.DELL New gTLD Application

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New gTLD Application Submitted to ICANN by: Dell Inc.

Application Downloaded On: 17 Sep 2014

String: DELL

Application ID: 1-1094-11981

Applicant Information

1. Full legal name

Dell Inc.

2. Address of the principal place of business

1 Dell Way Round Rock, Texas - 78682 US

3. Phone number

+1 512 338 4400

4. Fax number

+1 512 283 2627

5. If applicable, website or URL

Primary Contact

6(a). Name

Philip Lodico

6(b). Title

Managing Partner

6(c). Address

6(d). Phone Number

+1 202 223 9252

6(e). Fax Number

6(f). Email Address

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Secondary Contact

7(a). Name

Sanjiv Sarwate

7(b). Title

Principal Legal Counsel

7(c). Address

7(d). Phone Number

+1 512 723 2066

7(e). Fax Number

7(f). Email Address

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Proof of Legal Establishment

8(a). Legal form of the Applicant

Corporation

8(b). State the specific national or other jurisdiction that defines the type of entity identified in 8(a).

United States

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.

Denali Intermediate, Inc.

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

Name

Position

Egon Durban Director

Michael Saul Dell Director

Simon Peterson Director

11(b). Name(s) and position(s) of all officers and partners

Name

Position

Jeffrey William Clarke Vice Chairman, Operations and President, Client Solutions

John A. Swainson President, Software

Karen Hughes Quintos Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer

Marius A. Haas Chief Commercial Officer and President, Enterprise Solutions

Michael Saul Dell Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer

Richard J. Rothberg Senior Vice President, General Counsel

Steven Hoffman Price Senior Vice President, Human Resources

Suresh C. Vaswani President, Services

Thomas W. Sweet Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer

11(c). Name(s) and position(s) of all shareholders holding at least 15% of shares

Name

Position

Denali Intermediate, Inc.

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

13. Provide the applied-for gTLD string. If an IDN, provide the U-label.

DELL

14A. If applying for an IDN, provide the A-label (beginning with "xn--").

14B. 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.

14C1. If an IDN, provide the language of the label (in English).

14C2. If an IDN, provide the language of the label (as referenced by ISO-639-1).

14D1. If an IDN, provide the script of the label (in English).

14D2. If an IDN, provide the script of the label (as referenced by ISO 15924).

14E. If an IDN, list all code points contained in the U-label according to Unicode form.

15A. If an IDN, upload IDN tables for the proposed registry.  An IDN table must include:

the applied-for gTLD string relevant to the tables,

the script or language designator (as defined in BCP 47),

table version number,

effective date (DD Month YYYY), and

contact name, email address, and phone number.

Submission of IDN tables in a standards-based format is encouraged.

15B. Describe the process used for development of the IDN tables submitted, including consultations and sources used.

15C. List any variants to the applied-for gTLD string according to the relevant IDN tables.

16. 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.

Dell Inc. foresees no known rendering issues in connection with the proposed .DELL gTLD for which it is applying. This answer is based upon consultation with Dell’s selected back-end provider, Neustar, which has successfully launched a number of new gTLDs over the last decade. In reaching this determination, Neustar analyzed the following data:

-ICANN’s Security Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC) entitled Alternative TLD Name Systems and Roots: Conflict, Control and Consequences (SAC009);

-IAB - RFC3696 “Application Techniques for Checking and Transformation of Names”

-Known software issues which Neustar has encountered during the last decade launching new gTLDs;

-Character type and length;

-ICANN supplemental notes to Question 16; and

-ICANN’s presentation during its Costa Rica regional meeting on TLD Universal Acceptance.

17. OPTIONAL.

Provide a representation of the label according to the International Phonetic Alphabet (http://www.langsci.ucl.ac.uk/ipa/).

18A. Describe the mission/purpose of your proposed gTLD.

