This document was designed to determine priority rights for existing businesses, organizations, and individuals to .nyc domain names.
draft
New York Landrush Priority Period Rules
Contents
1. Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
2. Agreement to Applying for or Registering a .nyc Domain Name
3. Determining Priority Order
A. New York Priority 1 ………………………………………………………………………………………
i. New York Address…………………………………………………………………………………..
ii. Existing Right for the Name ……………………………………………………………………
a. Registered Trademarks that are effective in NYS ………………….………….
b. Registered Company Names …………………………………………………………
c. Charities Regulated by NYS …………………………………………………………
d. Unregistered Trademarks and Trading Names……………………………………..
B. New York Priority 2 ……………………………………………………………………………………..
4. Allocation of Domain Names ………………………………………………………………………………
5. Validation of Applications ……………………………………………………………………………………
1. Introduction
Domain Names within the .nyc Top Level Domain are available to anyone with a NYC nexus. In many instances there will be more than one applicant for a name during the August 4 - October 3 2014 Landrush application period creating a “name contention.”
This document sets forth a set of Priority Rules to establish which of several applicants for a domain name should be awarded that name. These New York Priority Rules (NYPR) are designed to give priority to existing businesses, organizations, and individuals who can demonstrate prior use or rights to a name.
This document details the NYPR rules and a validation process that will be applied in the event of contention for a name. When a name contention exists applicants are encouraged to participate in a validation process to ensure their applications are placed in the appropriate priority order. Note, if an applicant chooses not to submit the requested validation information their application will be allocated to the lowest priority order.
(The .nyc registry operator will charge all participating registrars a nominal, non-refundable validation fee per application received during Landrush. The purpose of this fee is to cover the validation processes, which are outlined in this document and aim to ensure that those with prior use receive priority for names applied for during Landrush.)
Subsequent to the Landrush .nyc will open for General Availability on October 8 2014. Once General Availability opens, these Rules, except Section 2 below, will no longer apply and anyone will be able to register an available .nyc domain name on a first-come, first-served basis.
2. Agreement to Applying for or Registering a .New York Domain Name
All applicants, by virtue of submitting a .nyc domain name application, will be deemed to have confirmed that the information they are providing is true and correct, and have the authority to submit an application for their desired .nyc domain name. Providing false information at any time during the application or registration of a .nyc domain name may lead to cancellation of an application or the suspension of the domain name.
3. Determining Priority Order
All applicants for .nyc domain names must meet the .nyc nexus requirements. During the Landrush period applicants may fall into one of two priority categories as described below.
A. New York Priority 1
To qualify under Priority 1, an applicant claiming an existing right to a certain name can assert priority based on rights described in sections (a) to (d) below, provided that the priority assertion right is an Identical Match to the domain name applied for.
Identical Match means that the domain name applied for must exactly match the text of the right claimed and any evidence supplied, subject to the following exceptions:
- As a domain name cannot contain spaces or special characters (such as, but not limited to: “.”, “@”, “&”, “$”, “#”, “%”, “!”, “:”, “*”, “+”), these characters may be either (i) omitted; or (ii) replaced by hyphens by the applicant.
- Characters “@” and “&” may additionally be spelled out with “at” or “and” respectively.
- Company identifiers such as Inc. or Corp. may be omitted from the domain name. For example, an applicant with a trademark “ABC & Sons Corp.” could claim priority for the domain names: abcandsons.nyc, abc-and-sons.nyc, abc-sons.nyc, or abcsons.nyc
a. Trademarks or d/b/a registered that are effective in the New York State
Eligibility requirements: NYS trademark and d/b/a registrations. The trademark registration must be in effect prior to August 4 2014.
Evidence: Applicant will need to provide the following information, which will be submitted via the Validation System at the conclusion of the Landrush application period:
- Trademark name
- Trademark registration number
- Trade mark owner (if different from the applicant, applicant must indicate the nature of the relationship between themselves and the trademark owner)
- Date of application of the trademark or d/b/a (must be prior to August 4 2014)
Notes: For trademarks including figurative elements (e.g. stylisation or logos) the part of the trademark for which priority is being claimed in the domain name application must be: predominant; and clearly separable or distinguishable from the device element; and in the same order they appear on the trade mark record in the applicable database. For example, the trademark below could support an application for the domain name icannaccreditedregistrar.nyc, but not accreditedregistraricann.nyc or just icann.nyc.
b. Registered Company Names
Eligibility requirements: Companies incorporated in NYS and registered at Companies House, before August 3 2014. The company must have “Active” status recorded with the NYS Secretary of State at the time of the validation.
Evidence: Applicant will need to provide the following information:
- Company Name
- Companies House registration number
- Date of Incorporation
c. Entities Regulated as Charities
Eligibility requirements: Charitable / Not-for-Profit organizations.
