.wedding Pre-Register Domain - .wedding Domain Information

Wedding TLD, LLC, the applicant for the ".wedding" gTLD (the "Registry"), will serve all global wedding interests. Within the United States alone, there are approximately 2.3 million weddings each year, generating over 70 billion dollars in commerce annually. The average amount spent in the United States, per wedding, is $27,000. According to the Bridal Association of America, couples using the internet in their wedding planning process is 77% and growing. Currently, The Wedding Report estimates that one out of every six couples come together through an online introduction. With people trusting the internet to find their life companions, it is a natural extension to trust the internet for planning their respective life events, such as weddings. This Registry will serve all stakeholders invested in this most significant life event.

Currently, the number of individuals who share their wedding planning experiences and cherished memories through blogs and social networking sites is significant and growing. Many engaged couples create personalized wedding websites, collecting and disseminating information to their wedding guests and service providers. The percentage of online wedding research and online purchases of wedding attire, ceremony needs, favors, flowers, jewelry, music, cakes, stationary, transportation, etc. are all increasing annually. Businesses belonging to the wedding industry will increasingly continue to identify themselves online in both advertising and with websites to capture this growing online consumer group.

The gTLD will become an online space associated with products and services for this massive industry, as well as a place for those seeking a public outlet for their wedding plans and experiences. Entities connected with the wedding industry, customers searching for their products and services, and users engaged in sharing their wedding plans and experiences will now have a dedicated and dynamic online community. By building communities around key wedding geographies and sectors, the Registry will enhance communication, searchability and access to relevant information; fostering innovation, job creation, economic growth and creative opportunities among registrants, internet users and other interested parties.

The .wedding gTLD will benefit proposed registrants, internet users, and others by offering a virtual community dedicated to all wedding industry participants. Registrants will gain higher visibility to their target audience, through intuitive searchability and access to shorter, more-relevant and brand-centric domain names, unavailable on other crowded gTLDs. Internet users will experience improved search functionality in a centralized, streamlined, geographic and category-specific manner. Moreover, others will benefit from the economic development and innovation fostered by this niche community space.

(i) The goal of the proposed gTLD in terms of areas of specialty, service levels, or reputation:
Specialty: The Registry specializes in the wedding industry and will offer support to all interested parties. Both individuals and businesses will have a dedicated online wedding environment that they can shape and utilize to promote their respective interests and activities. Providers of associated products and services will be better able to target their consumers. Conversely, consumers will have an enhanced user experience in locating the products, services, and information for their specific wedding needs through centralized and streamlined search results. The betrothed can establish websites devoted to planning and memorializing their special day.
Service Levels: Service levels provided by the .wedding gTLD will comply with required service levels defined in Specification 10 of the gTLD Registry Agreement detailed in the ICANN gTLD Applicant Guidebook.
Reputation: The Registry's priority is to establish its reputation as an innovative, stable, secure and accountable community; serving organizations and entities identifying themselves as connected to the wedding sector. ARI Registry Services ("ARI"), the Registry's selected provider of registry services, has an established reputation for providing and operating a robust and reliable back-end registry service that enables multiple registrars to provide domain name registration services in the top-level domain. ARI's system supports multiple registries and many registrars consistently and securely. ARI has a long history of meeting its service level agreements as evidenced in the Registry Operator's Monthly Reports that ARI files monthly with ICANN. These reports detail ARI's operational status and its compliance with applicable service level agreements. These monthly reports are accessible from the ICANN website at the following URL: http://www.icann.org/en/tlds/monthly-reports/. Moreover, the Registry has established a strategic relationship with industry-leading registrar Melbourne IT, thereby ensuring a first-rate consumer experience and compliance with all applicable industry policies and standards.

