General-Use JP Domain Names
Implementation and Evaluationsin opening up 2nd level domain name space of .JP

Aug. 27, 2001
Japan Registry Service Co., Ltd.

2Table of Contents• Outline of General-Use JP Domain Names– Traditional 3rd Level JP Domain Names– Characteristics of General-Use JP Domain Names– Reserved Domain Names• Preliminary Registration– Potential Problems at the Time of Introduction– Priority Registration– Concurrent Registration• Results of Preliminary Registration• Domain Name Registration OrganizationalStructure
Copyright © 2001 Japan Registry Service Co., Ltd.

Outline ofGeneral-Use JP Domain NamesTraditional 3rd Level JP Domain Names

4• Registration in the third-level domain name space– The second-level domain names are reserved for designated labels:• Organizational-type domain names ： co, ne, or, etc.
• Geographical-type domain names： tokyo, etc.

• Restriction of “one domain name per organization”• Registrant required to have Japanese postal address• Strict investigation of qualifications– Corporate status verified by review of official documents• The three conditions listed above have been effective inpreventing cybersquatting• Approx. 268,000 domain names were registered as of01/Aug/ 2001
• JP-DRP, localized from the UDRP, was launched on
19/Oct/2000： JP-DRP is also adapted for the general-use
JP domain nameCopyright © 2001 Japan Registry Service Co., Ltd.

Background of the Introductionof New Domain Name Space5• Changes of the Demands on domain names– Demands for more than one domain name per organization– Demands for simpler, lower-cost registration procedures– Requests for registration of short-lived domain names, such as those usedin events• It is not appropriate to meet changing requirements byaltering the existing domain name (“co.jp”, etc.) structure– This resulted in the introduction of new domain name space
zDraft of the implementation policy was made public inSeptember 2000.
– Opened for public comment for one month• On October 10, 2000, the “Outline of the General-Use JPDomain Names” was made public.
Copyright © 2001 Japan Registry Service Co., Ltd.

Characteristics of General-Use JP Domain Names

6EXAMPLE.JP
Top level domain

Second level domain
Traditional 3rd Level JPDomain Names••••

General-Use JP Domain Names•Classified by organizational type•
Limit of one domain per organization
Domestic postal address required
Registration in the third level•••

Any corporation or individual mayregister
No restriction for the number ofdomain names to register perorganization
Domestic postal address required
Registration in the second level
Japanese domain names can also beregistered
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Introduction of Japanese Domain Names

日本レジストリサービス.JP
Second level domain

Top level domain• Japanese domain names, consisting ofChinese and Kana characters as well as
ASCII charcters, can be registered• Japanese domain names are registered onlyas general-use JP domain names.
• Up to 15 characters
Copyright © 2001 Japan Registry Service Co., Ltd.

8Examples of General-Use JP Domain Names• http://jprs.jp/• http://jpdrink.jp/• order @jpdrink.jp (as a mail address)• http://JPドリンク.jp/• http://ドメイン太郎.jp/
Copyright © 2001 Japan Registry Service Co., Ltd.

9Reserved Domain Names• Applications for registration of reserved domainnames are not being accepted for a time
• Consideration for registration of some domain names
will be given to appropriate applicants– Names of primary and junior educational organizations(“… primary school” in Japanese characters, etc.), andnames related to administrative, judicial, and legislative
agencies.
Refer to “Reserved Domain Names in the General-use JPDomain Names”
http://www.nic.ad.jp/dotjp/doc/dotjp-reserved.html
Copyright © 2001 Japan Registry Service Co., Ltd.

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Categories of Reserved Domain Names(alpha-numeric)•TLDs, other than ccTLDs, as determined by ICANN– COM, NET, ORG, … (including the seven new TLDs)•

Geographical-type JP domain names that are defined as metropolitan,
prefectural, and municipal labels– PREF, CITY, TOWN, …

•Tokyo and the prefectures; large cities designated by ordinance; prefecturalcapital cities– TOKYO, YOKOHAMA, UTSUNOMIYA, …

•Names of organizations related to Internet management– ICANN, IANA, IAB, ISOC, WIPO, …

•Names required for JP domain name operations– JPNIC, NIC, DNS, WHOIS, EXAMPLE, DOTJP, …

•Character strings which may be confused with ASCII-converted Japanesedomain names– Prefixes and suffixes representing ACE-converted character strings (BQ-- etc.)
Copyright © 2001 Japan Registry Service Co., Ltd.

