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.nhk New gTLD Application

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New gTLD Application Submitted to ICANN by: Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK)

 

Application Downloaded On: 16 May 2014

 

String: nhk

 

Application ID: 1-905-1298

 

Applicant Information

 

  1. Full legal name

Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK)

 

  1. Address of the principal place of business

2-2-1 Jinnan, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo - 150-8001 JP

 

  1. Phone number

+81 3 3465 1111

 

  1. Fax number

+81 3 3481 1360

 

  1. If applicable, website or URL

http://www.nhk.or.jp/

 

Primary Contact

 

6(a). Name

Naoto Ishii

 

6(b). Title

Senior Manager (Media Planning Bereau)

 

6(c). Address

 

6(d). Phone Number

+81 3 3465 1111

 

6(e). Fax Number

+81 3 3481 1360

 

6(f). Email Address

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

Secondary Contact

 

7(a). Name

Hiroya Tsukahara

 

7(b). Title

Representative Director and CEO

 

7(c). Address

 

7(d). Phone Number

+81 3 5456 1601

 

7(e). Fax Number

+81 3 3780 2611

 

7(f). Email Address

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

Proof of Legal Establishment

 

8(a). Legal form of the Applicant

Government-Affiliated Public Corporation

 

8(b). State the specific national or other jurisdiction that defines the type of entity identified in 8(a).

The definition of the organizational classification is set based on "Broadcast Act" of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications in Japan  Reference (Japanese): http://law.e-gov.go.jp/htmldata/S25/S25HO132.html  Reference (English):  http://www.soumu.go.jp/main_sosiki/joho_tsusin/eng/Resources/Legislation/BroadcastLaw/BroadcastLaw.pdf

 

8(c). Attach evidence of the applicant's establishment.

Attachments are not displayed on this form.

 

9(a). If applying company is publicly traded, provide the exchange and symbol.

 

9(b). If the applying entity is a subsidiary, provide the parent company.

 

9(c). If the applying entity is a joint venture, list all joint venture partners.

 

Applicant Background

 

11(a). Name(s) and position(s) of all directors

Name

Position

Hiroyuki TSUKADA Managing Director

Kenichi ISHIDA Managing Director

Kenji NAGAI General Managing Director

Kenji SHINYAMA Managing Director

Koji YOSHIKUNI Managing Director

Masayuki MATSUMOTO President

Naoji ONO Executive Vice President

Noriyoshi ONISHI Managing Director

Shin KANADA Managing Director

Tamaki IMAI Managing Director

Yoshihiko SHIMIZU Managing Director

Yukinori KIDA Managing Director

 

11(b). Name(s) and position(s) of all officers and partners

Name

Position

Hiroyuki TSUKADA Managing Director

Kenichi ISHIDA Managing Director

Kenji NAGAI General Managing Director

Kenji SHINYAMA Managing Director

Koji YOSHIKUNI Managing Director

Masayuki MATSUMOTO President

Naoji ONO Executive Vice President

Noriyoshi ONISHI Managing Director

Shin KANADA Managing Director

Tamaki IMAI Managing Director

Yoshihiko SHIMIZU Managing Director

Yukinori KIDA Managing Director

 

11(c). Name(s) and position(s) of all shareholders holding at least 15% of shares

 

11(d). For an applying entity that does not have directors, officers, partners, or shareholders: Name(s) and position(s) of all individuals having legal or executive responsibility

 

Applied-for gTLD string

 

  1. Provide the applied-for gTLD string. If an IDN, provide the U-label.

nhk

 

14A. If applying for an IDN, provide the A-label (beginning with "xn--").

 

 

14B. If an IDN, provide the meaning, or restatement of the string in English, that is, a description of the literal meaning of the string in the opinion of the applicant.

 

 

14C1. If an IDN, provide the language of the label (in English).

 

 

14C2. If an IDN, provide the language of the label (as referenced by ISO-639-1).

 

 

14D1. If an IDN, provide the script of the label (in English).

 

 

14D2. If an IDN, provide the script of the label (as referenced by ISO 15924).

 

 

14E. If an IDN, list all code points contained in the U-label according to Unicode form.

