.blanco New gTLD Application
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New gTLD Application Submitted to ICANN by: BLANCO GmbH + Co KG
String: blanco
Originally Posted: 13 June 2012
Application ID: 1-1334-26951
Applicant Information
- Full legal name
BLANCO GmbH + Co KG
- Address of the principal place of business
Flehinger Straße 59
Oberderdingen 75038
DE
- Phone number
+49 7045 44 81100
- Fax number
+49 7045 44 81195
- If applicable, website or URL
http:⁄⁄www.blanco-germany.com
Primary Contact
6(a). Name
Ms. Kerstin Britta Arzt
6(b). Title
Marketing Communications Manager
6(c). Address
6(d). Phone Number
+49 7045 44 81153
6(e). Fax Number
+49 7045 44 81195
6(f). Email Address
Secondary Contact
7(a). Name
Mr. Stefan Kohl
7(b). Title
Head of Corporate Communications
7(c). Address
7(d). Phone Number
+49 7045 44 81584
7(e). Fax Number
+49 7045 44 81195
7(f). Email Address
Proof of Legal Establishment
8(a). Legal form of the Applicant
limited partnership
8(b). State the specific national or other jursidiction that defines the type of entity identified in 8(a).
Germany
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.
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
Frank Straub non-executive director
Gerd Strobel non-executive director
Hans-Joachim Schreiber CEO and Vice President
Johannes Haupt non-executive director
Manuel Blanc non-executive director
Rüdiger Böhle CFO
Wolfgang H Müller non-executive director
Wolfgang Schneider CTO
11(b). Name(s) and position(s) of all officers and partners
Bernd Schlagentweith Head of Finance and Accounting
Dr. Olaf Scheffler Head of Product Development
Karl-Heinz Haag Head of Controlling
Lars Kreutz Head of National Sales
Michael Limbeck Head of Material and Facility Management
Udo Heckelsberger Head of Marketing
Ulrich Harm Head of Human Ressources
Uwe Johannböke Head of International Sales
11(c). Name(s) and position(s) of all shareholders holding at least 15% of shares
E.G.O. Elektro-Geräte GmbH & Co. Holding KG 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.
blanco
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 .blanco 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
- .blanco 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 .blanco has not already been queried with meaningful frequency at the root. Therefore, it is unlikely that .blanco will inherit significant invalid query traffic.
Due to the positive results of these checks, Blanco GmBH + Co.KG does not believe that the .blanco 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.
TO BENEFIT INTERNET USERS BY ENSURING INCREASED TRUST AND CONFIDENCE THROUGH THE ELIMINATION OF USER CONFUSION AND ASSURANCE OF BRAND AUTHENTICITY.
The new .blanco gTLD will operate as a restricted registry, in which Blanco GmBH + Co.KG (Blanco) can create and control domain spaces to strengthen its brand identity and authenticity. The .blanco gTLD will provide an authoritative internet space for Blanco, its affiliates and local partners that are associated with the brand. In this regard, the .blanco gTLD will be used by Blanco to provide information, services and resources to consumers in a way that promotes consumer confidence, brand authenticity, convenience and utility. Second and third level domain names can then be utilised for direct communication, promotion campaigns and information purposes to target different groups of consumers by providing country-specific or group- specific second level domains, with internet users assured of brand authenticity.
Blanco and its affiliate entity Blanco CS GmbH + Co KG (Blanco CS) are subsidiaries of EGO Electro-Geräte GmbH & Co Holding KG, which forms the Blanco group of companies (Blanco Group). Blanco and its own subsidiaries form the Blanco kitchen technology group, which produces and sells household kitchen sinks and is one of the world’s leading providers of high quality sinks, mixer taps and waste systems for domestic kitchens. Blanco CS is involved in manufacturing catering equipment, medical care and industrial components. Blanco Group was established in 1925 with its headquarters in Oberderdingen, Germany and Blanco currently has over 1,200 employees worldwide with a network of own subsidiary companies and long term partners in approximately 100 countries worldwide. In 2010, Blanco consolidated net sales of 242 million EUR, a 9% increase in revenue from the previous year and its export share in total sales increased to 62%. Blanco owns the majority of the “Blanco” trademarks and always aims to achieve further development and innovation of system solutions for its customers. In this regard, consumer confidence, brand reputation and continuous innovation are paramount considerations in all its activities.