18.1 Mission and Purpose of .DELL

Dell Inc. (“Dell”) is a leading multinational information technology corporation, serving the needs of consumers around the world with 103,300 employees and operations in numerous countries. Dell delivers innovative technology and services that customers trust and value. As a leading technology company, Dell offers a broad range of products and services that create optimal solutions, providing customers with the power to do more. Dell’s online content is accessible in the .COM gTLD and also in multiple ccTLDs, including .CA, .DE, .EU, and .RU.

The intended future mission and purpose of the .DELL gTLD is to serve as a trusted, hierarchical, and intuitive namespace provided by Dell for its consumers. Dell is committed to moving forward with a .DELL gTLD application; however, at the time of filing this application, there has not been enough time, and currently there is not enough market information available, to fully analyze and evaluate all potential use case options.

Dell will be analyzing and evaluating other .BRAND gTLD applications as well as general market adoption to determine short- and long-term potential best-in-class use case options to more effectively serve and enhance Dell’s online strategy. Dell has four global customer-oriented operating segments, identified as: Large Enterprise, Public, Small and Medium Business, and Consumer, all of which will help to determine the future use of the .DELL gTLD. Dell has optimized its supply chain to best serve its global customer base and will continue to expand upon that endeavor through the use of the .DELL gTLD.

Although ICANN has not specifically recognized a .BRAND gTLD specification in the current version of the Applicant Guidebook, it is widely anticipated within the brand-owner community that this will become a specialty subset of the new gTLDs. The .DELL gTLD is planned as a .BRAND gTLD, with the goal of protecting Dell’s online presence and identity; expanding its marketing and promotion efforts; providing a secure channel for online products and services; and offering a platform through which to consolidate many of the intellectual property activities of Dell.

Dell intends to initially limit registration and use of domain names within the .DELL gTLD to Dell and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates. This initial limited use will allow Dell to establish its operations and achieve full sustainability. This limited distribution coupled with the other requirements set forth in Specification 9 of the template Registry Agreement is intended to exempt Dell from its annual Code of Conduct Compliance requirements.

After Stage 3 (see below), Dell will evaluate whether opportunities exist to carry out the business strategy for the .DELL gTLD through expansion that continues the sustainable operations of the registry through fee-based registrations to parties other than Dell and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates.

Dell currently plans a four-stage rollout for the .DELL gTLD:

Stage 1

The initial stage of implementation of the gTLD will involve Dell registering a limited number of .DELL second-level domain names.

This initial use will provide Dell’s IT and security personnel the time to run a number of tests to ensure seamless and secure access using the .DELL gTLD domain names, interoperability with various software and Web-based applications, and unbroken and secure use of all names. This initial allocation will also allow the appropriate Dell staff to coordinate with the internal and external staff responsible for the delegation and setup phases of the .DELL gTLD to ensure a proper transition from delegation to full operation.

Stage 2

Once all testing has been successfully completed, Dell will begin allocating domain names in .DELL for more widespread internal corporate use. During this same period of time, Dell will begin evaluating strategies to potentially migrate traffic away from its current patchwork network of second-level domain names, which are registered in a variety of TLDs, to Dell’s new gTLD.

It is in Stage 2 that Dell will evaluate expanding the operations of the gTLD to permit registration by other registrants, such as licensees and⁄or strategic partners. Should an assessment of its expansion strategy lead to a decision to extend registration rights to other parties, this expansion is currently planned to take place during Stage 3. However, any expansion would be conditioned upon a review of Specification 9 (Registry Code of Conduct) set forth in the template Registry Agreement to ensure compliance with Dell’s business model.

Stage 3

Depending on the analysis of the evaluations undertaken in Stage 2, Dell may implement the permanent migration of Internet traffic away from the TLDs in which Dell’s domain names are currently registered, and toward the .DELL gTLD. It is in this stage that Dell also may implement its decision to extend registration rights to licensees and⁄or strategic partners, depending upon compliance with Specification 9 as noted above. The dates of such expansion are subject to change depending upon business, strategic, and industry factors at the time.

