.GRAINGER New gTLD Application
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New gTLD Application Submitted to ICANN by: Grainger Registry Services, LLC
String: GRAINGER
Originally Posted: 13 June 2012
Application ID: 1-1006-23981
Applicant Information
- Full legal name
Grainger Registry Services, LLC
- Address of the principal place of business
100 Grainger Parkway
Lake Forest 60045
US
- Phone number
+1 847 535 1000
- Fax number
+1 847 535 0878
- If applicable, website or URL
Primary Contact
6(a). Name
Mr. Philip Lodico
6(b). Title
Managing Partner
6(c). Address
6(d). Phone Number
+1 202 223 9252
6(e). Fax Number
6(f). Email Address
Secondary Contact
7(a). Name
Ms. Aimee Nolan
7(b). Title
Associate General Counsel
7(c). Address
7(d). Phone Number
+1 847 535 1047
7(e). Fax Number
7(f). Email Address
Proof of Legal Establishment
8(a). Legal form of the Applicant
Limited Liability Company
8(b). State the specific national or other jursidiction that defines the type of entity identified in 8(a).
The Laws of the State of Delaware, US
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.
W.W. Grainger, 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
Courtney D. Carruthers President
Debra S. Oler Vice President
John L. Howard Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel
Michael L. Howard Assistant Secretary
Paul C. Miller Vice President
Paul J. Stanukinas Assistant Secretary
Philip M. West Treasurer
Ronald L. Jadin Vice President
11(b). Name(s) and position(s) of all officers and partners
Courtney D. Carruthers President
Debra S. Oler Vice President
John L. Howard Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel
Michael L. Howard Assistant Secretary
Paul C. Miller Vice President
Paul J. Stanukinas Assistant Secretary
Philip M. West Treasurer
Ronald L. Jadin Vice President
11(c). Name(s) and position(s) of all shareholders holding at least 15% of shares
W.W. Grainger, 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.
GRAINGER
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.
Grainger Registry Services, LLC (“Grainger Registry”) foresees no known rendering issues in connection with the proposed .GRAINGER gTLD for which it is applying. This answer is based upon consultation with Grainger Registry’s selected back-end provider, Neustar, Inc. (“Neustar”), which has successfully launched a number of new gTLDs over the last decade. In reaching this determination, Neustar analyzed the following data:
-ICANN’s Security Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC) entitled Alternative TLD Name Systems and Roots: Conflict, Control and Consequences (SAC009);
-IAB - RFC3696 “Application Techniques for Checking and Transformation of Names”;
-Known software issues which Neustar has encountered during the last decade launching new gTLDs;
-Character type and length;
-ICANN supplemental notes to Question 16; and
-ICANN’s presentation during its Costa Rica regional meeting on TLD Universal Acceptance.
- (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.
Mission and Purpose of .GRAINGER
The content of this Answer to Question 18 set forth below which describes the plans for Applicant’s registry constitutes the “purpose” of the registry as that term is used in Paragraph 1.b. of Specification 9 of the Draft New gTLD Registry Agreement found in Module 5 of the Applicant Guidebook dated January 11, 2012 (the “Purpose”). Applicant will publish its Charter and its policies, guidelines, and other supporting documentation related to the implementation of the registry consistent with the Purpose, all prior to launch. All second-level domain names registered by Grainger and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates will be registered through an ICANN-accredited registrar and will be consistent with the Purpose.
The applied-for gTLD registry will be a standard, not a community-based, registry. The applied-for gTLD registry will be a standard registry open only to Applicant and its subsidiaries and affiliates or business partners. For the avoidance of doubt, the applied-for gTLD registry will be closed to registrants that do not have a formal, written trademark license agreement from Applicant specifically allowing the registration of a second-level domain name in the applied-for gTLD registry (the “Required License”). The applied-for gTLD registry will not be a community-based registry and there will be no market for second-level registrations outside of registrants that are affiliated with Applicant and⁄or that have the Required License.
W.W. Grainger, Inc. (“Grainger”) is a leader in the distribution of maintenance, repair, and operating (“MRO”) supplies and related information to the commercial, industrial, contractor, and institutional markets in North America. Grainger, in 2011, had net sales of nearly $8.1 billion, and operates over 700 branches across the globe. Grainger’s products can be purchased worldwide in branches and online. Grainger content is accessible in multiple TLDs, including the .COM gTLD and the .CN, .CA, and .MX ccTLDs.
Grainger has created a wholly owned subsidiary, Grainger Registry Services, LLC (“Grainger Registry”), as the entity to file this application and bring the .GRAINGER gTLD to market.
