners or Registrant's that own the rights to a particular name the ability to block the use of such name, stringent take- down services and Uniform Dispute Resolution Policies.

DOT Latin, LLC will collect personal information from it's Registrants via any of our approved Registrars. In order to maintain the integrity of the ".UNO" gTLD and minimize the negative consequences to consumers and business owners, the following policies will be adhered to:

a) No information collected from our Registrants will be used for marketing purposes.
b) Data collected will not be traded or sold.
c) All data collected on any Registrant will be available to the Registrant free of charge.
d) Registrants will be allowed to address and correct data inaccuracies as needed.
e) All data will be kept secure.

DOT Latin, LLC will strictly uphold the rules set forth in their registration guidelines in order to accurately service our Registrants and mitigate any negative consequences to consumers or Internet users.
Additionally, DOT Latin recognizes that through the implementation of a new domain space we open up the increased potential of more cybersquatting, dangers to intellectual property holders, abuse by perpetrators in regards to malicious or criminal activities and consumer threats. DOT Latin plans to mitigate these offenses and protect our domain space by consistently enforcing our registration guidelines and abuse policies.
DOT Latin, LLC does not plan to offer registrations to Registrants directly; therefore our pricing commitments will be made within our Registry-Registrar Agreements. It is our intention that these commitments will percolate down to Registrants directly and that the contractual commitments contained within our Registry-Registrar agreements will be reflected in the retail sale process of our gTLD, thus minimizing the negative consequences that might be imposed on Registrants via the retail process.

DOT Latin, LLC plans to offer bulk registration benefits to Registrars during the first 6 months of operation. Registrars wishing to purchase bulk registrations of 1,000 names or more would be offered a 5% discount at the time of purchase. Additionally, DOT Latin, LLC , through our founders program will provide a 25% discount to founders participants as a participation incentive. It is possible that DOT Latin, LLC would offer additional pricing benefits from time to time as relative to the market. All future pricing discounts not detailed in this application will be submitted through the appropriate ICANN channels for approval prior to introduction to the market.

DOT Latin, LLC has thoroughly reviewed ISO 3166-1 and ISO 3166-2, relevant UN documents on the standardization of geographic names, GAC correspondence relating to the reservation of geographic names in the .INFO TLD, and understands its obligations under Specification 5 of the draft Registry Agreement. DOT Latin,LLC shall implement measures similar to those used to protect geographic names in the .INFO TLD by reserving and registering to itself all the geographic place names found in ISO-3166 and official country names as specified by the UN. DOT Latin, LLC has already discussed this proposed measure of protecting geographic names with its registry services provider, Neustar, and has arranged for such reservation to occur as soon after delegation as is technically possible.

As with the .INFO TLD, only if a potential second-level domain Registrant makes a proper showing of governmental support for country or territorial names will DOT Latin, LLC then relay this request to ICANN. At this point, DOT Latin, LLC would wait for the approval of the GAC and of ICANN before proceeding to delegate the domain at issue.