.reit Pre-Register Domain - .reit Domain Information

The National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT) has chosen to apply for the .reit TLD on behalf of and for the benefit of the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) community worldwide. REITs are companies that own and most often actively manage income-producing commercial real estate; they were first established in the United States in 1960 and now exist throughout the world. Although the U.S. remains the largest market (in terms of market capitalization), REITs are becoming increasingly prominent throughout the world and other major markets include Australia, France, the UK, Japan, Singapore, Canada, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, and Malaysia to name just a few.

The .reit TLD will provide a designated namespace and an online home for REITs worldwide - allowing REITs (regardless of what acronym they are known by in their home country) to register a .reit domain name corresponding to their registered or business name. The TLD will therefore allow REITs to obtain the most appropriate domain name possible as their web address in addition to assuring internet users that any domain name ending in .reit belongs to a genuine REIT. The namespace will communicate that any entity / organization which has registered a .reit domain name is legitimate, and will therefore promote ICANNʹs goals of consumer protection and promoting consumer trust in the new gTLD space.

The .reit TLD will be a trusted zone, providing consumers and internet users with information about REITs in a safe, controlled, verified, and monitored environment - protecting the reputation of REITs and shielding internet users from non-genuine and unregulated "pseudo-REITs." A stringent validation process will verify that only genuine members of the REIT community are able to register .reit domains, and, once registered, the domains will be monitored to ensure that any websites built conform to the strict, community-based use requirements. The domains will be held to strict security and stability standards and will operate on CentralNicʹs new TLD-compliant registry platform.

The .reit TLD has been specifically designed to meet the requirements of the global REIT community while satisfying ICANNʹs goals of promoting innovation and increasing consumer choice and trust. The domain will provide REITs with the opportunity to register the shortest, most intuitive, and most descriptive domain name possible while certifying their online presence as a verified and legitimate REIT.

The domain will simultaneously promote awareness of REITs to the public and educate the wider population about the nature of REITs. Internet users will automatically know that .reit websites represent genuine REITs, instilling faith in the REIT brand and the DNS and encouraging them to seek out information from these domains as a trusted point of contact and information. The domains will not only be verified and promote consumer trust and protection from an information perspective but will also do so from a technical view by operating at the highest levels of technical stability and security as required from the new gTLD program.

REITs are becoming more and more common worldwide, and they are being introduced to new markets at a rapid rate. Since the development of REITs in the United States in 1960, REITs are now found in one form or another in 35 countries (as at September 2011), with many European and other REIT regimes coming into existence only within the last decade. As a result of the rapid introduction of these highly sophisticated and regulated products into new markets, it is crucial that both REITs and the public have access to the most appropriate domain names and accurate product information in order to maintain their success and stellar reputation as effective investment vehicles. The .reit TLD will provide both, and it is expertly positioned to grow in size and significance along with the REIT market.

NAREIT has undertaken extensive outreach efforts to ensure our international counterparts are aware of our efforts to launch the .reit TLD and understand the benefits .reit domains will pose for members. NAREIT has been in touch with the following organizations:
• The Association for Real Estate Securitization (ARES - Japan)
• British Property Federation (BPF - UK)
• European Public Real Estate Association (EPRA - Europe)
• Property Council of Australia (PCA)
• Real Property Association of Canada (REALpac)
• Federation des Societes Immobilieres et Foncieres (FSIF - France)

.reit will provide a reliable technical service for REITs, with an unprecedented level of technical security and stability meeting all new gTLD requirements. A battery of logging and monitoring tools will protect the TLD from attack and disruption - allowing REITs worldwide and internet users to be sure that the domains have complete, uninterrupted functionality and uncompromised content.

ii. The .reit TLD will be the first TLD specifically designed to serve the needs of the global REIT community and will perform the dual purpose of supplying REITs with the most appropriate domain name for their corporate entity while providing the public with a filter to ensure they obtain genuine, accurate information about REITs. .reit will ensure that not only do the domains belong to genuine REITs, but also that information disseminated on the domains is legitimate and genuine. At this time, no other TLD provides equally significant levels of service for an industry association as well as for the general public, and NAREIT intends for the .reit domain to pave the way for innovation and differentiation in the new TLD space by ensuring that the .reit TLD becomes one of many trusted zones protecting registrants, rights holders, and internet users.