After consideration of the following factors: analysis of Dell’s existing domain name portfolio, internal analysis of marketing initiatives, and the fact that Dell will have full control over the number of registrations in the .DELL gTLD namespace, Dell is confident that the number of domain name registrations will be less than 10,000 in the first five years of operation.

Stage 4

Based on its experience with any expansion implemented in Stage 3, Dell will assess whether its business plan and expansion strategy should be augmented by extending registration rights to a broader class of licensees, potentially including customers of Dell. It is anticipated by Dell that changes to the domain name industry, and particularly the impact of .BRAND gTLDs, will take at least five years to be realized and assessed. Any decision to expand the gTLDs beyond corporate, qualified subsidiary and affiliate, and licensee use will take into account this experience as well as the technical analysis of potential expansion.

The potential use of the .DELL gTLD by Dell and its various business segments will also be driven by Dell’s future business strategies as identified in its annual report and investor filings, see: http:⁄⁄content.dell.com⁄us⁄en⁄corp⁄about-dell-investor.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=corp&~ck=mn.

Utilizing current projections based upon Dell’s existing businesses, future business plans, current domain name portfolio, and other strategic factors, Dell estimates second-level domain name registrations to be in line with the projections set forth in the financial template provided in response to Question 46 of this application.

18B. How do you expect that your proposed gTLD will benefit registrants, Internet users, and others?

18.2 How do you expect that your proposed gTLD will benefit registrants, Internet users, and others?

Dell believes that the proposed .DELL gTLD has the potential to offer the following benefits to Internet users and consumers:

-Establish a trusted source of information and an online marketplace for the millions of consumers who purchase goods and services through Dell’s online stores, for investors and third parties seeking information, and for the general Internet user population;

-Provide Dell and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates with short and memorable Internet addresses; provide increased ease of navigation to products, services, advertising campaigns, public interest content, public awareness initiatives, etc.; and minimize the cost and need for defensive registrations because domain names within the .DELL gTLD will only be allocated to Dell and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates, at least for the first three years of operation; and

-Develop a potential platform for the secure access to, and purchase and distribution of, Dell products and information to consumers, in order to minimize the potential for counterfeit or infringing goods and services.

In addition, Dell currently operates a number of websites using a combination of second-level and top-level domain names. A representative sampling of Dell’s websites that incorporate geographical identifiers into domain names include:

-DellChile.com

-DellCloud.jp

-CanadaDell.com

-DellBelgium.com

-DellFrance.com

-DellGermany.com

-DellIndonesia.com

-DellLaptop.tw

-DellMalaysia.com

Dell believes that a .DELL gTLD can provide an online single source-identifying function for its current and future customers around the world, instead of the current mix-and-match approach that Dell has used in different markets around the world.

18.2.1 What is the goal of your proposed gTLD in terms of areas of specialty, service levels, or reputation?

The primary mission and purpose of the .DELL gTLD is to provide a trusted, hierarchical, and intuitive online marketplace to deliver Dell’s content and services, and information about the company’s business and focus, as well as other goods and services. As Dell continues to grow, it is the company’s desire to pursue and develop new opportunities to market and distribute its online content and products to consumers in the U.S. and internationally on a variety of platforms, including the Internet and mobile devices. Given that customers are increasingly requesting access to Dell and its products through a variety of channels, including via domain names, Dell believes that a .DELL gTLD has the potential to provide an innovative, virtual avenue to Dell products that will deepen and broaden the companyʹs relationship with consumers.

Dell is focused on providing long-term value creation through the delivery of customized solutions that make technology more efficient, more accessible, and easier to use. Through the use of the .DELL gTLD, Dell will be able to provide access to its products and online content in a namespace devoid of piracy, cybersquatting, and other malicious activities. Providing consumers with a safe experience is paramount to Dell and the .DELL gTLD will be used to further that goal.

