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.aquarelle New gTLD Application

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New gTLD Application Submitted to ICANN by: Aquarelle.com

String: aquarelle

Originally Posted: 13 June 2012

Application ID: 1-1685-37800

 

Applicant Information

 

  1. Full legal name

Aquarelle.com

 

  1. Address of the principal place of business

118, Rue de Tocqueville

Paris  75017

FR

 

  1. Phone number

+33 140541010

 

  1. Fax number

+33 140541064

 

  1. If applicable, website or URL

http:⁄⁄www.aquarelle.com

 

Primary Contact

 

6(a). Name

Mr. Nicolas Aubin

 

6(b). Title

CTO

 

6(c). Address

 

6(d). Phone Number

+33 140541096

 

6(e). Fax Number

+33 140541075

 

6(f). Email Address

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

 

Secondary Contact

 

7(a). Name

Mr. François de Maublanc

 

7(b). Title

CEO

 

7(c). Address

 

7(d). Phone Number

+33140541000

 

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

SAS - Société par actions simplifiées

 

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

SAS is defined by French Law.

See the official Insee.fr website :

http:⁄⁄www.insee.fr⁄fr⁄methodes⁄default.asp?page=nomenclatures⁄cj⁄cjniveau3.htm

 

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.

Aquarelle Group

 

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

Francois DE MAUBLANC DE BOISBOUCHER President

Henri DE MAUBLANC DE BOISBOUCHER Managing Director

 

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

Abdelkader Boulatika CFO

Catherine de Thevenard Legal Officer

Francois DE MAUBLANC DE BOISBOUCHER President

Henri DE MAUBLANC DE BOISBOUCHER CEO

Nicolas Aubin CTO

 

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

Aquarelle.com Group 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

 

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

aquarelle

 

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.

 

  1. 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 Applicant has consulted various experts in the field of domain names, including its selected back-end registry operator, who is currently managing various TLDs, including but not limited to .FR and .RE. Furthermore, the extension .AQUARELLE is a string that entirely consists of standard US ASCII characters, as is the case with most extensions currently available in the DNS.

 

Therefore, to the Applicant’s best knowledge and belief, no specific issues are to be expected as regards the operation and rendering of the .AQUARELLE gTLD.

 

  1. (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.

 

(a) The Applicant, Aquarelle.com SA (“Aquarelle”), is a member of the Aquarelle Group, and one of Europe’s leading network of on line flower shops. Since 1987, Aquarelle has developed a network of flower shops under the AQUARELLE brand in France.

About ten years ago, Aquarelle started with on line sales of flowers and bouquets, and delivering them throughout France and, afterwards, throughout Europe. Currently, Aquarelle operates various websites under different domain names registered in gTLDs and ccTLDs, and has hance developed close ties with its professional customers and consumers.

 

In the meantime, Aquarelle has developed various other offerings, on line and off line sales channels, most of which under the Aquarelle brand. Therefore, a good and reliable Internet presence is critical for the Applicant and its day-to-day activities.

 

According to the Applicant, the mission and purpose of the .AQUARELLE TLD are manifold, as will be further explained below:

 

  1. First and foremost: make the most out of the opportunity presented by ICANN’s New gTLD Program, and therefore securing the distinctive element out of Applicant’s key brand (“AQUARELLE”) as a gTLD;

 

  1. Aquarelle sees great value in reflecting the highly distinctive and recognizable brand AQUARELLE – which has a true international exposure and clientele – at the top level of the DNS’ hierarchy. It strongly believes that a .AQUARELLE gTLD could in the future turn out to become an interesting platform for Aquarelle, and potentially generate numerous benefits from a marketing and branding perspective;

 

  1. Support the Aquarelle Group’s day-to-day activities, for the benefit of the Applicant, its affiliates, connected businesses and consumers;

 

  1. Provide stakeholders of the Applicant with a recognizable and trusted identifier - .AQUARELLE – on the Internet. Such stakeholders include, but are not limited to:

 

  • subsidiaries;
  • affiliate partners;
  • sponsorships;
  • prospective and current customers;
  • employees, directors and officers of Aquarelle and its subsidiaries.

 

  1. Provide such stakeholders with a secure and safe Internet environment, under the control of the Applicant, in which they are able to obtain information from and communicate with the Aquarelle;

 

  1. Over time: provide for the opportunity to certain selected stakeholders to register and⁄or use domain names in the .AQUARELLE gTLD, insofar and to the extent that (i) Aquarelle would remain in control over certain aspects of these domain names, (ii) in the opinion of Aquarelle, this would create significant business opportunities, (iii) there would be branding and marketing benefits for the Aquarelle Group as a whole, and (iv) if sufficient guarantees can be put in place in order to mitigate the risks of damage to the reputation of the AQUARELLE brand and the business activities of the Applicant;

 

  1. Further assist the Applicant in general in promoting and offering content in multiple languages and services to an international audience, directly or indirectly accessible under specific domain names registered in the .AQUARELLE gTLD, referring to, amongst others, products and services, product and service categories, brands, etc.

