POLICY: Application rules Moderator John Berryhill – John Berryhill LLC Panelists Thomas Barrett - EnCirca Mike Rodenbaugh – Rodenbaugh Law Nick Wood – Valideus

.nxt Application Rules John Berryhill Tom Mike Nick Wood 9 February 2011

The Application Rules ICANN’s game “The decision to review and consider an application to establish one or more gTLDs is entirely at ICANN’s discretion.” 50 Questions Applicant Information & Background Application & String Information Technical & Operational Questions Financial Questions

Two evaluation panels Financial; Technical/Operational “How thorough are the answers? Are they well thought through and do they provide a sufficient basis for evaluation? Demonstration of the ability to operate & fund the registry Demonstration the technical plan will deliver on best practices & identification of DNS stability & security issues. Ensures plan integration, consistency and compatibility Funding adequately covers technical requirements, Funding covers costs, Risks are identified and addressed”

Applicant Information Q a The applicant, address, legal status, all directors, officers, partners, shareholders Mandatory eligibility criteria: Fees paid on time Proof of legal establishment Background Screening 1.General business diligence and criminal history; 2.History of cybersquatting behavior Provision of financial statements “Any material misstatement or misrepresentation (or omission of material information) may cause the application to be rejected”

Application & String Information Q. 13 – 17 About IDNs Mandatory to supply: IDN tables for applied for language or script IDN tables for each language or script to be offered at 2nd level No variant scripts

Mission/Purpose of TLD Q. 18 “An important objective of the new TLD process is to diversify the namespace, with different registry business models and target audiences” Description of purpose of registry must be sufficiently detailed to enable comment

Community-based or Standard Q. 19 – 20 Community-based applications for applications where there are “unambiguous associations among the applicant, the community served, and the string” Community status cannot be changed Scoring in Community-evaluation based on this description Contention can be resolved via Settlement, Community-Priority Evaluation or Auction Risk of a Community Objection Post-delegation contractual obligations will reflect commitments to the specified community

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

Registry Services Q. 23 Security, Stability and registrant protection paramount Are any registry services unique to the TLD? If so, Extended Evaluation “Applicant may engage in only those registry services defined in the application, unless a new request is submitted to ICANN in accordance with the Registry Agreement”

Technical & Operational Questions Q. 24 – 44 All questions scored & published 37 points available: 22 points required to pass Each answer exceeds, meets or fails to meet criteria Questions cover: System architecture, SRS Platform, security capabilities, problem handling, dedicated vs shared servers, DNS Network, whois, backup, disaster recovery, DNSSEC, IDNs, data escrow, billing & payments Security levels to be appropriate for the use and level of trust associated with the TLD (Q. 35) “In the event that an applicant chooses to outsource one or more parts of its registry operations, the applicant should still provide the full details of the technical arrangements.”

Abuse Prevention & RPM Q.28 – 29 Three points on offer Requirement for Abuse point of contact “Responsible for addressing matters requiring expedited attention and providing a timely response to abuse complaints concerning all names registered in the TLD through all registrars of record, including those involving a Reseller”. Mandatory Sunrise, IP Claims, implementation of decisions under URS and UDRP Requirement to identify roles and responsibilities of personnel in 16 questions including Abuse Prevention & RPM

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

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

Last Words Module Six: Terms & Conditions “Applicant warrants that the statements and representations contained in the application are true and accurate and complete in all material respects, and that ICANN may rely on those statements and representations fully in evaluating this application. Applicant acknowledges that any material misstatement or misrepresentation (or omission of material information) may cause ICANN and the evaluators to reject the application without a refund of any fees paid by Applicant”.