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 .blanco gTLD will facilitate greater trust and assurance from internet users connecting with Blanco online, whilst still allowing convenient and efficient interaction.
Blanco’s mission and purpose of the proposed new gTLD share ICANN’s initiatives to promote public interest. Blanco is committed to contribute towards achieving such initiatives in line with ICANN’s Affirmation of Commitments, which includes:
- consumer trust: the .blanco gTLD registry will be operated in a centralised manner with a restrictive registration policy. Registration of domain names will only be available to Blanco and its affiliate entities, which will provide added consumer trust that .blanco domain names are trustworthy. As .blanco domain names are subject to registration standards, policies and procedures under control of Blanco, this eliminates the possibility of malicious conduct within the .blanco domain space;
- competition: the proposed .blanco 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 strengthening consumer trust. Increased trust in the .blanco gTLD 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 proposed new gTLD will enable user-driven improvements and innovations assisting Blanco’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 Blanco. As Blanco has effective control over the registration and use of domain names under .blanco domain space, this will also contribute towards general service innovations on the internet.
Given the restricted nature of the .blanco gTLD, the projected number of registrations is likely to be limited. It is anticipated that a rather limited number of domain names (between 60 and 140) will be registered in the first few years. However, the number of domain name registrations is likely to increase as Blanco develops and implements new services and marketing campaigns.
As the .blanco gTLD expands and evolves, Blanco may consider offering the use of second level domain names to its partners and distributors at a later date. In this endeavour, Blanco will continue to comply with all operational, technical and policy requirements, as well as maintaining consumer trust and the stability on the internet. Blanco will keep ICANN reasonably informed of any material developments relating to .blanco gTLD including compliance with the continued operations instrument obligations as set out in Specification 8 of the Registry Agreement.
Blanco intends to create relevant domain names for use including group-specific content or geographic names in the second or third level domain names. In accordance with registration policies and the proposed measures for protection of geographic names as outlined in response to Question 22, Blanco will use geographic names to localise its websites in the countries in which it currently operates. The use of geographic names is intended to:
- connect internet users with country-specific content; and
- comply with required rules and regulations in the national territory.
Blanco will utilise Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) at the second level, initially in German, Russian and Chinese. The use of IDNs will allow internet users to engage with .blanco in their native language creating a more positive user experience and encouraging diversity. As the use of the .blanco gTLD evolves, it is anticipated that the use of IDNs, including additional languages, will increase within the .blanco domain space.
Blanco is a well-recognised global brand with its trademarks registered in over 30 countries and territories in categories including: 6 (kitchen worktops), 11 (sinks, mixing taps, washstands, sink units), 19 (non-metallic sinks), 20 (furniture units for kitchen), 21 (household, waste collectors) and 42 (kitchen design)
Blanco has an extensive portfolio of domain names registered in over 200 TLDs, including 3 gTLDs and over 50 country-code TLDS (ccTLDs) that are an exact match to the “Blanco” trademark, including, blanco.asia, blanco.eu, blanco.cn, blanco.be and blanco.fr.
Recently, Blanco was successful in securing sunrise application in .asia and .eu domain spaces based on existing trademark registration.
Blanco believes that the .blanco gTLD is unlikely to cause confusion with either a generic term or any existing TLDs. Blanco trademarks are a leading global brand with significant reputation worldwide, Blanco is equally the trade and company name by which the company has established itself as a world leader in its field. Blanco has registered several product names including blanco, such as Blancoaxon and Blancostone over the past years. As such, the Blanco brand is well known for its high quality products within the kitchen technology industry.
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 .blanco gTLD are in line with ICANN’s Affirmation of Commitments: to promote consumer trust, competition and consumer choice. Blanco also seeks to foster its online reputation and provide an authoritative internet space through which Blanco is able to communicate with its customers directly and effectively. The ability to create domain names on demand related to specific marketing, specialty service and product development 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 .blanco gTLD will make positive contributions to the wider internet community by providing:
DIFFERENTIATION (INCREASED TRUST):
The .blanco gTLD will simplify how internet users interact with Blanco by providing a distinctive and authentic domain space. Internet users will be able to directly navigate to its central international corporate .blanco 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. Blanco can address some of these vulnerabilities by maintaining complete control over the domain names registered under the .blanco domain space. Blanco intends to eliminate consumer confusion sometimes caused by multiple domain names in different gTLDs and ccTLDs by directing its customers to the .blanco gTLD site. Together with consumer trust, internet users will be able to rely on the authoritativeness of the domain names under .blanco domain space, which will differentiate interaction between internet users and Blanco.