Categories of Reserved Domain Names(Japanese)••

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Tokyo and the prefectures; large cities designated by ordinance; prefectural
capital cities
Single characters in Hiragana, Katakana, numbers written in Chinesecharacters, prolonged sound symbols, and others.
– あ、イ、五、ー、…

•

Names of primary and secondary educational organizations (primary schools,junior high schools, etc.)– Names ending with “小学校 (primary school),” “中学校 (junior high school)” and“高等学校 (high school).”•Names of international inter-governmental organizations (such as the UnitedNations)– Refer to “The List of Reserved Domain Names (International, inter-governmentalorganizations)”•Names related to administrative, judicial, and legislative agencies– Refer to “The list of Reserved Domain Names (Administrative, judicial, andlegislative agencies)”•Japanese common nouns– Refer to “The list of Reserved Domain Names (Japanese common nouns)”•

Names required for JPNIC operations– ジェイピーニック、ドメイン名、日本語ドメイン名、…
Copyright © 2001 Japan Registry Service Co., Ltd.

Preliminary Registration

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Potential Problems at the Time of Introductionof General-Use JP Domain Name Space• The following problems were expected to arise if registration
service were to start on a first-come, first-served basis,
without preemptive measures in place:– The possibility of frequent intellectual property disputeoccurrences, such as cybersquatting– Catastrophe caused by an overwhelming number ofapplications at the start of service• As a general rule, domain name registration should be on afirst-come, first-served basis. However, it was consideredthat measures should be implemented to help avoid/reduce
disputes and catastrophe at the start of service for a new
domain name space.
Copyright © 2001 Japan Registry Service Co., Ltd.

Preliminary Registration

14• A preliminary registration application system was employed
to help avoid/reduce disputes and catastrophe at the time ofintroduction– Priority registration application period （22/Feb.〜23/Mar.）･･･
Category 1 and 2• Category 1: JP domain names already registered as traditional domain
names• Category 2: copyright holders of trademarks and registered names;
personal names in full• This was to reduce disputes, such as cybersquatting– Concurrent registration application period （02/Apr.〜23/Apr.）･･･
Category 3• All applications which arrived in this period were regarded as arrived at
the same time, not in the order received. When there were several
applications for the same domain name in this period, decision wasmade by draw.
• This was to reduce catastrophe caused by receipt of a large number ofapplications at the start of the service

Copyright © 2001 Japan Registry Service Co., Ltd.

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Priority Registration
Priority application
period（22/Feb〜23/Mar）

1/Mar

Announce
Announce
results to applicantsdraw outcome
without competitors(16/Apr)(26/Mar)▲▲
1/AprComplaint
submission（16/Apr〜/May15）

Complaintresolution（16/May〜July)

1/May

1/June• Applications accepted from 22/Feb. to 23/Mar.
• Registration/Start of use– Domain names without competitors were registered on March 26– Available for use from 2/Apr. (provisional operation period)– Formal operations began on 7/May• Draw results for competing applicants announced on 16/Apr.
• Period for submission of complaints (16/Apr. - 15/May)– Acceptance of complaints from unsuccessful candidates (details to follow)– Domain names for which complaints were not submitted confirmed forregistration on 28/May• Complaint Resolution Procedure (16/May - end/July)
Copyright © 2001 Japan Registry Service Co., Ltd.

16Concurrent Application Period andFirst-come First-served Basis Application Schedule
Concurrent Registration
Application Period

Announcedraw outcome(1/May)First-come, First-served
Application Period

▲

1/Mar

1/Apr （2/Apr〜23/Apr） 1/May（7/May〜） 1/June• Concurrent applications accepted from 2/Apr. to 23/Apr.
• Draw results for competing applicants announced on 1/May• Registration/Start of use– Domain names without competitors that won the draw were registered on
1/May– Available to use from 2/May (provisional operation period)– Formal operations began on 7/May• First-come, first-served basis registration (7/May - )Copyright © 2001 Japan Registry Service Co., Ltd.