The intended future mission and Purpose of the .GRAINGER gTLD is to serve as a trusted, hierarchical, and intuitive namespace provided by Grainger and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates for its business partners, customers and potential customers. Although ICANN has not specifically recognized a .BRAND gTLD specification in the current version of the Applicant Guidebook, the .GRAINGER gTLD is planned as a .BRAND gTLD, with the Purpose of protecting Grainger’s online presence and identity, expanding its marketing and promotion efforts, and providing a more secure channel for its online products, services, and information.
Grainger Registry intends to initially limit registration and use of domain names within the .GRAINGER gTLD to Grainger and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates. This initial limited use will allow Grainger Registry to establish its operations and achieve full sustainability. This limited use, coupled with the other requirements set forth in Specification 9 of the template Registry Agreement, is intended to exempt Grainger Registry from any annual Code of Conduct Compliance requirements.
After Stage 3 (see below), Grainger Registry will evaluate whether opportunities exist to continue the sustainable operations of the registry through fee-based registrations to parties other than Grainger and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates. All such parties would have the Required License in place prior to registration of any second level domain names.
Grainger Registry currently plans a four-stage rollout for the .GRAINGER gTLD:
Stage 1
The initial stage of implementation of the gTLD will involve Grainger registering a limited number of .GRAINGER second-level domain names.
This initial use will provide Grainger’s IT and security personnel the time to run a number of tests to ensure seamless and secure access to the .GRAINGER gTLD domain names, interoperability with various software and Web-based applications, and unbroken and secure use of all names. This initial allocation will also allow the appropriate internal and external staff responsible for the delegation and setup phases of the .GRAINGER gTLD to ensure a proper transition from the initial delegation of the gTLD to full operation.
Stage 2
Once all testing has been successfully completed, Grainger Registry will begin allocating domain names in .GRAINGER to Grainger and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates for more widespread corporate use. During this same period of time, Grainger will begin evaluating strategies to potentially migrate some traffic away from its current network of Grainger-related second-level domain names, which are registered in a variety of TLDs, to the .GRAINGER gTLD.
It is also in Stage 2 that Grainger will evaluate expanding the operations of the gTLD to permit registration by other registrants such as licensees or strategic partners, all of whom would have the Required License in place prior to any second level registrations being issued to them. Should an assessment of its expansion strategy lead to a decision to extend registration rights to other parties having the Required License, the expansion would occur during Stage 3. However, any expansion would be conditioned upon a review of the Specification 9 (Registry Code of Conduct) set forth in the template Registry Agreement to ensure compliance with Grainger Registry’s business model.
Stage 3
Depending upon the analysis of the evaluations undertaken in Stage 2, Grainger Registry may begin to implement the migration of some Internet traffic away from the TLDs in which Grainger-related domain names are currently registered, and toward the new .GRAINGER gTLD.
It is in this stage that Grainger Registry also may implement Grainger’s decision to extend registration rights to licensees or strategic parties having the Required License, depending upon compliance with Specification 9. The dates of such expansion are subject to change depending upon business, strategic, and industry factors.
Stage 4
Based on experiences gained through the first stages of operation, Grainger Registry and Grainger will assess whether the business plan and expansion strategy should be augmented by extending registration rights to a broader class of licensees, including potential customers of Grainger, each of whom would have to obtain the Required License prior to any second level domain names being registered to them.
It is anticipated by Grainger that changes to the domain name industry, and particularly the impact of .BRAND gTLDs, will take at least five years to be realized and assessed. Any decision to expand the gTLDs beyond corporate, qualified subsidiary⁄affiliate, and licensee⁄partner use will take into account this experience as well as the technical analysis of potential expansion.
Utilizing current projections based upon Grainger’s existing businesses, future business plans, current domain name portfolio, and other strategic factors, Grainger Registry estimates second-level domain name registrations to be in line with the projections set forth in the financial template provided in response to Question 46 of this application. In addition, Grainger Registry believes that the number of domain name registrations will be less than 10,000 in the first five years of operation.
Ultimately, the potential use of the .GRAINGER gTLD by Grainger and its various business segments may also be driven by Grainger’s future business strategies.
18(b). How do you expect that your proposed gTLD will benefit registrants, Internet users, and others?
18.2 How do you expect that your proposed gTLD will benefit registrants, Internet users, and others?
Grainger Registry believes that the proposed .GRAINGER gTLD has the potential to offer the following benefits to Internet users and customers:
1) Establish a trusted source of information and an online marketplace for customers and potential customers that purchase goods and services, and seek information through Grainger’s online eCommerce solutions, for investors and third parties seeking information, and for the general Internet user population;
2) Provide Grainger and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates with short and memorable Internet addresses; provide increased navigation to products, services, advertising campaigns, marketing materials, public interest content, public awareness initiatives, etc.;
3) Minimize the cost and need for defensive registrations because domain names within the .GRAINGER gTLD will only be registered by Grainger and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates; and
4) Develop a potential platform for a more secure access to, purchase of, and distribution of Grainger products, services, and information to customers and potential customers, in order to minimize infringing or unauthorized goods, services, and information.
