.SKYPE New gTLD Application
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New gTLD Application Submitted to ICANN by: Microsoft Corporation
String: SKYPE
Originally Posted: 13 June 2012
Application ID: 1-1129-38236
Applicant Information
- Full legal name
Microsoft Corporation
- Address of the principal place of business
One Microsoft Way
Redmond WA 98052-7329
US
- Phone number
+1 425 882 8080
- Fax number
+1 425 706 7329
- If applicable, website or URL
http:⁄⁄www.microsoft.com
Primary Contact
6(a). Name
Ms. Cynthia Ruth Kern
6(b). Title
Business Manager
6(c). Address
6(d). Phone Number
+1 425 703 7472
6(e). Fax Number
6(f). Email Address
Secondary Contact
7(a). Name
Ms. Lorna Jean Gradden
7(b). Title
Director
7(c). Address
7(d). Phone Number
+44 207 421 8263
7(e). Fax Number
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).
USA, State of Washington
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.
NASDAQ;MSFT
9(b). If the applying entity is a subsidiary, provide the parent company.
Microsoft Corporation, the applying entity, is the parent company and not a subsidiary
9(c). If the applying entity is a joint venture, list all joint venture partners.
Microsoft Corporation, the applying entity, is not a joint venture
Applicant Background
11(a). Name(s) and position(s) of all directors
Charles H. Noski Director
David F. Marquardt Director
Dina Dublon Director
Helmut G. W. Panke Director
John W. Thompson Director
Maria M. Klawe Director
Raymond V. Gilmartin Director
Steven A. Ballmer Chief Executive Officer
- Reed Hastings Director
William H. Gates III Chairman
11(b). Name(s) and position(s) of all officers and partners
- Kevin Turner Chief Operating Officer
Bradford L. Smith Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary
Craig J. Mundie Chief Research and Strategy Officer
Kurt D. DelBene President, Microsoft Office Division
Lisa E. Brummel Senior Vice President, Human Resources
Peter S. Klein Chief Financial Officer
Satya Nadella President, Server & Tools
Steven A. Ballmer Chief Executive Officer
Steven J. Sinofsky President, Windows & Windows Live Division
11(c). Name(s) and position(s) of all shareholders holding at least 15% of shares
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.
SKYPE
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.
As the applied-for gTLD string is not an IDN and is consistent with the requirements of the Applicant Guidebook Section 2.2.1.3.2 (String Requirements), Microsoft Corporation does not believe there are any known operational or rendering problems concerning the string.
- (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 of Microsoft Corporation is to transform the way people work, play and communicate throughout the world through the provision of software, services and hardware. Microsoft does business throughout the world, with offices in more than 100 countries and over 90,000 employees.
Microsoft acquired Skype in October 2011. Skype is a software-based communications platform that enables real-time communications over the Internet. Skype’s platform offers high-quality, easy-to-use tools for consumers and businesses to communicate and collaborate globally through voice, video and text conversations.
Skype is available on a wide range of platforms, including - Windows, Mac and Linux computers; Android, iPhone⁄iPad and Symbian mobile devices; LG, Panasonic, Samsung and Sony televisions.
Skype’s intuitive interface enables powerful one-to-one or multi-party communications and even the ability to call landlines and mobiles at Skype’s great rates.
Skype is based on a peer-to-peer architecture that has provided the scalability necessary to support the continuing growth of the Skype community. For example, for the year ended 31 December 2011, the number of Skype-to-Skype calling minutes was equivalent to approximately 25% of the total of all global international PSTN, according to estimates published by TeleGeography in January 2012.
With Skype, you can share a story, celebrate a birthday, learn a language, hold a meeting, work with colleagues – just about anything you need to do together every day. You can use Skype on whatever works best for you - on your phone, your tablet, your computer, or your TV.
We are assessing the opportunities that a new gTLD has to enhance the security and accessibility of the Skype communications platform for our more than 670 million registered Skype users.
The mission of the .skype gTLD is to lay the ground work for providing consumers and businesses who interact with Skype through the .skype registry with a more secure and authentic experience, to promote the Skype communications platform and to protect the Skype mark and associated intellectual property.
18(b). How do you expect that your proposed gTLD will benefit registrants, Internet users, and others?
A new .skype registry could offer internet users a clearly identifiable signpost to the Skype product that works without national boundaries. We expect that our customers will benefit if our new gTLD helps us to deliver a more secure, reliable, and stable communications experience.
What is the goal of your proposed gTLD in terms of areas of speciality, service levels or reputation?
The goal of the proposed .skype gTLD is to lay the ground work for providing consumers who interact with Skype through the .skype gTLD with an increased sense of security and authenticity, to promote the Skype communications platform, and to protect the world-famous Skype brand.