NAREIT will engage with our international partners and colleagues to promote the .reit domain worldwide, ensuring community take-up and user awareness. Innovative domain registration and validation opportunities will be afforded by the .reit registration portal, which will allow .reit registrants to apply directly for their application and track and monitor the registration and validation process, providing an exceptional and unique customer service experience from pre-registration onward.

.reit will provide a key service to the REIT community and the internet alike. REITs as entities are currently expanding and proliferating concurrent with severely decreased availability in the DNS (traditional zones); the existence of the .reit TLD in providing simple, navigable, and intuitive domain names to an increasingly significant and global product will prove crucial to the effective establishment of of REITsʹ internet presences as well as the ʺtidying upʺ of the DNS.

iii. Only legitimate and validated REITs worldwide will be eligible to register a .reit domain name corresponding to their registered business name, and the TLD has been designed to host explanatory, helpful, and websites about specific REIT entities, providing information to the public and investors (potential and actual). The domain will serve as a badge of authentication for web content about REITs and will disseminate accurate information about REITs as they grow in significance and importance worldwide. As a result, the .reit TLD will serve as a navigable, predictable, and trusted internet zone, allowing web users to safely and securely obtain information about REITs worldwide. Web users will be able to visit any .reit domain secure in the knowledge that the REIT is recognized under jurisdictional law and the content posted complies with all regulations governing REITs.

iv. The .reit TLD is open to registrations by legitimate REITs worldwide - regardless of the acronym by which they are known in their country of origin (SIIC, J-REIT, etc.). NAREIT will engage with partner and corresponding organizations worldwide to inform member REITs about the .reit opportunity and encourage them to register their domain names. A global, top-down outreach initiative will ensure that REITs are aware of the TLD and encourage them to register and make use of their .reit domain from availability onward. Although individual organizations may wish to adopt their own informative strategies corresponding specifically with their home markets' preferences, the common denominator will remain providing detailed information about the benefits of .reit domain purchase both for REITs and also the public at large.

Registrations at the second level must correspond directly to the registered name of the entity (or an acceptable abbreviation thereof) or the name by which it is known in business. This ensures that each REIT will be able to obtain the most appropriate domain name possible and will not have to settle for long, inappropriate, or difficult-to-remember generic or ccTLD domain names. This will be increasingly important as the size and scale of the REIT market worldwide continues to grow.

Each REIT may register only one domain corresponding to the business name; this criterion is an important safeguard against the excessive proliferation of domains within the .reit zone and the dissemination of non-objective content by third parties seeking to register commercial domains such as info.reit, about.reit, invest.reit, etc. which could potentially give unfair competitive advantage over other .reit domains and thus other REITs. NAREIT believes that no third party entity should be able to register these domains as they would open the door for subjective commercial websites detrimental to the globally accommodating nature of the TLD and contradicting the cultivation of a trusted internet zone.

NAREIT will require potential applicants to submit certain criteria in order to verify that not only is the applicant a valid REIT but also one in good financial standing. This criteria will protect not only the integrity of the .reit TLD but also ensure internet users are only exposed to information from legitimate and verified REITs.

A complete list of the criteria required to register a .reit domain name is available in the answer to question 20 of this application.

The .reit TLD will feature an acceptable use policy to ensure that domains are used only for the dissemination of accurate information about REITs and specific REIT entities (this is unlikely to be necessary given the nature of the registrants; however, NAREIT wishes to ensure that the zone remains stringently protected), and the UDRP, URS, and all other ICANN-required rights protection mechanisms will form an integral part of the domain.

v. Applicant in its capacity of a TLD registry operator will not be providing any special services for protecting privacy or confidential information of registrants or end-users apart from those required by applicable laws, policies, agreements or technical standards. Some registry services include as their integral part, protection of usersʹ confidential information. Examples of such services are:

• SRS (protecting confidentiality of the EPP transfer authorisation codes)
• Dissemination of TLD zone files (protecting confidentiality of zone file FTP accounts credentials)

All registry services, including those described above, will be provided in accordance with the ICANN requirements and specifications to the Registry Agreement. The data security measures adopted by the Applicant are described in detail in the answer to question 30 ʺSecurity Policyʺ.

vi. NAREIT has undertaken significant outreach efforts to ensure that other member organizations of the REIT community and their members are aware of the .reit domain. Following the delegation of the .reit domain, NAREIT will undertake further efforts to ensure market takeup and enthusiasm for the domain among existing and future REITs. NAREIT will then work with other REIT associations to inform members and members of their respective publics about the domain and its intrinsic benefits. The inherent nature of the TLD and the chosen stringʹs inextricable association with the nature of the intended registrants (REITs) will ensure that the public is aware of, trusts, and understands the TLD.

The .reit TLD has been developed to serve the REIT community as well as protect the general public, so the elimination of social costs has been interwoven into the fabric of the TLD's design. A description of how it will both serve and protect members of the sponsored community and the general public follows:

i. NAREIT has taken great care to develop the most fair registration policy possible. We will offer a phased launch consistent with ICANN requirements to ensure the protection of Trademark holders and the satisfaction of potential registrants. The ICANN-mandated Sunrise period open to TM holders who also satisfy the community eligibility criteria will precede a general availability period during which time eligible entities are able to acquire .reit domains on a first-come, first-served basis. Because we are currently unaware of any potentially conflicting REIT names (i.e. no two REITs currently have the same name), we do not foresee any issue with conflicting domain name requests. Because there may be a conflict in the future, the registry (NAREIT) will work with the applicant to agree upon a successful and acceptable alternative domain name (as fully described in response to question 20). NAREIT firmly believes this policy will satisfy all potential registrants.

ii. NAREIT will not implement any promotions or registrant discounts. Not only will such promotions or discounts not be of benefit to potential registrants due to the size and financial capabilities of REITs, but also the work involved in validating that potential registrants are, in fact, legitimate REITs in good standing does not render the implementation of promotions and discounts financially viable.

iii. .reit domain names will be available for registration on a one-year basis and are renewable provided that the REIT submits the required re-validation criteria and that the re-validation is approved. It will not be possible to register a .reit domain for more than one year. This requirement has been designed for the protection of the .reit zone as well as the general public, thereby ensuring that only legitimate REITs which remain in good standing continue to possess and use .reit domains (by requiring a thorough examination of the REIT on a yearly basis to ensure it remains in compliance with the requirements of the .reit TLD). Interim takedowns of non-compliant domains (or REITs) are possible, also to protect the integrity of the zone.

Due to the unique and restricted nature of the TLD and the significant additional resources required for validating registrant applications, we expect registration fees to be significantly higher than those traditionally charged for traditional open TLDs. At this time we do not foresee a need to increase the registry fees, but the registry will certainly give ample notice of any change in fees as required by the Registry Agreement.