 

 

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

 

Aquarelle intends to organize the registry operation for the .AQUARELLE gTLD in such a manner that it will minimize the likelihood of having multiple applications or registration requests for a particular domain name.

According to Aquarelle, this can be achieved in any of the following ways, which likely needs to be further refined following ICANN’s award and delegation of the .AQUARELLE gTLD to Aquarelle:

 

  1. AQUARELLE is the distinctive element out of Applicant’s highly recognized brand, having a global exposure, and a truly international clientele;

 

  1. From the Applicant’s perspective, .AQUARELLE may bring a high degree of recognition and specialization to the currently existing name space. Where in most cases the specific connotation that has been initially given to the gTLDs (or even ccTLDs) has disappeared, the .AQUARELLE top-level domain is currently intended to be unambiguous as regards:

 

  1. the identity of the Aquarelle as the Registry Operator;
  2. the source of the content and services offered under the .AQUARELLE; and
  3. the affiliation between the Registry Operator and the TLD; and
  4. in term, and at the discretion of the affiliation of Aquarelle, the affiliation between the Registry Operator and any third party that is authorized by the Aquarelle to register and⁄or use one or more domain name registrations in the .AQUARELLE TLD.

 

  1. As mentioned in the vision and mission statement above, the key reasons why Applicant is applying for .AQUARELLE include but are not limited to:

 

  1. Take the opportunity presented by ICANN’s New gTLD Program in order to operate Aquarelle’s highly recognizable AQUARELLE brand at the top-level of the DNS’ hierarchy, which has the potential to present significant marketing and branding advantages for the Applicant, as well as an innovative platform for supporting the various stakeholders that are involved in the Applicant’s current day-to-day activities;

 

  1. Provide for an unambiguous, safe and secure Internet environment, under the direct control of the Applicant; and

 

  1. Implement measures – in the near or distant future and when more adequate tools and techniques become available – to mitigate and even avoid abuse, phishing, and even counterfeiting and piracy.

 

  1. The Applicant intends to implement the following policies and procedures with respect to the registration of domain names in the .AQUARELLE top-level domain:

 

(a) reservation and registration of domain names in the name of Aquarelle and its Affiliates. It is likely that this will be the scenario that Aquarelle will put in place during the first months or even years of operation of the .AQUARELLE gTLD. These names may include, but are not limited to:

  1. descriptive names, referring to the actual day-to-day business activities of the Applicant or its Affiliates;
  2. descriptive names, referring to the internal departments of the Applicant;
  3. descriptive names, referring to the subsidiaries, affiliates and⁄or joint ventures of the Applicant;
  4. potentially also names relating to other stakeholders of Aquarelle, to be determined by Aquarelle following ICANN’s award and delegation of the .AQUARELLE gTLD to Aquarelle;
  5. etc.

 

(b) launch of the TLD: if and when implemented by the Registry Operator, this is likely going to be a gradual process, whereby selected third parties that meet certain criteria, which Aquarelle will be entitled to set at its own discretion, may register domain names in the .AQUARELLE gTLD. These processes may include the following:

 

  1. Sunrise: allow physical persons, organizations and entities that meet the eligibility requirements determined by Aquarelle at that point in time to choose and, where allowed by Aquarelle, to register the domain names that are identical to their trademarks, business identifiers and company names. By way of example: eligible parties could include business partners of the Affiliates of the Aquarelle Group, and their corresponding .AQUARELLE domain names would then include their product or service brands;

 

  1. Land rush and general availability: other available domain names may be registered by physical persons, organizations and entities that meet the eligibility requirements in force at that point in time to choose the domain names in accordance with the applicable terms and conditions, determined at the sole discretion of Aquarelle.

Depending on the terms and conditions in force at the time of launch of the TLD, these domain names may or may not be registered in the name of the applicant for the domain name or in the name of the Registry Operator of the TLD (i.e., Aquarelle). In any case, Aquarelle reserves the right to impose additional and other restrictions from time to time at its sole discretion.

 

  1. Given the fact that the Applicant is a company that is established in France, it is subject to both national and European privacy and data protection rules and practices. In particular, given the fact that the French data protection authorities have issued strict guidelines, Aquarelle will at all times be obliged to implement these policies, and this prior to and during the operation of the .AQUARELLE gTLD.

