07 August 2025

.LANCASTER New gTLD Application

07 August 2025

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New gTLD Application Submitted to ICANN by: LANCASTER

Application Downloaded On: 28 May 2015

String: LANCASTER

Application ID: 1-854-19943

Applicant Information

Full legal name

LANCASTER

Address of the principal place of business

95 RUE DU PARC NOISY LE SEC - 93130 FR

Phone number

+33684848878

Fax number

+33141838889

If applicable, website or URL

Primary Contact

6(a). Name

Thomas TCHEN

6(b). Title

CEO

6(c). Address

6(d). Phone Number

+33684848878

6(e). Fax Number

+33141838889

6(f). Email Address

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

Secondary Contact

7(a). Name

VANESSA XU

7(b). Title

MANAGER

7(c). Address

7(d). Phone Number

+33684848878

7(e). Fax Number

+33141838889

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

SARL

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

FRANCE FRENCH LAW

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

Name

Position

Kil Tchun Tchen CEO

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

Name

Position

Kil Tchun Tchen CEO

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

Name

Position

TCHEN CEO

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

Name

Position

TCHEN CEO

Applied-for gTLD string

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

LANCASTER

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.

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.

Lancaster (ʺthe Applicantʺ) can confirm that to the best of their knowledge there are no rendering problems with regard to .LANCASTER, based on the fact that this is a US-ASCII based string and does not contain any non-US-ASCII characters.

In addition the string .LANCASTER is compliant with the following technical standards:

DOD Internet Host Table Specification (RFC 952)
Domain Names: Implementation and Specification (RFC 1035)
Requirements for Internet Hosts — Application and Support (RFC 1123)
Clarifications to the DNS Specification (RFC 2181)
Application Techniques for Checking and Transformation of Names (RFC 3696)

With regard to potential operational issues, as outlined in RFC 3696, there are potential issues with regard to software not recognising new TLD names as valid or in some cases attempting to ʺguessʺ what the user may be looking for when the software judges the TLD to be invalid.

However, the Applicant recognises that ICANN has taken steps to mitigate this by promoting the Universal Acceptance of all Top-Level Domains and providing TLD verification code for use by software developers and application providers.

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.

The mission and purpose of the proposed .LANCASTER Top Level Domain (TLD) is the creation and operation of a TLD dedicated to the Applicant, its brand, services and key customers. As such the objective is that the .LANCASTER TLD will serve as an official, trusted, secure and dedicated name space for the LANCASTER brand and products. To this end the Applicant seeks to launch the .LANCASTER TLD and to create and operate an innovative and secure platform in a manner which is consistent with its subject matter whilst committing to the promotion of consumer trust, consumer protection and integrity of the .LANCASTER TLD and the associated Internet space.

The Applicant is committed to ensure that it fully complies and meets or exceeds the requirements of ICANN in terms of competition, consumer protection, security, stability and resiliency, malicious abuse issues, and rights protection in relation to the expansion of the generic Top Level Domain name space by devising and implementing mechanisms in line with ICANNʹs Consensus Policies and Temporary Policies.

The Applicant proposes to launch and operate the .LANCASTER TLD to create a new Internet ecosystem dedicated to the Applicant and to enable and facilitate potential innovations, creation and promotion of new initiatives from the Applicant. The domain name space associated with the .LANCASTER TLD will create a new environment which will enhance diversity, choice and utility of the Domain Name System, based on a segmented approach, hence encouraging specialisation, differentiation, consumer recognition, and consumer choice in line with ICANN policy development.

In order to ensure the integrity, success and to build confidence in the .LANCASTER TLD and the associated domain name space, the Applicant is dedicated to ensuring that appropriate safeguards are put in place with a view to protecting, among other things, public interest, customers, trade mark owners and other third party rights owners.

Operating and overseeing this new Internet space in a transparent, fair and efficient manner will be essential to create goodwill in the .LANCASTER TLD and to develop confidence and trust in the .LANCASTER TLD.

The fact that the Applicant intends to operate the .LANCASTER TLD as a single registrant⁄single user registry model will allow the Applicant to control the operations of the .LANCASTER TLD and prevent violation of public interest, trade mark infringement and other types of malicious conducts. The .LANCASTER TLD will thus create an environment where opportunities for abuse and malevolent conduct will be virtually eliminated.

