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.FOX New gTLD Application

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New gTLD Application Submitted to ICANN by: FOX Registry, LLC

 

Application Downloaded On: 16 Oct 2015

 

String: FOX

 

Application ID: 1-1167-1880

 

Applicant Information

 

  1. Full legal name

FOX Registry, LLC

 

  1. Address of the principal place of business

1211 Avenue of the Americas New York, New York - 10036 US

 

  1. Phone number

+1 212 852 7000

 

  1. Fax number

+1 212 852 7217

 

  1. If applicable, website or URL

 

Primary Contact

 

6(a). Name

Cecilia Smith

 

6(b). Title

Director, Domain Name Compliance and Policy, Fox Group Legal, Intellectual Property

 

6(c). Address

 

6(d). Phone Number

(310) 369-0457

 

6(e). Fax Number

(310) 369-0457

 

6(f). Email Address

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

 

Secondary Contact

 

7(a). Name

Bryce Coughlin

 

7(b). Title

Senior Counsel, Intellectual Property, Fox Entertainment Group, Inc.

 

7(c). Address

 

7(d). Phone Number

(310) 369-2453

 

7(e). Fax Number

(310) 969-0107

 

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

Limited Liability Company

 

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

State of Delaware

 

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.

Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc.

 

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

 

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

 

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

Name

Position

Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc. 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

Name

Position

Bryce Daniel Coughlin Senior Counsel, Fox Group Legal, Intellectual Property

Cecilia Lee Smith Director, Domain Name Compliance and Policy, Fox Group Legal, Intellectual Property

 

Applied-for gTLD string

 

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

FOX

 

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.

 

 

  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.

 

Fox Registry, LLC (ʺApplicantʺ) has consulted with its registry service provider, Neustar, Inc, (ʺNeustarʺ), regarding any potential rendering or operational problems with the applied-for gTLD. Because the applied-for TLD uses standard characters under The American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) standard, and because three letter TLDs have been common since the start of the Internet and are universally accepted, Neustar has ensured Applicant that there are no known or likely operational or rendering problems.

 

In addition, the string .FOX 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)

 

  1. 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.

 

Fox Registry, LLC (ʺApplicantʺ) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc. Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc. is a publicly traded, diversified, global media company. Affiliates (as defined in the draft Registry Agreement contained in the Applicant Guidebook dated 2012-01-11) of Applicant within the Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc. group provide a wide range of services under the world-famous FOX brand, including filmed entertainment, television entertainment, home entertainment, music publishing, international entertainment, digital entertainment, consumer products and other related products and services (collectively, the “FOX Businesses”).

 

The intended mission and purpose of the .FOX TLD is to serve as a trusted, specialized, hierarchical and intuitive namespace for the iconic and world-famous FOX brand and associated goods and services.

 

  1. The FOX Businesses

The FOX Businesses have a major impact on billions of consumers across the globe and include the following:

 

  1. Feature Film Entertainment: The Twentieth Century Fox, Fox 2000, Fox Searchlight Pictures and Blue Sky Studios film banners produce, distribute, and license some of the most commercially successful and iconic films in history, including the two highest grossing films of all time—Avatar and Titanic, which together grossed over $4.6 billion in worldwide box office receipts—as well as thousands of classics such as All About Eve, The Seven Year Itch, Miracle on 34th Street, and franchises such as Alien, X-Men and Die Hard.

 

  1. Television Entertainment: The FOX Businesses offer a wide array of television-related services, such as:

 

- Television Production: Twentieth Century Fox Television, Twentieth Television, Fox 21 and Fox Television Studios have produced a vast library of world-famous and award-winning series, including M*A*S*H, X-Files, The Wonder Years, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Glee, 24, The Simpsons and Modern Family.

- Broadcast Television: The FOX Broadcasting Network reaches circa 99% of all U.S. TV households via 200 affiliated stations. Its prime-time programming features some of the most-watched series on television, such as House, X-Factor, American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance.

- Television Stations: FOX Television Stations owns and operates 27 full-power U.S. broadcast TV stations, including stations in nine of the top ten largest U.S. markets.

- Sports: FOX Sports offers a wide array of sports-related television programming worldwide. It is the exclusive home of the Daytona 500, the World Series and coverage of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. FOX Sports operates 19 regional sports networks as well as cable channels such as Fox Soccer Channel, Speed Channel, Fuel TV and FOX Deportes. FOX Sports also licenses several direct-to-consumer experiences, such as FOX Sports restaurants.

- Cable Network Programming: Fox Cable Networks is one of the largest and most diverse cable TV programming groups with 43 programming services reaching more than 550,000,000 subscribing television homes. Fox Cable Networks’ channels include FOX News Channel, which has been the most-watched cable news network in the United States for over 10 years, with an average of 1.865 million primetime viewers in 2011. Fox Cable Networks’ other well-known channels include FX, National Geographic Channel, Fox Movie Channel and Fox Business Channel.