 

 

15A. If an IDN, upload IDN tables for the proposed registry.  An IDN table must include:

the applied-for gTLD string relevant to the tables,

the script or language designator (as defined in BCP 47),

table version number,

effective date (DD Month YYYY), and

contact name, email address, and phone number.

Submission of IDN tables in a standards-based format is encouraged.

 

 

15B. Describe the process used for development of the IDN tables submitted, including consultations and sources used.

 

 

15C. List any variants to the applied-for gTLD string according to the relevant IDN tables.

 

 

  1. Describe the applicant's efforts to ensure that there are no known operational or rendering problems concerning the applied-for gTLD string. If such issues are known, describe steps that will be taken to mitigate these issues in software and other applications.

 

GMO Registry (the backend registry) has conducted technical analysis on the applied-for string, and concluded that there are no known potential operational or rendering issues associated with the string.

 

The following sections discuss the potential operational or rendering problems that can arise, and how GMO Registry mitigates them.

 

  1. Compliance and Interoperability

 

The applied-for string conforms to all relevant RFCs, as well as the string requirements set forth in Section 2.2.1.3.2 of the Applicant Guidebook.

 

 

  1. Mixing Scripts

 

If a domain name label contains characters from different scripts, it has a higher likelihood of encountering rendering issues. If the mixing of scripts occurs within the top-level label, any rendering issue would affect all domain names registered under it. If occurring within second level labels, its ill-effects are confined to the domain names with such labels.

 

All characters in the applied-for gTLD string are taken from a single script. In addition, GMO Registryʹs IDN policies are deliberately conservative and compliant with the ICANN Guidelines for the Implementation of IDN Version 3.0. Specifically, GMO Registry does not allow mixed-script labels to be registered at the second level, except for languages with established orthographies and conventions that require the commingled use of multiple scripts, e.g. Japanese.

 

 

  1. Interaction Between Labels

 

Even with the above issue appropriately restricted, it is possible that a domain name composed of labels with different properties such as script and directionality may introduce unintended rendering behaviour.

 

GMO Registry adopts a conservative strategy when offering IDN registrations. In particular, it ensures that any IDN language tables used for offering IDN second level registrations involve only scripts and characters that would not pose a risk when combined with the top level label.

 

 

  1. Immature Scripts

 

Scripts or characters added in Unicode versions newer than 3.2 (on which IDNA2003 was based) may encounter interoperability issues due to the lack of software support.

 

GMO Registry does not currently plan to offer registration of labels containing such scripts or characters.

 

 

  1. Other Issues

 

To further contain the risks of operation or rendering problems, GMO Registry currently does not offer registration of labels containing combining characters or characters that require IDNA contextual rules handling. It may reconsider this decision in cases where a language has a clear need for such characters.

 

GMO Registry understands that the following may be construed as operational or rendering issues, but considers them out of the scope of this question. Nevertheless, it will take reasonable steps to protect registrants and Internet users by working with vendors and relevant language communities to mitigate such issues.

 

- missing fonts causing string to fail to render correctly; and

- universal acceptance of the TLD;

 

  1. OPTIONAL.

Provide a representation of the label according to the International Phonetic Alphabet (http://www.langsci.ucl.ac.uk/ipa/).

 

 

18A. Describe the mission/purpose of your proposed gTLD.

 

NHK, founded in 1950 as Japanʹs national public broadcasting corporation under Broadcast Law, transmits invaluable information including and through news, drama series and documentary both domestic and international.

According to Broadcast Law, the purpose of NHK is to conduct its domestic broadcasting or to entrust its broadcast programs to be broadcasted with abundant and high quality broadcast programs for the public welfare and in such a manner that these broadcasting may be received all over Japan, also to conduct business necessary for the development of broadcasts and reception and at the same time to conduct international broadcasting and NHKʹs international broadcast programming operations.

 

.nhk is a domain for Japan Broadcasting Corporation and its stakeholders. The primary purpose of .nhk is to consolidate Japan Broadcasting Corporation-related domain names registered under various TLDs into an official .nhk extension. In addition, Japan Broadcasting Corporation aims to achieve the following goals with .nhk:

 

  1. Alleviating user confusion and improving convenience for Internet users

 Japan Broadcasting Corporation is a global company selling a multitude of products including

broadcasting on the Television, Radio and data distribution on the Internet.