COMPETITION:
The differentiation of .blanco gTLD as a trusted site for Blanco 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 .blanco domain space. As a result, .blanco will have a flow on effect to enable increased competition. Therefore, the benefits of the proposed .blanco 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, 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 Blanco who work across many 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. Blanco has the ability to create second or third level domain names, including the use of geographic names and IDNs on demand which are relevant to its customer base, services and products. Blanco 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 .blanco will provide positive user experience, which meets the changing and growing needs of the global internet community. Blanco 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 Blanco. Therefore, .blanco gTLD will:
- provide an easy and intuitive reference and access point for internet users;
- represent authenticity thus promoting user confidence and brand image;
- direct internet users to relevant topic⁄interest specific information in a timely manner by creating domain names on demand;
- use geographic names to localise its websites to connect with internet users in the relevant regions, to comply with local laws and for country-specific content;
- enhance security and minimise security risks by implementing necessary technical and policy measures;
- strengthen brand reputation and user confidence by eliminating user confusion; and
- prevent potential abuses in the registration process reducing overall costs to businesses and users.
The .blanco gTLD 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 .blanco 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 Blanco will be eligible to register domain names in .blanco. 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.
Blanco 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 Directive 2002⁄58 on Privacy and Electronic Communications (E-Privacy Directive) (EU), the Federal Data Protection Act 1990 (Germany), the Telecommunications Act (1996) (Germany) and the Broadcast Media Act (2007) (Germany).
Blanco has also implemented its own privacy policy to demonstrate its commitment to the protection of user privacy and confidential information. Blanco’s privacy policy informs internet users regarding:
- the purposes for which personal information is collected:
- for sales transactions and enquiries
- for registration of warranties and to handle claims for goods under warranty
- for setting up customer accounts and credit facilities to help facilitate regular orders
- the manner in which personal information is collected: via filled in forms, face to face meetings, e-mail messages, telephone conversations and information provided by a third party;
- disclosure of personal information for the following main purposes:
- to establish and operate an account for provision of services to customers
- to assist with customer enquiries about specific products
- to handle claims arising under product warranties and to handle product returns and any general complaints relating to products
- as required by law
- right to access personal information collected and stored by Blanco.
Privacy is of fundamental concern to most of Blanco’s customers as such Blanco has a strong interest in ensuring a high level of privacy protection for its customers.
As the .blanco gTLD will only be available to affiliate entities of Blanco, 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. Blanco 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, Blanco 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.
Blanco will deploy Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) which is intended to benefit both Blanco and its users interacting with Blanco 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 .blanco gTLD. Blanco already implements measures to protect privacy or confidential information of its users against misuse, loss, alteration and unauthorised access. Such measures include:
- use of application firewalls and proxy
- use of a Demilitarized zone (DMZ) before traffic passes into Blanco’s network
- computer policies for Blanco’s internal network
- regular password changes and minimum password requirements
- extranet access is encrypted with a strong Secure Sockets Layers (SSL), certified with Global sign
- use of access code and password to access closed pages
Blanco 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 .blanco domain space.
18(B)VI. DESCRIBE WHETHER AND IN WHAT WAYS OUTREACH AND COMMUNICATIONS WILL HELP TO ACHIEVE YOUR PROJECTED BENEFITS.
The proposed new gTLD will be publicised by a media plan to promote recognition of the new gTLD within the internet community to be a trusted site and as a sign of authenticity.
All Blanco’s international distributors will use the .blanco gTLD on their marketing material and link it to their website and Blanco intends to print the .blanco gTLD on all its advertisements and printing materials. Further Blanco intends to launch a press release about the .blanco gTLD to German media and its international partners (distributors and subsidiaries) and also plans to publish an article to promote the .blanco gTLD in its German dealer magazine, Blanco’s internal company magazine and its current websites.
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 .blanco domain space. Therefore, it is not anticipated that third party trademark owners will incur costs in relation to the .blanco gTLD. The affiliate entities wishing to register domain names must ensure that all the policy requirements for registration are satisfied. Blanco 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 .blanco 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 Blanco and affiliate entities are intended to be the registrants under the .blanco 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, so, at this stage, 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.