(ii) What the proposed gTLD anticipates adding to the current space, in terms of competition, differentiation, or innovation:
Competition: The proposed gTLD will promote competition by creating a digital environment dedicated to all social, informational and commercial aspects of the wedding sector. There are currently over 100,000 active domain names that include "wedding" in their string. Of these, "wedding." currently resides in roughly 44,000 registered domains immediately preceding various TLDs (e.g. www.mywedding.com). The ".wedding" TLD will shorten the string length for these existing domains (e.g. www.my.wedding) and provide an appealing and intuitive opportunity for registrants. With a dedicated platform for the wedding community, new, improved, and/or shorter domain names will be sought by participants; thereby contributing to competition in the current space by offering consumers more choices and registrants more marketable domain names. Additionally, a huge market exists for wedding couples who register domain names as wedding tools to collect and disseminate information to guests and service providers, plan their weddings, share photos and news, link to their various gift registries, etcetera. There were approximately 2.3 millions weddings in the United States last year, and if even 1% of the couples register a domain name, this translates to over 20,000 new domain name registrations. Having domain name registrants like these will allow for a higher turnover rate as their respective wedding events pass; consequently, making a single wedding domain string available more frequently over time for new couples getting married to utilize. As the public increasingly accepts new gTLDs, the Registry envisions registrants will seek out TLDs that describe their nature or activities. Accordingly, engaged couples and those providing wedding related services will look to the .wedding TLD first when establishing their web presence.
Differentiation: The fundamental difference between .wedding and all other gTLDs is its dedication to organizations and participants associated with weddings. The proposed gTLD will create a space exclusively devoted to the betrothed and those who serve their interests. To achieve this differentiation, beyond simply providing domain names, the Registry will, in accordance with Specification 9 of the Registry Agreement, proactively develop and maintain innovative websites to create and enhance wedding specific communities.
Innovation: The proposed gTLD will catalyze innovation by creating an online community devoted to the wedding industry and its stakeholders. Registrants and users will in turn take advantage of the opportunities for increased communication, access to information, visibility and commerce to develop new methods of advancing their interests. All will benefit from this vibrant and dynamic collaborative process. For example, category and geography-based search functionality will connect more consumers, businesses and other resources, allowing for a more robust and efficient exchange of information. In addition, .wedding will allow for the following innovations:
• Search: optimized and customized
• Community-specific premium names that will be utilized for the benefit of all interested parties
• Targeted and more cost-effective advertising
• The ability to create and analyze community metrics
• Lay the foundation for a community-specific e-commerce platform
• The increased use of domains for individual weddings - as a planning, communication and commerce tool
These innovations will add new experiences and opportunities to the space, directly benefiting registrants and indirectly benefiting users and others.

(iii) Goals the proposed gTLD has in terms of user experience:
The Registry envisions a greatly enhanced user experience by providing resources to its constituents, including interest-specific information, communication channels, markets, together with collaborative and business opportunities. The quality of the user experience will improve as the Registry provides resources to its constituents, including interest-specific information, communication channels, markets, collaborative, philanthropic and business opportunities. Registrants will have the opportunity to contribute their own content to the space, thereby enhancing the community-nature of the gTLD. The goal of .wedding is to be the destination and home for all wedding-oriented online activity.
Moreover, ARI, the gTLD's registry service provider, will ensure that all pertinent services consistently meet the levels prescribed in Specification 10 of the Registry Agreement, guaranteeing a top quality user experience. In addition, ARI registry services will comply with any other applicable ICANN policy or procedure, thereby ensuring the user experience provided is both secure and stable. Strategic partner Melbourne IT will ensure top quality consumer interface and policy compliance.

(iv) Description of the intended registration policies in support of the goals listed above:
The Registry may reach out to various sectors of the wedding business and use community-building platforms to generate publicity for the proposed gTLD and will welcome all registrants seeking a ".wedding" domain. Following a Sunrise and Landrush period, the Registry intends to make domains available to anyone willing to complete the Registry's application process and comply with Registry policies and ICANN requirements. The Registry will collect limited demographic information from registrants, which will be used to streamline searches and target communications. Registration requests for available names will be allocated by the Registry through accredited registrars on a first come, first-served basis, subject to the Registry policies and ICANN requirements. The Registry will establish dispute resolution procedures concerning compliance with TLD registration policies and shall enforce such registration policies.
The Registry will seek out strategic partners to utilize premium names of significance to the community. It also plans to reserve the right to retain additional names on a reserve name list at any time at its sole discretion, in accordance with Specification 5 of the Registry Agreement, and to allocate such names in accordance with ICANN requirements and Registry polices.

(v) The proposed gTLD will impose measures for protecting the privacy and confidential information of registrants and users:
The Registry will protect the privacy and confidential information of registrants and users through industry standard security technology, provided by ARI and through a contractual privacy policy statement. ARI, the Registry's selected provider of registry services, provides a comprehensive security solution - independently audited - to ensure that registrants' privacy and confidential information is protected. These measures include registry databases that are access-controlled, encrypted data escrow procedures, and a broad ranging security policy addressing physical, cyber, and personnel security threats. Further details of these security policies are provided in response to Question 30, Security Policy. In compliance with the Registry Agreement's Specification 4, data fields defined in the specification are made publically available through the Registry's Whois service offering.
User security is enhanced by the use of Domain Name System Security Extensions ("DNSSEC") providing an important layer of overall Internet security. ARI's DNSSEC implementations adhere to key security standards and guidelines as required by Federal Information Processing Standards ("FIPS") 140-2 Level 3. Through ARI's proven DNSSEC implementation, the .wedding TLD helps to protect the privacy and confidential information of its users.

(vi) Description of whether and in what ways outreach and communications will help to achieve projected benefits:
The Registry will engage in outreach by working with all wedding interests to promote the Registry to members, stakeholders, and consumers alike. The enhanced visibility of geographic and category-specific domains developed by the Registry and optimized for Search Engine Optimization ("SEO") will further help communicate the Registry's commitment to its mission. Targeted advertising will benefit both registrants and advertisers by promoting competition and facilitating efficient communication. The establishment of an e-commerce platform will similarly benefit the target demographic. The Registry envisions establishing strategic partnerships within the wedding space to further outreach and communications amongst registrants and users. Community-building platforms may be employed to enhance the development of communities oriented toward weddings. Moreover, the opportunities for better and greater communication amongst registrants themselves will help to establish the registry's community reputation and develop its base.

