World Wide Alliance of Top Level Domain-names

ccTLD ICANN Meetings in Marina del Rey

MINC Position to Multilingual Community on Multilingual Domain Names

(Draft) version 0.3, presented for ccTLD Marina del Rey meeting in Nov 2001

• Oct. 26 Draft Position version 0.1
• Oct. 31 Draft Position version 0.2
• Nov. 3 Draft Position version 0.3

Comments received after version 0.2

• Stefan Probst, Nov. 1(MINC Individual member)
• Kilnam Chon, Nov 1(MINC Organization member)
• John Klensin, Nov. 1(IAB Chair, IETF)

Comments received after version 0.1

• Stefan Probst, October 28th(MINC Individual member)
• Kilnam Chon, October 29th(MINC Organization member)
• David Conrad, October 31st(MINC Board member)
• John Klensin's personal opinion(IAB Chair, IETF)

I. Introduction

MINC's mission is to promote multilingual Internet names. The promotional efforts will cover the whole spectrum of the names' life cycle from R&D to service. In order to promote, MINC will cooperate with other global organizations such as ICANN(IDN Committee, etc), IETF, ISO, and Unicode as well as many other regional and national organizations.

In this position paper, MINC addresses the internationalized domain names under ASCII TLDs(ccTLD and gTLD) and multilingual TLDs.

MINC also works on non-domain names such as Keywords, which will be addressed in a separate position paper later.

III. Interoperability Testing

To ensure interoperability, MINC should initiate call for interoperability testing to ensure each of these systems interoperate with each other. All vendors and TLDs who participate in interoperability testing will get a certificate of participation and if they achieve interoperable status, receive a stamp of MINC Interoperability.

As the IETF protocol specifications, both for multilingual names in the DNS and for high-level searching and keyword functions are completed, MINC expects to review the work and where appropriate, recommend to ICANN that mutlilingual interoperability certification requirements be included in the requirements for registrar certification.

IV. mTLD(multilingual TLD) Space Plans

Before Internet community explores mlTLDs, MINC proposes to seek cooperation from the relavant organizations such as Internet Coporation for Assigned Names and Numbers(ICANN) by informing them that identified challenges which shall be implemented with the relevant bodies' cooperation.

While recognizing the inherent complexities and tradeoffs, MINC and its members continue to believe in the importance of evolving to a system in which top-level domains can be expressed in the language of the user and/or that of the relevant countries.

MINC looks forward to working with ICANN, regional and language-based organizations and to achieve this goal while preserving seamless connectivity and international accessibility across the Internet. The regional and language organizations identified so far are

• Arabic Internet Names Consortium
  AINC: To be provided later.
• Chinese Domain Names Consortium
  CDNC: http://www.cdnc.org/e-index.shtml
• Japanese Domain Names Association
  JDNA: http://www.jdna.jp/index-e.html
• International Forum for Information Technology in Tamil
  INFITT: http://www.infitt.org/

V. mTLD Space Dispute Resolution

Where there are more than one party wishing to have rights to mlTLD, MINC volunteers as a coordinator together with ICANN which shall be explored between the two entities to coordinate all requests for right to operate a "mTLD", and form an "Arbitration Committee" to provide the coordination.

VI. Language code TLD(lcTLD) Space Coordination with ccTLD Group

MINC Board will issue a call for proposal to all ccTLDs in conjunction with ICANN to invite them to set up language code TLDs(mlcTLDs).

1. AINC on formalising multilingual TLDs in Arabic
   (list to be worked out between AINC and MINC)
2. INFITT on formalising multilingual TLDs in Tamil
   (list to be worked out between INFITT and MINC)
3. An expanded CDNC including other Chinese speaking stakeholders in other places on formalising multilingual TLDs in Chinese(Zhongwen)
   (list to be worked out between CDNC and MINC)
4. IAK, NNC, KRNIC on formalising multilingual TLD in Hangul
   (list to be worked out between would-be entity and MINC)
5. Russian WG on formali multilingual TLDs in Russian
   (list to be worked out between would-be entity and MINC)

Appendix: Terminology Definition

• Multilingual TLD(mTLD)
  • Multilingual ccTLD: Local language version of ccTLD
  • Multilingual gTLD: Local language version of gTLD
• Language Code TLD(lcTLD)
  • TLDs based on language codes
• Multilingual Language Code TLD(mlcTLD)
  • Local language version of language code TLD