.landrover New gTLD Application
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New gTLD Application Submitted to ICANN by: Jaguar Land Rover Ltd
String: landrover
Originally Posted: 13 June 2012
Application ID: 1-2032-73816
Applicant Information
- Full legal name
Jaguar Land Rover Ltd
- Address of the principal place of business
Abbey Road
Whitley Coventry CV3 4LF
GB
- Phone number
+44 1926641111
- Fax number
+44 2476 303 080
- If applicable, website or URL
http:⁄⁄www.landrover.com
Primary Contact
6(a). Name
Robert Stuart Carr
6(b). Title
Digital Portfolio Manager
6(c). Address
6(d). Phone Number
+44 1926 649745
6(e). Fax Number
+44 1926 649403
6(f). Email Address
Secondary Contact
7(a). Name
Terence Anthony Dudman
7(b). Title
Digital Specialist
7(c). Address
7(d). Phone Number
+44 1926 649773
7(e). Fax Number
+44 1926 649403
7(f). Email Address
Proof of Legal Establishment
8(a). Legal form of the Applicant
Corporation
8(b). State the specific national or other jursidiction that defines the type of entity identified in 8(a).
United Kingdom
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.
Jaguar Land Rover PLC
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
Desmond Maurice Thurlby Human Resources
Kenneth David Matheson Gregor Chief Financial Officer
Michael David Wright Customer Services
Paul William Cope Manufacturing
Philip Colin Popham Managing Director
Phillip Hodgkinson Product Development
Ralf Dieter Speth Chairman & CEO
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
Jaguar Land Rover PLC 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.
landrover
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 .landrover string and A-Label were developed in line with and checked against the eligibility, stability and policy criteria as stated in the ICANN Applicant Guidebook - version 2012-01-11. The results of those checks are as follows:
- The string has less than 63 characters;
- The string in ASCII is composed of three or more visually distinct characters;
- The ASCII label consists entirely of letters;
- The string is not a reserved name as shown in section 2.2.1.2.1 - Reserved Names of the ICANN Applicant Guidebook - version 2012-01-11; and
- .landrover is not identical or similar to any of the top 10 invalid TLD’s responsible for the majority of DNS pollution, as referenced in the Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC)’s report on this topic at http:⁄⁄www.icann.org⁄en⁄committees⁄security⁄sac045.pdf. It is likely that the .landrover has not already been queried with meaningful frequency at the root. Therefore, it is unlikely that .landrover will inherit significant invalid query traffic.
Due to the positive results of these checks, Land Rover does not believe that the .landrover gTLD will be subject to any operational or rendering problems.
- (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.
THE MISSION AND PURPOSE OF THE NEW RESTRICTED .LANDROVER gTLD IS TO BENEFIT INTERNET USERS BY ENSURING INCREASED TRUST AND CONFIDENCE THROUGH THE ELIMINATION OF USER CONFUSION AND ASSURANCE OF BRAND AUTHENTICITY.
The new .landrover gTLD will operate as a restricted registry, in which Land Rover can create and control domain spaces that promote its brand identity and authenticity. In this regard, the .landrover gTLD will be used by Land Rover to provide information and services regarding its luxury four-wheel drive and off-road vehicles to consumers in a way that promotes trust, confidence and simplicity. The .landrover gTLD will provide an authoritative internet space for Land Rover, its affiliates and partners that are associated with the Land Rover brand. Second and third level domains can then be utilised for specific pages for Land Rover’s car models and dealerships, as well as for communication and marketing purposes, with internet users assured of brand authenticity.
