Getting Ready

1. Getting Ready The New gTLD Questionnaire

2. Agenda

3. The Questions • Qs 1-12: Applicant Information & Background • Qs 13-23: Application & String Information • Qs 24-44: Technical & Operational • Qs 45-50: Financial

4. Financial & Tech/Ops Evaluation Panels How thorough are the answers? Are they well thought through and do they provide a sufficient basis for evaluation? Has the applicant demonstrated the ability to fund initial and on going registry operations? Has the applicant demonstrated the ability to meet technical & operational requirements? Is the application integrated, consistent, and compatible with business model? Are risks identified and addressed?

5. Qs 1 – 12: Applicant Information • The applicant, address, legal status, relevant directors, officers, partners, shareholders • Mandatory eligibility criteria: • Fees paid on time • Proof of legal establishment • Background Screening • General business diligence and criminal history; • History of cybersquatting behaviour “Any material misstatement or misrepresentation (or omission of material information) may cause the application to be rejected”

6. Qs 13 – 17: String Information “An application that fails the String Similarity review due to similarity to an existing TLD will not pass the Initial Evaluation…” The DNS Stability panel will… “determine whether any strings raise significant security or stability issues that may require further review.” • Mandatory to supply: • IDN tables for applied for language or script • IDN tables for each language or script to be offered at 2nd level • Currently, no variant gTLDstrings will be delegated through the Program

7. Q 18: Mission /Purpose of TLD • Description of purpose of registry must be sufficiently detailed to enable comment • If community, this description must be consistent with question 20 “An important objective of the new TLD process is to diversify the namespace, with different registry business models and target audiences”

8. Qs 19-20:Community-based or Standard • Community status cannot be changed • To elect or not elect • Contention can be resolved via Settlement, Community-Priority Evaluation or Auction • Scoring in Community Priority Evaluation based on responses to Q19-20 • Risk of a Community Objection • Post-delegation contractual obligations will reflect commitments to the specified community Community-based applications for apps where there are, “unambiguous associations among the applicant, the community served, and the applied-for gTLD string”

9. Qs 21-22:Geographic Names • Government endorsement required for: • Capital cities or if TLD is to be “used for purposes associated with a city name” (ISO 3166 list) • Sub-national place names (ISO 3166-2 list) or UNESCO region • Documents of support or non-objection required from relevant governments or public authorities • Process and policies for protection of geographic terms at second level required “An application for a country or territory name, as defined in the Applicant Guidebook, will not be approved” Identification of the right level of support is critical

10. Q 23: Registry Services • Security, Stability and registrant protection paramount • If the proposed registry service requires further analysis then Extended Evaluation • Extended registry service review will incur an additional fee “Applicant may engage in only those registry services defined in the application, unless a new request is submitted to ICANN in accordance with the Registry Agreement”

11. Qs 24-44: Technical & Operational • All questions scored & only questions 24-29 will be published • Currently: 37 points available; 22 points required to pass • A number of questions provide for extra points earned • Questions cover external facing processes (SRS, abuse prevention mitigation, Whois) and internal infrastructure (architecture, registry continuity, security) • The requirement to identify roles and responsibilities is primarily for the purpose of financial projections “In the event that an applicant chooses to outsource one or more parts of its registry operations, the applicant should still provide the full details of the technical arrangements.”

12. Qs 28-29: Abuse Prevention & RPM “Responsible for addressing matters requiring expedited attention and providing a timely response to abuse complaints concerning all names registered in the TLD through all registrars of record, including those involving a Reseller”. • Three points to offer • Mandatory Sunrise, IP Claims, implementation of decisions under URS and UDRP • RPM which is included in the Abuse prevention plan, gets separate scoring.

13. Qs 45-50: Financial Capability • Funding must cover technical and operational requirements • Mandatory provision of audited financial statements (balance sheet, income statement, statement of shareholders equity/partner capital, and cash flow statement) or unaudited statements if new • Complete a Projections Template & describe basis & rationale for assumptions. “Costs which should be sufficient to maintain registry operations & provide registry services; Sources of funding & Revenue for Start-up & daily operation; Revenue model including all sources of funds.”

14. Q 50: Critical Registry Operations • Mandatory provision of irrevocable Letter of Credit or deposit into an irrevocable cash escrow account sufficient to cover critical registry operations for three years • DNS resolution for registered domain names • Operation of the Shared Registration System • Provision of Whois service • Registry data escrow deposits • Maintenance of a properly signed zone in accordance with DNSSEC requirements. “Provide a cost estimate for funding critical registry operations on an annual basis”.

15. Module 6: Terms & Conditions “Applicant warrants that the statements and representations contained in the application are true and accurate and complete in all material respects, and that ICANN may rely on those statements and representations fully in evaluating this application.”

16. Thank You

17. Questions