Evidence: Applicant will need to provide the following information, which will be submitted via the Validation System:
- Organization name
- Organization registration number
There is no requirement for qualifying charities to have been registered by a particular date so long as the record is live and effective at the time it is checked during Validation.
If the name the charity is commonly known by differs from its registered name, the applicant can still claim priority to the more common name by virtue of submitting valid information on its registered or unregistered trade mark.
d. Unregistered Trademarks and Trading Names
Eligibility requirements: Applicants that can demonstrate use of a name in New York prior to August 4 2014.
Evidence: The applicant must prove use of the name by submitting any of the following types of evidence which must contain the name in a clear, stand-alone format:
- Dated advertising and marketing materials (e.g. brochures, pamphlets, catalogues, product manuals, displays or signage, press releases, screen shots, social media marketing materials etc.)
- Links to websites, screen shots from websites
- Headed and dated stationary, receipts, invoices
- Dated photographs or scans of product labels, tags or containers
- A signed declaration of use by a trademark or other licensed NYS attorney. For example, an applicant claiming priority with a registered name of “ABC Trading & Sons Corp.” but uses “ABC & Sons” as its trading name could provide an invoice to prove use of the name in New York before August 3 2014.
Notes: If owner of the unregistered trademark or trading name is different from the applicant, applicant must indicate the nature of the relationship between themselves and the unregistered trade mark or trading name owner.
B. New York Priority 2
Applicants that have only a valid New York City address under the Rules will be categorized under New York Priority 2.
4. Allocation of Domain Names
At the conclusion of the Landrush, the Registry will allocate domain names to the appropriate registrants in accordance with the Rules.
If only one application is received for a domain name, that applicant will be allocated that domain name via their registrar, subject to the .nyc agreement and policies.
If more than one application is received for the same domain name a “contention set” will be created. Applicants in a contention set will be grouped in accordance with the Priority Order set out in the Rules. If only one applicant ends up in the highest Priority Order, then the domain name will be allocated to such applicant. If however there is more than one application in the same highest Priority Order, those applicants will have the opportunity to resolve the contention set via an auction mechanism. Auction rules will be available on the .nyc registry website nuc.nyc.
Therefore, it is important to remember: New York Priority 1 will have priority over New York Priority 2.
5. Validation of Applications
The .nyc Registry’s validation service provider (the “Validator”) will contact applicants when there is more than one application for a domain name (i.e., name contention). Applicants will be contacted by email and will be provided with login details to access the Validator’s online platform (the “Validation System”). Once the applicant logs in to the Validation System, they will be asked to select the Priority Order applicable to their application and provide the required information. The Validator will then check the details provided by the applicant and confirm whether the applicant satisfies the requirements for the priority category they selected.
As part of the validation process, applicants in a contention set may provide required information and supporting documentation in the Validation System. The Validator may require additional documentation, and/or evidence from Applicants to complete the validation process
Information, evidence, and documentation submitted by an applicant must meet the following standards:
Submitted as an electronic file with maximum size of 10 MB. Up to 5 items can be uploaded. Materials must not be retouched or otherwise altered. Validations will be conducted in the following order:
Step 1: Applicant submits their domain name application through a registrar during the Landrush period.
Step 2: If there is more than one application for the same domain name, a contention set is formed. Validator contacts all applicants in the contention set via email address provided on their applications with an invitation to login to the Validation System and provide the information required under the priority they have claimed. The email states the date by which applicants need to login and submit the information. This date will be 21 calendar days after an applicant receives the email from the Validator. Applicants will receive an email reminder 7 days before the 21-day window ends.
Step 3: Applicant logs in to the validation system, selects appropriate New York Priority category and enters all required information and uploads relevant supporting documentary proof. Applicants are able to save their applications and return to the Validation System later within the 21-day window. Once applicants submit the information, they will be presented with the date by which the result of validation will be provided in the Validation System.
Step 4: Validator checks compliance of the application with the Rules and confirms whether the application qualifies for the claimed priority. If there are omissions or missing information, Validator will notify the applicant via email and request additional information. Applicants have 7 days from the date of the email to respond and provide the additional information.
Step 5: If the Validator concludes that the application does not qualify for the claimed priority, the applicant has the opportunity to appeal the decision for a fee of $200, payable to the Validator. The request for an appeal must be made to the Validator within 10 days of the Validator communicating the final outcome on the Validation System (subject to appeal). The request for an appeal should be made via the Validation System. Upon appeal, the Validator will conduct an internal review of the decision. If the Validator is still not able to confirm the claimed priority, the appeal will be referred to an independent legally qualified expert for a final decision. If, at any point, the original validation result is overturned and the applicant is found to be successful, the appeal fee will be refunded to the applicant.
————————-
Note: These rules were organized so as to facilitate comparison with the .London Priority Rules.