Land Rover is a premium car company that designs, develops, manufactures and sells a range of luxury four-wheel drive and off-road vehicles and related parts and accessories. Land Rover is a subsidiary of Jaguar Land Rover PLC. Land Rover has a proud heritage of producing four-wheel drive and off-road vehicles for over 60 years since the first Land Rover was unveiled in 1948. Land Rover manufactures its four-wheel drive vehicles in the UK and exports to about 140 countries around the world. Land Rover employs over 9,000 people in the UK and across the world. Land Rover is experiencing strong demand for its cars in international markets and recorded revenue for the most recent 15 month period of over GBP 6.9 billion. Land Rover constantly updates and improves its product range as part of the company’s commitment to provide technically advanced and competitively priced luxury four-wheel drive cars. In this regard, consumer trust and continuous innovation are paramount considerations in all its activities. The new .landrover gTLD will enhance Land Rover’s position as an innovative, forward-thinking car company, strengthen global online awareness of the Land Rover brand and provide an easily accessible and intuitive reference point for users to access information about Land Rover’s range of four-wheel drive and off-road cars.
Since the inception of the current domain name system, business activities conducted on the internet are constantly changing and evolving with increased complexity. The volume of commercial transactions over the internet is constantly growing and bringing benefits of simplicity and lowered transaction costs to businesses and consumers. However, at the same time, criminal activities over the internet including data breach, hacking and phishing activities have also become more sophisticated resulting in loss of consumer confidence beyond mere monetary harm. The .landrover gTLD will facilitate greater trust and assurance from internet users connecting with Land Rover online, whilst still allowing convenient and efficient interaction.
Land Rover’s mission and purpose of the proposed new gTLD share ICANN’s initiatives to promote public interest. Land Rover is committed to contribute towards achieving such initiatives in line with ICANN’s Affirmation of Commitments, which includes:
- consumer trust: .landrover gTLD will be operated in a centralised manner with a restrictive registration policy. Registration of domain names will only be available to Land Rover and its affiliate entities, at this stage, which will provide added consumer trust that .landrover domain names are trustworthy. As .landrover domain names are subject to registration standards, policies and procedures under Land Rover’s control, this eliminates the possibility of malicious conduct within the .landrover domain space;
- competition: the new gTLD is not intended to instigate competition and consumer choice at the level of registration of domain names among prospective registrants. Instead it is anticipated to contribute to ICANN’s initiatives to promote public interest through its operation focused on promoting consumer trust. Increased trust in .landrover will drive existing and new top level domain (TLD) registry operators to make improvements in mechanisms to improve consumer trust of their TLDs; and
- consumer choice: the new gTLD will enable user-driven improvements and innovations assisting Land Rover’s marketing efforts through its ability to create new second and third level domain names on demand. These names will provide the consumers with more choices for interacting with Land Rover. As Land Rover has effective control over the registration and use of domain names under .landrover, this will also contribute towards general service innovations on the internet.
Given the restricted nature of the .landrover gTLD, the projected number of registration is likely to be limited, with about 50 to 150 domain names registered in the first three years. The number of registrations is likely to increase as Land Rover updates its product range and develops new car models and marketing campaigns.
As the new .landrover gTLD expands, Land Rover will continue to comply with all operational, technical and policy requirements, as well as maintaining consumer trust and the stability of the internet. Land Rover will keep ICANN reasonably informed of any material developments relating to .landrover gTLD including compliance with the continued operations instrument obligations as set out in Specification 8 of the Registry Agreement.
Land Rover intends to create relevant domain names including Land Rover’s products, services and geographic names at the second or third level. In accordance with registration policy and the proposed measures for protection of geographic names as outlined in response to Question 22, Land Rover may use geographic names to localise its websites in countries in which it operates. The use of geographic names is intended to:
- connect internet users with relevant information as applicable to the territory; and
- comply with required rules and regulations in the national territory.
Land Rover does not intend to utilise Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) at the second level initially. However, as the use of the .landrover gTLD evolves, Land Rover may utilise IDNs within the .landrover domain space to allow internet users to engage with .landrover in their native language, creating a more positive user experience and encouraging diversity.
Land Rover is a famous global brand with its trademarks registered in 143 countries and territories for categories including: Vehicles including engines, body parts and transmissions (Class 12); Paints (Class 2); Machinery (Class 7); Paper goods and printed matter (Class 16); Non-metallic building materials (Class 19); Insurance and financial services (Class 36); and Building construction and repair (Class 37).