 

  1. The Applicant is a corporation that has been established in and has been trading under the AQUARELLE brand since the 1980’s. Since, it has developed a strong position and recognition in the field of sales of flowers, both in an online and off line environment, and one of Europe’s e-commerce pioneers.

 

Although a number of first use cases for a .AQUARELLE gTLD have been developed, Aquarelle has not developed detailed plans on when and how it will develop the new .AQUARELLE channel and what will be the role of and services that will be provided to and by Aquarelle and its Affiliates over such platform. However, the Applicant has different ways in order to make existing and future customers, visitors and stakeholders aware of the (gradual) development of a new online environment under the .AQUARELLE TLD, including but not limited to:

 

  1. Direct and indirect marketing and branding initiatives;
  2. By way of brochures, posters and advertisements in newspapers, magazines, specialized press, etc.;
  3. Internet advertising campaigns, including paid search, pay-per-click advertising, etc.;
  4. Having Internet traffic to the Aquarelle.com or other domain names resolving into certain web-related services and content provided by the Aquarelle Group, hereby actively promiting this new space, provide relevant content with respect to the activities, products and services of the Aquarelle Group, which all builds awareness with Internet users that the .AQUARELLE gTLD exists;
  5. Email marketing campaigns;
  6. Facebook campaigns
  7. etc.

 

18(c). What operating rules will you adopt to eliminate or minimize social costs?

 

In line with Aquarelle’s mission and purpose for the .AQUARELLE gTLD, it is first and foremost important for Aquarelle to safeguard and protect the key element out of its AQUARELLE trademark at the top level of the DNS’ hierarchy. Such protection does not only extend to the actual registration, delegation and use of the TLD, but also to the domain names that are registered therein, and how these domain names are used.

 

Considering the fact that the actual award and delegation of the .AQUARELLE gTLD to Aquarelle is subject to the successful evaluation of our application, Aquarelle has to date only performed a high-level analysis of:

 

  • the types of domain names that will be registered;
  • who will be entitled to select which domain names will be registered
  • who will be entitled to register such domain names;
  • who will be entitled to use such domain names, and;
  • which types of use will be allowed or recommended.

 

As we believe that the development and implementation of one or more business cases could likely take a couple of months or even years, we have only focused on a number of high-level characteristics of our plans in relation to the operation of the .AQUARELLE gTLD, as described above.

 

By all means, it is in Aquarelle’s self-interest to, on the one hand, make the most of this initiative, promote its own business interests together with those of its Affiliates, business partners, sponsorships, etc. whilst mitigating risks for the brands and brand reputation of such stakeholders and reducing the (social) costs for others.

 

In this context, Aquarelle will devise policies that encompass and comprise the following features:

 

At least during the initial months or even years following the delegation of the .AQUARELLE gTLD to Aquarelle, this extension is likely going to be a so-called “single registrant TLD” as contemplated by ICANN in Article 4.5 of the template Registry Operator Agreement (“Transition of Registry upon Termination of Agreement”). For the avoidance of doubt, a “single registrant TLD” is a TLD where “(i) all domain name registrations in the TLD are registered to, and maintained by, Registry Operator for its own exclusive use, and (ii) Registry Operator does not sell, distribute or transfer control or use of any registrations in the TLD to any third party that is not an Affiliate of Registry Operator.”

 

Therefore, parties who are not Aquarelle or an Affiliate of Aquarelle or the Aquarelle Group will, at least in a first stage following the delegation of the .AQUARELLE gTLD, not be entitled to register domain names in this extension.

 

Aquarelle believes this to be in line with two of the main elements in its vision and mission statement, namely:

 

  • Protecting and safeguarding the .AQUARELLE gTLD, by keeping full control over the entire operation of the .AQUARELLE registry and most if not all domain names registered therein; and

 

  • Guaranteeing to Aquarelle’s key stakeholders who are interacting with Aquarelle and, as the case may be, its Affiliates, by using domain name registrations in .AQUARELLE that they are in fact interacting with the brand owner or its authorized Affiliates or business partners.

 

Consequently, there will be no (social) costs for non-eligible (third) parties, given the fact that they will be unable to register domain names in the .AQUARELLE gTLD in the first place.

 

However, even if only Aquarelle (and, as the case may be, Aquarelle’s Affiliates) will be entitled to register domain names, this does not exclude the hypothesis that disputes may arise with one or more third parties as regards domain names that are registered in the .AQUARELLE gTLD.