While information technology companies such as Dell must fight a never-ending battle to protect their products, services, intellectual property, and confidential information from piracy on the Internet, the .DELL gTLD has the potential to offer consumers a safe and intuitive means of accessing authorized content from Dell and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates.

18.2.2 What do you anticipate your proposed gTLD will add to the current space, in terms of competition, differentiation, or innovation?

As a branded gTLD, the primary driving factors of the .DELL gTLD are differentiation and innovation. The number of domain names registered will not measure the success of the gTLD, but rather success will be judged by the level of consumer recognition and trust that is placed in the .DELL gTLD. Using this benchmark, Dell will strive to build consumer recognition and trust through the usage of the .DELL gTLD that rise to the level of that found in the .EDU and .GOV gTLDs.

18.2.3 What goals does your proposed gTLD have in terms of user experience?

Dell believes that the .DELL gTLD will provide a single, trusted ecosystem experience for the millions of consumers worldwide who purchase the company’s products, as well as for those seeking information provided by Dell, such as investors, students, academics, and members of the press. In addition to providing consumers with short, memorable, and intuitive domain names, the .DELL gTLD will indicate to consumers that the domains and content are owned and controlled by Dell, thereby demonstrating that they are safe from potential infringing, pirated, or harmful content.

The initial use of the .DELL gTLD will be primarily defensive in nature, with Dell registering a limited number of second-level domain names. This initial use will provide Dell’s IT and security personnel with the ability to run a number of tests to ensure seamless and secure access to the Dell website, and interoperability with various software and Web-⁄mobile-based applications. Once appropriate security and stability issues have been satisfactorily addressed, Dell will likely begin allocating domain names for internal corporate use and may redirect new .DELL domain names to preexisting content. This phased rollout will likely take place over a multi-year period, but is subject to change depending upon a range of external factors.

During this same period of time, Dell will evaluate potential strategies to use the .DELL gTLD in other ways that will advance Dell’s corporate mission and goals.

18.2.4 Provide a complete description of the applicant’s intended registration policies in support of the goals listed above.

Dell currently intends for the .DELL gTLD to be exclusively used by Dell and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates, at least for the first three years of operation. Because of this condition, any registration and use requirements are more appropriately vested in its qualified subsidiary and affiliate agreements and not in a domain name registration agreement.

Notwithstanding this, Dell will incorporate all required ICANN consensus policies and other legal⁄policy requirements imposed on new gTLD applicants into the terms and conditions of the domain name registration agreement that each of its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates will execute.

18.2.5 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.

As a global information technology company, Dell recognizes that this is an evolving area of law in which there is no international standard. However, due to the fact that every domain name within the .DELL gTLD will be registered by Dell and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates, at least for the first three years of operation, the company has a vested interest in making sure that accurate and current domain name information is readily available in connection with each .DELL domain name. For the .DELL gTLD, all private and confidential information will be protected.

Dell will ensure that the operation of the .DELL gTLD will be consistent with Dellʹs Statement of Privacy Principles, available here: http:⁄⁄www.dell.com⁄content⁄topics⁄global.aspx⁄policy⁄en⁄policy?c=us&l=en&s=gen&~section=000.

In addition, Dell intends to incorporate contractual language in its Registry-Registrar Agreement (RRA) modeled after language that has been included in the template Registry Agreement and that has been successfully utilized by existing ICANN gTLD Registry Operators.

The template Registry Agreement states, “Registry Operator shall (i) notify each ICANN-accredited registrar that is a party to the registry-registrar agreement for the TLD of the purposes for which data about any identified or identifiable natural person (“Personal Data”) submitted to Registry Operator by such registrar is collected and used under this Agreement or otherwise and the intended recipients (or categories of recipients) of such Personal Data, and (ii) require such registrar to obtain the consent of each registrant in the TLD for such collection and use of Personal Data. Registry Operator shall take reasonable steps to protect Personal Data collected from such registrar from loss, misuse, unauthorized disclosure, alteration or destruction. Registry Operator shall not use or authorize the use of Personal Data in a way that is incompatible with the notice provided to registrars.”