Land Rover has an extensive domain portfolio including domain names with an exact match to the “Land Rover” trademark and the applied for .landrover string in the following spaces:
- gTLDs: landrover.asia, landrover.biz, landrover.com, landrover.info, landrover.jobs, landrover.name and landrover.tel
- 107 ccTLDs including: landrover.com.cn, landrover.eu, landrover.in, landrover.jp, landrover.co.uk, landrover.us
Land Rover also has over 150 existing domain names in both the gTLD and ccTLD spaces containing the “Land Rover” trademark.
Land Rover believes that the .landrover gTLD is unlikely to cause confusion with either a generic term or any existing TLDs. Land Rover trademarks are a leading global brand with strong reputation in countries all around the world. Land Rover has used the term Land Rover in conjunction with its four-wheel drive car businesses for almost 64 years. As such, the Land Rover brand is synonymous with four-wheel drive and off-road vehicles.
18(b). How do you expect that your proposed gTLD will benefit registrants, Internet users, and others?
18(b)i. WHAT IS THE GOAL OF YOUR PROPOSED gTLD IN TERMS OF AREAS OF SPECIALTY, SERVICE LEVELS OR REPUTATION?
The key goals of the proposed new .landrover gTLD are in line with ICANN’s Affirmation of Commitments: to promote consumer trust, competition and consumer choice. Land Rover also seeks to foster its online reputation and provide an authoritative internet space through which Land Rover is able to communicate with its customers directly and effectively. The .landrover gTLD will strengthen Land Rover’s online reputation by creating an accessible and intuitive central reference point for users to access information about Land Rover’s range of luxury four-wheel drive and off-road cars. The ability to create domain names on demand related to Land Rover’s product range, specific marketing and specialty services supports these goals. Strengthened security measures, service levels and more effective functionality will provide a trusted and positive user experience.
18(b)ii. WHAT DO YOU ANTICIPATE YOUR PROPOSED gTLD WILL ADD TO THE CURRENT SPACE, IN TERMS OF COMPETITION, DIFFERENTIATION, OR INNOVATION?
It is anticipated that the proposed .landrover gTLD will make positive contributions to the wider internet community by providing:
DIFFERENTIATION (INCREASED TRUST):
The .landrover gTLD will simplify how internet users interact with Land Rover by providing a distinctive domain space. Internet users will be able to directly navigate to the .landrover gTLD site, saving time and resources searching for an official site. The current domain name system has shown that it is vulnerable to malicious abuses due to registration of domain names which seek to exploit consumer confusion. Land Rover can address some of these vulnerabilities by maintaining complete control over the domain names registered under the .landrover domain space. The new .landrover gTLD will provide an authentic and secure global homepage through which customers can easily access information and services regarding Land Rover’s range of cars and dealerships with increased trust and confidence. Together with consumer trust, internet users will be able to rely on the authoritativeness of the domain names under .landrover domain space, which will differentiate interaction between internet users and Land Rover.
COMPETITION:
The differentiation of .landrover gTLD as a trusted site for Land Rover will drive existing and new TLD registry operators to make improvements in mechanisms to improve consumer trust of their TLDs. Internet users will be encouraged to interact with domain names under .landrover domain space. As a result, .landrover will have a flow on effect to enable increased competition. Therefore, the benefits of the proposed .landrover will be distributed not only to its direct customers, but to the internet community at large forcing improved services and competitive pricing in the market place.
INNOVATION:
With the expansion of the internet community to all corners of the world, the existing TLD structure presents limitations, not only in the availability of domain names for registrants, but also to businesses and organisations establishing a coherent global online brand presence to meet their evolving business needs. It is often difficult to register a domain name in existing domain space due to unavailability of the desired name. This problem is amplified for organisations such as Land Rover which has a strong global brand and operates across more than 140 different jurisdictions and geographical markets. Even when the desired domain name is available, it may come with a high price tag associated with a purchase of such desired name from a third party. The new .landrover gTLD will create an innovative and intuitive global homepage which will enhance Land Rover’s online brand reputation and awareness and provide users with simple navigation and faster access to information about Land Rover’s products. Land Rover has the ability to create and control memorable second or third level domain names on demand, including specific domains for its range of four-wheel drive and off-road vehicles, dealerships, geographic names and potentially IDNs, which are relevant to its customer base. Land Rover will be able to combine its use of the domain space with innovative user focused marketing and services to address the currently unmet needs in the existing domain name system providing greater consumer choice.