Furthermore, the Applicant is dedicated to ensuring that the creation and operation of the .LANCASTER TLD will not have an adverse or negative affect on the operational security and stability of the Internet and the Domain Name System.

The .LANCASTER TLD will be a continuously evolving platform and serve as a base for new content and services with a view to optimising specialisation, high level of service, reliable quality content, consumer trust and innovation.

The Applicant has considered potential uses of the .LANCASTER TLD which would include creating second-level domain names that correspond with:

The specialisation areas of the Applicant such as:

BAGS.LANCASTER

LEATHER.LANCASTER

Corporate portal for key customers, such as:

CUSTOMER.LANCASTER

These are some of the potential uses which have been identified as being in line with the operation of the proposed .LANCASTER TLD following the single registrant⁄single user registry model. In addition, the Applicant will explore potential new ways of ensuring that the .LANCASTER TLD is an environment which is conducive to consumer choice and recognition, business visibility and specialisation and may in this respect implement additional types of use of the .LANCASTER TLD within the scope of the Registry Agreement to be executed before delegation of the .LANCASTER TLD.

1.1 The LANCASTER Business

The Applicant is Lancaster SARL, a French limited liability company, registered with the French Companies House Register of Bobigny under number B 387 651 565, with its registered office at 95 rue du Parc, Noisy-Le-Sec, 93130, France.

LANCASTER specialises in the design and production of well-known leather goods. The Applicant is one of the leading names in the French leather goods and accessible luxury markets.

Headquartered in Paris, the Applicant operates stores in prime city centre positions worldwide in New York, Los Angeles and Brussels, in prestigious corner outlets in leading department stores. The Applicantʹs products are available in most high-quality leather shops and online.

1.2 The LANCASTER Brand

Since its formation in 1992, LANCASTER has acquired and constantly developed reputation and goodwill in its LANCASTER brand and services worldwide through continuous and significant investment, use and effort.

The Applicant and its Director own numerous trade mark registrations in the term LANCASTER in many jurisdictions (including the United States, China, Latvia, Liechtenstein, South Africa, Switzerland, France and South Korea) in several classes of goods including class 18 (handbags, traveling bags, school bags, briefcases, purses, credit card cases, pocket wallets, luggage, luggage trunks, suitcases, harness for animals, umbrellas), class 25 ( trousers, t-shirts, scarves, shirts, footwear, hats, skirts, ties, socks, coats and belts), class 9 ( sunglasses) and class 14 (watches, jewellery).

Reflecting its global reach, the Applicant owns numerous domain names consisting of or comprising the term LANCASTER in many available TLDs (including .COM, .PRO, .INFO, .FR, .TW, .EU and .US).

The LANCASTER brand, trade marks and domain names are invaluable assets and serve to identify the LANCASTER business as a trusted source of the highest quality goods.

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

The main goals of the .LANCASTER TLD are specialisation, differentiation, innovation, consumer recognition and trust.

Given the intended mission and purpose for the .LANCASTER TLD, the volume of second level domain name registrations will not be a pertinent indicator to assess or measure its success. The Applicant will rather focus and strive to achieve a high level of consumer recognition and trust in the .LANCASTER TLD.

Operating and overseeing this new dedicated Internet space in a transparent, fair and efficient manner will be a key factor in creating goodwill in the .LANCASTER TLD that will match the reputation the Applicant has developed in its brand. As a result Internet users and customers of LANCASTER will come to have the same levels of confidence and trust in the .LANCASTER TLD.

The creation of a dedicated Internet name space which is indelibly associated with the LANCASTER brand assurance of quality, will create a clear benefit to Internet users and to the Applicant as it will establish certainty and trust as to the source of the content.

2.1 18(b)(1): What is the goal of your proposed gTLD in terms of areas of speciality, service levels, or reputation?

(a) Goals in terms of speciality

The creation and operation of the .LANCASTER TLD will create specialisation by creating a segment of the Domain Name System solely dedicated to the Applicant.

Currently there is no Top Level Domain that specifically corresponds to the Applicant and to its businesses, brands, trade marks, products and key customers. Thus no existing Top Level Domain could conceivably deliver the level of specialisation which could potentially be achieved by the .LANCASTER TLD.

