.AMEX New gTLD Application

Click to view Chinese translation articles.

-----------------------------------

New gTLD Application Submitted to ICANN by: American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.

Application Downloaded On: 29 Jul 2016

String: AMEX

Application ID: 1-1305-26511

Applicant Information

1. Full legal name

American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.

2. Address of the principal place of business

200 Vesey Street New York, New York - 10285 US

3. Phone number

+01 212 640 2000

4. Fax number

+01 212 640 9238

5. If applicable, website or URL

Primary Contact

6(a). Name

Nao Matsukata

6(b). Title

CEO, Fairwinds Partners, LLC

6(c). Address

6(d). Phone Number

+01 202 223 9253

6(e). Fax Number

+1 202 223 9256

6(f). Email Address

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

Secondary Contact

7(a). Name

Caitlin Lowie

7(b). Title

Director, Corporate Affairs & Communications

7(c). Address

7(d). Phone Number

+01 212 640 2921

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).

New York, NY

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.

American Express Company

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

David L. Yowan Director

Kenneth I. Chenault Chairman

Louise M. Parent Director

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

Name

Position

Carol V. Schwartz Secretary

David L. Yowan Treasurer

Edward P. Gilligan Vice Chairman

Howard C. Haggerty III Assistant Licensing Officer

John D. Koslow Assistant Treasurer

John Nowak Assistant Secretary

Kenneth I. Chenault Chief Executive Officer

Louise M. Parent General Counsel

Michael Lee Rubenstein Insurance Officer

Pamela J. Clarke Licensing Officer

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

Name

Position

American Express Company 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

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

AMEX

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.

American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. (ʺTRSʺ) foresees no known rendering issues in connection with the proposed .AMEX gTLD for which it is applying. This answer is based upon consultation with TRSʹ 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 .AMEX

American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. (ʺTRSʺ), a subsidiary of American Express Company (ʺAmerican Expressʺ), has filed this application for the .AMEX gTLD with the intention of bringing to market a trusted, hierarchical, and intuitive namespace for consumers to access content related to American Express brands and services worldwide. American Express is a global services company, providing customers with access to products, insights, and experiences that enrich lives and build business success. American Express content is accessible in multiple TLDs, including the .COM, .NET, and .ORG gTLDs, and the .CA, .CO.UK, and .US ccTLDs.

TRS intends to submit three gTLD applications for the strings .AMEX, .AMERICANEXPRESS, and .OPEN.

American Express may analyze and evaluate 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 service and enhance its online strategy. 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 .AMEX gTLD is planned as a .BRAND gTLD, with the goals of protecting and enhancing American Expressʹ online presence and identity, expanding its marketing and promotional efforts, and providing a trusted channel for its brands and services online.

TRS intends to initially limit registration and use of domain names within the .AMEX gTLD to American Express and its applicable subsidiaries and affiliates. This initial use will allow TRS 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 TRS from ICANNʹs annual Code of Conduct Compliance requirements.

TRS has currently planned a four-stage rollout for the .AMEX gTLD (stages and time frames are estimates and will be subject to change based on a range of internal and external factors):

1) Stage 1

The initial stage of implementation of the .AMEX gTLD may involve American Express registering a limited number of second-level domain names.

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

2) Stage 2

Once all testing has been successfully completed, TRS may begin allocating domain names in .AMEX for more widespread internal use. During this same period of time, American Express may also begin evaluating strategies to potentially migrate traffic away from its current network of second-level domain names, which are registered in a variety of TLDs, to TRSʹ new .AMEX gTLD.

It is during Stage 2 that TRS may evaluate expanding the operations of the gTLD to permit registration by other registrants, including licensees and strategic partners. Should an assessment of its expansion strategy lead to a decision to extend registration rights to other parties, it is likely that the expansion would take place during Stage 3. However, any expansion would be conditional upon a review of Specification 9 (Registry Code of Conduct), as set forth in the template Registry Agreement, to ensure compliance with TRSʹ business model.

3) Stage 3

Depending upon the analysis of the evaluations undertaken in Stage 2, TRS may begin to implement the migration of Internet traffic away from the TLDs in which American Expressʹ domain names are currently registered, toward the .AMEX gTLD. It is during this stage that TRS may also implement the decision to extend registration rights to a wider class of registrants, such as strategic partners and licensees, depending upon compliance with Specification 9 as noted above. The dates of such an expansion are subject to change depending upon business, strategic, and industry factors at the time.