18(b)iii. WHAT GOALS DOES YOUR PROPOSED gTLD Have In Terms Of User Experience?
The proposed .landrover will provide a positive user experience, which meets the changing and growing needs of the global internet community. Land Rover will maintain control in the registration and use of domain names and will ensure that the new gTLD will only be used for purposes authorised by Land Rover. Therefore, .landrover gTLD will:
- provide an easy and intuitive reference and access point for internet users;
- provide simple navigation and memorable second level domain names to provide users with faster access to information and resources about Land Rover’s range of four-wheel drive and off-road cars;
- represent authenticity thus promoting user confidence;
- strengthen brand reputation and user confidence by eliminating user confusion;
- direct internet users to relevant information in a timely manner by creating domain names on demand;
- potentially use IDNs to enable customer to interact directly in their native language;
- use geographic names to localise its websites to connect with internet users in the relevant regions and to comply with local laws;
- enhance security and minimise security risks by implementing necessary technical and policy measures; and
- prevent potential abuses in the registration process reducing overall costs to businesses and users.
.landrover should address the concerns that the current domain name system is open to potential malicious abuse and user confusion in the registration processes. Although the current system allows an eligible party to lodge a claim through existing Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) or other dispute resolution processes, the .landrover gTLD will reduce potential abuses in the registration processes and overall costs to internet users. User confidence in the domain name system will be strengthened, which will ultimately contribute towards promoting ICANN’s core values in benefiting the public interest.
18(b)iv. PROVIDE A COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF THE APPLICANTʹS INTENDED REGISTRATION POLICIES IN SUPPORT OF THE GOALS LISTED ABOVE.
The proposed registration policy is attached in response to Question 28.
Only affiliate entities of Land Rover will be eligible to register domain names in .landrover at this stage. The domain name registration processes will address the requirements mandated by ICANN, including rights abuse prevention measures.
18(b)v. WILL YOUR PROPOSED gTLD IMPOSE ANY MEASURES FOR PROTECTING THE PRIVACY OR CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF REGISTRANTS OR USERS? IF SO, PLEASE DESCRIBE ANY SUCH MEASURES.
Land Rover is committed to protection of privacy and confidential information in accordance with its objective of increasing consumer trust and providing a safe and legitimate internet space for internet users. Privacy and confidential information will be protected in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations relating to internet security, privacy and user’s confidential information, including the Principles of the European Union Data Protection Framework Directives, in particular EU Directive 95⁄46⁄EC, and other relevant privacy and data protection laws in jurisdictions around the world in which Land Rover has operations.
Land Rover has also implemented its own privacy policy to demonstrate its commitment to the protection of user privacy and confidential information. Land Rover respects the privacy of every individual and any personal information collected will only be used by Land Rover to provide services requested by customers, inform customers about new products and services that may be of interest and improve how the company serves its customers. Information collected by Land Rover will be treated in accordance with relevant legal provisions concerning data protection and will not be disclosed to any third party outside of Land Rover, its affiliated or associated companies, and its dealers.
As the .landrover gTLD will only be available to affiliate entities of Land Rover, initially, the amount of personal data that will be collected for the purposes of operating the gTLD and made publicly available in the WHOIS database will be very limited. Land Rover will provide a publicly available and searchable WHOIS look up facility, where information about the domain name status, registrant information including administrative and technical contact details can be found in accordance with Specification 4 of the Registry Agreement. In order to prevent misuse of the WHOIS look up facility, Land Rover will utilise measures including a requirement where any person submitting a WHOIS database query is required to read and agree to the terms and conditions in accordance with the registration policy. This will include the terms of use that the WHOIS database is provided for information purposes only and that the user agrees not to use the information for any other purposes such as allowing or enabling the transmission of unsolicited commercial advertising or other communication.