Based on the significant goodwill and consumer recognition that the Applicant has acquired and developed in the term LANCASTER, it is anticipated that the .LANCASTER TLD will, by association, clearly and visibly demonstrate the specialised nature of the .LANCASTER TLD resulting in consumer recognition and trust. Internet users will know that they are getting genuine information and are able to access goods, information and services relating solely to the Applicant by virtue of the .LANCASTER TLD.

Specialisation is a key element for the Applicant and for the proposed creation and operation of the .LANCASTER TLD. It is anticipated that this drive for specialisation will in the future become the standard for Internet users, key customers and other third parties. As such the .LANCASTER TLD will provide a defined, unique and clear indication to Internet users that the .LANCASTER domain name space is one that is dedicated to the Applicant.

Therefore, the .LANCASTER TLD will be designed as a single source dedicated segment of the Internet and the Domain Name System where it will be possible to locate and access data in an efficient manner relating to the products and services of the Applicant with the same level of trust which the Applicantʹs customers place in the Applicantʹs brand, all within a secure environment.

(b) Goals in terms of service levels

The Applicant is fully committed to providing the highest levels of service in the course of the operation of the .LANCASTER TLD.

Given the Applicantʹs commitments in terms of service levels associated with the .LANCASTER TLD, the Applicant has entered into contractual agreements for the provision of services by third party service providers who are all leaders in their respective fields of activity. Thus the Applicant is seeking to ensure that both its internal resources and third party service providers have the capacity to achieve the highest levels of service performance in the course of the operation of the .LANCASTER TLD.

A key goal of the Applicant in the operation of the .LANCASTER TLD will be to provide services in a highly secure environment so as to significantly reduce opportunities for malicious conduct. As the Applicant intends to operate the .LANCASTER TLD following the single registrant⁄single user registry model, the Applicant will be able to fully control operation of the .LANCASTER TLD and to ensure that services will be provided through the LANCASTER TLD in a secured, reliable and trusted manner.

The Applicant will use best endeavours to ensure that it operates the .LANCASTER TLD in a manner that furthers its excellent reputation in terms of quality of content and service, security and trust.

Since its formation in 1992, the Applicant has acquired and constantly developed reputation and goodwill in its LANCASTER brand and services through continuous and significant investment, use and effort.

Thus, the creation, delegation and operation of the .LANCASTER TLD will be consistent with the Applicantʹs continuously increasing use of its LANCASTER brand and will allow the Applicant to further promote the Applicantʹs reputation for excellence, quality of goods, innovation and specialisation.

Given the increasing importance of the Internet as part of the Applicantʹs business and services, for instance as a result of the development of online shopping, creating and operating a dedicated segment of the Internet is of utmost importance to the Applicant for the brandʹs credibility and reputation.

As the Applicant intends to operate the .LANCASTER TLD following the single registrant⁄single user registry model, the Applicant will be able to fully control and oversee operation of the .LANCASTER TLD. As a result, the .LANCASTER TLD will by its very nature be associated with trusted and genuine content which will help the Applicant furthering the development of its reputation and consumer recognition in its LANCASTER brand. Whilst the very nature of the .LANCASTER TLD will help avoiding abuse and infringements, the Applicant is fully committed to address potential abuses and infringements in a timely and efficient manner if and when they occur.

2.2 18(b) (2): What do you anticipate your proposed gTLD will add to the current space, in terms of competition, differentiation, or innovation?

(a) Goals in terms of competition

The .LANCASTER TLD will contribute to the creation of a more competitive Domain Name System by operating a Top Level Domain dedicated to a particular commercial entity and thus incentivising competitors to position themselves on this new market in order not to lose ground to the Applicant and to potentially provide new services or content or existing services or content in new ways.

Thus the Applicant will contribute by its .LANCASTER TLD initiative to the development of dedicated and specialised segments of the Domain Name Space and the diversification of content and services available on the Internet.

The .LANCASTER TLD initiative, the specialisation, quality, innovation and high level of consumer recognition and trust that the Applicant anticipates to achieve through the .LANCASTER TLD will likely trigger a reaction from other economic agents and thus indirectly lead to the creation and availability of new and improved resources, products, services, and contents on the Internet.

Thus, the creation and operation of the .LANCASTER TLD will benefit consumers by fostering innovation, competition, trust, diversity of content and availability of quality goods for consumers.