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Priority Registration Application (Category 1）• Registration for character string identical to already-registered
third level domain name– Subjects for registration include domain names that had been registeredprior to 31/Mar/2000.
– If there were several applications for the same domain name, priority
was given to the one with earliest original registration.
– This rule was applied only if an application was made.
e.g: In the following case, priority for registration of “EXAMPLE.JP”
would be given to company B:EXAMPLE.CO.JP （1996/01/01）： Company A No application filed
EXAMPLE.NE.JP （1999/12/01）： Company B Application was filed
EXAMPLE.GR.JP （2000/01/01）： Group C
Application was filed

Copyright © 2001 Japan Registry Service Co., Ltd.

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Passwords for Priority Registration Application• E-mail notices sent regarding preliminary registration（23-26/Jan/2001）– Information on the start of the general-use JP domain name service,and start of preliminary registration application• Passwords for priority registration sent (14/Feb/2001)– Passwords were assigned to the registrants of existing domain names
registered prior to 31/Mar/2000– Sent by Postal Mail to relevant registrants• Applications submitted by applicants using assigned
passwords

Copyright © 2001 Japan Registry Service Co., Ltd.

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Priority Registration Application (Category 2）• Acceptable subjects for application– Registered trademarks– Registered names (corporate names, etc)
– Organizations that had registered AC.JP domain names (universities,vocational schools)– Personal names in full

• In the case of competition– When competing with a Category 1 application, priority was given tothe one in Category 1.
• This is because the set of applied domain names as Category 1 is a subset of
traditional domain name space, where it was confirmed that cybersquatting
rarely occurs.

– When competing within Category 2, decisions are made by draw
– For decisions related to the above, unsuccessful candidates may submit
complaints (details follow later)
Copyright © 2001 Japan Registry Service Co., Ltd.

20Domain Names for which Applications
could be Submitted (Category 2)• Domain names containing a character string that isincluded in the trademarked name• Domain names that are exactly the same as theregistered name, and those without “Inc,” “Co.,Ltd,” etc.
• Domain names that are the same as the registeredorganizational names of AC.JP domain names(universities, vocational schools)• Domain names for personal names (one’s fullgiven name, stage names in full)
Copyright © 2001 Japan Registry Service Co., Ltd.

Confirmation of the Qualification of Priority
Applications

21• Information to be entered as relevant, as proof that theapplication is proper:– Registered trademarks• Trademark registration number– Registered names (corporate names and others)• Formal Registration documents– Organizations with registered AC.JP domain names• Application passwords sent by JPNIC by Post

– Personal names• Submission of documents for confirmation (if required)• Only in the event of a detailed investigation, such as one
initiated by the filing of a complaint, submission ofdocuments verifying the above information is required
Copyright © 2001 Japan Registry Service Co., Ltd.

22Decision by Draw in the event of competition• Draw number assigned– In the case of multiple applications for a domain name, a draw number(positive integer) was assigned, in order of application.

• Draw key number– The source of a draw key number, unknown by anyone at the time assigned,
was the Nikkei Dow Average (225 brands, closing price, in yen) of the Tokyo
Stock Market of a specified day; this is a public number with only oneinterpretation.
– A predetermined number of digits was extracted from the Nikkei Dow Average(4 digits for preliminary applications, 5 digits for concurrent applications)• e.g: Nikkei Dow Average 13381.38 yen → draw key number 33813• Determination of successful candidates– Successful candidates were determined by a pre-publicized algorithm using
draw key numbers and the number of applicants– Algorithm : The key number was divided by the number of competing
applicants; 1 was added to the remainder; the result was the winner’s number
Copyright © 2001 Japan Registry Service Co., Ltd.

23Complaints Filing (1)• When a complaint could be filed– Submission of a complaint was accepted if it was believedthat the winner of a Category 2 draw decision did notconform to the guidelines.

• Who could file complaints– Persons who had applied for the same domain nameduring the preliminary period and who were notsuccessful at the drawing• Periods of Filing Complaints– Within 30 days after the announcement of draw results
Copyright © 2001 Japan Registry Service Co., Ltd.

24Complaints Filing (2)• Complaints filing procedure– Formal documents and certificates in support ofcomplainant’s argument were to be submitted by Post
during the complaints filing period– JP registry also requested that the successful candidate
also submit the appropriate documents– With these documents, an investigation was undertaken,
to confirm whether or not there was conformation toguidelines

Copyright © 2001 Japan Registry Service Co., Ltd.