The Registry will enact rules to eliminate social costs associated with the creation of a new TLD. The proposed gTLD may adopt policies that preemptively address negative consequences, in addition to analyzing market trends to identify issues as they emerge. The Registry's evaluation of the market and its potential registrants suggests that registrations of .wedding domains will be active rather than defensive in nature, as with .com and other open TLDs. Due to the existence of significant communities of interest relating to weddings, the TLD presents registrants with opportunities aligned to their pursuits. Registrants will have the opportunity and the incentive to work together in promotion of their shared interests.
The Registry will be compliant with all relevant laws and statutes, and all ICANN policies and procedures, including without limitation, the Digital Millenium Copyright Act ("DMCA"), Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy ("URDP"), and Uniform Rapid Suspension system ("URS"). The Registry will also adopt protection mechanisms against spam, phishing, data theft, IP infringement, and Domain Naming System ("DNS") attacks.

(i) Method for resolving multiple applications for a particular name:
Multiple applications for a particular domain during the Sunrise period, assuming all are properly listed in the Trademark Clearinghouse and/or otherwise verified in accordance with ICANN policies and procedures, will be resolved through an auction.
Multiple applications for a particular domain name will be resolved through an auction process during the Landrush period.
Multiple applications for a particular domain name will be resolved on a first come, first served basis during the general registration process.

(ii) Cost benefits to registrants intended for implementation:
The Registry reserves the right to offer introductory discounts and advantageous pricing to industry leaders or other entities that enhance the professional reputation and visibility of the gTLD.
The Registry may coordinate with registrars to offer price discounts for bulk domain purchases.

(iii) Intended contractual commitments to registrants regarding the magnitude of price escalation:
The Registry will comply with the Registry Agreement and will make contractual commitments to registrants regarding its pricing policy(ies). This includes complying with all pricing requirements detailed in Article 2.10 of ICANN's New gTLD Registry Agreement. The gTLD may from time to time increase prices in accordance with market rates throughout the internet community.

Wedding TLD, LLC, the applicant applying for the ".wedding" gTLD (the "Registry"), plans to temporarily reserve a list of geographic names as required in Specification 5 of the draft Registry Agreement, and also intends to adopt policies for releasing and registering these reserved names with the further approval of ICANN and/or relevant members of ICANN's Governmental Advisory Committee (the "GAC").

Reserved Names: The Registry intends to initially reserve the country and territory names contained in the following internationally recognized lists (the "Geographic Names"), at the second level and at all other levels within the TLD at which the Registry provides for registrations:

1. The short form (in English) of all country and territory names contained on the ISO 3166-1 list, as updated from time to time, 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; and

3. 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

A corresponding list of geographic names will be made available to the public via the ARI Registry Services ("ARI")'s website in order to inform Registrars and potential Registrants of the reserved status of such names. The lists previously noted, will be regularly monitored for revisions and the reserved list, both within the registry and publicly facing, will continually be updated to reflect any changes.
In addition to these requirements, ARI is able to support the wishes of the Registry in regards to the reservation of additional terms on a case by case basis. The managed TLD registry allows such additions to the reserved list to be made by appropriately authorized staff, with no further system development changes required.
The following applies to all Domain Names contained within the managed TLD registry reserved list:
-Attempts to register reserved Domain Names will be rejected;
-Whois queries for listed Domain Names will receive responses indicating their reserved status;
-Reserved names will not appear in the TLD zone file; and
-DNS queries for reserved domain names will result in an NXDOMAIN response.

2. PROCEDURES FOR RELEASE
We understand that if and when the Registry wishes to release any reserved names at a later date, this will require further approval from ICANN.
In order to release reserved names, the Registry will have in place a special release mechanism, described below.

Consistent with the .info release of geographic names, as referenced in the New GTLD Application, the Registry will present the GAC Representatives with an option, at no charge, of objecting to release and use of any initially reserved names. The Registry reasonably believes that very few GAC Representatives, if any, would exercise this option. Nevertheless, the at-no-charge objection will remain an option for the GAC Representatives, in compliance with current ICANN requirements regarding geographic reserved names. The Registry will reserve the Geographic Names for a temporary reservation period of one year following the delegation of the gTLD. When the temporary reservation terminates, those country names that have not been registered at that time will be made available for use by the Registry or auction. Those not selling at auction will fall into the pool of available names for private registration on a first-come-first served basis.
Generally, it is extremely unlikely that the Registry's authorized use of any geographic ".wedding" domain name could be confusing to users, or otherwise offensive to any country. To the extent that use of any such domain was ever deemed confusing or offensive, the Registry is likely to have a strong desire to resolve the situation quickly and respectfully to any affected country's sovereign interests. At minimum, the Registry will ensure that its designated abuse contact is aware of the additional sensitivities that may potentially arise with respect to use of such domains, such that any complaints of this nature are prioritized accordingly.