We anticipate that operation of the .skype gTLD may provide us with the opportunity to personalize, extend, and leverage Microsoft and Skype technology to create new inventions and new markets.
What do you anticipate your proposed gTLD will add to the current space in terms of competition, differentiation or innovation?
Currently there is no .brand registry operated by the brand owner – let alone a .brand registry for a brand as valuable and famous as the Skype brand.
We want a .skype gTLD to help differentiate us from most other businesses. We anticipate that it may also complement our vision for innovation and improving communication ease and access for a billion people every day.
What goals does your proposed gTLD have in terms of user experience?
The goals of the .skype gTLD are to lay the ground work for providing users who interact with Skype through the .skype gTLD with an increased sense of security and authenticity for their search needs, to protect the Skype brand, and to promote the Skype communications platform.
We anticipate that the opportunity to operate a .skype gTLD may provide a more secure platform from and through which we can provide more secure product offerings in the future.
Provide a complete description of the applicants intended registration policies in support of the goals above
The Microsoft Domain Name Management team is responsible for the development, maintenance and enforcement of the .skype Domain Management Policy (sDMP). This policy defines the rules associated with eligibility and domain name allocation, sets out the license terms governing the use of a .skype domain name and describes the dispute resolution policies for the .skype TLD. This policy is intended to be updated and revised regularly to reflect Microsoft’s commercial and strategic interests and, where appropriate, ICANN consensus policies. The policy is summarised below. It is subject to change.
Registration of a .skype domain name is undertaken in four steps: Eligibility Confirmation, Naming Convention Check, Acceptable Use Review, and finally Registration.
Domains in the .skype registry cannot be assigned to third parties.
All domains in the .skype registry will remain the property of Microsoft.
Checks will be undertaken to ensure that applied for character strings conform to the .skype Naming Conventions. Each applied for character string must conform to the .skype rules of eligibility. Each .skype name must:
- not be a prohibited label such as “example”
- be at least 3 characters and no more than 63 characters long
- not contain a hyphen on the 3rd and 4th position (tagged domains)
- contain only letters (a-z), numbers (0-9) and hyphens or a combination of these
- start and end with an alphanumeric character, not a hyphen
- not match any character strings reserved by ICANN
- not match any protected country or territory name identified in the internationally recognized lists set forth in Specification 5 to the New gTLD Agreement, unless Microsoft reaches agreement regarding release of such names with the applicable government or pursuant to a proposal reviewed by the ICANN Governmental Advisory Committee and approved by ICANN.
Internationalized domain names (IDN) may be supported in the .skype registry at the second level.
.skype domain names must be used solely for purposes that, in Microsoft’s and Skype’s sole discretion and judgment, enhance its strategic or commercial interests.
.skype domains shall not be used to knowingly infringe, violate, or misappropriate the intellectual property rights of any third party.
Registrants may not delegate or assign any rights in .skype domains to any third party.
Microsoft will require that the WHOIS data for all .skype domains is accurate and complete.
At its discretion, the Domain Name Management Team may revoke the license to use a .skype domain name at any time.
Will your proposed gTLD impose any measures for protecting the privacy of confidential information of registrants or users?
Skype prides itself on the steps it takes to protect the privacy of employee and customer data.
The .skype registry will be operated by the Microsoft Corporation, a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Washington; data will be processed in accordance with applicable data protection requirements. We intend to comply with the Personal Data obligations set forth in Section 2.10 of the Registry Agreement.
Describe whether and in what ways outreach and communications will help to achieve your projected benefits?
We anticipate engaging in the types and scope of outreach and communications appropriate to the operation of a .brand registry in which the brand owner and its wholly owned subsidiaries are the registrants of all second-level domain names.
18(c). What operating rules will you adopt to eliminate or minimize social costs?
We believe that the operation of a gTLD registry that matches our Skype brand, the registration of all .skype domain names in the name of Microsoft Corporation or its wholly owned subsidiaries, and the use of those domains in accordance with our requirements will serve to eliminate or minimize social costs and negative consequences⁄costs imposed on consumers.
How will multiple applications for a particular domain be resolved, for example, by auction or on a first come first served basis?
We anticipate that domains in the .skype registry will only be registered to Microsoft Corporation or its wholly owned subsidiaries. We do not anticipate receiving multiple applications for a particular domain and, accordingly, believe that there will be no need for any resolution.
Explain any cost benefits for registrants you intend to implement (e.g. advantageous pricing, introductory discounts, bulk registration discounts).
Because all .skype domain names will be registered to Microsoft Corporation or its wholly owned subsidiaries, there will be no cost benefits for registrants.
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 10 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?
We do not intend to make contractual commitments to registrants regarding the magnitude of price escalation because the universe of registrants will be limited to Microsoft Corporation and its wholly owned subsidiaries. We intend to comply with the provisions of Section 2.10 of the Registry Agreement.