.place Pre-Register Domain - .place Domain Information

18 (a) Describe the mission/purpose of your proposed gTLD.
The applied-for TLD .PLACE is being established to accomplish the following mission and purpose:
To establish an online extension that by virtue of its semantic meaning and its open, unrestrictive and secure attributes, will be a viable generic, alternative to other gTLDs and ccTLDs; improve accessibility, usability and utility of the DNS; enhance user experience; creating a sustainable, competitive advantage through differentiation with a focus on innovation, business model diversification and customer service; protecting intellectual property as well as preventing malicious activity.
Under this mission the TLD will be operated as a critical public resource in an open, responsible, stable and secure manner with the highest level of technical security resources and mechanisms that are aligned with technical advancement and innovation.

The objective of 1589757 Alberta Ltd. (DotPlace) is to apply and launch the .PLACE TLD given the popularity of the term "place" that strongly relates to human navigation instincts. DotPlace will operate the TLD in a consistent manner with the following principles: stewardship, integrity, social responsibility, ICANN and Internet community involvement, transparency, standards compliance and development, entrepreneurship and innovation.
DotPlace has developed its mission statement with the primary objective of serving the interests of its registrants and Internet users while incorporating enhanced safeguards to protect intellectual property and prevent fraudulent or malicious activity by bad actors.
The mission/purpose is consistent with ICANN's Affirmation of Commitments (AoC) including:
- "ensuring accountability, transparency and the interests of global Internet users" in regards to security, "enhancing the operational stability, reliability, resiliency, security, and global interoperability of the DNS" and "promoting competition, consumer trust, and consumer choice" while "adequately addressing consumer protection, malicious abuse, and rights protection issues" (http://www.icann.org/en/about/agreements/aoc/affirmation-of-commitments-30sep09-en.htm).
Registry Mission/Purpose Guiding Principles:
STANDARDS COMPLIANCE, SECURITY, RESILIENCY, AND STABILITY
The DNS Registry provider for the TLD, CentralNIC, is a market leader and innovator on the Internet. Details of technical and operational capabilities matching the TLD's mission are provided in responses to questions #23-44.
The TLD will meet all minimum standard ICANN requirements and will be operated in a secure, resilient and stable manner.
COMPETITION, INNOVATION, FAIRNESS, AND CONSUMER CHOICE
Prospective registrants identifying themselves with the generic TLD can register domains if they agree to the TLD's terms and its mission. No registrant eligibility requirements are established thereby providing an open and fair registration process that gives registrants an advantage in regards to brand positioning and registering the domain of their choice that might not otherwise be available under existing TLDs or ccTLDs.
As a result, the TLD will enhance competition at both the registry, registrar and registrant level.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PROTECTION AND TRUST
DotPlace has incorporated policies to protect intellectual property, fight malicious conduct and ensure domains are allocated in fair methods.
Phased launches provide (i) rights holders a first-come allocation method in the Sunrise phase (ii) auctions if there are multiple domain inquiries during Landrush phase, and (iii) first-come, first serve open registrations for all registrants. All registrants must agree to the .PLACE Anti-Abuse policy to prevent malicious behavior and bad actors along with all other standard TLD registration policies.
Dispute mechanisms and compliance efforts will provide an added level of intellectual property protection and trust.

18b - Benefits to Registrants, Internet Users and Others
The .PLACE TLD will benefit the registrants and Internet users by providing a generic, secure, and clearly identifiable domain name, especially if their preferred domain name selection is not currently available under existing TLDs of their choice. These benefits are detailed below.
DotPlace will provide a secure, differentiated and branded domain to be registered and used by the global Internet community in an appropriate manner under strict Anti-Abuse policy. DotPlace and its back-end operator will be customer-centric and will provide a secure technical platform and be accountable to its registrants in terms of openness, transparency, usability, net neutrality, responsibility towards registrants and Internet users, and respect towards governments, policy creators and regulatory bodies.