 

  1. Home Entertainment & Music Publishing: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment and Fox Music distribute film and television content via a wide variety of media formats, such as DVDs, Blu-Ray Disc, Digital Download, CDs and others. Fox Music has been responsible for the worldwide sales of over 60 million albums, producing 3 Platinum, 6 Multi-Platinum and 6 Gold records. Fox Music alone has won 4 Academy Awards, 4 Golden Globe Awards, 11 Emmy Awards, and 12 Grammy Awards.

 

  1. International Entertainment: FOX International Channels develops, produces and distributes over 350 pay-TV channels in 35 languages across Latin America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa, reaching over 1.1 billion viewing subscribers worldwide. FOX International Channels also owns and operates the .FOX Networks, a global online ad sales house.

 

  1. Digital: The FOX Businesses’ digital properties include the FoxShop.com, Fox.com, FoxSports.com, FoxNews.com and FoxMovies.com websites. These and other websites are visited by hundreds of millions of consumers from countries all around the world. In addition, Fox Digital Entertainment develops original mobile applications and made-for-web original video content that is consumed by a large audience of Internet and mobile device users.

 

  1. Consumer Products: Fox Consumer Products sells millions of dollars of consumer products in a wide variety of categories, including interactive gaming, themed entertainment, literary publishing, toiletries, mobile applications, accessories, housewares, collectibles, clothing, games, toys, live entertainment, food and beverage, and many others.

 

  1. Fox: Global Trademark and Domain Name Portfolio

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, an Affiliate of Applicant, owns over 3,500 FOX-formative trademark applications and registrations in 178 countries that reflect the full range of products and services provided by the FOX Businesses. In addition, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation owns over 5,000 FOX-formative domain names in nearly every available gTLD and ccTLD. These domain names and their associated websites are visited by hundreds of millions of consumers globally each year. The FOX brand, trademarks and domain names are invaluable assets and serve to identify the FOX Businesses as a trusted source of the highest quality goods and services globally.

 

  1. Mission⁄Purpose for the .FOX TLD

Applicant intends to operate the .FOX TLD under the single registrant⁄single user registry model, permitting only Applicant and its Affiliates to control domain names in the second level. Applicant anticipates that it will use the .FOX TLD to create an internal resource for the FOX Businesses to share content, information, and provide services to each other; to create a destination for trusted online services and content provided by the FOX Businesses; to allow Applicant and its Affiliates to offer consumers a technologically secure and trusted environment in which to learn about and access their products, services, and content; and to enable the FOX Businesses to evolve to the host of ever-changing trends and opportunities in furnishing online content, products and services.

 

Applicant will initially conduct consumer marketing and technical research to determine the most effective and safest way for it and the Fox Businesses to use the .FOX TLD. During this initial period, Applicant anticipates that it will make limited use of the .FOX TLD.

 

Applicant has been and will continue to analyze specific potential uses of the .FOX TLD. Specific examples of such uses include allocating second level domain names that correspond with:

 

- Subject-matter areas of the FOX Businesses, e.g., MOVIES.FOX, NEWS.FOX, SPORTS.FOX.

- Television broadcast stations and analog channel numbers for the Fox stations, e.g., WOFL.FOX, WTXF.FOX, 11.FOX, 29.FOX.

- Entertainment properties⁄franchises owned by Fox, e.g., GLEE.FOX, SIMPSONS.FOX, XFACTOR.FOX, AVATAR.FOX.

- Characters, news anchors, or other individuals associated with the FOX Businesses, e.g., MARGESIMPSON.FOX, BILLOREILLY.FOX.

- Channel Names, e.g., NATGEO.FOX, FUEL.FOX, SPEED.FOX.

- Products sold through the FOX Businesses, e.g., DVDS.FOX, GAMES.FOX.

- Internal resources for FOX Businesses to share content and information amongst themselves, e.g., CONTENT.FOX, LEGAL.FOX.

 

These are a representative sampling of potential uses. Applicant will continue to analyze and explore consumer, business, technical and security issues, and has not yet committed to or excluded any potential uses.

 

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

 

As a TLD dedicated to the Fox Businesses and the FOX brand, the primary driving factors of the .FOX TLD are differentiation and innovation. The success of the TLD will not be measured by the number of domain names registered, but by the level of consumer recognition and trust that is placed in the .FOX TLD. Using this benchmark, Applicant strives to build consumer recognition and trust that rise to the level of that found in the .EDU and .GOV TLDs.

