.bentley New gTLD Application
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New gTLD Application Submitted to ICANN by: Bentley Motors Limited
String: BENTLEY
Originally Posted: 13 June 2012
Application ID: 1-1096-37266
Applicant Information
- Full legal name
Bentley Motors Limited
- Address of the principal place of business
Pymʹs Lane
Crewe Cheshire CW1 3PL
GB
- Phone number
+44 1270 255 155
- Fax number
- If applicable, website or URL
http:⁄⁄www.bentleymotors.com
Primary Contact
6(a). Name
Mr. Andrew Douglas Stewart Lothian
6(b). Title
Company Solicitor
6(c). Address
6(d). Phone Number
+44 131 226 0660
6(e). Fax Number
+44 131 225 6408
6(f). Email Address
Secondary Contact
7(a). Name
Ms. Penelope Elizabeth Main Hearn
7(b). Title
Director
7(c). Address
7(d). Phone Number
+44 131 226 0665
7(e). Fax Number
7(f). Email Address
Proof of Legal Establishment
8(a). Legal form of the Applicant
Private company limited by shares
8(b). State the specific national or other jursidiction that defines the type of entity identified in 8(a).
Company incorporated under the Companies Acts of the United Kingdom. National jurisdiction: United Kingdom. Specific law that defines the type of entity identified in 8(a): Companies Act 2006.
8(c). Attach evidence of the applicant's establishment.
Attachments are not displayed on this form.
9(a). If applying company is publicly traded, provide the exchange and symbol.
9(b). If the applying entity is a subsidiary, provide the parent company.
Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft (ultimate parent); Volkswagen International Finance N.V. (direct parent).
9(c). If the applying entity is a joint venture, list all joint venture partners.
Applicant Background
11(a). Name(s) and position(s) of all directors
Alisdair Stewart Director
Christine Gaskell Director
Hans Dieter Pötsch Director
Jan-Henrik Lafrentz Director
Martin Winterkorn Director
Michael Straughan Director
Rolf Frech Director
Wolfgang Dürheimer Director
11(b). Name(s) and position(s) of all officers and partners
11(c). Name(s) and position(s) of all shareholders holding at least 15% of shares
Volkswagen International Finance N.V. Not Applicable
11(d). For an applying entity that does not have directors, officers, partners, or shareholders: Name(s) and position(s) of all individuals having legal or executive responsibility
Applied-for gTLD string
- Provide the applied-for gTLD string. If an IDN, provide the U-label.
BENTLEY
14(a). If an IDN, provide the A-label (beginning with "xn--").
14(b). If an IDN, provide the meaning or restatement of the string in English, that is, a description of the literal meaning of the string in the opinion of the applicant.
14(c). If an IDN, provide the language of the label (in English).
14(c). If an IDN, provide the language of the label (as referenced by ISO-639-1).
14(d). If an IDN, provide the script of the label (in English).
14(d). If an IDN, provide the script of the label (as referenced by ISO 15924).
14(e). If an IDN, list all code points contained in the U-label according to Unicode form.
15(a). If an IDN, Attach IDN Tables for the proposed registry.
Attachments are not displayed on this form.
15(b). Describe the process used for development of the IDN tables submitted, including consultations and sources used.
15(c). List any variant strings to the applied-for gTLD string according to the relevant IDN tables.
- Describe the applicant's efforts to ensure that there are no known operational or rendering problems concerning the applied-for gTLD string. If such issues are known, describe steps that will be taken to mitigate these issues in software and other applications.
The applied for gTLD string will not cause any operational or rendering problems. The applied for string is in ASCII and uses alphabetic characters only. The string, and its use in application will not be syntactically different than any existing Top Level Domains. The intend-use applications are alphabetical-string agnostic and the applied for gTLD string is not a reserved top level domain string (from RFC2606).
- (OPTIONAL) Provide a representation of the label according to the International Phonetic Alphabet (http://www.langsci.ucl.ac.uk/ipa/).
Mission/Purpose
18(a). Describe the mission/purpose of your proposed gTLD.
Mission
dot BENTLEY will augment the Applicant’s commitment to Driving Luxury Performance, the brand’s essence.
In this new namespace, Internet traffic will be driven to sites that are a reflection of the brand and users will gain the full benefit of the Bentley experience, secure in the knowledge of its authentic, credible and reliable source. dot BENTLEY will be positioned, promoted and deployed as the single, dependable and trustworthy domain for Internet users to access information relating to the brand.
