.boston Pre-Register Domain - .boston Domain Information

The .BOSTON TLD aims to become a new on line identity for the city of Boston, its inhabitants, companies, organizations and institutions, managed and supervised by The Boston Globe.

Given the fact that The Boston Globe (owned by Globe Newspaper Company, Inc.) has always been a major supporter of any activities being organized by or within the city of Boston, and provides up-to-date information to Bostonians and the world under its boston.com Web site, the city of Boston has provided a letter of support to TBG for the .BOSTON initiative. TBG?s Web sites currently receive more than 7 million unique visitors per year, and have been in operation since 1995.

The city of Boston is the capital of and the largest city in the state of Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The city of Boston has a population of close to 620,000; however, the substantially larger metropolitan area called Greater Boston is considered to be the tenth-largest metropolitan area in the United States, with a population of around 4,5 million.

The cityʹs economic activity includes research, manufacturing, finance, and biotechnology, mainly fueled by Boston?s highly reputable academic institutions. Undisputedly, it is one of the main innovative regions in the United States, or even the world.



Considering the above, the main components of the value proposition for the .BOSTON project can be summarized as follows:



* The internet extension is secured for the benefit of Boston and Bostonians, and is consistent with the initiatives under way for other prominent cities around the world;



* .BOSTON will assist the City of Boston as a forward-looking and innovative city;



* the initiative is consistent with other initiatives currently being taken in various parts of the world, in particular in the context of city-TLDs;

* Boston is more than ever focusing its image on entrepreneurship, innovation and progress, hereby supported by the many (start-up) businesses and more than a hundred well-known academic institutions throughout the Greater Boston area;

* the .BOSTON gTLD should convey security, safety and sustainability, which is achieved by relying on a solid, proven technical infrastructure and the implementation of effective policies to mitigate risks and abuse in this TLD.

TBGʹs experience with its boston.com Web site shows that a lot of people, organizations and companies -- even outside the Greater Boston area -- are interested in news and activities organized by or within the City of Boston. The truly international subscriptions to the premium news services offered by TBG clearly show that the radiance of the city of Boston goes far beyond the state of Massachusetts or even the United States.



Considering the fact that TBG has always been on the forefront of promoting the City of Boston, and that there is a clear interest and demand in showing a nexus with the city of Boston and the Boston community, a .BOSTON top-level domain makes sense for:



1) individuals residing in Boston;

2) organizations and companies established in Boston, which is an internationally recognized academic and business hub; and

3) in general: all those who would like to express and underline their connection with the city of Boston.



Therefore, the benefits of the .BOSTON gTLD are manifold, in particular because it shows a nexus with the city of Boston, which has numerous benefits for:



a. the city of Boston: considering the fact that TBG wants to attribute domain name registrations to the City of Boston and the organizations supporting the city, specific ʺutility domain namesʺ that are easy to remember will be reserved for the City of Boston. Examples include: police.boston, mayor.boston, city.boston, visit.boston, etc.



These domain names are intended to provide those who reside in, are established in or are visiting Boston to benefit from a predictable naming scheme, providing access to the products, services and facilities offered by the City of Boston, with the guarantee that such information, products and services are undisputedly offered by the competent authorities of the City of Boston;



b. individuals residing in Boston: many Bostonians show great pride in being born in or living in the City of Boston or the Greater Boston Area. The .BOSTON gTLD will give them the opportunity to underline or even express their ties to Boston on the Internet. Also, a .BOSTON domain name registration will provide for the opportunity to registrants to really focus Internet users to the owner of the domain name, rather than another person -- likely with the same name -- living in an entirely different city or country;



c. companies and organizations established in Boston: considering the fact that Boston is one of the country?s key economic hubs and a global leading academic region, the .BOSTON TLD will provide additional guidance to Internet users who would like to contact or obtain information from the outlets, offices, services and products offered in the Greater Boston area; and



d. Community organizations in Boston and those interested in creating organized usage of the .boston domains. As part of its program, TBG will allow community groups to register domains at a reduced rate and will contribute a portion of revenue to a fund managed by an advisory committee that awards grants to organizations and individuals who apply to build innovative destinations and features on .boston domain names.



e. anyone having a nexus with Boston: given the fact that TBG will not impose any eligibility restrictions in the policies that will govern the .BOSTON gTLD -- which decision has the support from the City of Boston -- anyone who would like to register domain names in the .BOSTON extension will be entitled to do so.