The company has registered many domain names under various gTLDs and ccTLDs not only for actual use but also as a trademark protection measure. Despite these efforts, there exist many domain name registrations and websites that infringe Japan Broadcasting Corporation’s trademarks. As a result, Internet users often have difficulty differentiating bona fide websites from fraudulent ones. Positioning .nhk as the official domain for the company, and unifying the company⁄brand’s web presence under .nhk, would provide easy access and interaction, which the company believes would reduce confusion and improve user experience.

 

  1.  Marketing ⁄ Branding

Since .nhk is a brand new TLD that directly represents the company⁄brand name, Japan Broadcasting Corporation expects it to be a highly effective marketing and branding tool. The company believes that .nhk will not only reinforce Japan Broadcasting Corporation’s brand on the Internet, but also attract people to visit the website because .nhk domain names make it easier for Internet users to access to the information related to the company.

 

  1.  Simplifying domain name management

The third purpose for applying for .nhk is to simplify the management of domain names the company has registered. As stated earlier, Japan Broadcasting Corporation has many domain names under the various TLDs, posing a challenge in dealing with different registration and operation rules, log-in systems, etc. .nhk would make it possible to manage domain names under the .nhk rules and systems umbrella and would replace various Japan Broadcasting Corporation related domain names with .nhk domain names. As a consequence, it will be safer and easier for the .nhk stakeholders to manage their domain names.

 

18B. How do you expect that your proposed gTLD will benefit registrants, Internet users, and others?

 

  1. WHAT IS THE GOAL OF YOUR PROPOSED GTLD IN TERMS OF AREAS OF SPECIALTY, SERVICE LEVELS, OR REPUTATION?

 

Specialty

.nhk is a TLD for Japan Broadcasting Corporation and its stakeholders (i.e. Japan Broadcasting Corporation and companies listed on the securities reports of Japan Broadcasting Corporation). .nhk is different from other common TLDs in that second level domain name registrations will not be open to the public. .nhk is a ʺcompany⁄brand TLDʺ, which is a new type of TLD that is expected to have increased marketing and branding power. Registrants of .nhk domain names will be pioneers in benefitting from the value of a ʺcompany⁄brand TLDʺ. Also, all information sent or published from .nhk will be official and that means the information is dependable. .nhk directly expresses the name of the company⁄brand, making it easy to remember and associate with products and services of Japan Broadcasting Corporation and its brand names. Japan Broadcasting Corporation hopes that the .nhk character string will be easy-to-understand, easy-to-remember and that people recognize it as trustworthy.

 

Service Levels

In terms of service levels, Japan Broadcasting Corporation (the applicant) aims to operate the .nhk TLD in a secure and stable manner, adopting industry best practices where applicable. The registry’s operational goals are to have DNS load dispersion that is resistant to DDoS attacks, industry-leading level of Whois information change  and DNS record change reflection time, substantial registrar support, and abuse window operation 24 hours a day and 365 days a year.

The applicant will also implement proven security measures at every level of the .nhk business and technical operation to provide maximum protection for its stakeholders. This includes stringent security policies and procedures, as well as comprehensive abuse handling mechanisms to mitigate security threats to the TLD.

 

Reputation

Aims for the reputation of .nhk are

  1.     for .nhk to become well recognized as Japan Broadcasting Corporation’s official TLD, and
  2.     for the .nhk name space to become one which Internet users can access with confidence.

 

 

  1. WHAT DO YOU ANTICIPATE YOUR PROPOSED GTLD WILL ADD TO THE CURRENT SPACE, IN TERMS OF COMPETITION, DIFFERENTIATION, OR INNOVATION?

 

Japan Broadcasting Corporation believes that company⁄brand name TLDs such as .nhk will promote competition, differentiation, and innovation for domain name registrants, internet users, and business.