Applicant’s History
Bentley is the definitive British prestige motor car company, dedicated to developing and crafting the world’s most desirable high performance cars.
The Applicantʹs origins date back to 1919 when Mr. Walter Owen Bentley built Bentley Number One at a property in New Street Mews in London, England. The company rapidly became a byword for motor racing success (winning the Le Mans twenty four hour race six times between 1924 and 2003) and, following acquisition by Rolls-Royce in 1931, Bentley became synonymous with luxury motoring.
Between 1931 and 1998 the Applicant was known as ʹRolls Royce and Bentley Motor Carsʹ and following acquisition by Volkswagen AG in 1998 the Applicantʹs name reverted to Bentley Motors Limited. Thereafter, the Applicant commenced a £500 million investment programme to improve its factory facilities and support future product development programmes. It now employs approximately 4,000 staff worldwide and has a global retail network in excess of 175 dealerships including 52 in Europe and 38 in the USA. The Applicant registered the domain name bentleymotors.com on September 26, 1996 in the early days of the commercial Internet and bentleymotors.com has been the Applicantʹs online home on the Internet for over fifteen years.
Globally, the company sold just over 7,000 motor cars in 2011, a year-on-year growth of 37% from 2010.
More details of the Applicantʹs history with comprehensive information on the companyʹs activities in every decade from 1910-1919 to 2000-2009 are available on the Applicantʹs website at http:⁄⁄www.bentleymotors.com⁄distinguished_heritage⁄history⁄1910__1919.
Bentley - the brand
Many unmistakable characteristics define a Bentley - handcrafted luxury, distinctive design, breathtaking power and performance, a refined and exhilarating driving experience. Yet it is the combination of these characteristics that make the brand so unique. A Bentley is unmistakable - all it takes is a glance at the twin headlights, matrix grille or the high waistline to know one. The paradox is that although the car is instantly recognisable, it takes time and effort to hand-build each one using the finest quality natural materials.
Bentley has always been about passion. In fact, its entire reputation rests on the experienced skills and passion of its people, handed down through generations. Many say that they work on each Bentley as if it were going to be their car. It’s no wonder that every machinist who creates a set of upholstery signs the back with their initials.
Rather than focusing on typical marketing characteristics, Bentley seek to create the essence of the brand which speaks to several, diverse, audiences with one common voice. dot BENTLEY will enable the Applicant to communicate this essence to these various groups with that same singular voice in an online environment. This will be innovative, ground breaking and indicative of Bentley’s commitment to Driving Excellence by driving Internet traffic to its TLD.
Audiences - the community of interest surrounding dot BENTLEY
The present application is not for a Community-based Designation. The Applicant intends the TLD to represent its brand on the Internet. Nevertheless, it is important to note that the TLD will focus on Bentley’s communications with an online audience who are interested in the brand - which might be described as a ‘community of interest’. This group of interested parties is diverse and covers both internal and external stakeholders.
Internally, the audience for the new TLD includes the Applicant’s various business units and personnel. Externally, it covers third parties who are close to the brand, namely customers, suppliers, potential employees including those interested in the Applicant’s apprentice programme, the dealer network, franchisees and licensees; together with the media and the extensive group of Bentley enthusiasts including those interested in heritage and motorsport. Accordingly, where throughout this application the expression ‘community of interest’ is mentioned, it means this diverse group of Internet users who will ultimately engage with dot BENTLEY.
dot BENTLEY - a new online resource within the namespace
It is anticipated that post delegation, dot BENTLEY will be promoted as the single source for trusted on-line communication related to the Applicant, its range of products and other related information and resources. Internet users will be encouraged (via a range of marketing techniques) to recognise and only access information contained at dot BENTLEY as being the exclusive trustworthy source of data relating to the company and its automobiles.
The delegation of dot BENTLEY will negate the opportunity for confusion among Internet users as communication from the Applicant will educate them to appreciate that no other source can provide the levels of assurance of trust that will be found at this new TLD.
It is anticipated that immediately following delegation of dot BENTLEY, second level domains will be limited to modest numbers. For example, www.bentley and⁄or mulsanne.bentley. In this way, the Applicant will afford itself the opportunity to begin the process of educating Internet users to access data about the brand at this new TLD. The requirements for this task should not be underestimated; Internet users have long been accustomed to .com and the indigenous ccTLD for the country in which they are domiciled. Accordingly, the Applicant intends that the promotion of dot BENTLEY will be continuous and vigorous such that the Registry will achieve its promotional goals.