5) Through the adoption of new gTLDs by the wider Internet user community, customers, potential customers and Internet users may benefit from lower incidents of phishing and malware often associated with mistypes of domain names in the .COM space since they will be navigating to domain names in the .GRAINGER gTLD.
6) Provide an online single source-identifying function for its current and future customers around the world, instead of the current mix-and-match approach that Grainger has used as it expands into different markets around the world. For example, Grainger currently operates a number of corporate websites using a combination of second-level and top-level domain names. A representative sampling of Grainger websites that incorporate geographical identifiers into the domain name include:
GraingerChina.com
GraingerIndia.com
Grainger.cn
Grainger.com.mx
GraingerMexico.com
GraingerColombia.com
Grainger.ca
GraingerIndonesia.com
Grainger.tw
GraingerPanama.com
18.2.1 What is the goal of your proposed gTLD in terms of areas of specialty, service levels, or reputation?
The primary mission and Purpose of the .GRAINGER gTLD is to provide a trusted, hierarchical, and intuitive online marketplace to deliver Grainger content; information on the company’s business and focus; and other goods, services, and information. As Grainger continues to expand, it is the company’s desire to pursue and develop opportunities to market and distribute its online content, services, products, and information to customers and potential customers in the U.S. and internationally, and on various platforms, including the Internet and mobile devices, among others. Given that customers and potential customers increasingly request access to Grainger’s offerings through a variety of channels, which include domain names, Grainger Registry believes that the .GRAINGER gTLD has potential to provide an innovative, virtual avenue to Grainger products, services, and information that will deepen and broaden Graingerʹs relationship with both customers and potential customers.
Most importantly, Grainger Registry hopes to provide access to Grainger products and online content in a namespace less burdened by piracy, cybersquatting, and other malicious activities that are commonly found in the TLD space today. Providing customers and potential customers with a more trusted experience is a paramount goal for Grainger Registry and the .GRAINGER gTLD will be used to further that goal.
While companies deeply involved and invested in eCommerce, such as Grainger, fight a never-ending battle to protect their brands and valuable intellectual property from piracy on the Internet, the .GRAINGER gTLD would offer customers and potential customers a safer and more intuitive means of accessing content from Grainger and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates.
18.2.2 What do you anticipate your proposed gTLD will add to the current space, in terms of competition, differentiation, or innovation?
As a branded gTLD, the primary driving factors of the .GRAINGER gTLD are differentiation and innovation, which may lead to the growth of Grainger’s brand equity. The number of domain names registered will not be a measure of the success of the gTLD, but rather success will be judged by the levels of recognition and trust that are placed in the .GRAINGER gTLD by its customers and potential customers. Using this benchmark, Grainger Registry strives to build customer recognition and trust through the usage of the .GRAINGER gTLD that rise to the level of that found in the .EDU and .GOV gTLDs.
18.2.3 What goals does your proposed gTLD have in terms of user experience?
Grainger Registry believes that the .GRAINGER gTLD will provide a single, trusted ecosystem experience for the millions of customers worldwide that purchase Grainger’s MRO goods and services, as well as those seeking information provided by Grainger, such as investors and members of the press. In addition to providing customers and potential customers with short, memorable, and intuitive domain names, the .GRAINGER gTLD will indicate to them that the domains and content are owned and controlled by Grainger, thereby demonstrating that, in .GRAINGER, they are safer from harmful effects of infringing, pirated, or unauthorized content than they are in open TLDs, such as .COM.
Grainger will initially register a limited number of second-level domain names. This initial use will provide Grainger’s IT and security personnel with the ability to run a number of tests to ensure seamless and secure access to .GRAINGER websites, and interoperability with various software and Web⁄mobile-based applications. Once the appropriate security and stability issues have been satisfactorily addressed, Grainger Registry likely will begin allocating domain names for internal corporate use and may redirect new .GRAINGER domain names to pre-existing content. This phased rollout likely will take place over a multi-year period, but is subject to change depending upon a range of external factors.
During this same period of time, Grainger Registry will evaluate potential strategies to use the .GRAINGER gTLD in other ways that may advance Grainger’s corporate mission and goals.
18.2.4 Provide a complete description of the applicant’s intended registration policies in support of the goals listed above.
Grainger Registry currently intends for the .GRAINGER gTLD to be exclusively used by Grainger and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates, and potentially partners and licensees having the Required License. Because of this condition, and because the Grainger mark is a valuable brand, the protection of which is paramount to Grainger, Grainger Registry intends to address registration and use requirements in its Required License, rather than in a domain name registration agreement.
