HTTP/1.1 200 OK Date: Tue, 09 Apr 2002 00:22:09 GMT Server: Apache/1.3.20 (Unix) Last-Modified: Mon, 15 Apr 1996 22:00:00 GMT ETag: "2e9b1f-4ce8-3172c6e0" Accept-Ranges: bytes Content-Length: 19688 Connection: close Content-Type: text/plain INTERNET-DRAFT Simon Higgs draft-higgs-tld-cat-00.txt Higgs America Category: April 1996 Expire in six months New TLD Catagories Status of this Memo This document is an Internet-Draft. Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), its areas, and its working groups. Note that other groups may also distribute working documents as Internet-Drafts. Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any time. It is inappropriate to use Internet- Drafts as reference material or to cite them other than as ''work in progress''. To learn the current status of any Internet-Draft, please check the ``1id-abstracts.txt'' listing contained in the Internet- Drafts Shadow Directories on ftp.is.co.za (Africa), nic.nordu.net (Europe), munnari.oz.au (Pacific Rim), ds.internic.net (US East Coast), or ftp.isi.edu (US West Coast). Table of Contents 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2. Top Level Domain Creation Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2a. Delegation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2b. TLD Charter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2c. Failure To Enforce Charter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 3. New TLD Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3a. Corporate TLD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3b. Specialized TLD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 3c. Openly Competitive TLD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 4. Registry Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 4a. Corporate TLD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 4b. Specialized TLD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 4c. Openly Competitive TLD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 5. Fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 5a. Corporate TLD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 5b. Specialized TLD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 5c. Openly Competitive TLD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 6. Appeals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 7. Security Considerations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 8. Author's Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 1. Introduction This document is being distributed to members of the Internet community in order to solicit their reactions to the proposals contained in it. This document suggests some ideas for the Higgs [Page 1] INTERNET DRAFT New TLD Catagories April 1996 management of the establishment of new top level domains, some procedures for domain name registries, and some constraints on top level domain names. Since the Internet's future is going to be driven by commercial market forces (i.e. the use of domain names to identify corporate business units which are known to the public as "brand names"), we should think about how to use those commercial aspects to the net's advantage. This document covers only the framework necessary to define the function, delegation, and use of new top level domains. This is achieved by the introduction of commercial, specialized, and openly competitive TLD categories. This document does not attempt to provide a direct solution for preventing or resolving the domain name or trademark conflicts we have recently witnessed, but it does create a foundation where domain name conflict solutions can have maximum effect. 2. Top Level Domain Creation 2a. Delegation As with existing top level domain policy, TLD's shall be delegated to organizations or registries by the IANA. 2b. TLD Charter Each TLD must be created with an identifiable purpose. A written charter will identify and explain the function and purpose of each TLD. One of the items that will be identified in the charter is a procedure for dealing with domain name and trademark conflicts. Provided these guidelines are followed, the legal liability of each registry will be limited. This prevents any registry from producing a self-serving policy which denies due process to either the infinged or infringing parties. In the case of the Corporate and Specialized TLD's, the corporation or organization will be responsible for creating the TLD's charter as part of the TLD application process. Guidelines for charter creation will be made publically available by IANA. 2c. Failure To Enforce Charter In processing registrations, each registry must observe the procedures laid out in the charter for each TLD. Should a delegated registry be unable or unwilling to enforce a TLD charter, then the registry will no longer be able to accept or process registrations for that TLD. Higgs [Page 2] INTERNET DRAFT New TLD Catagories April 1996 3. New TLD Categories 3a. Corporate TLD Qualifying internationally known corporations may be identified on the Internet by their own exclusive TLD. This is reminiscent of earlier days before the .COM TLD was created. This TLD category is subject to meeting specific criteria: i) the company is readily identifiable by a suitable three or four letter name ii) the company is readily identifiable as an internationally trading company with international trademarks iii) the company operates at least one root nameserver in each continent ensuring they have an international Internet presence iv) the company