.wolterskluwer New gTLD Application
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New gTLD Application Submitted to ICANN by: Wolters Kluwer N.V.
Application Downloaded On: 09 Jan 2014
String: wolterskluwer
Application ID: 1-1005-36512
Applicant Information
- Full legal name
Wolters Kluwer N.V.
- Address of the principal place of business
Zuidpoolsingel 2 Alphen aan den Rijn - 2408 ZE NL
- Phone number
+310172641400
- Fax number
+310172474954
- If applicable, website or URL
http://www.wolterskluwer.com
Primary Contact
6(a). Name
Lorna Gradden
6(b). Title
Operations Director
6(c). Address
6(d). Phone Number
+442074218250
6(e). Fax Number
+448700118187
6(f). Email Address
Secondary Contact
7(a). Name
Folkert Van Breugel
7(b). Title
Senior Legal Counsel
7(c). Address
7(d). Phone Number
+31 172 641 443
7(e). Fax Number
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).
The company has been incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands as a public company (Naamloze Vennootschap)
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.
Euronext / WKL
9(b). If the applying entity is a subsidiary, provide the parent company.
N/A
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
Boudewijn Ludgerus Johannes Maria Beerkens CFO and member of the Executive Board
John J Lynch Member of the Executive Board
Nancy McKinstry Roch CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board,
11(b). Name(s) and position(s) of all officers and partners
Name
Position
Boudewijn Ludgerus Johannes Maria Beerkens CFO and member of the Executive Board
John J Lynch Member of the Executive Board
Nancy McKinstry Roch CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board,
11(c). Name(s) and position(s) of all shareholders holding at least 15% of shares
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.
wolterskluwer
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.
Wolters Kluwer anticipates the introduction of this TLD without operational or rendering problems. Based on a decade of experience launching and operating new TLDs, Afilias, the back-end provider of registry services for this TLD, is confident the launch and operation of this TLD presents no known challenges. The rationale for this opinion includes:
- The string is not complex and is represented in standard ASCII characters and follows relevant technical, operational and policy standards;
- The string length is within lengths currently supported in the root and by ubiquitous Internet programs such as web browsers and mail applications;
- There are no new standards required for the introduction of this TLD;
- No onerous requirements are being made on registrars, registrants or Internet users, and;
- The existing secure, stable and reliable Afilias SRS, DNS, WHOIS and supporting systems and staff are amply provisioned and prepared to meet the needs of this TLD.
- 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.
Wolters Kluwer is a global provider of information, software, and services that help professionals work more quickly and efficiently. Our mission is to be ‘The Professional’s First Choice’ for information, tools and solutions for our customers.
Wolters Kluwer has provided professionals with essential information in the fields of legal, business, tax, accounting, finance, audit, risk, compliance, and healthcare for over 175 years. We have over 19,000 employees working in over 45 countries, and customers across the world in more than 147 countries.
We focus on providing our high-quality information digitally, in a wide range of mobile and online formats, workflow software and solutions. Our products help customers make better, informed decisions that contribute to a better world.
Our revenues in 2010 were €3,556m. This success has enabled us to invest in innovation to drive the growth of our business. Our application for a gTLD registry is part of this investment.
We believe that a .wolterskluwer registry will:
- Provide us with greater control over our technological infrastructure, offering a more stable and secure foundation for online communication with customers and staff.
- Give us a further platform for innovation, vital in meeting customer needs in the online and mobile age, in line with our focus on transforming our portfolio towards higher value electronic products and digital delivery.
- Allow us to continue our company policy of defending our intellectual property rights by protecting our name and brand at the top level of the domain name system, preventing customer confusion.
18B. How do you expect that your proposed gTLD will benefit registrants, Internet users, and others?
The Wolters Kluwer registry will be rigorously controlled by authorised Wolters Kluwer personnel but it is predicted that it will also benefit the following stakeholders:
- External (our customers): a new .wolterskluwer registry will benefit our customers because it will be a location for authentic, accessible information about the company and it could support the delivery of many of our products under the main corporate brand. It is our ambition to serve our customers to the best of our ability. In a fast changing technical landscape, we expect more of our customers to access the internet from mobile devices so a single, globally effective domain name, acting as an umbrella over our brands, is attractive to us.
- Internal (our employees): a new gTLD will be perceived as reinforcing our house brand and providing a more secure communication channel while also demonstrating that Wolters Kluwer is at the forefront of developments in internet technology.
- What is the goal of your proposed gTLD in terms of areas of speciality, service levels reputation?
We have been working since 2009 to transform our portfolio of information tools towards higher-value electronic products. We want our registry to raise awareness of our core brand amongst our customers in the areas of legal, business, tax, accounting, finance, audit, risk, compliance and healthcare.
At Wolters Kluwer, we excel at combining superior information and a deep understanding of our customers’ workflows with the latest innovative tools. We think a new gTLD could assist us to deliver information in a more secure and efficient fashion.
- What do you anticipate your proposed gTLD will add to the current space in terms of competition, differentiation or innovation?
We are transforming Wolters Kluwer from a traditional print publisher to an online information provider. We employ over 19,000 people and maintain operations in Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and Latin America. We take pride in the strength of our communications with shareholders, investors, authors, partners and customers. Providing information to all of our markets under a .wolterskluwer registry will provide clarity in our messaging, products and our values.
- What goals does your proposed gTLD have in terms of user experience?