Traffic to the TLD will be continuously analysed to determine the number of users continuing to access the Applicant at bentleymotors.com and those that are migrating to the new platform over time. As the education process gathers momentum and traffic increases, Bentley would seek to deploy greater numbers of domains at the second level for example accessories.bentley, parts.bentley, service.bentley etc.
It is difficult to establish just how long it will take to migrate Internet users however it is anticipated that within a 24 month period there will be a sufficient shift in patterns of behaviour, warranting increases in the deployment of domains at the second level.
Looking further to the future, the Applicant anticipates that within 36 months of delegation all on-line communication will be accessed at dot BENTLEY and that vistors to the .com domains and other generic and country code TLDs will be redirected to the new TLD.
Throughout this process, the Applicant will conduct regular research among Internet users to quantify the effects of the education process and its effectiveness in establishing dot BENTLEY in the consciousness of the community of interest. This combination of traffic analysis and user feedback will provide useful data and intelligence as to the success of the new TLD post delegation.
It is also anticipated that dot BENTLEY will be deployed for a variety of Internet services besides the World Wide Web; specifically email for the dissemination of internal and external information.
18(b). How do you expect that your proposed gTLD will benefit registrants, Internet users, and others?
- Goal
Introduction
The overall goal of the dot BENTLEY top level domain is to drive excellence by becoming the trusted, authentic resource for online communication from and with the Applicant. This is the goal for dot BENTLEY’s specialty.
The Applicant has established a global reputation for an extremely high quality product and service levels that are the very best in the motoring industry worldwide. Its brand defines Driving Luxury Performance. The Applicant believes that, as the exclusive official online resource for the Bentley brand, dot BENTLEY will swiftly develop a quality reputation derived in large part from the Applicant’s own consistently strong, authentic and dynamic status. This is the goal for dot BENTLEY’s reputation.
Building on its longstanding experience of engagement with its community of interest via the Internet, the Applicant plans to use the gTLD to take the user experience to the next level - that of a newly relevant namespace which will directly engage the Internet user. The Applicant prides itself on its responsiveness to external and internal stakeholders, whether they be customers, the media, licensees or individuals within the dealer network. The Applicant believes that its existing approach can be further enhanced by delivering relevant information to the relevant Internet user via the newly relevant namespace, thus giving rise to the best of communication. This is the goal for dot BENTLEY’s service level.
The Internet and Bentley
Bentley has engaged with the commercial Internet since 1996. Its website at the URL www.bentleymotors.com serves as a source of information for its entire community of interest.
The Applicant’s website seeks to reach out to all parties who may be interested in the Bentley brand. Accordingly, it seeks to offer information to potential buyers as well as details in which wider enthusiasts may have an interest such as clubs and associations, factory tours and official merchandise. The site offers support to owners of Heritage Bentleys and provides a retail portal for the purchase of accessories and pre-owned vehicles.
dot BENTLEY is seen by the Applicant as a natural progression in its commitment to this very real and substantial online community of over 600,000 monthly visitors. It will serve to expand the Applicant’s commitment to Driving Luxury Performance into this new namespace such that corresponding Internet traffic will be driven to sites where users will gain the full benefit of the Bentley experience, secure in the knowledge of its authentic, credible and reliable source.
The Applicant is the definitive British luxury car company; it specialises in developing, crafting and selling the most desirable of automobiles and the Bentley brand stands for such values as power, exclusivity and individuality. Bentley’s vision is to become the world’s most successful luxury car company. These aims would be underpinned by the deployment of dot BENTLEY. Via this top level domain, Bentley will build on its reputation of exemplary customer satisfaction and sustainable business success.
These reputational drivers will be reinforced at every website associated with the dot BENTLEY TLD and will create a seamless online environment.
dot BENTLEY: Driving the Brand - Driving the Traffic
At Bentley’s core is a commitment to driving excellence - at the core of dot BENTLEY will be these same values in terms of driving Internet traffic to associated web sites, delivering a luxurious and individual user journey and an online performance concomitant with the offline experience.
In providing an exclusive top level resource for the community of interest in the Bentley brand, the Applicant will establish dot BENTLEY as one of the leading facets of the post-delegation new gTLD landscape. dot BENTLEY will serve to bring relevance and indeed innovation to the namespace, aligning with ICANN’s own goals for this important online development.