makes peering arrangements with NAP's if they run their own backbones between NAP's v) the company contributes substantially to the infrastructure of the Internet by way of practical assistance and goodwill in the form of education and subsidy vi) payment of a set up fee and annual license fee to operate the TLD (proceeds would go directly to administration, construction and operation of public areas of the Internet infrastructure) Existing domains that the company holds under the other TLD's would be revoked, and, if necessary, placed under permanent reservation in order to prevent trademark disputes arising. It may be plausible to allow the corporation to retain certain domain names under other TLD's if specific circumstances warrant this. This decision should be made by IANA. Using IBM as the example - the domains IBM.* would go into a state of permanent reservation making them unusable under other TLD's. IBM would be granted exclusive use of the TLD "*.IBM" for all their worldwide corporate needs. They would be able to use the secondary domains under "*.IBM" as they wished provided they follow sensible guidelines. Example: i) *.us.ibm Used by IBM USA ii) *.ja.ibm Used by IBM Japan iii) *.net.ibm Used by IBM Network/Routers/Backbone iv) *.corp.ibm Used by IBM corporate HQ Note that a user transferring from IBM US to IBM Japan would ideally be able to change his/her email account from "@sales.us.ibm" to "@sales.ja.ibm" to simplify the moving logistics. Obviously, this responsibility would be company's management. Higgs [Page 3] INTERNET DRAFT New TLD Catagories April 1996 This would obviously give this type of company a unique presense on the net. It is important to realize that the TLD holder would have to guarantee a level of service in its obligation to running root nameservers plus a substantial investment in the creation and operation of the Internet infrastructure in exchange for the TLD. 3b. Specialized TLD Specialized TLD's may created for the purpose of identifying certain areas of business. It is proposed that these TLD's are operated by a single registry in a monopoly situation and are only open to organizations within the specific areas of business. These TLD's could represent international trademark catagories, or other market niches. Creation of a TLD in this category is subject to meeting specific criteria: i) the area of business is readily definable and identifiable in the form of a short name (ideally three or four letters) ii) the registry display direct expertise in the chosen area of business and is able to constructively address industry issues in the context of running a TLD registry iii) the TLD namespace is international Existing domains under the other TLD's that are held by organizations qualifying for a specialized TLD may or may not be affected, depending on the TLD's Charter. Using the TLD "*.NEWS" as the example - news organizations would be able to register secondary domains under "*.NEWS" provided they follow the guidelines set by that TLD's registry. Example: i) *.ap.news Used by Associated Press ii) *.bbc.news Used by BBC iii) *.cnn.news Used by CNN iv) *.reuters.news Used by Reuters Note that each organization under this TLD may be international, national, or regional. The defining criteria is based upon area of business and not geography even though registration is international. This would obviously give an organization a unique presence on the net by immediately identifying their area of business. The cost of using this type of TLD would be reflected within the industry itself by market forces. Higgs [Page 4] INTERNET DRAFT New TLD Catagories April 1996 Other examples for this catagory would be for TLD's such as .MIL which are closely controlled. 3c. Openly Competitive TLD Openly Competitive TLD's are TLD's which are represented to the public by multiple registries. Most of the existing TLD's will be included in this category. New TLD's may also be created in this category. These may or may not address international trademark space. These TLD's must be maintained by multiple registries whose services are openly competitive. This TLD catagory is subject to meeting specific criteria: i) the TLD is readily definable and identifiable in the form of a short name (ideally three or four letters) ii) the TLD is EITHER open to international registrations from organizations in any geographical location *OR* it specifically limits registrations to organizations within the geographic boundaries that the TLD identifies There are two types of TLD in this category and they are defined by: i) geographical location (.US, .UK, .CA, etc.) These TLD's will be served by multiple registries within a reasonable geographical boundary (i.e. it would be impractical, even though theoretically possible, for the .UK TLD to be serviced by an Australian registry) ii) type of service (.COM, .NET, .ORG, .EDU, etc.) These TLD's will be served by multiple registries located in any geographical area (i.e. these TLD's are international and should be served by international registries) 4. Registry Selection The new registries (INPs) will be selected by the IANA, and given a specific TLD "franchise". Note the use of the word "franchise" does not in any way convey the legal implications of a franchised operation, either to IANA, or the registry. It is merely a convenient word to describe the scope of the registry. Also, it is important to understand that the registries serve the TLD's, and not the other way around. Without TLD's there are no registries, so the function of the registry is to support and maintain the TLD(s) that it is responsible for, by meeting the TLD's charter. Therefore registries must be selected to meet the needs of each TLD. Higgs [Page 5] INTERNET DRAFT New TLD Catagories April 1996 4a. Corporate TLD Each Corporate TLD is operated by a single company who has exclusive use of the TLD. It is that company's responsibilty for all registrations under this TLD, including a charter. 