.hbo New gTLD Application
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New gTLD Application Submitted to ICANN by: HBO Registry Services, Inc.
Application Downloaded On: 10 Jun 2014
String: hbo
Application ID: 1-1783-76510
Applicant Information
- Full legal name
HBO Registry Services, Inc.
- Address of the principal place of business
1100 Avenue of the Americas New York, New York - 10036 US
- Phone number
+1 212 512 1000
- Fax number
+1 212 512 1986
- If applicable, website or URL
Primary Contact
6(a). Name
Matthew Serlin
6(b). Title
Vice President, Domain Management
6(c). Address
6(d). Phone Number
+1 208 685 1864
6(e). Fax Number
+1 208 389 5771
6(f). Email Address
Secondary Contact
7(a). Name
Judy McCool
7(b). Title
Vice President & Senior Counsel
7(c). Address
7(d). Phone Number
+1 212 512 1000
7(e). Fax Number
+1 212 512 1986
7(f). Email Address
Proof of Legal Establishment
8(a). Legal form of the Applicant
Corporation
8(b). State the specific national or other jurisdiction that defines the type of entity identified in 8(a).
HBO Registry Services, Inc. is a corporation under the laws of the state of Delaware in the United States pursuant to title 8 of the Delaware Code. The applicable sections may be found on the Internet at http://delcode.delaware.gov/title8/c001/index.shtml.
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
Joseph D. Tarulli Director
Thomas M. Woodbury Director
11(b). Name(s) and position(s) of all officers and partners
Name
Position
Joseph D. Tarulli Senior Vice President & Treasurer
Judith Marie McCool Vice President & Assistant Secretary
Thomas M. Woodbury President & Secretary
11(c). Name(s) and position(s) of all shareholders holding at least 15% of shares
Name
Position
Home Box Office, 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
Applied-for gTLD string
- Provide the applied-for gTLD string. If an IDN, provide the U-label.
hbo
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.
Applicant has consulted with its registry service operator 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, the registry service operator has ensured us that there are no known or likely operational or rendering problems.
- 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.
Applicant is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the worldʹs most successful pay-TV service, Home Box Office, Inc. (“HBO”), providing HBO® and Cinemax® services to over 92 million subscribers worldwide. Internationally, HBO branded television networks, along with the subscription video-on-demand products HBO On Demand and HBO GO®, bring HBO services to over 60 countries. HBO programming is sold into over 150 countries worldwide. Applicantʹs mission is to operate the proposed gTLD (“the TLD”) on behalf of, and for the benefit of, its corporate parent, HBO.
The purpose of the TLD is to serve HBO, for internal purposes and⁄or as a digital marketing tool. Although initially the TLD will not be used to provide any information or services to the public, Applicant plans to diligently evaluate the best possible uses for the TLD to benefit HBO pursuant to the inter-company arrangement between Applicant and HBO, and therefore reserves the right to use the TLD for internal purposes.
18B. How do you expect that your proposed gTLD will benefit registrants, Internet users, and others?
- What is the goal of your proposed gTLD in terms of areas of specialty, service levels, or reputation?
Specialty
Applicantʹs primary goal is to secure the renowned HBO brand in this new Internet space to ensure that only Applicant and its affiliates are able to register and control the second-level domain names in the .HBO TLD. This will ensure that any internal uses for the TLD relate to HBO and any digital marketing uses remain appropriately targeted to HBO’s 92 million subscribers and fans, with focus on HBO’s acclaimed original programming and services.
Service levels
HBO has achieved industry recognition for its digital marketing efforts and owning the .HBO TLD will permit Applicant to explore additional digital marketing efforts via a global online identifier for HBO.
Reputation
As noted above, HBO is well known for its quality original programming and has achieved industry recognition for its digital marketing efforts. Applicant recognizes that as the digital landscape evolves, the TLD may provide a global branded tool for digital marketing efforts. Consequently, Applicant is investing in the .HBO TLD to explore all avenues that may lead to reinforcing the positive association consumers already feel in connection with the HBO brand and its existing online presence.