The delegation of dot BENTLEY will negate the opportunity for confusion as communication from the Applicant will educate Internet users to understand that no other source can provide the levels of assurance of trust that will be found at the new TLD.
Post-Delegation activities
It is anticipated that immediately following delegation of dot BENTLEY, second level domains will be limited to modest numbers. In this way, the Applicant will afford itself the opportunity to begin the process of educating Internet users to access the brand at this new TLD. The promotion of dot BENTLEY will require to be continuous and vigorous such that the Registry will achieve its promotional goals.
The analysis of traffic to the newly established TLD will be an ongoing process which will be regularly monitored to determine the number of users that continue to access the Applicant at bentleymotors.com and those that are migrating to the new platform over time. As the education process gathers momentum and the numbers of unique hits increase, Bentley would seek to deploy greater numbers of domains at the second level for example accessories.bentley, parts.bentley, service.bentley etc.
It is difficult to establish just how long it will take to move Internet users from what is the current norm however it is anticipated that within a twelve month period there will be sufficient shift in users patterns of behaviour which will warrant an increase in the deployment of domains at the second level.
Looking further to the future, the Applicant anticipates that within 36 months of delegation all on-line communication will be accessed at dot BENTLEY and that visitors to the .com domains and other generic and country code TLDs will be redirected to the new TLD.
The Applicant will conduct regular research to quantify the results of their education process and its effectiveness in establishing dot BENTLEY in Internet users’ consciousness.
- Competition, Differentiation, and Innovation
Introduction
Throughout the life of the Internet there have been many innovations that have improved trust and confidence among its userbase and which have in turn led to the development of enhanced products and services; the invention of the SSL certificate to name but one. However, there has to date been no corresponding advancement in the namespace itself.
With dot BENTLEY, the Applicant proposes to provide just such an innovation, namely an official brand resource, as a component of the generic namespace at the top level, which will be the trusted location for communications from and with the brand owner, directed at all of the relevant communities of interest. The opportunity to provide such an innovative resource within a TLD is unprecedented.
Through a variety of second level domains of close relevance to the Bentley brand, mission, values and goals, the Applicant will in time extend its pursuit of Driving Luxury Performance further into this new namespace such that the corresponding Internet traffic will arrive at the full benefit of the Bentley experience, secure in the knowledge of its authentic, credible and reliable source.
Today, Bentley stands for “powerful, exquisite and individual”. This unique message of exclusivity will be conveyed via the trusted and powerful resource that will underpin a dedicated top level generic domain name for the brand, both to differentiate the Applicant from other luxury car manufacturers and to innovate in methods of communication with all interested parties.
Previous challenges in the existing namespace
There are multiple parties who would seek to compromise the Applicant’s brand values in the existing namespace by registering domain names that aim to confuse Internet users and indeed divert traffic away from Bentley’s bona fide on-line offering. This is evidenced by various enforcement actions (including UDRP complaints) that have been necessitated by malicious activity of this nature. By establishing a strong and reliable presence at dot BENTLEY however the Applicant will be in a position to provide ABSOLUTE reassurance to Internet users that the dot BENTLEY TLD is the source of trusted data about the brand.
Furthermore, the existing namespace has made it somewhat challenging in the past for any organization with a global dealer network to be able to ensure consistency of approach and, more importantly, presentation within domain names throughout that network. Today, most brands strive to deliver dealer consistency via contractual arrangements however with a series of open namespaces and with a large and global dealer network this becomes difficult to police. Inevitably, consumer confusion can result from dealers adopting a range of different naming approaches.
It follows therefore that the delegation of dot BENTLEY will augment the existing domain name space by removing the opportunity for vulnerability among Internet users who may be deceived by confusingly similar domains in the existing space or simply unsure as to the authenticity of the dealership network. Further, by establishing dot BENTLEY, Internet users will be able to differentiate between the bona fide on-line offering and those of questionable or even merely unauthorized third parties.
Innovation and differentiation
It is anticipated that post delegation the TLD will be deployed in a variety of visionary and innovative ways including new ways of allocating domains at the second level for use by the Bentley dealer network. These could in turn be developed for the deployment of unique and innovative applications that could be exclusive to their field.
A Bentley motor car is, in its physical being, a vehicle that differentiates its driver from the crowd. The delegation of dot BENTLEY will further serve to differentiate the Applicant from other motor manufacturers and create an exclusive on-line presence for the communities the Applicant seeks to serve and with whom it seeks to communicate.