The applicant, the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts® (NAREIT), is committing to serve the community of real estate investment trusts (REITs) around the world. REITs (pronounced "reets") are companies that own, operate and finance commercial and residential real estate and play an important role in all facets of the real estate economy. NAREIT is the worldwide representative voice for REITs and listed real estate companies with an interest in U.S. real estate and capital markets, and its members primarily are REITs and other real estate businesses throughout the world. Today, REITs operate in more than twenty developed and developing countries around the world. Viewing the world's major economies through the prism of the Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (G-20), 12 of the 19 member countries now embrace REITs through local laws, with several more, including China and India, expected to do so in coming years. REITs worldwide have a large and growing footprint. The industry-leading global benchmark for listed REITs and real estate investment is the FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Global Real Estate Index, which is produced and managed by FTSE Group in partnership with NAREIT and the European Public Real Estate Association (EPRA). The index includes 391 listed REITs and real estate companies in 38 developed and emerging countries with a total equity market capitalization of $940 billion. Of these totals, REITs account for 67 percent of the equity market capitalization of the index, while non-REIT real estate companies account for the remaining 33 percent. In the United States, REITs today are an appreciable segment of the commercial real estate marketplace. At the end of 2011, 273 REITs were registered in the United States with the Securities and Exchange Commission, with 176 listed on established United States stock exchanges (predominantly the New York Stock Exchange). Listed REITs in the U.S. have an equity market capitalization of more than $500 billion. REITs in the U.S. own approximately 40,000 properties in all fifty states with a book value of about $800 billion comprising roughly 15-20 percent of all investment-grade commercial real estate. Properties include all types of commercial real estate, including, among others, retail, office, multifamily, health care, lodging, timber, industrial, self-storage and infrastructure. REITs were first created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1960 for the purpose of democratizing the ownership of large-scale, income-producing commercial real estate. Until REITs were created, typically only large institutional investors or wealthy individuals could afford to own such properties. What the U.S Congress understood in 1960 and has endorsed through its consistent support for, and amendment of, the laws governing REITs for over 50 years is that, without such a model for commercial real estate investment, it would be far more problematic to make three key benefits of real estate investment available to individual investors from all walks of life: 1) dependable income; 2) long-term capital appreciation; and, 3) investment diversification. Investment-grade, income-producing commercial real estate is one of a number of widely recognized and distinct core investment asset classes, which include, among others, equities, bonds, real estate, commodities and cash. As such, commercial real estate investment through REITs is a widely followed and researched component of a well-diversified, long-term investment portfolio of publicly traded securities. Until REITs were created, only large institutional investors and very wealthy individuals could reap the economic benefits of commercial real estate investment, which they did by directly buying properties and leasing space in those properties to their tenants. REITs, however, offer all investors the opportunity to gain the same economic advantages by investing in the equities of these companies. By offering the opportunity to invest in real estate in securitized form, REITs have democratized this key asset class, providing access to all investors. Equity investment channeled into commercial real estate through REITs also fuels economic growth and provides the space a growing economy demands. REITs worldwide are delineated from Internet users generally because they are, first, companies that own, operate and finance income-producing commercial real estate. Second, they are companies resident in nations that have adopted a REIT regime - a set of rules governing the operations of a REIT - and that are organized and operating under the requirements of that regime. A REIT regime consists of four primary elements: 1) ownership must be widely held; 2) a majority of assets and income are real estate related; 3) a majority of income is distributed annually to shareholders (pursuant to applicable law; regulatory or stock exchange requirements or customs; or in order that its distributions be deductible from entity-level income tax); and, 4) there is only one level of tax on income distributed by the REIT. This definition of a REIT is consistent with that of the Commentary on the OECD Model Tax Convention, which states: "A REIT may be loosely described as a widely held company, trust or contractual or fiduciary arrangement that derives its income primarily from long-term investment in immovable property, distributes most of that income annually and does not pay tax on that income related to the immoveable property that is so distributed." See OECD, Tax Treaty Issues Related to REITs; Public Discussion Draft, available at www.oecd.org/dataoecd/23/44/39554788.pdf (Oct. 30, 2007). As a supplemental delineation, REITs may be identified as companies that are classified as REIT constituents of well-established investment benchmarks of publicly traded real estate companies (such as the FTSE NAREIT All U.S. REIT Index; the Dow Jones Composite All REIT Index; MSCI US REIT Index; or the FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Global REIT Index, Dow Jones Global Select REIT Index, Wilshire Global REIT Index, S&P Global REIT Index).