 

Specifically, Applicant believes that a proposed .FOX TLD has the potential to offer the following benefits to Internet users, consumers, and the FOX Businesses:

 

  • Establishes trusted online destinations for the billions of consumers who currently access FOX-branded content, products and services.
  • Provides a platform for the secure access, purchase and distribution of copyrighted material.
  • Protects the FOX Businesses’ valuable intellectual property from piracy on the Internet.
  • Creates a namespace void of piracy, cybersquatting and other malicious activities.
  • Provides short and memorable URLs that may incorporate the full, proper names of Fox’s intellectual property.
  • Includes the capability of offering multiple IDNs, making the domain space more inclusive to global consumers.

 

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

 

  1. .FOX Will Create Specialization

 

The .FOX TLD will create specialization by creating a segment of the Domain Name System dedicated solely to Applicant and the Fox Businesses.

 

At present there is no TLD dedicated to the full range of entertainment and related products and services provided by the FOX Businesses; there is no TLD dedicated to providing the FOX Businesses with a trusted namespace in which to share information, content, and provide services to each other; and there is no TLD dedicated to the famous FOX brand. The .FOX TLD could fill these voids.

 

This specialization will make it easier for FOX Businesses to share information and content and provide services to each other. In addition, it will make it easier for Internet users who are looking for legitimate and authorized information about the FOX Businesses to locate this information. The .FOX TLD will communicate to consumers that they will find the premiere content, products, and services offered by the FOX Businesses at a single, secure destination.

 

Another benefit is that second level domains utilized by the FOX Businesses will become shorter. One impact of a dearth of ‘good’ web addresses has been for them to get longer over time. Using the .FOX TLD not only means the FOX Businesses’ can benefit from having an important keyword in their web address, it will also be much faster for Internet users to type in the address, especially when using mobile devices. Built into a wider strategy of web optimization and marketing, the inclusion of the TLD as a keyword in every domain name will likely have positive implications for specialty, security, and global promotion purposes. This will increase traffic to these websites, promote competition, and facilitate use by consumers who prefer shorter URLs, and increase trust for consumers looking for legitimate products and services in an increasingly crowded online marketplace.

 

  1. .FOX Will Provide High Levels of Service

 

Applicant is committed to providing the highest level of security, quality, and customer service in the .FOX TLD. Applicant is contracting with and will engage proven industry operators and experts to provide the highest possible quality in registry and registrar services so as not to compromise the security and quality of the .FOX TLD. Due to the widespread and severe level of online content piracy, many of the FOX Businesses have extensive experience in Internet security issues, and have a vested interest in maintaining the highest levels of online security. Operating the .FOX TLD, as a fully controlled single registrant⁄single user registry model TLD, would be yet another way for the FOX Businesses to accomplish the goal of the highest and most secure provision of services.

 

In operating the .FOX TLD, Applicant will provide a secure, reliable and trusted domain space, and will endeavor to prevent malicious conduct. The absence of corruption, spam, phishing, piracy, and false information will protect consumers and enhance the FOX Businesses’ ongoing efforts to become trusted providers of the highest quality online goods and services.

 

  1. .FOX Will Protect and Enhance the Reputation of the FOX Businesses

 

The Fox Businesses have developed substantial goodwill in the FOX brand by virtue of continuous and significant worldwide use, investment and effort. A goal of the .FOX TLD will be to promote the FOX Businesses’ reputation for excellence, high quality of content, innovative user experiences in digital media, cutting-edge marketing initiatives, and advanced technical capabilities.

 

Applicant will ensure that all of the second level domain names are used for bona fide purposes of the FOX Businesses, that the WHOIS is thick and reliable, and that the Registry is responsive to legal rights owners. In addition, Applicant will offer high levels of service, security and compliance. Through these activities, Applicant will strive to be known as an exemplary cyber-citizen.

 

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

 

  1. .FOX Will Increase Competition

 

The .FOX TLD will enhance competition by providing Applicant with a cutting-edge resource to innovate and create new online products, services, and platforms. This will incentivize competitors to improve the security and quality of their own goods and services, to offer similar domain name innovations, and to accelerate the introduction of new goods and services in order to attract new customers. Thus, the entry of the .FOX TLD will benefit consumers by increasing the likelihood of the successful introduction of new and innovative online entertainment, media, news and information products and services.

 

In addition, the .FOX TLD will contribute to the growth of the Internet in general. By virtue of its efforts to market and promote the .FOX TLD, Applicant will acclimate consumers to a new, specialized Domain Name Space on the Internet, and help normalize the expansion of the Internet.

 

  1. .FOX Will Offer Differentiation

 

The .FOX TLD will be differentiated from all other top-level domains currently available in the marketplace because it will be comprised of the world famous FOX brand, and will clearly indicate to users the source of the TLD. In terms of differentiated uses, customized second level domains could signify the service offered as well as the source of the service, and .FOX domains will offer dedicated content. Finally, unlike existing TLDs, the .FOX TLD will be operated as a single registrant⁄single user registry, and second level domains will be registered by Applicant and controlled and used by Applicant and its Affiliates (e.g., the FOX Businesses).