Regardless of the geographic location of our customers and the products or services they are interested in, we hope that once they find content under the new Wolters Kluwer gTLD, they will know they have arrived safely at a trusted and authentic destination. With mobile devices overtaking PCs as the most common web access device and mobile device adoption by professionals in daily work life accelerating, we also want our customers to get the information they require on any device, with fewer clicks. We want to ensure that our content and tools are easier to find under a .wolterskluwer domain.
- Provide a complete description of the applicant’s intended registration policies in support of the goals above.
Wolters Kluwer is the operator of the .wolterskluwer registry. The Wolters Kluwer Online Management team is responsible for the development, maintenance and enforcement of the Wolters Kluwer Domain Management Policy. This policy defines the rules associated with eligibility and domain name allocation, sets out the license terms governing the use of a .wolterskluwer domain name and describes the dispute resolution policies for the Wolters Kluwer gTLD. This policy is intended to be updated and revised regularly to reflect Wolters Kluwer’s commercial and strategic interests and, where appropriate, ICANN consensus policies.
Registration of a .wolterskluwer domain name will be undertaken in four steps: Eligibility Confirmation, Naming Convention Check, Acceptable Use Review, and finally Registration. Eligibility checks will be rigorous.
Each applied for character string must conform to the .wolterskluwer rules of eligibility. Each .wolterskluwer name must:
- Be at least 1 character and no more than 63 characters long
- Not contain a hyphen on the 3rd and 4th position (tagged domains)
- Contain only letters (a-z), numbers (0-9) and hyphens or a combination of these
- Start and end with an alphanumeric character, not a hyphen
- Not match any character strings reserved by ICANN
- Not match any protected country names or geographical terms
Internationalized domain names (IDN) will be supported in the .wolterskluwer registry at the second level.
.wolterskluwer names must be utilised solely for purposes that enhance Wolters Kluwerʹs strategic or commercial interests. Registration requests from Wolters Kluwer representatives and affiliates will be carefully validated. Domains in .wolterskluwer may not be used in a way which knowingly infringes any third party intellectual property rights or gives rise to moral or public order questions.
All .wolterskluwer domains will carry accurate and up to date registration records.
The Wolters Kluwer Domain Name Management Team may revoke a .wolterskluwer domain name at any time in line with Wolters Kluwer’s corporate and strategic interests.
The Wolters Kluwer registry will be ICANN compliant: the registry will interface with the Trademark Clearinghouse, operate a Sunrise and IP Claims and all registrants must comply with the UDRP and the URS.
- Will your proposed gTLD impose any measures for protecting the privacy of confidential information of registrants or users?
As a company providing tools and services to many regulated industries including the financial services sector, we recognise the importance of compliance. Indeed all our markets operate in an increasingly complex regulatory environment and it is important to our business that we remain aware of the changes our customers are experiencing. We therefore take our responsibility to protect confidential information very seriously.
The .wolterskluwer registry will be incorporated within the Netherlands so all data will be processed in conformity with the European Union’s Data Protection Directive together with any other applicable data protection requirements. Wolters Kluwer will comply with the Personal Data obligations of the ICANN Registry Agreement. As required, approved personnel will be registered as data handlers and trained to ensure compliance with ICANN’s requirements.
- Describe whether and in what ways outreach and communications will help to achieve your projected benefits?
In 2010, we reshaped Wolters Kluwer into four customer-based global divisions: Legal & Regulatory; Tax and Accounting; Health and Pharma Solutions; and Financial and Compliance Services. These four divisions are supported by Global Shared Services. Global Shared Services will be responsible for sharing knowledge of our registry across the organisation. We aim to deploy relevant new technologies rapidly and we hope that our customers will recognise the benefits of speed, security and trust that our new registry can bring especially in supporting the delivery of information to our global markets.
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?
We are applying to enhance our on-line brand, to support effective delivery of content and to provide a platform for innovation. We are not applying to make money from selling domain names. If we thought that our application would have any negative consequences for consumers we would not have applied.
- How will multiple applications for a particular domain be resolved, for example, by auction or on a first come first served basis?
Domains in the .wolterskluwer registry will not be sold. We will be allocating domains in our registry to approved members of the company and affiliates for purposes that enhance our corporate and strategic goals. The possibility of multiple applications is very remote. We cannot imagine a scenario where first-come-first-served or auctions will be appropriate for our style of corporate registry.
- Explain any cost benefits for registrants you intend to implement (e.g. advantageous pricing, introductory discounts, bulk registration discounts).
Domains in the .wolterskluwer registry will support Wolters Kluwer’s business goals. Our registry is not being designed as a profit centre. We will not have to incentivise anyone to register in our registry as there will be no third party registrants. The only registrant will be Wolters Kluwer and we will use domains to enhance our corporate strategic goals.
- 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?
We have no plans to sell domain names as domains in the .wolterskluwer registry will be registered only to Wolters Kluwer so there will be no income generated from the sale of domains. We will comply with the provisions of Section 2.10 of the Registry Agreement although we do not think that this question is relevant to us as there will be no requirement for contractual commitments in terms of price escalation.
The Wolters Kluwer Online Management Team will set the period of .wolterskluwer domains.
Before launching this TLD, Wolters Kluwer will develop and publish its policies and guidelines, setting out full details of how the registry will implement its vision and purpose as set out in this answer. Wolters Kluwer may adapt its policies and proposed use of the gTLD, in a manner consistent with the Purpose, to reflect changes in its business and the adoption of new gTLDs by the community.