18.2.6 Describe whether and in what ways outreach and communications will help to achieve your projected benefits.

Dell sees the potential for this gTLD to play a large role in Dell’s future online strategic initiatives. However, there are a number of unanswered questions concerning consumer recognition, the adoption of new gTLDs, and the response from search engines in the marketplace that will influence the usage of the gTLD and communication about that usage.

Notwithstanding this, Dell plans to start using .DELL domains initially as redirects to existing .COM websites. Dell also plans to carefully review the release of new gTLDs by others, the response from search engines to branded gTLDs, as well as consumer perception. As the marketplace evolves, Dell will invest in outreach and communication as needed to ensure that its consumers, partners, and affiliates continue to interact with Dell content in a simplified and efficient manner.

18C. What operating rules will you adopt to eliminate or minimize social costs (e.g., time or financial resource costs, as well as various types of consumer vulnerabilities)? What other steps will you take to minimize negative consequences/costs imposed upon consumers?

18.3 What operating rules will you adopt to eliminate or minimize social costs (e.g., time or financial resource costs, as well as various types of consumer vulnerabilities)?

Dell’s proposed operating rules to limit registration to Dell and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates, at least for the first three years of operation, will provide a trusted online environment for consumers to access Dell’s online content, and will minimize social costs by default. This verified ecosystem will provide consumers with a single, trusted source for Dell goods and services with a substantially lower risk of the fraud, misdirection, infringement, or scams that consumers encounter in .COM and other open gTLDs. Dell does not anticipate consumer vulnerabilities. Therefore, one way in which social costs will be eliminated is that there will be no need for other trademark and brand owners to defensively register second-level domains in the .DELL gTLD. In fact, Dell’s expectation is that the usage of a .DELL gTLD will eliminate many of the vulnerabilities that Dell consumers face in the wider Internet today.

18.3.1 What other steps will you take to minimize negative consequences⁄costs imposed upon consumers?

Dell believes that the proposed operation of the .DELL gTLD as set forth in this application has no known negative consequences or cost implications to consumers. On the contrary, the proposed operation of this registry will likely lead to direct and quantifiable benefits to consumers.

18.3.2 How will multiple applications for a particular domain name be resolved, for example, by auction or on a first-come⁄first-serve basis?

Dell does not envision multiple applicants for the same domain name, as domain names will only be allocated to Dell and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates, at least for the first three years of operation.

18.3.3 Explain any cost benefits for registrants you intend to implement (e.g., advantageous pricing, introductory discounts, bulk registration discounts).

Dell does not envision any advantageous pricing, introductory discounts, or bulk registration discounts because these marketing⁄commercial initiatives are inconsistent with the mission and purpose of the .DELL gTLD as a trusted online source identifier. Moreover, it is the current intention of Dell to provide domain name registrations to itself and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates at no cost, at least for the first three years of operation.

18.3.4 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 plans.

Dell is committed to providing the domain name registration periods set forth in the Registry Agreement. However, as noted above, as a branded gTLD, the registration and use of the domain name is conditioned upon a separate subsidiary or affiliate relationship with Dell. Therefore, providing contractual commitments in a domain name registrant agreement regarding the magnitude of price escalations does not seem relevant or appropriate. Additionally, as noted above, the current business model envisions Dell initially providing domain name registrations to itself and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates at no cost.

Dell acknowledges that the current template Registry Agreement requires that the Registry Operator “shall offer registrars the option to obtain registration periods for one to ten years at the discretion of the registrar.” However, Dell and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates, as the sole registrants within the .DELL gTLD will only be registering domain names on an annual basis. This is done to better account for costs on an annual basis as well as to provide for more concise financial statements in Question 46 of this application, e.g., no multi-year registration or deferred revenue.