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

4) Stage 4

Based on its experience with any expansion implemented in Stage 3, American Express may assess whether its business plan and expansion strategy should be augmented by extending registration rights to a wider class of registrants, including, potentially, American Express customers. American Express anticipates that changes to the domain name industry, particularly the impact of .BRAND gTLDs, may take at least five years to be realized and assessed. It is anticipated that any decision to expand the .AMEX gTLD beyond use by American Express and its applicable subsidiaries and affiliates will take into account this experience as well as the technical analysis of potential expansion.

The potential use of the .AMEX gTLD by American Express will also be driven by American Expressʹ future business strategies.

Utilizing current projections based upon American Expressʹ existing businesses, future business plans, current domain name portfolio, and other strategic factors, American Express estimates that second-level domain name registrations will be in line with the projections set forth in the financial template provided in the 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?

American Express believes that the proposed .AMEX gTLD has the potential to offer the following benefits to Internet users:

1) Establish a trusted source of information about American Express for the millions of consumers who use the companyʹs services, for investors seeking information about American Express, and for the general Internet user population;

2) Provide American Express and its applicable subsidiaries and affiliates with short and memorable Internet addresses;

3) Improve navigation to American Express brands, services, advertising campaigns, public interest content, public awareness initiatives, etc.;

4) Through the adoption of new gTLDs by the wider Internet community, users could benefit from a lower incidence of phishing and malware, which are often associated with typos of domain names in the .COM space that are owned by cybersquatters, since users will be navigating to domain names in gTLDs like .AMEX instead;

5) Minimize the cost and need for defensive registrations because domain names within the .AMEX gTLD will be allocated by TRS only; and

6) Develop a potential platform for the secure access to, and use of, American Express offerings, in order to minimize the potential for counterfeit or infringing products and services.

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

Amex.us

AmexTravel.jp

AmericanExpress.es

AmexEgypt.com

Given its broad customer base and operations both in the U.S. and abroad, American Express believes that the .AMEX gTLD can provide an online, single-source identifying function for customers.

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 .AMEX gTLD is to provide a trusted, hierarchical, and intuitive online vehicle to deliver American Express content and services, as well as information about the companyʹs brands, business, and focus. As American Express continues to expand, it is the companyʹs desire to continue to pursue and develop opportunities to market and distribute its brands and services in the U.S. and internationally, through a variety of platforms, including the Internet. Given that consumers are increasingly demanding access to companies and brands via a number of online channels, including domain names, American Express believes that the .AMEX gTLD has the potential to provide an innovative, virtual avenue to American Express services and information that will deepen and broaden the companyʹs relationship with consumers.

Through the use of the .AMEX gTLD, American Express may also provide access to its content, brands, and services in a safer environment. Providing consumers with a safe experience is paramount to American Express, and the .AMEX gTLD may be used to further that goal.

While Fortune Global 500 companies such as American Express must fight a never-ending battle to protect their intellectual property from piracy on the Internet, the .AMEX gTLD has the potential to offer consumers a safer and more intuitive means of accessing authorized American Express content and services.

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 .BRAND gTLD, the primary driving factors behind .AMEX are intended to be differentiation and innovation. The success of the gTLD will likely not be measured by the number of domain names registered, but by the levels of consumer recognition and trust that are placed in .AMEX. Using this as a benchmark, TRS will strive to build consumer recognition and trust, through the usage of .AMEX, that rise to the levels of those found in the .EDU and .GOV gTLDs.

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

TRS believes that the .AMEX gTLD can potentially provide a single, trusted, ecosystem experience for Internet users worldwide, particularly consumers seeking American Express services or information online. In addition to providing American Express and its applicable subsidiaries and affiliates with short, memorable, and intuitive domain names, the .AMEX gTLD may also indicate to users that they are navigating in a more secure space where all domain names and content are owned and controlled by TRS, and may allow users to benefit from heightened protection.