(b) Goals in terms of differentiation

The .LANCASTER TLD will be operated on a single registrant⁄single user registry model and second level domain names will be reserved for exclusive registration by the Applicant for the exclusive use of the Applicant.

The .LANCASTER TLD will, by its very nature, be highly distinctive and differentiated from all other Top Level Domains currently available and likely to be available in the future because it will be comprised of the Applicantʹs renowned and distinctive LANCASTER brand.

Thus the .LANCASTER TLD will clearly and officially indicate to users the source of the TLD.

The .LANCASTER TLD and all second level domain name registrations under it will act as a clear corporate identifier of the source of the dedicated goods and services.

Therefore, differentiation will be achieved in three ways:

At the Top Level
At the second level
Through dedicated content

The Applicant has established a reputation as a leading company in the field of leather goods and luxury products and the Applicantʹs purpose in applying for the .LANCASTER TLD is to pursue further innovation through a new dedicated platform based on the creation of the .LANCASTER TLD.

The .LANCASTER TLD will serve as a base for allowing the Applicant to provide its products and services to their key customers and Internet users in innovative and diverse ways.

The .LANCASTER TLD will be a new technological ecosystem for the Applicant to take its mission of innovation further.

2.3 18(b) (3): What goals does your proposed gTLD have in terms of user experience?

Given that the Applicant will operate and oversee the .LANCASTER TLD on a single registrant⁄single user registry model, user experience will in this context refer to two types of use:

(a) Exclusive use by the Applicant

The Applicant will design a platform within the .LANCASTER TLD which will allow the Applicant to use this dedicated segment of the Internet in rationalised and unprecedented ways and allow access, experience, exchange, provision and updating of content and information.

Only the Applicant will have the possibility to alter the content with respect to domain names, to manage domain names and to take other actions necessary for the maintenance of domain names under the .LANCASTER TLD.

(b) Passive use by third parties

Whilst the exclusive use of the .LANCASTER TLD will be reserved for the Applicant, other users will be able to access content, information and services within the . LANCASTER TLD.

The .LANCASTER TLD will provide a single, genuine, secure and trusted ecosystem where users worldwide will be able to experience and access goods, information and services relating to the Applicant. The specialisation and visibility of the .LANCASTER TLD as the dedicated Top Level Domain of the Applicant will provide considerable legitimacy and recognition to the .LANCASTER TLD and thus be an online landmark for users worldwide.

By virtue of operating its own dedicated TLD registry this will enable the Applicant to ensure a high degree of content quality and integrity which should result in an optimal user experience within the new .LANCASTER dedicated segment of the Internet name space.

2.4 18(b) (4): Provide a complete description of the Applicant’s intended registration policies in support of the goals listed above.

The Applicant intends to create and operate the .LANCASTER TLD as a single registrant⁄single user registry and will reserve domain names under the .LANCASTER TLD for exclusive registration by the Applicant to the exclusion of other parties. Thus it will not be possible for individuals or entities who are not the Applicant to register domain names under the .LANCASTER TLD.

In addition, the Applicant does not intend to sell, distribute or transfer control or use of any second level domain name registrations in the .LANCASTER TLD to any party that is not an Affiliate of the Applicant.

As a result, rules and regulations aiming at protecting the public interest in the event of the opening of a TLD to general registration will not be relevant.

Accordingly the intended registration policies in support of the goals set out in the Applicantʹs LANCASTER TLD application will not contain provisions relating to registration by parties that are not the Applicant who will solely and wholly control and maintain registrations under the .LANCASTER TLD.

Such policies will be consistent with all applicable ICANN’s Consensus Policies and Temporary Policies and the Applicant is committed to ensure that said policies are strictly complied with.

2.5 18(b) (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.

Given that the Applicant will operate the .LANCASTER TLD on a single registrant⁄single user registry model, confidential information relating to the sole registrant (the Applicant) and exclusive users (the Applicant and its Affiliates) will be the responsibility of the Applicant and its Affiliates and will be addressed by existing internal policies implemented within the Applicantʹs organisation.

In relation to the information on users who will access content, information and services within the .LANCASTER TLD, the Applicant will ensure that the operation of the .LANCASTER TLD is at all times consistent with the Applicantʹs privacy policies as well as applicable laws and regulations.