 

  1. .FOX Will Inspire Innovation

 

The FOX Businesses are already recognized leaders in online innovation. Indeed, technology is at the forefront of their online presences. The .FOX TLD could allow Applicant and its Affiliates to offer unique proprietary user experiences that incorporate cutting-edge technologies and are accessible via the latest connected devices. It could also provide a secure platform for Affiliates to test new designs and concepts and encourage experimentation.

 

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

 

Applicant believes that the .FOX TLD could provide a single trusted ecosystem experience for the billions of consumers worldwide that enjoy the products and services provided by the FOX Businesses. In addition to providing consumers with short, memorable and intuitive domain names, Applicant will adopt best-in-class safeguards to minimize any infringing or pirated content within the .FOX TLD.

 

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

 

Applicant intends to operate a single registrant⁄single user registry. Second level domain names within the .FOX TLD will be registered to, and maintained by, Applicant for the use by Applicant and its Affiliates. Applicant does not intend to sell, distribute or transfer control or use of any second level registrations in the .FOX TLD to any third party that is not an Affiliate of Applicant. Accordingly, members of the general public will not be able to register domain names in the second level of the .FOX TLD. Since it will not be possible for unrelated third parties to register second level domains in the .FOX TLD, registration policies designed to protect the public interest in registering domains, which would be necessary in the case of an open registry model, are not relevant. Instead, pre-existing decision-making channels within the FOX Businesses will administer policies regarding the registration and use of second level domain names within the .FOX TLD by Applicant and its Affiliates. Such policies will be consistent with all applicable ICANN policies and the policies described elsewhere in this application.

 

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.

 

Keeping customer information secure and private is of crucial importance to Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc. and the Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc. group of companies, including Applicant and the Fox Businesses.  Applicant will ensure that the operation of the .FOX TLD will be consistent with Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc.’s Statement of Privacy Principles, available on its website at http://www.21cf.com/Privacy_Policy/.  The Statement of Privacy Principles describes the policies and procedures for the collection, use and dissemination of personal information.  The Statement of Privacy Principles and corresponding commentary make clear that Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc. is committed to providing strong, effective privacy protections; discloses its policies regarding cookies and similar technologies; and uses reasonable administrative, technical, personnel and physical measures to safeguard personal information in its possession against loss, theft and unauthorized use, disclosure or modification.

 

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

 

As stated above, Applicant will initially make limited use of the .FOX TLD so that it may conduct consumer marketing and technical research to determine the most effective and safest way to use the .FOX TLD. At such time as Applicant expands use of the .FOX TLD, Applicant intends to make use of its and its Affiliates’ substantial and world-class marketing capabilities and significant consumer promotion channels to inform the public about the TLD and the content and information available therein.

 

Applicant expects to engage in ongoing outreach and communication efforts with consumers, and to continuously receive feedback and learn about consumers’ needs and desires. This process will assist Applicant in developing new, beneficial uses of the .FOX TLD.

 

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?

 

As stated above, Applicant intends to operate a single registrant⁄single user registry, and members of the general public will not be able to register domain names in the .FOX TLD.  Applicant believes that the proposed operation of the .FOX TLD has no known negative consequences or cost implications to consumers.  To the contrary, the proposed operation of the .FOX TLD is likely to lead to direct and quantifiable benefits to consumers, such as those noted earlier in this answer.  

 

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?

 

As stated above, Applicant intends to operate a single registrant⁄single user registry.  All registrations in the second level of the .FOX TLD will be registered to and by Applicant for the use by Applicant and its Affiliates, and members of the public will not be able to register domain names in the second level of .FOX TLD.  Accordingly, given Applicant’s intended registration policies and proposed uses for the .FOX TLD, Applicant does not envision a scenario where multiple applications for a single second level domain name in the .FOX TLD could occur.

 

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

 

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

 

As Applicant intends to operate a single registrant⁄single user registry, all registrations in the second level of the .FOX TLD will be registered to and by Applicant, and members of the public will not be able to register domain names in the second level of .FOX TLD.  Accordingly, given Applicant’s intended registration policies, it is not necessary to implement any cost benefits for registrants since all registrations in the second level of the .FOX TLD will be registered to and by Applicant.

 

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

 

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.

 

As Applicant intends to operate a single registrant⁄single user registry, all registrations in the second level of the .FOX TLD will be registered to and by Applicant, and members of the public will not be able to register domain names in the second level of .FOX TLD.  Accordingly, given Applicant’s intended registration policies, it is not necessary to implement the types mechanisms contemplated by this Question 18(c)(3) since all registrations in the second level of the .FOX TLD will be registered to and by Applicant.

 

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