SECURE OPEN gTLD
The primary goal of the .PLACE TLD is to add branded value to its registrants and Internet users, while also meeting current DNS standards via its reliable, resilient and stable technical registry system as well as its intellectual protection policies and associated compliance functions. The TLD will generate trust and attract developers interested in developing the next wave of innovative applications by establishing a secure TLD with advanced technological standards and with appropriate use and anti-abuse policies that meet DNS technical operational criteria. Historically speaking, application developers have incorporated protection mechanisms for some TLDs, and it is not possible to predict the future application developer activities or actions with a potential large number of new gTLDs in the marketplace. . DotPlace is aware of this risk and will communicate its established policies and operational functionalities to the operators involved in the application-layer of the DNS to ensure usability a streamlined user experience and the wide acceptance of the TLD across a wide spectrum of applications and search engines.
PREMIUM DOMAINS
DotPlace's objective is to use the premium names under the TLD to:
- Generate immediate income to DotPlace via auctions. Income will be used to build new innovative services to benefit registrants and Internet users.
- Develop some sites to promote the TLD's mission.
- Engage in partnerships to develop dedicated .PLACE destinations offering differentiated value to registrants and Internet users.
18b (ii) The primary differentiation of the TLD that is non-existent in the current TLD space corresponds to the semantic, generic meaning of the extension that is synonymous with Internet presence referring to "places" while also representing a broad registrant base. The TLD will provide competition to existing TLDs that Internet users might otherwise prefer by providing value-added innovations as described earlier, enhancing security, hold itself accountable to registrants and Internet users. Secure TLD management is established following the registration policies and compliance measures as described below and in responses to questions #23-44. Every element of Registry operations meets all technical requirements, especially in regards to protocol implementations, hardware, security access requirements, anti-abuse policies and monitoring.
Registrants will be able to register the domain of choice under the .PLACE TLD offering a differentiated, branded alternative to existing TLDs and provide the necessary competition to spur innovation in the domain space to cater to the rapidly changing Internet environment and unmet needs, including the evolving demands of the web such as increased usage due to a growing Internet population and the proliferation of web-enabled devices, especially mobile. The TLD will enhance competition at the registrant, registry and registrar level. The .PLACE TLD will compete with existing TLDs and be aligned with the U.S Federal Communications Commission following principles affirming that "free and open competition benefits consumers and the global community by ensuring lower prices, new and better products and services, and greater consumer choice than occurs under monopoly conditions. A competitive market promotes innovation by rewarding producers that invent, develop, and introduce new and innovative products and production processes. By doing so, the wealth of the society as a whole is increased (FCC, Competition in Telecommunications Services, www.fcc.gov/connectglobe/sec5.html)."

The launch of the .PLACE TLD will help increase competition in the TLD space, expand consumer choice in TLD options and stimulate innovation in business model diversification, improved customer service and lower pricing in the domain industry, while remaining committed to continually developing its infrastructure to enhance registry operations to adapt to the growing needs of Internet users.

18b (iii) The primary objective of DotPlace is to enhance the online user experience by providing an new open, relevant and highly desired term extension as a TLD.
DotPlace will incorporate enhanced safeguards against abuse and by providing optimally secure technical operations, including adopting operational policies that take action against any illegitimate use or malicious abuse in relation to the TLD.
If a domain is used for any illegitimate use or violates the use policy it will be taken down. Repeat offenders will be placed on a special monitoring list by DotPlace and in extreme cases will be denied domain name registrations under the TLD.
While domains cannot be validated with 100% accuracy, registrants are required to follow continuously updated registration and anti-abuse policies (such as those resulting from an ICANN consensus policy or registry best practice requirements). DotPlace will provide high level of data security robustness and privacy and confidentiality protection.
Other key objectives surrounding user experience involve adhering to industry standards in relation to privacy protection, registry-registrar agreements, offering robust levels of data escrow and security, providing accessibility, usability, network neutrality and superior customer service, and leading the DNS space.

