18.1 Mission and Purpose of .FAIRWINDS
FairWinds Partners, LLC (“FairWinds”) is a leading domain name analysis and advisory firm that specializes in helping global brands optimize and protect their Web presence - and ultimately their bottom lines - through the development and implementation of domain name strategies that are tailored to each brandʹs opportunities and challenges. FairWindsʹ solutions grow online traffic, increase revenue, improve online customer experiences, and reduce unnecessary domain-related costs. FairWindsʹ customized strategies and domain name program management services have helped Global 500 and blue chip companies worldwide and FairWinds content is accessible in multiple TLDs, including the .COM, .NET, .ORG, .MOBI, and .XXX gTLDs, as well as the .CH, .CN, .DE, .JP, .CA, .CO, .CO.UK, .ES, .IT, .RU, and .US ccTLDs.
FairWinds will be analyzing and evaluating other .BRAND gTLD applications, as well as general market adoption, to determine the short- and long-term potential best-in-class use case options that will most effectively serve and enhance FairWindsʹ online strategy as a leading domain name analysis and advisory firm.
The intended future mission and purpose of the .FAIRWINDS gTLD is to serve as a trusted, hierarchical, and intuitive namespace provided by FairWinds for use by FairWinds and FairWinds-affiliated entities and, potentially, strategic partners and clients.
Although ICANN has not specifically recognized a .BRAND gTLD specification in the current version of the Applicant Guidebook, it is widely anticipated within the brand owner community that this will become a specialty subset of new gTLDs. The .FAIRWINDS gTLD is planned as a .BRAND gTLD, with the goal of protecting FairWindsʹ online presence and identity; expanding its marketing and promotional efforts; providing a secure channel for online content and services; and offering a platform through which to consolidate many of the intellectual property activities of FairWinds.
FairWinds intends to initially limit registration and use of domain names within the .FAIRWINDS gTLD to FairWinds and FairWinds-affiliated entities. This initial limited use will allow FairWinds to establish its operations and achieve full sustainability. This limited distribution, coupled with the other requirements set forth in Specification 9 of the template Registry Agreement, is anticipated to exempt FairWinds from its annual Code of Conduct Compliance requirements.
FairWinds has currently planned a four-stage rollout for the .FAIRWINDS gTLD:
1) Stage 1
The initial stage of implementation of the .FAIRWINDS gTLD will involve FairWinds and FairWinds-affiliated entities registering a limited number of second-level domain names.
This initial use will provide FairWindsʹ IT and security personnel with the time to run a number of tests to ensure seamless and secure access using .FAIRWINDS domain names, interoperability with various software and Web-based applications, and unbroken and secure use of all domain names. This initial allocation will also allow the appropriate FairWinds staff to coordinate with the internal and external staff responsible for the application, delegation, and setup phases of the .FAIRWINDS gTLD to ensure proper transition from delegation to full operation.
2) Stage 2
Once all testing has been successfully completed, FairWinds will begin allocating domain names in .FAIRWINDS for more widespread internal corporate use. During this same period of time, FairWinds will begin evaluating strategies to potentially migrate traffic away from its current network of second-level domain names, which are registered in a variety of TLDs, to FairWindsʹ new .FAIRWINDS gTLD.
It is during Stage 2 that FairWinds will evaluate expanding the operations of the gTLD to permit registration by other registrants, such as strategic partners and⁄or clients. Should an assessment of its expansion strategy lead to a decision to extend registration rights to other parties, the expansion would take place during Stage 3. However, any expansion would be conditional upon a review of Specification 9 (Registry Code of Conduct), as set forth in the template Registry Agreement, to ensure compliance with FairWindsʹ business model.
3) Stage 3
Depending upon the analysis of the evaluations undertaken in Stage 2, FairWinds may begin to implement the permanent migration of Internet traffic away from the TLDs in which FairWindsʹ domain names are currently registered, toward the .FAIRWINDS gTLD. It is during this stage that FairWinds may also implement its decision to extend registration rights to strategic partners and⁄or clients, depending upon compliance with Specification 9 as noted above. The dates of such an expansion are subject to change depending upon business, strategic, and industry factors at the time.
After consideration of the following factors: analysis of FairWindsʹ existing domain name portfolio; internal analysis of marketing initiatives; and the fact that FairWinds will have full control over the number of registrations in the .FAIRWINDS gTLD namespace, FairWinds is confident that the number of domain name registrations will be less than 500 in the first five years of operation.
4) Stage 4
Based on its experience from the startup period through Year 5 of operation, and based on its experience with any expansions implemented in Stage 3, FairWinds will assess whether its business plan and expansion strategy should be augmented by extending registration rights to a broader class of registrants. FairWinds anticipates that changes to the domain name industry, particularly the impact of .BRAND gTLDs, will take at least five years to be realized and assessed. Any decision to expand the .FAIRWINDS gTLD beyond use by FairWinds and FairWinds-affiliated entities and, potentially, strategic partners and clients will take into account this experience as well as the technical analysis of potential expansion.
Utilizing current projections based upon FairWindsʹ existing businesses, future business plans, current domain name portfolio, and other strategic factors, FairWinds estimates that second-level domain name registrations will be in line with the projections set forth in the financial template provided in response to Question 46 of this application.
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