In time to come the Applicant envisages that the namespace could be the venue for the deployment of exciting and innovative automotive technologies which will allow owners the ability to communicate with their vehicles or simply to engage more efficiently and directly with the Applicant or its dealer network. While many of these technologies have yet to progress beyond the level of research and development it is inevitable that all such innovations will be enhanced by the ability to be deployed within a trusted portion of the namespace such as dot BENTLEY.
It is also noteworthy that the application is in itself an indicator of the far sightedness of the Applicant and is demonstrative of innovation. In an offline setting, the Applicant constantly seeks to innovate in its research and development programme for the production of pioneering motor vehicles. The application for dot BENTLEY is an extrapolation of that very same commitment.
- User Experience
In common with the themes adopted throughout this application the proposed gTLD will aim to establish a trusted presence for the Applicant at dot BENTLEY. Quite simply, dot BENTLEY will be developed to convey all that the brand stands for in the offline world to Internet users world wide.
The user experience itself will be as long as it is broad although at its core will be the key goal of relevance and authenticity of content, direct from the Bentley brand owner. Much of the individual experience will depend upon the stakeholder, whether they be internal or external, and whether they be customer, dealer, media or licensee.
The Applicant has historically been an innovative user of the present namespace to enhance relevance of content for its Internet users. The volume of relevant third level subdomains in the Applicant’s core domain, from continentalgt.bentleymotors.com to supersports.bentleymotors.com which point to specific content (and indeed which fulfil distinct yet consistent user experiences) bears witness. Such use of the existing namespace is true of relatively few brand owners. The Applicant intends to build on its innovations in the existing namespace by developing similar and extended relevant resources in the second level of dot BENTLEY.
dot BENTLEY will provide the Applicant with the eventual capability to personalise the user experience in line with the “Individual - ‘made for me’” aspect of its brand essence and values. This will give rise to a highly relevant user experience, compared to doing so via a third level domain within an existing open gTLD such as .com. While however this is the ultimate goal for the domain, the Applicant proposes a gentle migration to this new space so as to minimise the potential for confusion. Accordingly, while the Applicant looks forward to the ultimate goal, the initial user experience for dot BENTLEY can be expected to be closer to that of the Applicant’s existing online presence which, in itself, provides a powerful experience commensurate with Bentley brand values.
- Registration Policies
The Applicant proposes the dot BENTLEY Registry Domain Management Policy (DMP) designed to ensure 100% compliance with establishing a trusted presence on the Internet.
- Eligibility
Only Bentley Motors Limited will be eligible to register second level domains at dot BENTLEY. Thus the only registrant of any given second level domain within the TLD will be the Applicant. In this manner, the Applicant’s goals of authenticity, credibility and reliability together with the assurances it proposes to its community of interest, all as mentioned throughout this application, may be assured. Furthermore, only proposals for registration containing an appropriate statement as to the business need for the domain name and emanating from or sponsored by personnel within the Applicant and its group of companies will be entitled to proceed to authorization.
- Authorization
The Applicant will establish a Naming Committee which will authorize second level names to be registered. This group will comprise senior members of the Applicant’s personnel. Initially, they will meet on a weekly basis (depending on the number of applications for second level domains) and thereafter at regular intervals. The opportunity to conduct interim ad hoc meetings will be provided should the need arise. The Naming Committee will consider all applications from within the group to add domains at the second level. This scrutiny will ensure that rogue, bogus or unofficial second level domains will not be authorised and indeed that suitable internal due diligence will be performed before new registrations are effected.
- Scrutiny
The Naming Committee will consider each proposed domain name from the perspective of the goals established for the top level domain as outlined throughout this application. This is, in effect, merely a slightly more sophisticated version of the policy already in force within the Applicant for the scrutiny of proposed third level domains within its current core domain name, bentleymotors.com, which has today around 500 third level sub-domains each of which has been individually assessed by an authorized official point of contact within the Applicant prior to its entry in the relevant zone file. Once a proposed second level domain passes this scrutiny it will proceed to clearance as outlined below.
- First clearance check
As part of their remit, the Naming Committee will instruct that a clearance check be carried out on all proposed second level domains with a view to minimizing the possibility of infringement of third party rights. This will be achieved via meticulous checking of various online resources (such as the relevant trademark registries). In essence, it is anticipated that this process will be no different from the typical clearance check in which the Applicant engages should it be developing a new sub-brand within the overall Bentley brand.