i.NAREIT is the worldwide representative voice for REITs and listed real estate companies with an interest in U.S. real estate and capital markets. Its members primarily are REITs and other real estate businesses throughout the world that own, operate and finance commercial and residential real estate. In addition, individuals who advise, study and provide services to the REIT industry also are members. Specifically, NAREIT's members include 143 publicly listed REITs representing over 97 percent of the listed U.S. REIT industry's equity market capitalization, as well as 38 non-listed REITs that represent a significant portion of the value of the public, non-listed U.S. REIT industry. Additionally, NAREIT's REIT members include major REITs based in Europe and Asia. NAREIT's core mission is to preserve, perfect and promote the REIT approach to real estate investment. NAREIT pursues this mission through its three core business activities: public policy representation; research and investor outreach; and industry community-building. With respect to public policy representation, NAREIT's mission is to provide information and advice regarding REITs and the REIT industry to policymakers in the legislative, regulatory and financial standards arenas, both in the U.S. and in other countries around the world. The purpose of this activity is to foster a legislative and regulatory environment that enables REITs to operate their businesses efficiently, have access to capital markets, and support the industry's growth. The information NAREIT provides to policymakers frequently includes background on the operations of REITs, data and information about the REIT industry, and the role that REITs play in the commercial real estate marketplace and the broader economy. NAREIT also provides policymakers with perspective on how current and prospective tax, regulatory, accounting and trade rules affect or may affect the industry. In the research and investor outreach area, NAREIT's mission is to provide the investment community with information to help investors from all walks of life determine how REITs can support their long-term investment goals and strategies. Data gathering and research are key to this activity. Consequently, NAREIT is the primary source and publisher of data about the REIT industry's size, structure and performance. In partnership with the index company FTSE Group, NAREIT publishes some of the most widely used investment benchmarks for U.S REITs and global listed REITs and real estate companies (in partnership with the European Public Real Estate Association (EPRA)). NAREIT also is the leading resource for research on the investment characteristics of REITs and the role of REITs in long-term, diversified investment portfolios. NAREIT maintains a research and investor outreach staff that functions as a liaison on behalf of the global REIT industry to all cohorts of the investment community, including pension funds, endowments and foundations, defined contribution plan providers and sponsors, investment consultants, financial advisors and others, providing each of them with timely and useful information relevant to their investment activities. NAREIT also conducts major investor forums on REIT investment; maintains the industry's leading web site, REIT.com, and its primary investor publication, REIT Magazine; and maintains active relationships with financial media who cover the REIT industry. NAREIT supports community-building within the REIT industry by conducting an ongoing series of conferences and other events at which REIT management teams share their knowledge, experience and best practices with investors, analysts and each other. A number of NAREIT's conference events are specific to professional disciplines within REITs, such as law, accounting, investment, finance, human resources, and others. NAREIT's community-building programs in support of the industry also include a variety of electronic newsletters and information sharing forums designed to keep REIT employees in a variety of disciplines aware of the latest developments impacting their companies. ii. As noted, NAREIT's members primarily include REITs, mostly REITs in the U.S. but also REITs in other countries. Thus, NAREIT works actively as appropriate to establish and support a uniform and comprehensive understanding of REITs by investors and policymakers worldwide in part through the compatibility, if not uniformity, of the laws, regulations and policies affecting REITs around the world. Because many of NAREIT's non-U.S. members also are members of other representative organizations in their respective countries, NAREIT works cooperatively from time to time with many of these representative organizations in pursuit of compatibility, if not uniformity, of legislation, trade rules, accounting standards and investment guidelines affecting the global REIT community. These organizations include but are not limited to: the Association for Real Estate Securitization (Japan), the British Property Federation, the European Public Real Estate Association, the Property Council of Australia, the Asia Pacific Real Estate Association, and the Real Property Association of Canada. To facilitate the cooperative activities between and among these various representative organizations, NAREIT has joined with these organizations to form the Real Estate Equity Securitization Alliance (REESA), a forum for the sharing and coordination of global industry policy, research and investor outreach activities. iii. NAREIT is accountable to both member and nonmember REITs in the United States and around the globe. Its accountability begins with its governance, through quorum voting requirements, an Executive Board, a Board of Governors and a Governance Committee. NAREIT's Executive Board is its policy and steering body, responsible for NAREIT's long-range planning, its financial budgets and investments, and its public policy positions and statements. The Executive Board consists of fifteen individuals acting as CEOs of REITs and publicly traded real estate companies nominated by the Governance Committee and elected by NAREIT's REIT members. Its Board of Governors is the advisory body to the Executive Board and consists of REIT CEOs recognized for their leadership and management skills. NAREITʹs Governance Committee develops procedures and membership eligibility criteria, with Executive Board approval, and lists of proposed candidates for nomination and election by all NAREIT corporate members to fill seats on the Executive Board, as well as for appointment to the Board of Governors and other roles within the organization. In short, NAREIT is accountable to the REIT community because its membership and leadership are composed of members of the REIT community. NAREITʹs accountability to the global REIT community is derived in part from its active membership in REESA as described above. Accountability also is ensured, as discussed further in the answer to question 20(e) below, through adoption and implementation of a community enforcement policy for third parties to challenge .reit registrations on the grounds that the applicant does not meet the community eligibility criteria, as well as adoption and implementation of an eligibility reconsideration policy for members of the international REIT community who have failed to satisfy the community eligibility criteria in prior registration requests.