18b (iv) To reach the abovementioned goals, DotPlace has implemented various measures and enhanced safeguards under the TLD.
The policies were developed to take advantage the latest technology in DNS security, registry resources and best practices based on experience from previous ICANN TLD launches; and they are established to provide a higher level of security level for domains than what is considered standard in regards to TLDs. DotPlace will work on an ongoing basis with rights holders, law enforcement agencies, government entities, security focused DNS technical stakeholders, registrars and partners to ensure that the TLD management operations exceed expectations.
Aside from the below described policies, the .PLACE TLD will be launched with all standard TLD registration rules included, such as incorporating grace-periods when domains expire. See response to question #27 for the TLD lifecycle.
DotPlace will adhere to all ICANN mandated rights protection mechanisms and consensus policies in accordance with the ICANN Registry Agreement. See response to question #28 and #29 for rights protection mechanisms and intellectual property protections under .PLACE.
RESERVATION PROTECTION: second-level names will be reserved per ICANN requirements, including country-territory names (see response #22) and names reserved for registry operations.
INNOVATIVE PREMIUM NAMES RESERVATION: Premium Name reservations will be incorporated to (i) promote the TLD through DotPlace's existing activities, (ii) to develop strategic partnerships or alliances to introduce innovative services, facilitate information sharing and allow equal and open access to both registrants and Internet users, and (iii) to generate additional revenues to be used to create innovative services to benefit registrants and Internet users.
RIGHTS PROTECTION AND NOTIFICATIONS SYSTEM:
• Trademark Clearing House will be implemented in accordance to ICANN specifications.
• Introductory Sunrise phase to allow trademark holders who fulfill ICANN's trademark criteria access to register their respective domain(s) under the TLD after they have been legally validated.

THREE RESTRICTED LAUNCH PHASES in the following order (i) Sunrise Phase aimed at protecting trademark holders (ii) Landrush Phase and (iii) General Availability Phase to ensure all Internet users have the ability to register and access domains across the TLD.
Multiple applications for the same domain in either the Sunrise or Landrush Phase will be decided upon via a mini-auction after each phase is completed. In the General Availability Phase domains are available to be registered on a first-come-first-serve basis.

ANTI-ABUSE POLICY for all registrants under the TLD; incorporated in the registration agreement for all domain registrants. It is in place to prevent malicious use of domains which can lead to security and stability issues for the registry, registrars, registrants, and general users of the Internet. It is detailed in response to question #28. The primary goal of the policy is to allow registrars and DotPlace to take down domains in the case malicious activity occurring using a domain under the TLD.
DotPlace will take advice from law-enforcement agencies, government stakeholders, technical bodies focused on DNS security to always ensure that the TLD is managed in the most optimal manner using the most appropriate resources and means, while working towards adopting exemplary practices and best practices recommendations such as those highlighted in the "Five C's" WHOIS validation model presentation at the Costa Rica ICANN meeting (http://costarica43.icann.org/meetings/sanjose2012/presentation-whois-validation-model-12mar12-en.pdf).

COMPLIANCE AND ENFORCEMENT
DotPlace will take proactive and reactive measures to enforce its TLD policies. Proactive measures are taken at the time of registration. Reactive measures are implemented via compliance and enforcement mechanisms as well as through dispute processes.
Alleged violation of the UDRP/URS shall be enforced under the provisions contained therein.
The UDRP and URS are required in the registrarsʹ registration agreements with registrants, and proceedings must be brought by interested third parties in accordance with the associated policies and procedures to dispute resolution providers.
DotPlace will conduct random compliance efforts across all domains registered under the TLD. Periodically a sample of domain registrations will be verified to assure compliance enforcement with all established TLD requirements.
If a Registrant is found out of compliance with any of the TLD requirements the registrant will be notified that the domain will be placed on registry lock. The registrant will be given a reasonable time period to address and fix the compliance matter or else the domain will be terminated.
Repeat offenders will be placed on a special monitoring list that DotPlace staff will conduct additional compliance checks against. DotPlace holds the right to prohibit repeat offenders from registering domains for a period of time or indefinitely.
DotPlace will review all gTLD policies and processes in comparison against the .PLACE registration requirements on a regular basis with involvement from relevant stakeholders to support its mission benefiting registrants and Internet users in regards to domain availability focusing on security, stability, accessibility, customer service, privacy, net neutrality, innovation while adopting registry best practices and exceeding minimum ICANN technical and policy standards. Any registry services modifications will naturally go through the ICANN established processes.