The Applicant will seek to deploy this experience in the .LANCASTER TLD with a view to protecting the privacy and confidential information of users.

2.6 18(b) (6): Describe whether and in what ways outreach and communications will help to achieve your projected benefits.

It is anticipated that the use made of the .LANCASTER TLD will continuously evolve so as to ensure adaptation and innovation mirroring market trends, consumer demand and fostering quality advancement.

As the Applicant identifies new demands, needs, innovative and beneficial types of uses, the Applicant may implement new types of use of the .LANCASTER TLD.

Communication on the .LANCASTER TLD and the services that it will offer will be crucial and the Applicant will make extensive use of its in-house capabilities and experience. In addition, the Applicant will use preferred third party service providers if necessary to ensure efficient and visible communication, promotion and public information on the .LANCASTER TLD and on the content, information and services available within this dedicated segment of the Internet.

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?

Given that the Applicant intends to operate the .LANCASTER TLD as a single registrant⁄single user registry, the Applicant will be the only registrant of second level domain names under the .LANCASTER TLD to the exclusion of any other entity or individual.

In light of the intended structure and operating model of the .LANCASTER TLD, the Applicant does not anticipate that its Top Level Domain will have any known negative consequences or cost implications to consumers.

The .LANCASTER TLD operating model which will be based on the Applicantʹs sole control should actually create an environment with an unprecedented level of security, consumer trust, consumer protection, content quality and reliable indication of source.

3.1 18(c) (1): How will multiple applications for a particular domain name be resolved, for example, by auction or on a first-come⁄first-serve basis?

The Applicant will be the only registrant of second level domain names under the .LANCASTER TLD to the exclusion of any other entity or individual.

Given the closed nature of the proposed single registrant⁄single user registry model for the .LANCASTER TLD, the Applicant does not anticipate that the scenario of multiple applications for a particular domain name could ever occur.

In view of the above, it is neither necessary nor pertinent within the context of the .LANCASTER TLD to implement mechanisms to resolve multiple applications for a particular domain name.

For the sake of completeness, should the Applicant, after the delegation of the .LANCASTER TLD, wish to apply to ICANN for a modification of its single registrant⁄single user registry model, then the Applicant undertakes that it will implement appropriate mechanisms to ensure resolution of multiple applications for a particular domain name in the most transparent and fair manner and in accordance with all applicable ICANN’s Consensus Policies and Temporary Policies.

3.2 18(c) (2): Explain any cost benefits for registrants you intend to implement (e.g., advantageous pricing, introductory discounts, bulk registration discounts).

The Applicant will be the only registrant of second level domain names under the .LANCASTER TLD to the exclusion of any other entity or individual.

Given the closed nature of the proposed single registrant⁄single user registry model for the .LANCASTER TLD, there are no cost benefits to implement for registrants given that the only registrant under the .LANCASTER TLD will be the Applicant.

In view of the above, it is neither necessary nor pertinent within the context of the .LANCASTER TLD to implement any cost benefits for registrants.

For the sake of completeness, should the Applicant, after the delegation of the .LANCASTER TLD, wish to apply to ICANN for a modification of its single registrant⁄single user registry model, then the Applicant undertakes that it will implement appropriate mechanisms to achieve cost benefits for registrants in the most transparent and fair manner and in accordance with all applicable ICANN’s Consensus Policies and Temporary Policies.

3.3 18(c) (3): 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.

The Applicant will be the only registrant of second level domain names under the .LANCASTER TLD to the exclusion of any other entity or individual.

Given the closed nature of the proposed single registrant⁄single user registry model for the .LANCASTER TLD, contractual commitments to registrants regarding price escalation will not be relevant to the Applicant’s mission or goals for the .LANCASTER TLD.

In view of the above, it is neither necessary nor pertinent within the context of the .LANCASTER TLD to implement the types of mechanisms contemplated by question 18(c) (3).

For the sake of completeness, should the Applicant, after the delegation of the .LANCASTER TLD, wish to apply to ICANN for a modification of its single registrant⁄single user registry model, then the Applicant undertakes that it will implement appropriate mechanisms in order to comply with the Registry Agreement and all applicable ICANN’s Consensus Policies and Temporary Policies.