Domain names within the .reit TLD will be intended for registration and use only by REITs, companies that qualify or operate as REITs under relevant national law. For this purpose, national law will include the legislation and regulations of the relevant country, along with the regulations and customs of any applicable recognized stock exchanges or securities regulators; and the applying entity's organizational documents to the extent consistent with the four-factor test described above. Domain names within the TLD will not be available to the general public, for purchase, sale or registration. Domain names within the TLD also will not be available to entities that do not qualify as a REIT under relevant national law, including REIT associations (e.g., the members of REESA), real estate companies, investors, industry professionals, academics, or individuals who advise, study or provide services to the REIT industry. Because the TLD will be public facing, intended end-users will include not only REITs, but also general Internet users looking for original and authentic information about REITs from REITs. NAREIT intends to operate a community registry in order to further the interests of the global REIT community. The purpose of the proposed .reit TLD is to continue to ensure integrity in the term "REIT," so that both the general and investing public are informed, and awareness is heightened regarding the identities of members of the global REIT community. The .reit TLD will serve all REITs by working to preserve, perfect and promote the REIT approach to real estate investment through the online environment.

The applied-for TLD string, .reit, is identical to the generic, globally-recognized acronym for the international community of real estate investment trusts that NAREIT serves. A myriad of international reference materials define the term "REIT" solely as "real estate investment trust." See e.g. Merriam-Webster, REIT, available at http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reit (last visited January 27, 2012); Dictionary.Com, REIT, available at http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/reit (last visited January 27, 2012); Financial Times Lexicon, REIT, available at http://lexicon.ft.com/Term?term=REIT (last visited January 27, 2012); Boerse.ard.de, REIT, available at http://boerse.ard.de/lexikon.jsp?p=150&key=lexikon_109596&letter=R (last visited January 27, 2012); M-Words, REIT, available at http://m-words.jp/w/REIT.html (last visited January 27, 2012); Australian Securities Exchange, REIT, available at http://www.asx.com.au/products/asx-australian-real-estate-investment-trusts.htm (last visited, January 27, 2012); Canada.com, What is a REIT Anyhow?, available at http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=730da2fa-1ad0-4b16-b0cb-a55d649c03a8 (last visited January 27, 2012); SingaporeStocks.com, Understanding REITs, available at http://www.singaporestocks.com.sg/investing-tips-help/understanding-reits.php (January 27, 2012); Hong Kong Real Estate Investor, REIT, http://www.hkrei.com/reit/ (January 27, 2012). Moreover, the term REIT is widely recognized even in the very few nations that have adopted foreign-language acronyms, including France, where REITs are more commonly referred to as Société d'Investissement Immobilier Côtée ("SIIC"). [See, e.g., http://www.paris-europlace.net/paris07/p8_dumortier.pdf .] Indeed, the term "REIT" is used around the world to signify the REIT approach to real estate investment, and entities that qualify as a REIT (or SIIC under French law) will be encouraged to register a domain name in the .reit TLD. Identification of the global community of real estate investment trusts is tied directly to the applied-for .reit TLD string. NAREIT believes that the term "REIT" is a unique term that has come to signify the global community of real estate investment trusts.