 

.nhk is a new type of TLD in that the top-level string, not the second level, represents the company⁄brand name. It has several important elements of a good Internet address: direct, simple, easy-to-understand, and memorable. These elements are also important for marketing and branding activities, therefore Japan Broadcasting Corporation expects that the TLD will play a stronger part than ever in marketing activities.

 

The existence of this kind of differentiated TLD will encourage domain name registrants to consider the top-level as well as the second level when choosing an appropriate identity on the Internet. Also, registries and registrars will be encouraged to differentiate in terms of services, operations, systems, pricing, support, etc., promoting positive competition, differentiation, and innovation.

 

In addition, .nhk is different from other existing TLDs because it will be only available to Japan Broadcasting Corporation and its stakeholders. With its restrictive rules and comprehensive abuse handling processes, Japan Broadcasting Corporation expects minimal abusive domain name registrations in the .nhk name space. This means that information provided by .nhk will be reliable and Internet users will be able to enjoy the name space with confidence. .nhk will deliver unprecedented trust to Internet users, which Japan Broadcasting Corporation believes will spur further positive competition and innovation in the industry.

 

 

  1. WHAT GOALS DOES YOUR PROPOSED GTLD HAVE IN TERMS OF USER EXPERIENCE?

 

In terms of user experience, .nhk aims to provide a name space

  1.    where Internet users can access information on Japan Broadcasting Corporation safely and effectively,
  2.    where Internet users can discover new things about Japan Broadcasting Corporation, and
  3.    that Internet users recognize as meaningful and trustworthy.

 

  1. PROVIDE A COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF THE APPLICANT’S INTENDED REGISTRATION POLICIES IN SUPPORT OF THE GOALS LISTED ABOVE.

 

In order to achieve the goals stated above, the plans for .nhk domain name registration policies are as follows. All .nhk TLD registrars and registrants must agree to abide by the policies. Failure to comply with the policies may result in denial, cancelation or transfer of any registration or transaction, or domain name being placed on lock, hold or similar status.

 

Registration Eligibility

Domain name registrations for .nhk will be limited to the following organizations:

  1.    Japan Broadcasting Corporation
  2.    Companies listed on the asset securities reports of Japan Broadcasting Corporation

 

Important Note: No individual-basis registrations will be allowed. In other words, the board members, employees, and contract staff of the companies listed above are not permitted to be registrants of .nhk domain names.

 

Verification of Registration Eligibility

Registration and management of .nhk domain names will be via the .nhk dedicated account provided by a .nhk accredited registrar. Access to the .nhk dedicated account will be limited to the registrants and their authorized administrative contacts, subject to verification of registration eligibility. The verification will be conducted by the applicant, and organizations that wish to apply for a .nhk dedicated account will be required to provide proof of registration eligibility to the applicant via a .nhk accredited registrar. All .nhk domain name registration phases are subject to the verification. Proposed valid forms of documentary proof include, but are not limited to,

-       company seal (registered or unregistered)

-       signature of management staff

 

The applicant will conduct verification on a per-registrant basis only. Once verified, the registrant or its authorized administrative contact will have access to the .nhk dedicated account, through which it may apply for multiple .nhk domain names without further verification, under the condition that the registrant and administrative contact information of an applied-for domain name are identical to that which the applicant has verified. If there are any material changes to the verified information, the registrant or administrative contact must notify the registry of the change.

 

Whois Accuracy

The applicant believes that it is important to keep and publish correct Whois data; registrants will be required to provide and maintain accurate, complete, and current Whois data. In addition, no Whois protection service of any kind will be allowed.

 

Draft Abusive Use Policy

The applicant defines abuse as any activity that may harm the stability and security of the DNS and Internet, including, but not limited to:

 

-        Illegal or fraudulent activities;

-        Phishing;

-        Pharming;

-        Using or distributing malicious software (malware);

-        Sending unsolicited bulk messages (spam);

-        Posting, trading, or exchanging information that harms minors; and

-        Posting information that is offensive to public order or morals.

 

The applicant reserves the right to deny, cancel or transfer any registration or transaction, or place any domain name on lock, hold or similar status, at its sole discretion, to enforce the policy.