18b (v) The TLD will use best practices in regards to privacy and data protection. The TLD's back-end service provider will administer specific WHOIS protections per the response to question #26, promote WHOIS accuracy per the response to question #28, and prevent WHOIS abuse by considering various best practices recommendations such as those highlighted in the "Five C's" WHOIS validation model presentation at the Costa Rica ICANN meeting to avoid abuse of WHOIS (http://costarica43.icann.org/meetings/sanjose2012/presentation-whois-validation-model-12mar12-en.pdf).
The TLD is established to enable its registrants to better brand and identify them online with the domain name of choice under a broad, generic TLD. As a result, the .PLACE TLD will provide competition to existing registries and expand consumer choice for registrants. DotPlace will provide this unique, branded opportunity for enhanced visibility. The domain registration services and Premium Name development will be designed to respect the privacy of personally identifiable and confidential information, including respecting all applicable laws.

18b (vi) In order to meet the benefits described in responses to 18b (i-v) DotPlace is committed to continue to conduct and expand upon its activities in its corresponding space, including registrar channels. A primary goal with the TLD is to expand consumer choice, increase competition and be a catalyst for innovative services under the TLD. All-inclusive participation, openness and transparency are critical components to the Registry's purpose.
DotPlace will also educate its registrar channels to inform registrants about the branding opportunity under the TLD as well as other innovative services provided. Furthermore, DotPlace will use traditional advertising, PR, social media and its official site to increase awareness of the benefits of .PLACE to registrants and Internet users. Partners, resellers and other supply chain beneficiaries will also be leveraged to help the outreach efforts to educate potential registrants and help them understand the benefits of the .PLACE TLD and the policies surrounding it.

18c) Eliminate Social Costs
(i) DotPlace's plan for launching the TLD is to offer a robust, cost-effective means for registrants to assert their identities online under a generic domain targeted for a broad registrant base. DotPlace is committed to launching and managing the TLD in a responsible manner to serve registrants with optimal efficiency, which will also be in the best interest of the global Internet community. Furthermore, the incorporation of enhanced safeguards will not only serve registrants and Internet users, they will help protect intellectual property and prevent malicious activity.
The DotPlace core mission is serving its registrants and the public interest. This includes minimizing and eliminating social costs; establishing a better financial income stream and fostering innovative business models; promoting competition to reduce prices and creating differentiated value; establishing improved innovative services; sharing related information and resources; cater to the unmet needs of its registrants; adapt to any technological advances and changes in the environment relating to the Internet; to provide exceptional service and enhanced safeguards and security.
REGISTRATION PRICING
DotPlace will adopt a moderate, competitive pricing point taking into consideration:
1. As indicated by the McAfee's 2011 security report (http://us.mcafee.com/en-us/local/docs/MTMW_Report.pdf), pricing is one of the most influential factors taken into consideration by registrants aiming to conduct malicious activity and abuse. Domains with low registration prices have a higher likelihood for abuse. Prices in the middle and higher end ensure there is a slight barrier to entry to reduce the number of registrants offering low quality content.
2. A benchmark analysis of comparable gTLDs and ccTLDs existing today.
3. Assuring pricing is optimally set taking into consideration registrant price sensitivity and price elasticity of the domain's demand.
4. Acknowledging that optimal pricing is directly related to how registrants perceive the domain's value. DotPlace will continuously innovate its business model and offerings to not only be competitive in the TLD space but also to drive user adoption of the TLD as an industry standard for its niche audience by offering a unique value proposition.
In the two initial launch phases multiple applications will be resolved via auction. During the general availability stage, domains will be allocated in a first come-first serve basis.
DotPlace will implement a competitive pricing structure based on criteria mentioned earlier to avoid abusive behavior and through benchmark analysis of comparable gTLDs and ccTLDs existing today, including addressing price sensitivity concerns by offering a unique value proposition to registrants. Registration prices ultimately are at the discretion of ICANN-accredited registrars, but it is in their financial interest to price competitively to attract higher registration volumes that can complement other domain-related services such as hosting.
DotPlace will offer an affordable domain that can help an entity build a uniquely branded and exclusive presence online, while ensuring the cost of the domain is optimally priced to prevent malicious behavior and abuse traditionally experienced in low-priced domains. Depending on the cost of doing business, market conditions, external environmental forces and other economic factors, DotPlace may from time to time increase or lower the wholesale price in accordance with the provisions of Section 2.10 of the New gTLD Registry Agreement.
ii)
DotPlace might choose to offer cost benefits in relation to advantageous pricing, introductory discounts, or bulk discounts if there is a need to substantially increase domain sales to meet financial and operational registry needs, especially in the situation where the most likely projected registration volume is not met. In that situation, DotPlace will consider implementing targeted marketing campaigns with registrar channels that would include discounted prices.
Otherwise, DotPlace does not have specific plans for advantageous pricing, introductory pricing, nor plans for any bulk registration discounts.
iii)
DotPlace will not offer long term or permanent contracts (beyond that of the maximum term of 10 years) for domains. DotPlace has carefully considered the needs of the market in setting its prices on its services. Any price escalations or reductions will be reasonably justified and managed in accordance with the provisions of Section 2.10 of the New gTLD Registry Agreement.
DotPlace will allow the use of parked pages but domains will be subject to the anti-abuse restrictions described in response to question 18b.