NAREIT will establish a clear policy structure for determining an applicant's eligibility to register a second-level name in the gTLD. Only a REIT will be deemed eligible to register a domain name in the TLD. Whether an entity applying for a domain name qualifies as a REIT will be determined by two criteria: 1) whether a REIT regime is in place in the nation in which the applicant is domiciled; and, 2) whether the applicant is, in fact, organized and operating as a REIT under the REIT regime established in that nation. i. NAREIT will determine whether the nation in which the applicant is domiciled has a REIT regime in place. As stated in Question 20a, the core features of a REIT are: 1. ownership must be widely held; 2. a majority of assets & income are real estate related; 3. a majority of income is distributed annually to shareholders (pursuant to applicable law; regulatory or stock exchange requirements or customs; or in order that its distributions be deductible from entity-level income tax); and, 4. there is only one level of tax on income distributed by the REIT NAREIT will also consider whether the nation of the applicant has a law which formally establishes a national REIT regime. If an applying entity is organized & operating as a REIT as described above pursuant to the REIT regime in the countries set forth in Appendix 20e.1, NAREIT will consider it eligible to register a domain name. Several nations not listed in 20e.1 appear to have regimes in place or under consideration that may meet some or all of the criteria described previously. With additional clarifying information provided by an applicant, applicants from these nations (listed in Appendix 20e.2) may move in to the list of nations with qualifying regimes. NAREIT regularly draws on major publications & compendiums of REIT regimes around the world, such as the EPRA Global REIT Survey, PWC Compare and Contrast: Worldwide Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) Regimes; Ernst & Young Global Real Estate Investment Trust Report, as well as its own policy research to maintain its list of global REIT regimes. The primary list is neither meant to be static nor dispositive in the event the applicant is able to demonstrate that the nation or company in question meets the core criteria. Because laws change from time to time, NAREIT will update & publish this list on a regular basis as applicable laws change or as circumstances otherwise warrant. The absence of a nation from either of the lists is not considered finally conclusive in the determination of whether the nation in which the applicant is domiciled has a REIT regime in place. Indeed, as noted above, NAREIT shall consider any relevant information and documentation provided by an applicant and will also consider whether commercial investment-oriented indexes of publicly traded REITs and real estate companies around the world include the applicant as a REIT in its nation of domicile. ii. NAREIT will next determine whether the applying entity is indeed organized or operating as a REIT, with an emphasis on verification by the applicant providing third-party documentation. Possible forms of documentation include, but are not limited to: 1. Certified filings of the applicant with agencies of the relevant national government; or, 2. A letter written in English from independent outside counsel with REIT legal expertise. Unlike several existing sponsored Top-Level Domains ("sTLDs"), NAREIT will not rely on easily manipulated verification information, including links to established websites or community-based email addresses belonging to applicants. In addition, to accommodate REIT regimes when such documentation is not available, applicants shall have the opportunity to briefly describe their claim to REIT status, such as by providing an English-language copy of a relevant national law governing REITs or REIT-like entities along with documentation establishing the REIT's compliance with that law, or any other indicia of qualification or operation as a REIT. NAREIT shall reserve the right to require any applicant to provide further information or clarification regarding its request to register a domain name. NAREIT will review all requests from applicants internally, through a dedicated six-member Determination and Verification Team ("Team") composed of NAREITʹs: Executive Vice President and General Counsel; Senior Tax Counsel; Senior Vice President, Industry & Member Affairs; Vice President, Investment Affairs & Investor Education; Vice President, Operations; and, Industry Affairs Coordinator. As discussed further below, all eligibility determinations made by the Team are subject to reconsideration through the Eligibility Reconsideration Process administered by an independent board of global REIT community members. The purpose of the TLD will be to advance the interests of the global REIT community by providing information and services relating to REITs. Accordingly, with regard to name selection, NAREIT will limit the registration of domain names in the TLD to the legal trade names of REITs, or the names by which REITs are commonly known, which may include acronyms, registered and common law trademarks, and exchange ticker symbols. NAREIT's name selection policy will tie in with its verification policy, such that any certified documentation required for community eligibility should also clearly display the applicant's trade or commonly known name. NAREIT may also require