 

In addition, the applicant intends to set up an abuse support window (abuse report form and abuse support window) for .nhk operating 24 hours a day and 365 days a year to be able to provide prompt responses to abuse activities.

 

In case an abuse use is reported, Japan Broadcasting Corporation will promptly take appropriate measures in accordance with the suspension flow provided separately (Please refer to Question 28).

 

URS System

The applicant is committed to adopting and abiding by the URS System for trademark owners who seek a rapid system to take down domain names which infringe on their rights.  

 

UDRP

UDRP is applicable to all .nhk domain name registrations.

 

 

  1. WILL YOUR PROPOSED GTLD IMPOSE ANY MEASURES FOR PROTECTING THE PRIVACY OR CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF REGISTRANTS OR USERS? IF SO, PLEASE DESCRIBE ANY SUCH MEASURES.

 

.nhk will comply with the applicable laws of Japan, as well as applicable ICANN consensus policies. As part of its responsibility as the registry operator of the .nhk TLD, the applicant will exercise due care to protect all information it receives from registrants or users through registrars, with the exception of registration data to be published on Whois.

 

The .nhk registration policies only allow registrations by companies and not individuals. As such, the applicant will publish on Whois all information required by ICANN as it regards all required information to be public. The applicant believes that it is important to maintain Whois data accuracy, and no Whois protection service of any kind will be allowed.

 

 

DESCRIBE WHETHER AND IN WHAT WAYS OUTREACH AND COMMUNICATIONS WILL HELP TO ACHIEVE YOUR PROJECTED BENEFITS.

 

 .nhk is intended exclusively for Japan Broadcasting Corporation and its stakeholders. Therefore, Japan Broadcasting Corporation will direct its outreach and communications efforts towards raising awareness of the .nhk identity among Internet users. By consolidating the company-related domain names under the .nhk umbrella, Japan Broadcasting Corporation hopes to gain mindshare of the .nhk TLD among users, thereby contributing to the projected benefits stated above.

 

18C. What operating rules will you adopt to eliminate or minimize social costs (e.g., time or financial resource costs, as well as various types of consumer vulnerabilities)? What other steps will you take to minimize negative consequences/costs imposed upon consumers?

 

  1. HOW WILL MULTIPLE APPLICATIONS FOR A PARTICULAR DOMAIN NAME BE RESOLVED, FOR EXAMPLE, BY AUCTION OR ON A FIRST-COME⁄FIRST-SERVE BASIS?

 

Multiple applications for a particular domain name for all registration phases will be resolved on a first-come-first-served basis.

 

 

  1. EXPLAIN ANY COST BENEFITS FOR REGISTRANTS YOU INTEND TO IMPLEMENT (E.G., ADVANTAGEOUS PRICING, INTRODUCTORY DISCOUNTS, BULK REGISTRATION DISCOUNTS).

 

.nhk will not be available to the general public, so the applicant is not planning to offer cost benefits for registrants at this point. The company promises equal treatment for all .nhk registrars.

 

 

  1. NOTE THAT THE REGISTRY AGREEMENT REQUIRES THAT REGISTRARS BE OFFERED THE OPTION TO OBTAIN INITIAL DOMAIN NAME REGISTRATIONS FOR PERIODS OF ONE TO TEN YEARS AT THE DISCRETION OF THE REGISTRAR, BUT NO GREATER THAN TEN YEARS. ADDITIONALLY, THE REGISTRY AGREEMENT REQUIRES ADVANCE WRITTEN NOTICE OF PRICE INCREASES. DO YOU INTEND TO MAKE CONTRACTUAL COMMITMENTS TO REGISTRANTS REGARDING THE MAGNITUDE OF PRICE ESCALATION? IF SO, PLEASE DESCRIBE YOUR PLANS.

 

The registration period for .nhk domain names is as follows:

 

General Registration

- Minimum of 1 year and maximum of 10 years (but no greater than 10 years)

 

All Phases other than General Registration Phase

- Minimum of 2 years and maximum of 10 years (but no greater than 10 years)

 

The applicant will provide an advance written notice of price increases as required by the Registry Agreement. The registry is not intending to make contractual commitments to registrants regarding the magnitude of price escalation.