The range of second level names protected by Specification 5 of the Registry Operator contract is extensive (approx. 2,000 strings are blocked). This list resulted from a lengthy process of collaboration and compromise between members of the ICANN community, including the Governmental Advisory Committee. Namecheap believes this list represents a healthy balance between the protection of national naming interests and free speech on the Internet.

Namecheap does not intend to block second level names beyond those detailed in Specification 5. Should a geographic name be registered in this TLD and used for illegal or abusive activity Namecheap will remedy this by applying the array of protections implemented in this TLD.

Namecheap will strictly adhere to the relevant provisions of Specification 5 of the New gTLD Agreement. Specifically:

1. All two-character labels will be initially reserved, and released only upon agreement between Namecheap and the relevant government and country code manager.
2. At the second level, country and territory names will be reserved at the second and other levels according to these standards:
2.1. Short form (in English) of country and territory names documented in the ISO 3166-1 list;
2.2. Names of countries and territories as documented by 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
2.3. The list of United Nations member states in six official UN languages, as prepared by the Working Group on Country Names of the United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names.

Namecheap will initially reserve country and territory names at the second level and at all other levels within the TLD. Namecheap supports this requirement by using the following internationally recognized lists to develop a comprehensive master list of all geographic names that are initially reserved:

1. The short form (in English) of all country and territory names contained on the ISO 3166-1 list, including the European Union, which is exceptionally reserved on the ISO 3166-1 List, and its scope extended in August 1999 to any application needing to represent the name European Union [http://www.iso.org/iso/support/country_codes/iso_3166_code_lists/iso-3166-1_decoding_table.htm#EU].

2. 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.

3. The list of UN member states in six official UN languages prepared by the Working Group on Country Names of the United Nations Conference on the standardization of Geographical Names

4. The 2-letter alpha-2 code of all country and territory names contained on the ISO 3166-1 list, including all reserved and unassigned codes

This comprehensive list of names will be ineligible for registration. Only in consultation with the GAC and ICANN would Namecheap develop a proposal for release of these reserved names, and seek approval accordingly. Namecheap understands governmental processes require time-consuming, multi-department consultations. Accordingly, we will apportion more than adequate time for the GAC and its members to review any proposal we provide.

Namecheap recognizes the potential use of country and territory names at the third level. We will address and mitigate attempted third-level use of geographic names as part of our operations.

Namecheaps list of geographic names will be transmitted to Registrars as part of the onboarding process and will also be made available to the public via the TLD website. Changes to the list are anticipated to be rare; however, Namecheap will regularly review and revise the list as government authorities make changes.

For purposes of clarity the following will occur for a domain that is reserved by the registry:
1. An availability check for a domain in the reserved list will result in a "not available" status. The reason given will indicate that the domain is reserved.
2. An attempt to register a domain name in the reserved list will result in an error.
3. An EPP info request will result in an error indicating the domain name was not found.
4. Queries for a reserved name in the WHOIS system will display information indicating the reserved status and indicate it is not registered nor is available for registration.
5. Reserved names will not be published or used in the zone in any way.
6. Queries for a reserved name in the DNS will result in an NXDOMAIN response.