The initial use of the .AMEX gTLD may involve the registration of only a limited number of second-level domain names. This initial use is intended to provide American Expressʹ IT and security personnel with the ability to run a number of tests to ensure seamless and secure access to American Express websites, and interoperability with various software and Web⁄mobile-based applications. Once the appropriate security and stability issues have been satisfactorily addressed, TRS may begin allocating domain names for internal use and may redirect new .AMEX domain names to pre-existing content. This phased rollout is currently planned to 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, American Express may evaluate potential strategies to use the .AMEX gTLD in other ways that will advance the companyʹs 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.

TRS currently intends for the .AMEX gTLD to be initially used exclusively by American Express and its applicable subsidiaries and affiliates. Because of this condition, any registration and use requirements are more appropriately vested in these corporate⁄affiliate agreements and not in a domain name registration agreement.

Notwithstanding this, TRS 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 applicable subsidiary or affiliate 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.

TRS recognizes that this is an evolving area of law in which there are no international standards. However, due to the fact that every domain name within the .AMEX gTLD will be registered to American Express and its applicable subsidiaries and affiliates, the company has a vested interest in ensuring that accurate and current domain name information is readily available in connection with each .AMEX domain name.

It is intended that customer-facing internal operations within the .AMEX gTLD will be consistent with American Expressʹ U.S. Privacy Statement, see www.americanexpress.com⁄privacy.

In addition, TRS intends to incorporate contractual language in its Registry-Registrar Agreement (RRA) modeled after language that has been included in the template Registry Agreement 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.ʺ

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

While American Express sees the potential for this gTLD to play a role in its future online strategic initiatives, this role may be shaped by consumer recognition and the adoption of new gTLDs, as well as the response from search engines in the marketplace. These factors may also likely influence the degree to which .AMEX is used and communication about that usage.

Notwithstanding this, American Express currently plans to initially start using .AMEX domain names as redirects to existing American Express .COM domain names. American Express also currently plans to carefully review the release of new gTLDs by others, the response from search engines to .BRAND gTLDs, and consumer perception. As the marketplace evolves, American Express may invest in outreach and communication as needed, to ensure that consumers, as well as Internet users as a whole, continue to interact online with American Express 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?

18.3.1  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)?

TRSʹ proposed operating rules to initially limit registration to American Express and its applicable subsidiaries and affiliates are intended to provide the structure for a trusted online environment for consumers that will likely minimize social costs. This verified ecosystem is planned to be provided as a single, trusted source for American Express content, services, and information, with a substantially lower risk for the types of misdirection, infringement, and scams that consumers are typically plagued by in .COM and other open TLDs.

American Express does not anticipate consumer vulnerabilities. In fact, social costs may actually be eliminated as there will be no need for other trademark and brand owners to defensively register second-level domains in the .AMEX gTLD. TRSʹ expectation is that use of the .AMEX gTLD may eliminate many of the vulnerabilities that consumers face in the wider Internet today.

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

TRS does not envision the operation of this TLD having negative consequences or cost implications to consumers. On the contrary, the proposed operation of .AMEX could lead to direct benefits for consumers as outlined above.

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

TRS does not anticipate multiple applicants for the same domain names given that domain names will only be allocated by TRS initially for use by American Express and its applicable subsidiaries and affiliates.

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

TRS does not intend to offer any advantageous pricing, introductory discounts, or bulk registration discounts because these marketing⁄commercial initiatives are inconsistent with the mission and purpose of the .AMEX gTLD as a trusted online source identifier. Moreover, it is TRSʹ current intention to provide domain name registrations internally to American Express and to its applicable subsidiaries and affiliates at no cost, though the company reserves the right to reevaluate this decision and may choose to impose a nominal fee in the future. Any potential registrant fees imposed upon licensees and strategic partners may be made in the future if this class of registrants is permitted to register domain names in the .AMEX gTLD.

18.3.5  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.

TRS is committed to providing the domain name registration periods set forth in the Registry Agreement. However, as noted above, as a .BRAND gTLD, it is currently intended that the registration and use of .AMEX domain names will be conditional upon a separate, applicable subsidiary or affiliate relationship with TRS or American Express. 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 involves TRS providing domain name registrations to itself and its applicable subsidiaries and affiliates at no cost.

TRS 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, American Express and its applicable subsidiaries and affiliates, as the sole registrants within the .AMEX gTLD, plan to only register 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, i.e., no multi-year registration or deferred revenue.