LAUNCH AND OPERATE YOUR OWN INTERNET TOP LEVEL DOMAIN (TLD)

Work with INDOM's domain experts to assess the true potential new generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) hold for you.

Launching a new Internet domain is a major undertaking. It requires careful planning and high levels of legal, marketing and technical expertise, as well as an excellent knowledge of the way Internet governance works. INDOM is your partner of choice to determine your best course of action for what promises to be a major change to the Internet: preliminary and feasibility studies, drafting your TLD application, choosing the best partners and subcontractors, building the administrative and technical infrastructures needed to operate a TLD…
We're ready to help! Contact Stéphane Van Gelder by email stephane.vangelder@indom.com or on +33 1 48 01 86 17.



From 2011 (according to Internet regulator ICANN's tentative timeline), registered entities the world over will be able to request their own TLD. Corporations, trademark owners, public authorities, organisations and communities will all be able to claim their own part of the Internet's Top Level Domain namespace.

Doing so means becoming the manager of a .YOU or .YOUR-COMPANY. It means existing on the Internet at the same level as established generic suffixes such as .COM or country codes such as .US. It means being able to market and distribute domain names such as PRODUCT.YOUR-COMPANY and creating website addresses like www.product.your-company. It is the freedom to manage your namespace according to your own rules and requirements.

To get there, INDOM will work with you through the three major steps of a new TLD project:

1. PRELIMINARY STUDY

A comprehensive overview of ICANN's new gTLD program. Learn all you need to know about the program, then decide if launching a new TLD is the right thing for you. The study explains the rules and requirements that a prospective new TLD operator must meet. It sets out the program's timeline, costs (including possible dispute handling costs and validation costs), validation and objection criteria. It also discusses the marketing benefits of setting up your own TLD.

Highlights include:

• An explanation of ICANN's new TLD program.
• A look at different types of administrative, technical and financial solutions.
• A breakdown of tentative budgets and costs.
• An analysis of a new TLD's marketing potential.


In short: By providing readers with a comprehensive understanding of the new TLD program, INDOM's preliminary study is the perfect tool with which to gauge the potential benefits and drawbacks of such an endeavour. The study can be used to present the new TLD program to a corporation's management or various department heads in order to reach a decision on whether to implement a new TLD program or not.

Delivery time: 10 days.


2. FEASIBILITY STUDY

In-depth analysis of a specific new TLD project. For those who have decided to launch a new TLD, INDOM's feasibility study provides a comprehensive analysis of the TLD being considered. It is a crucial step for anyone intending to undertake the extensive preparatory work of building both the TLD project and the application required to be submitted to ICANN. The study covers all aspects of an application including the TLD's structure, finance and budget considerations, commercial and marketing development… The possibility of seeing a third-party file an objection against the proposed TLD is also considered.

Highlights include:

• Choosing the right TLD: should you request your trademark as a TLD (a .INDOM for example), or would a generic string such as a .CAR or .BANK make more sense on a marketing level? And what must be done to obtain such a string, which may be extremely coveted?
• The TLD infrastructure: what is required to launch and operate the TLD? The TLD owner will need to operate both back and front-end registries, provide customer support to registrars and maybe registrants, set-up a secure high-performance technical platform, manage dispute resolution procedures… Based on the specifics of your corporation, INDOM's study looks at what should be kept in-house and what needs to be subcontracted.
• Financial considerations. Analysis of the costs of submitting an application to ICANN and of operating the specific TLD being considered (both at start-up and on an ongoing yearly basis).

In short: Launching your own TLD has major organisational and financial implications. INDOM's feasibility study will enable any prospective applicant to determine whether they can successfully obtain the TLD they want from ICANN and then reach their commercial and corporate goals before they spend the considerable effort and expense needed for such a project.

Delivery time: 2 to 3 months, depending on TLD project.


3. TLD APPLICATION

The final step before launching a TLD, the application needs to be expertly prepared in order to meet ICANN's stringent requirements. ICANN will not only evaluate the proposed TLD, it will also carefully look at the TLD's technical and operational plan, proposed roll-out program, the registrant community being targeted or the TLD's impact on other rights holders. The applicant will also be carefully evaluated to ensure that it is capable of operating an Internet Top Level Domain in the long term (new TLD contracts will be awarded for a minimum of 10 years), or is proposing a viable network of partners and subcontractors to do so. INDOM provides prospective applicants with crucial expertise on all aspects of TLD operation. Expertise and experience: we are already working on major TLD projects such as .PARIS.

Highlights include:

• Setting up the technical infrastructure and the TLD management teams and systems.
• Determining the TLD's registration rules and procedures and ensuring that they meet your objectives.
• Building the TLD's budget.
• Planning the TLD's launch program.
• Choosing and working with partners to provide the full set of services required to operate a successful TLD.
• Submitting the application to ICANN and working through potential validation and objection procedures.

In short: INDOM Works with you to draft your application and to make sure it is solid enough to be okayed by ICANN so that you become a new TLD operator!

Delivery time: Up to 4 months, depending on TLD project.