Nonetheless, Grainger Registry will incorporate all required and applicable ICANN consensus policies and other legal⁄policy requirements imposed on new gTLD applicants into the terms and conditions of the domain name registration agreement that each of its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates will execute.
18.2.5 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.
Grainger Registry recognizes that this is an evolving area of law for which there are no international standards. However, due to the fact that Grainger Registry’s plan is structured such that every domain name in the .GRAINGER gTLD will be registered by Grainger or its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates, at least for the first five years of operation, Grainger Registry has a vested interest in ensuring that accurate and current domain name information is readily available in connection with each .GRAINGER domain name. For the .GRAINGER gTLD, private and confidential information will be protected.
In addition, Grainger Registry intends to incorporate contractual language in its Registry-Registrar Agreement (RRA) modeled after language that has been included in the template Registry Agreement that has been successfully utilized by existing ICANN gTLD Registry Operators.
The template Registry Agreement states “Registry Operator shall (i) notify each ICANN-accredited registrar that is a party to the registry-registrar agreement for the TLD of the purposes for which data about any identified or identifiable natural person (“Personal Data”) submitted to Registry Operator by such registrar is collected and used under this Agreement or otherwise and the intended recipients (or categories of recipients) of such Personal Data, and (ii) require such registrar to obtain the consent of each registrant in the TLD for such collection and use of Personal Data. Registry Operator shall take reasonable steps to protect Personal Data collected from such registrar from loss, misuse, unauthorized disclosure, alteration or destruction. Registry Operator shall not use or authorize the use of Personal Data in a way that is incompatible with the notice provided to registrars.ʺ
18.2.6 Describe whether and in what ways outreach and communications will help to achieve your projected benefits.
While Grainger sees the potential for this gTLD to play a large role in the company’s future online strategy, there are a number of unanswered questions concerning customer recognition, the adoption of new gTLDs, and the response from search engines in the marketplace that will influence the usage of the gTLD and communication about that usage.
As a first step, Grainger Registry and Grainger plan to initially start using .GRAINGER domain names as redirects to Grainger’s existing .COM websites. Grainger Registry also plans to carefully review the release of new gTLDs by others, the response from search engines to branded gTLDs, as well as customer perception. As the marketplace evolves, Grainger Registry will participate in outreach and communication as needed to ensure that its customers, partners, and affiliates continue to interact with Grainger content in a simplified and efficient manner.
18(c). What operating rules will you adopt to eliminate or minimize social costs?
18.3.1 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)?
Grainger Registry’s proposed operating rules to limit registration to Grainger, and to its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates, are designed to provide a trusted online environment for customers and potential customers to access Grainger’s online content and, by default, will help to minimize social costs. This closed ecosystem provides customers and potential customers with a single, trusted source for Grainger goods, services and content with a substantially lower risk of fraud, misdirection, infringement, or scams that customers and potential customers are plagued with in .COM and other open gTLDs. Grainger Registry’s expectation is that the usage of the .GRAINGER gTLD will minimize many of the vulnerabilities listed above that customers and potential customers of Grainger’s goods, services, and information face in the wider Internet today. Furthermore, another way in which social costs will be reduced is that there will be no need, and no ability, for other trademark and brand owners to defensively register second-level domains in the .GRAINGER gTLD.
18.3.2 What other steps will you take to minimize negative consequences⁄costs imposed upon consumers?
Grainger Registry believes that the proposed operation of the .GRAINGER gTLD as set forth in this application has no known negative consequences or cost implications for customers and potential customers. On the contrary, the proposed operation of this registry will likely lead to direct benefits for customers and potential customers as outlined above.
18.3.3 How will multiple applications for a particular domain name be resolved, for example, by auction or on a first-come⁄first-serve basis?
Grainger Registry does not envision multiple applicants for the same second level domain name, as Grainger’s plan is that domain names will only be allocated to Grainger and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates for at least the first five years of .GRAINGER’s operation.
18.3.4 Explain any cost benefits for registrants you intend to implement (e.g., advantageous pricing, introductory discounts, bulk registration discounts).
Grainger Registry does not envision any advantageous pricing, introductory discounts, or bulk registration discounts because these marketing⁄commercial initiatives are inconsistent with the mission and Purpose of the .GRAINGER gTLD as a trusted online source identifier. Moreover, it is the current intention of Grainger Registry to provide domain name registrations to Grainger and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates at no cost.
18.3.5 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.
Grainger Registry is committed to providing the domain name registration periods set forth in the Registry Agreement. However, as noted above, as a branded gTLD, the registration and use of a .GRAINGER domain name is conditioned upon a separate affiliate or corporate relationship with Grainger. Therefore, providing contractual commitments in a domain name registrant agreement regarding the magnitude of price escalations does not seem relevant or appropriate. Additionally, as noted above, the current business model envisions Grainger Registry providing domain name registrations to Grainger and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates at no cost.