4b. Specialized TLD Each Specialized TLD is operated by a single registry who is granted a monopoly status within a specific area of business, and is responsible for registering all secondary domains. The registry must meet specific criteria: i) the registry displays direct expertise in the chosen area of business and is able to constructively address industry issues in the context of running a TLD registry for that industry ii) the registry must have the ability to operate at least two root nameservers iii) the registry makes peering arrangements with NAP's if they run their own backbones between NAP's iv) the registry contributes substantially to the infrastructure of the Internet by way of practical assistance and goodwill in the form of education and subsidy v) payment of a set up fee and annual license fee to operate the TLD (Proceeds would go directly to administration, construction and operation of public areas of the Internet infrastructure) vi) the registry must observe and enforce the charter of each TLD 4c. Openly Competitive TLD Each openly competitive TLD must be operated by multiple registries. Each registry is responsible for registering secondary domains in a competitive marketplace alongside other registries. A single registry may not provide registration services for all TLD's due to limitations imposed on the geographical TLD's. Each registry must meet specific criteria: i) the registry must qualify in an openly competitive bidding process as defined by IANA ii) the registry has the ability to operate at least two root nameservers iii) the registry makes peering arrangements with NAP's if they run their own backbones between NAP's iv) the registry contributes substantially to the infrastructure of the Internet by way of practical Higgs [Page 6] INTERNET DRAFT New TLD Catagories April 1996 assistance and goodwill in the form of education and subsidy v) payment of a set up fee and annual license fee to operate the TLD (Proceeds would directly to administration, construction and operation of public areas of the Internet infrastructure) 5. Fees The INPs may be charged a fee by the IANA. 5a. Corporate TLD The fee paid by the international company should be based upon the market value of having an internationally recognized TLD, and the contribution of the company to the growth and well being of the public Internet infrastructure. A set-up fee and an annual renewal fee will be required in order to obtain exclusive use of a top level domain. These fees should be high enough to deter companies from licensing their own TLD, and to ensure that there is a direct contribution back to the Internet community. It would be ideal to make this in direct proportion to the benefits the company enjoys from the exclusive use of a TLD. These fees would be used to fund the growth of the public Internet infrastructure. 5b. Specialized TLD The fee paid by the Specialized TLD registry for its exclusive franchise should be based upon the market value of redistributing domains within the applicable industry, and the contribution of the registry to the growth and well being, of the public Internet infrastructure. The registry may set its prices accordingly within its area of business provided it does not abuse its monopoly power. It is assumed that most Specialized TLD registries will be in start-up mode so a start-up fee will be minimal. An annual registry fee will be proportional to the number of domains issued. The registry fee should be 100% tax deductable as a cost of doing business, and will allow a decent-sized profit margin. The fees are to ensure that the registry contributes back to the Internet in direct proportion to the benefits they enjoy from the exclusive distribution rights of a TLD. These fees would be used entirely to fund the growth of the public Internet infrastructure. 5c. Openly Competitive TLD The fee paid by the each registry in this category should be based upon the market value of redistributing multiple TLD's in an open market, and the contribution of the registry to the Higgs [Page 7] INTERNET DRAFT New TLD Catagories April 1996 growth and well being of the public Internet infrastructure. The registry will set its prices competitively but will be required to guarantee a minimum level of service. A set-up fee and an annual renewal fee will be required. An annual registry fee will be proportional to the number of domains issued. The registry fee should be 100% tax deductable as a cost of doing business, and will allow a decent-sized profit margin. The fees are to ensure that the registry contributes back to the Internet in direct proportion to the benefits they enjoy from the distribution rights of multiple TLD's. These fees would be used entirely to fund the growth of the public Internet infrastructure. 6. Appeals The IANA's decisions may be appealed to the IAB. 7. Security Considerations This document does not address any security issues. 8. Author's Address Simon Higgs Higgs America P.O. Box 3083 Van Nuys, CA 91407-3083 Phone: 818-899-1875 email: simon@higgs.com Higgs [Page 8]