25Complaints Filing (3)• Investigation of appropriateness of application– The guidelines state that an outside panel should make judgment
regarding the difficult cases, such as domain names relating totrademarks• JP registry appointed a three-person panel to make a judgment• The panel consisted of intellectual property specialists, such as patent
attorneys• Panelists’ names and brief personal histories were made public– If it was decided that the successful candidate did rightfully
conform to the guidelines:• The candidate was confirmed as the registrant– If it was decided that the successful candidate did not conform tothe guidelines:• Another draw was held among all complainants who did
conform, to determine the registrant

Copyright © 2001 Japan Registry Service Co., Ltd.

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Concurrent Registration (Category 3)• Anyone may apply as long as the general-use JP
domain name requirements are filled (Japanese postaladdress requirement)• Applications may not be submitted for domain namesthat fall under Category 1 or Category 2• All applications made during the application period
were considered to have been received at the sametime.
• In case of competition, registrants were determined bydraw (same procedure as Category 2)
Copyright © 2001 Japan Registry Service Co., Ltd.

Results of Preliminary Registration (1)27• Priority Registration Applications
CategoryASCIIJapanese

Total

Category 1

ac.jp

34,700
8,300
0200
00
11,90012,400600
400

34,70020,10012,400800
400

Total numberof applications

43,20025,40068,500

Number of domainnames registered

39,50022,60062,100Trademarks
Category
2

Registerednames
Personalnames

Note: Numbers have been rounded to the nearest hundred
Copyright © 2001 Japan Registry Service Co., Ltd.

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Results of Preliminary Registration (2)• Concurrent Registration Applications
Category
Number ofapplications

Multipleapplications
Singleapplications
Total

Number of
domainnames

Multipleapplications
Singleapplications
Total

ASCII

Japanese

Total

32,50022,60055,10041,70023,40065,20074,20046,000120,300

4,600
22,60027,2005,200
23,40028,6009,800
46,00055,800Note: Numbers have been rounded to the nearest hundred

Copyright © 2001 Japan Registry Service Co., Ltd.

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Results of Preliminary Registration (3)• Priority Registration Application– Just 10 complaints were filed after the draw
• With comparison to the registered domain names (33,800) in
Category 2, the number of complaints were considerably below theexpected level• As the existing domain name space where disputes are rare wasprioritized, general-use JP domain name registration service started
stably along with the introduction of sunrise period for registeredtrademarks– Approx. 80% of Tokyo Stock Exchange I listing madeapplication• Importance of General-Use JP domain names for the domestic
companies is recognized.

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Results of Preliminary Registration (4)30• Concurrent Registration Applications– About 120,000 applications were submitted during theperiod• It was ascertained that treating those applications as being
concurrently received did reduce the operational workload.
• There was an average of 2.2 applications for each domain name,which showed a high level of competition.

– Number of applications received at the start of the firstcome, first-served service did not explode•• Operations began smoothly, without an overload of either thecomputer system or human resources.
The preliminary registration application system was effective in smoothing
implementation of general-use JP domain names, and by synergistic effectwith the JP-DRP enforcement, domain name disputes were considered tobe effectively controlled. (As of 24/Aug/2001, only one complaint had
been submitted.)
Copyright © 2001 Japan Registry Service Co., Ltd.

Domain Name Registration
Organizational Structure

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JPNIC and JPRS
• JPRS was incorporated as a for-profit company, inorder to more flexibly and effectively cope with thegrowing needs in the domain name registrationindustry.
– The Japan Network Information Center (JPNIC), which had
been responsible for .JP domain name registration andadministration, is a public-service organization, and is
responsible for establishing policies of JP domain names.
– Japan Registry Service Co., Ltd. (JPRS), a for-profit
company, was established on 26/Dec/2000 to register andadminister JP domain names and operate the domain namesystem.
Copyright © 2001 Japan Registry Service Co., Ltd.

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JPRS and JP Registrars• The Registry and Registrars’ responsibilities for thegeneral-use JP domain names were clearly distinguishedby the separation of services for registrants. This resulted
in enhanced the operational scalability of JP domain nameregistration.
– The registry (JPRS) administers general-use JP domainnames to avoid duplication, and provides DNS andWHOIS database services.
– The JP registrars (designated service providers) act as awindow for registrants, providing continuous support.

Copyright © 2001 Japan Registry Service Co., Ltd.