Land Rover will deploy Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) which is intended to benefit both Land Rover and its users interacting with Land Rover online. DNSSEC provides additional security by validating information in the transmission, therefore it is intended to benefit those who publish information in the domain name system (DNS) and the users who retrieve information from the new .landrover gTLD. Land Rover already implements measures to protect privacy or confidential information of its users against misuse, loss, alteration and unauthorised access. Such measures include the use of Secure Sockets Layer for data protection.
Land Rover will continue to apply all security measures currently implemented and will comply with all other policies and practices required by ICANN in the Registry Agreement and any relevant Consensus Policy for protecting the privacy and confidential information of registrants and users in the new .landrover domain space.
18(b)vi. DESCRIBE WHETHER AND IN WHAT WAYS OUTREACH AND COMMUNICATIONS WILL HELP TO ACHIEVE YOUR PROJECTED BENEFITS.
During the initial stage of the operation of the proposed new gTLD, it is anticipated that internet users will be re-directed to current websites. However, over time, it is foreseen that communication to the internet community of the existence of the proposed new gTLD and encouragement to utilise the trusted site will contribute towards minimising malicious abuses and protecting internet users.
18(c). What operating rules will you adopt to eliminate or minimize social costs?
As a restricted gTLD, registration will only be open to internal users (affiliate entities) at this stage and no third parties will be able to register domain names under .landrover domain space. Therefore, it is not anticipated that third party trademark owners will incur costs in relation to the .landrover gTLD. The affiliate entities wishing to register domain names must ensure that all the policy requirements for registration are satisfied. Land Rover will utilise the services of the proposed Trademark Clearinghouse to ensure that domain names registered and the use of those domain names, do not infringe any registered third party intellectual property rights.
No unaffiliated third party will be permitted to register domain names at this stage. It is estimated that time and money spent by consumers who have been targeted by malicious abuse in utilising services on the internet will reduce over time as a result of the new, trusted .landrover gTLD.
18(c)i. HOW WILL MULTIPLE APPLICATIONS FOR A PARTICULAR DOMAIN NAME BE RESOLVED, FOR EXAMPLE, BY AUCTION OR ON A FIRST-COME⁄FIRST-SERVE BASIS?
The initial use of the proposed new gTLD will be restricted to internal business use and Land Rover and affiliate entities are intended to be the registrants under the .landrover gTLD. Therefore conflicts between multiple applications are not anticipated to occur.
18(c)ii. EXPLAIN ANY COST BENEFITS FOR REGISTRANTS YOU INTEND TO IMPLEMENT (E.G., ADVANTAGEOUS PRICING, INTRODUCTORY DISCOUNTS, BULK REGISTRATION DISCOUNTS).
This gTLD will be used for internal purposes only, at this stage, so pricing incentives are not applicable or relevant.
18(c)iii. NOTE THAT THE REGISTRY AGREEMENT REQUIRES THAT REGISTRARS BE OFFERED THE OPTION TO OBTAIN INITIAL DOMAIN NAME REGISTRATIONS FOR PERIODS OF ONE TO TEN YEARS AT THE DISCRETION OF THE REGISTRAR, BUT NO GREATER THAN TEN YEARS. ADDITIONALLY, THE REGISTRY AGREEMENT REQUIRES ADVANCE WRITTEN NOTICE OF PRICE INCREASES. DO YOU INTEND TO MAKE CONTRACTUAL COMMITMENTS TO REGISTRANTS REGARDING THE MAGNITUDE OF PRICE ESCALATION? IF SO, PLEASE DESCRIBE YOUR PLAN.
This gTLD will be used for internal purposes only, at this stage, so pricing incentives or pricing increases are not applicable or relevant as no additional fees are to be charged.