It should be noted that the Applicant considers that it is highly unlikely that desired second level domain names within dot BENTLEY will fail a clearance check principally because only personnel within the Applicant will be seeking the registration of such domain names. Accordingly, the prospect of intentionally abusive registrations being entered within the registry is extremely low and in fact probably nil.
- Submission to registrar and second clearance check
Authorised domains will be thereafter be submitted by the Naming Committee, or by an official within the Applicant upon whom the requisite permission has been delegated by the Naming Committee, for registration via an ICANN Accredited Registrar. In light of the eligibility requirements, the Registrar will only be entitled to take registration instructions from the Naming Committee or from a person within the Applicant having the Committee’s delegated authority. The Registrar will, either at the request of the Naming Committee or at random, undertake further checks such as a check within ICANN’s proposed Trademark Clearinghouse to ensure that the rights of third parties are not in any way compromised by the registration of specific domains.
- Registration
Following any further checks as outlined above, the Registrar will proceed to register the desired second level domain name within the registry. The registrant of all such domain names will be the Applicant.
Clearly in addition to the DMP, and post delegation of dot BENTLEY, the Applicant will institute a Sunrise period for initial registrations, utilizing the Trademark Clearinghouse as mandated by ICANN. That said, given the eligibility rule outlined above, only the Applicant will be entitled to request that domain names be registered in dot BENTLEY and accordingly third parties will not require to protect their intellectual property in this new generic top level domain.
- Privacy and Confidential Information
As noted at (iv), only the Applicant will be (within the policies of the Registry) eligible to register at dot BENTLEY. Accordingly, there will be no need to maintain registrant privacy as there can only be one – i.e. Bentley Motors Limited.
The Applicant is already committed to user privacy. Its current Privacy Statement may be reviewed online at its website. It is not at present anticipated that users will supply personal data in connection with dot BENTLEY however should this change (such as with possible innovations outlined in this application) Bentley will simply apply its Privacy Statement then in force to such data. With the restrictive registration policy outlined above, assuring the privacy of users should be straightforward.
Outreach and Communications
It will be vitally important for the Applicant to reach out to its community of interest. Bentley is known for its drive to create curiosity and innovation. The promotion of the new TLD will be an extension of these embedded values.
To promote dot BENTLEY, the Applicant will develop a communications programme (both on and offline) to include advertisements, posters, public relations and outreach to the dealer network. The programme will also encompass such audiences as schools and local community groups; graduate and apprentice audiences as well as the extensive base of enthusiasts.
The Applicant will seek to implement the above noted communications programme from the date of execution of the Registry Agreement. Between this time and delegation, it will work relentlessly to ensure that the launch will be abundantly anticipated and the transitional journey from .com to dot BENTLEY will have begun.
18(c). What operating rules will you adopt to eliminate or minimize social costs?
- Resolution of Multiple Applications
As noted above only the Applicant will be (within the policies of the Registry) eligible to register at dot BENTLEY. Accordingly, there will not be multiple applications for a particular second level domain from multiple different registrants.
- Cost Benefits for Registrants
As the Applicant will be the only registrant and domain names will not be supplied to third parties on a cost basis, there is no necessity for advantageous pricing, introductory discounts, bulk registration discounts etc. There will thus be no domain name registration costs imposed upon consumers to access information under dot BENTLEY and thus the advent of this new brand focused TLD will be highly beneficial to Bentley’s community of interest and consumers in particular.
Similarly, given the Registry’s policies, there will be no costs to other brand owners seeking to effect blocking registrations in this TLD.
The single registrant policy will also ensure that this TLD will be good for consumers as it will minimize confusion and ergo consumer vulnerabilities. As noted under the heading “Previous challenges in the existing namespace” under question 18(b) above, the advent of a brand-exclusive top level domain in dot BENTLEY will provide absolute reassurance to consumers as to the source of trusted data about the brand. Furthermore, the Applicant’s plans to mandate a new consistency of approach in naming for its dealer network under the dot BENTLEY TLD will allow consumers to differentiate with clarity and certainty between official dealerships and unauthorized third parties.
Further and in the fullness of time, the Applicant anticipates a reduction in its current costs for the maintenance of its existing portfolio as it plans to migrate its Internet presence from the present provision to dot BENTLEY.
- Contractual Commitments to Registrants
As the Applicant will be the only eligible registrant and domain names will not be supplied to third parties on a cost basis, there is no requirement for contractual commitments on price escalation.