English-language copies of trademark registrations for name selection purposes or evidence of use in commerce, such as websites or marketing collateral. NAREIT will implement a policy similar to the existing .jobs sTLD and both: impose a continuing obligation on applicants to maintain their trade names or commonly known names concurrently with their domain name registration; and retain discretion as the sole arbiter of determining whether the applicant meets the naming criteria—subject only to the discretion of a dispute resolution provider under the Community Eligibility Dispute Resolution Procedure ("CEDRP") described below—as well as the appropriate level of documentation necessary to substantiate the applicant's claim. Initially, NAREIT will prohibit registration of generic and descriptive terms relating to REITs on the second level that do not refer to the trade name of a specific REIT. NAREIT will implement a strict "first come, first served" policy to vitiate the potential for multiple requests for the same second level domain name. Only in the event where a "first come, first served" policy is inadequate to settle demand for the same second level domain by multiple eligible applying entities, NAREIT may consider registration of geographic modifiers, such as "US-[REITʹs name].REIT" or "[REITʹs name]Asia.REIT" so long as no confusion is caused by such modifiers. The TLD shall be used for the benefit of the community. All domain names must serve the needs of the REIT community, and can be cancelled if they do not. Serving the needs of the REIT community shall include providing information about or offering services relating to a registrant's REIT. Thus, the TLD will ensure its integrity and purpose as an authorized source of REIT-related information and services for investors, media, interested members of the public, or people who use the services of REITs- such as tenants of REIT properties. NAREIT will bolster this general policy with an affirmative duty upon registrants to establish use of all domain names within one year of registration, which may include forwarding the domain name to an existing TLD that serves the needs of the REIT community. In addition, as part of the regular renewal process for domain names, registrants shall reaffirm current eligibility as a REIT and use in accordance within the TLD content and use policy. As reflected in NAREIT's answers to Questions 28 and 29, NAREIT will further delineate the particular uses that are not allowable- for example: unlawful activities, spamming, causing consumer confusion, or reselling the domain names- and prominently display links to such policies on the TLD domain name registration website. NAREIT will also specifically prohibit registration of domain names "solely for the purpose of selling, trading or leasing the domain names for compensation." NAREITʹs 6-member Team described above shall ensure continued compliance with NAREITʹs eligibility, naming, content & use policies through random audits of all registered domain names on a regular basis. In addition, NAREIT will place a prominently displayed contact email on the TLD home page as a point of contact for this Team. NAREIT will adopt a modified version of the ICANN Charter Eligibility Dispute Resolution Procedure, called the "Community Eligibility Dispute Resolution Procedure" ("CEDRP"), and NAREITʹs representatives are currently engaged in discussions with third party service providers to administer the CEDRP. Only slight modifications will be made to incorporate the eligibility policy above. NAREIT will also adopt a robust Eligibility Reconsideration Policy ("ERP"), modeled after the existing .aero ERP, to ensure accountability of the TLD to the international REIT community through a reconsideration process of NAREIT decisions that: 1) a second level domain name applicant does not meet the eligibility requirements and so is not entitled to obtain a domain name; or, 2) that a registrant no longer meets the eligibility requirements and so its domain name is cancelled or transferred. The ERP shall be administered by a 7-member International Appeal Board that will be composed of REIT industry professionals representing expertise in: law relating to REITs; investment in REITs; accounting practices of REITs; and national or regional associations of REITs and real estate companies. All panelists will volunteer for rotating 2-year terms to be staggered for rotational purpose

Applicant has considered the relevant provisions of the new TLD Registries Agreement, the GAC Advice ʺGAC Principles Regarding new TLDsʺ and the procedures adopted by other gTLD registries and intends to use the procedure described below with regards to protection of geographic names in the TLD.

Prior to its launch Applicant will compile a list of country and territory names that will be reserved from delegation indefinitely on the second level.

Pursuant to the specification provided in ICANNʹs Applicant Guidebook, the list will include country and territory names based on the following internationally recognized lists:
* the short form (in English) of all country and territory names contained on the ISO 3166-1 list;
* 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;

As the above documents get updated from time to time, the exact list of reserved names will be compiled shortly before the TLD launch to account for any updates. The list of reserved names will be published on the Registry website.