Ref: IDN-Sun Title: IDN Sunrise Registration Policy Version: 0.4   This policy will come into effect on Tuesday 6 April 2010.

This policy is issued by Domain Name Commission Limited (DNC or Domain Name Commission) on behalf of InternetNZ, Internet New Zealand Incorporated.

Internationalised Domain Names (IDN) - Sunrise Registration Policy

SECTION A - Policy

1. Statement of Purpose

1.1 This policy allows for the registration of domain names with macronised vowels which feature in the Māori language, an official language under New Zealand law.

1.2 This policy sets out the policy and process under which .nz Internationalised Domain Names (IDNs) may be registered during the initial sunrise registration period.

1.3 The general policy principle will be that apart from the conditions of the initial sunrise registration period, there will be no other restrictions placed on the registrations of IDNs in .nz.

2. Background Information

2.1 InternetNZ has the ultimate responsibility within New Zealand for the .nz domain name space (DNS), and has implemented a Shared Registry System (SRS) for the management of .nz domain name registrations and the operation of the DNS. InternetNZ has appointed the Domain Name Commission ("DNC") to manage and administer the .nz domain name space on behalf of InternetNZ.

2.2 Previously, domain names in the .nz space only allowed the 26 basic English (Latin) alphabet characters a-z, digits and the '-' hyphen. The Māori alphabet has an additional five characters, the macronised vowels ā, ē, ī, ō and ū, which were previously not allowed in .nz domain names. IDN registrations will widen the allowable character set in the .nz domain space to include these five characters. Please note that only the five lower case vowels are permitted.

2.3 Beginning with the IDN sunrise registration period, .nz Registrants will be able to make applications to register domain names in the .nz space using this extended character set.

3. Sunrise Registration Period

3.1 An IDN registration can consist of only Latin alphabet characters (letters), digits, the '-' hyphen, ā, ē, ī, ō and ū.

3.2 To avoid potential disputes during the initial phases of IDN registrations in .nz a policy of a sunrise period for registrations has been implemented. Due to the nature of the Māori language it is impossible to automatically assign IDN variants to current .nz domain names.

3.3 The policies for IDN registrations are in line with the rest of the .nz policies and procedures (which can be viewed at www.dnc.org.nz/policies). These express the core registration principles of the current system which will apply to IDN registrations. In particular the "first come, first served" principle which will apply to IDNs after the sunrise period concludes.

3.4 If current .nz Registrants wish to register an IDN variant of their current names, they must do so during the sunrise period or risk losing the variant to another application on a first come first served basis.

3.5 A registration term of one month will be placed on successful IDN variant applications made under the conditions of the sunrise period.

3.6 The Registrar for the IDN variant registered during the sunrise period will be the same one who manages the original ASCII name.

3.7 The sunrise registration period will run from Tuesday 6 April to Tuesday 6 July 2010.

3.8 Once the sunrise period and the associated review and processing phases have concluded (as per the process below), IDN registrations in the .nz space will be available on a first come first served basis just as .nz registrations are currently under the Registering, Managing and Cancelling policy.

4. General Information

4.1 If anyone has any questions regarding this document please email policies@dnc.org.nz

SECTION B - Process

1. Applications for IDN registrations during the sunrise period must be made through the Domain Name Commission website at www.dnc.org.nz. The appropriate forms will be available from Monday 6 April for the duration of the sunrise registration period.

2. Applications for IDN registrations during the sunrise period will be collected within the set time frame and then reviewed as a totality once the sunrise period has closed.

3. In the event that any dispute arises from multiple applications received for the same IDN variant or from issues relating to the use of double vowels, a random selection process will apply.

4. NZRS staff will then process the required registration information for the new IDN registrations.

5. IDN registrations applied for during the sunrise period will become active on the IDN launch date.