- What do you anticipate your proposed gTLD will add to the current space, in terms of competition, differentiation, or innovation?
Competition
Assuming consumers embrace new top-level domains as they have HBO.com, Applicant, on behalf of HBO, could leverage a branded TLD to further enhance its online presence in all of its global markets via a streamlined digital marketing tool.
Differentiation
The TLD will be differentiated from all other top-level domains because only Applicant and its affiliates will be permitted to register or operate domain names within the TLD. With a focus on HBO and⁄or its acclaimed original programming and services, the TLD would be inherently different from all others.
Innovation
HBO is already a recognized leader in online marketing. New TLDs may offer the ability to conduct more global digital marketing efforts in a streamlined fashion through an unmistakably strong branded TLD. This could present opportunities for HBO relating to search prominence for its online marketing efforts that could possibly lead to minimizing online diversion.
- What goals does your proposed gTLD have in terms of user experience?
When used, the TLD will offer consumers a secure experience tied to HBO and⁄or its acclaimed original programming and services. This security will come from knowing that all domain names in the TLD will be owned, operated and secured by Applicant, as contemplated in its inter-company arrangement with HBO. It’s well founded that when consumers know the source of communications, goods and services, their trust levels increase, enriching their online experience.
- Provide a complete description of the applicant’s intended registration policies in support of the goals listed above.
In order to support the goals listed above, only Applicant will be allowed to register domain names within the TLD. Accordingly, the general public will not be allowed to register, buy, or sell domain names in the TLD. Applicant, however, reserves the right to sell, distribute, or transfer control or use of any registrations in the TLD to any third party that is an affiliate of Applicant for uses as specified by Applicant.
As stated above, Applicant intends to operate a closed registry for the benefit of HBO. Accordingly, pursuant to the inter-company arrangement between Applicant and HBO, policies and decisions regarding the registration and use of domain names within the TLD will continue to be provided through an internal team consisting of HBO’s existing decision-making channels.
The TLD’s domain name policies will of course be limited by its abuse prevention and rights protection policies discussed further herein, and will strive to avoid registering domain names that are confusingly similar to third-party’s trademarks and related rights.
- 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.
Applicant intends to operate a registry with limited access which will by its nature ensure the security and privacy of the information available. If the TLD is made accessible to the public, Applicant will take commercially reasonable steps to maintain the security and privacy of the information collected therein.
- Describe whether and in what ways outreach and communications will help to achieve your projected benefits.
Use of the TLD for the internal purposes of Applicant and its affiliates will necessarily involve communication to employees about the security, control and usefulness of the TLD as a digital marketing tool and information resource. Should the TLD ultimately be made accessible to consumers other than employees, Applicant would likely take steps to link the TLD with its existing online marketing TLDs such as hbo.com to enhance awareness of this available resource.
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?
- How will multiple applications for a particular domain name be resolved, for example, by auction or on a first-come⁄first-serve basis?
Members of the public will not be able to register domain names in the TLD. Applicant will tightly control registration, and initially only designated Applicant personnel will be able to register domain names for purposes relating to Applicant. Therefore, there will not be multiple applications for a particular domain name.
- Explain any cost benefits for registrants you intend to implement (e.g., advantageous pricing, introductory discounts, bulk registration discounts).
Members of the public will be unable to register domain names in the TLD. Applicant will tightly control registration, and initially only designated Applicant personnel will be able to register domain names for purposes relating to Applicant. Therefore, because Applicant will not sell the domain names in the TLD, there are no cost benefits for registrants to implement.
- 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.
Members of the public will not be able to register domain names in the TLD. Applicant will tightly control registration, and initially only designated personnel of Applicant or its affiliates will be able to register domain names for purposes relating to Applicant. Therefore, because Applicant will not sell the domain names in the TLD, contractual commitments to registrants regarding price escalation are not relevant to Applicant’s mission or goals.