 

In order to avoid these risks, Aquarelle intends to implement the following policies and processes:

 

First, the domain names to be registered by Aquarelle and, as the case may be, its Affiliates business partners, sponsorships, etc. could relate to the following:

 

  • registered trademarks of Aquarelle and⁄or its Affiliates;
  • names of business partners of Aquarelle and⁄or Affiliates of the Aquarelle Group;
  • names of departments within Aquarelle, its Affiliates;
  • names of activities, charities, etc. sponsored by Aquarelle or Affiliates of the Aquarelle Group;
  • etc.

 

Furthermore, Aquarelle envisages registering a fair number of generic words that are directly or indirectly related to the day-to-day business activities and operations of Aquarelle and its Affiliates.

 

Prior to effectively registering such domain names in the .AQUARELLE gTLD, Aquarelle will require its legal and intellectual property department to review the list of these domain names on a regular basis in order to satisfy itself that they will not infringe the rights of third parties.

 

In any case, Aquarelle shall claim to have a legitimate interest in the domain names referred to above, as they are merely descriptive of the activities, products or services of Aquarelle and⁄or its Affiliates. So even if one or more of these domain names would be protected by a registered trademark, held by a third party, it is likely that a claim under the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy or Uniform Rapid Suspension policy will fail.

 

As regards the names referred to in Specification 5 to the template Registry Operator Agreement, Aquarelle will follow the processes and procedures established by ICANN and the Governmental Advisory Committee.

 

If Aquarelle would determine, at its sole discretion, that it will gradually allow certain categories of stakeholders to register domain names in the .AQUARELLE gTLD in their own name, Aquarelle will devise policies to that effect.

 

However, Aquarelle will at all times be entitled to restrict, limit or expand:

 

  • the category or categories of stakeholders who will be entitled to register one or more domain names in the .AQUARELLE gTLD, including their criteria for qualification;
  • the choice of domain name(s) registered in the .AQUARELLE gTLD by and per such eligible stakeholder (category);
  • the use made by an and per eligible stakeholder of a domain name registered in the .AQUARELLE gTLD;
  • the transfer of domain names registered in .AQUARELLE;
  • etc.

 

Aquarelle shall reserve the right to subject the registration or use of a domain name to internal approval processes and procedures, at each and every step of the domain name life cycle.

 

Given the fact that Aquarelle may release such available domain names post launch in a highly controlled manner, this also reduces the likelihood that two or more applicants qualify for the registration of the same domain name in the .AQUARELLE top-level domain;

 

As a method of last resort, and subject to the actual domain name registration policy adopted by the Registry Operator and in force at the time of registration, domain names will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

 

In any event, Aquarelle reserves the right to change or restrict any policies, procedures and practices at any point in time if it is of the opinion that there would be a risk that the reputation of the AQUARELLE brand or the brands of its Affiliates would be potentially harmed.

 

If and when the Applicant intends to make the .AQUARELLE top-level domain available to qualifying third party domain name registrants, it will do so at an acceptable cost to them. Furthermore, Aquarelle reserves the right to bundle certain products and services offered now or in the future with the registration of domain names in the .AQUARELLE gTLD. Furthermore, Aquarelle may offer additional services that intend to drive Internet traffic from URLs operated by Aquarelle towards domain names registered, controlled, and⁄or operated by such third parties.

 

So, in brief:

 

  1. The Applicant ⁄ Registry Operator may reserve, delegate and use a potentially large number of domain names that are directly or indirectly relevant to Applicant’s business in its own name. Since some of these domain names could be of a descriptive nature, the chances for qualifying ⁄ eligible applicants ⁄ registrants to register such domain names after the launch will be limited;

 

  1. The Registry Operator shall be entitled at all times to release available domain names post launch in a highly controlled manner, which also reduces the likelihood that two or more applicants qualify for the registration of the same domain name in the .AQUARELLE top-level domain;

 

  1. As a method of last resort, and subject to the actual domain name registration policy adopted by the Registry Operator and in force at the time of registration, domain names will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, however always taking into account the rights and legitimate interests of third parties, including but not limited to trademark rights;

 

  1. The Applicant may intend to make the .AQUARELLE top-level domain available to qualifying ⁄ eligible domain name registrants at an acceptable cost to them, to be determined if and when the Applicant would decide at its own discretion to allow third parties to register domain names. Furthermore, the Applicant may decide to bundle such domain name registrations with additional added-value products and services generally offered by the Aquarelle Group in the course of its ordinary business activities;

 

  1. If the Applicant ⁄ Registry Operator will be required to increase the fees for the registration of domain names, such increases will keep pace with comparable market rates for such domain name registrations. However, the Registry Operator shall at all times be entitled to bundle the registration of domain names with other products or services offered by or on behalf of Aquarelle at a fee to be set by the Registry Operator.