Furthermore, the decision to also allow individuals, organizations and companies that are not residing in or are established in Boston to register domain names in .BOSTON furthermore radiates the accessible and welcoming attitude of the City of Boston and Bostonians. TBG and the City of Boston are convinced that ? given the specific character of the .BOSTON TLD and its unique link to the City of Boston and the Greater Boston Area ? this extension will mainly attract people who have a certain affinity with this city and region.



These may include people who will soon be moving to Boston, open a business in the City, etc. Giving the fact that innovation undisputedly forms part of the DNA of Boston, TBG and the City of Boston opted not to have any restrictions as regards the eligibility for a domain name registration, hence potentially stifling future uses of the .BOSTON TLD.



It is, however, likely that during the first weeks or months of operation, TBG will establish a process whereby individuals, companies and organizations that are residing or have been established in the Greater Boston Area would be entitled to apply for and register domain names in the .BOSTON gTLD before registration is opened up to anyone.

What other steps will you take to minimize negative consequences/costs imposed upon consumers?



First of all: given the specific character, appeal and positioning of the .BOSTON gTLD as a city-TLD, TBG and the City of Boston are convinced that only those who are genuinely interested in or have an affinity with the City of Boston or the Greater Boston Area will register one or more domain names in .BOSTON.



Second, as regards potential risks for brand owners, TBG considers these to be limited considering:



(a) TBG will put in place an extensive Sunrise process, catering to the needs of brand owners. This process will be extensively marketed by TBGʹs marketing department, in particular in on line and print press;



(b) TBG?s Abuse Point of Contact will also have the role and responsibility to review complaints regarding potential trademark infringement, and will be entitled to intervene and take action, as stated in our response to Question 29.



Third, TBG intends to establish domain name registration policies and acceptable use policies that will allow TBG to put domain names on hold or even revoke any such names if and to the extent they are:



- defamatory or are being used for defamatory purposes;

- they are or are being used

- harming the reputation and good name of the City of Boston or TBG, or are used for these purposes;

- are infringing trademark or other intellectual property rights of third parties;

- etc.



Finally, in addition to the above, TBG and the City of Boston will, following delegation of the .BOSTON gTLD to TBG, determine the role of the City of Boston in this project, in particular on how it can assist and advise TBG in relation to:



- providing oversight: i.e., guarantee that the TLD is managed in the interest of the community on which it targets / focuses; and



- providing credibility: i.e., ensuring that domain name registrants and registrars trust the vision and strategy adopted by the registry operator, which should mainly focus on providing a safe and secure environment, rather than commercial gain.



On the basis of the recommendations formulated by the City of Boston, TBG will develop new or revise existing policies, in order to ensure that the .BOSTON gTLD will be managed and operated in a sustainable and credible manner.

Considering the fact that .BOSTON expressly reaches out to those who have a nexus or affinity with the city of Boston, TBG considers domain names that relate to other geographic names in the .BOSTON gTLD (france.boston, or tokyo.boston) to be counter-intuitive.

Therefore, unless there would be strong arguments for registering these domain names, the Applicant will abide by and comply with the provisions laid down in Specification 5 of the Registry Operator Agreement by:

- not making available geographic names available for registration as domain names in the .BOSTON gTLD; and

- where consents are required prior to the registration and use of a domain name referred to and in accordance with Specification 5 of the Registry Agreement, the Applicant will obtain such consents before actually registering, delegating and using these domain names.