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18(a) Describe the mission/purpose of your proposed gTLD

gTLDFull Legal NameE-mail suffixDetail
.HAIRLʹOréalloreal.comView
18.1 Mission and Purpose of .HAIR

L’Oréal is a leading global consumer products company serving the needs of consumers around the world with 23 brands in five different segments. L’Oréal has 68,900 employees and its products are available for purchase online and in stores and outlets in over 130 countries.

L’Oréal’s Mission: Beauty For Everyone

For more than a century L’Oréal has been pushing back the boundaries of science to invent beauty products and meet the aspirations of millions of women and men. Its vocation is universal: to offer everyone, all over the world, the best of cosmetics in terms of quality, efficacy and safety, to give everyone access to beauty by offering products in harmony with their needs, culture and expectations.

With the opening up of the emerging markets, L’Oréal’s mission is broadening in response to the vast diversity of populations. L’Oréal is committed to carrying out its mission to make beauty universal in a sustainable and responsible way. Ranked amongst the 100 most sustainable and ethical companies in the world, L’Oréal’s ambition is to be an exemplary corporate citizen.

L’Oréal has an extensive global family of brands and business units, whose content is available across a range of TLDs, including but not limited to: .COM, .CA, .CZ, .CO.UK, .FI, .FR, .DE, .IT, .NL, .NO, .PL, .RU, .ES, .TR, .HU, .EU, .AR, .BR, .MX, .HK, .CO.IN, .CO.JP, .COM.SG, .COM.TW, and .COM.AU.

.HAIR Purpose

L’Oréal has filed this application for a .HAIR gTLD with the intention of bringing to market a trusted, hierarchical, and intuitive namespace for a self-defined community of individuals and organizations whose primary focus is on providing and exchanging information regarding hair care products, other beauty products, and general information related to personal beauty and hair care. This .HAIR gTLD may also serve as a secure repository of goods and services related to hair care and beauty products. L’Oreal does not intend to apply for a community designation under ICANN’s Applicant Guidebook criteria. However, L’Oreal is committed to operating the .HAIR gTLD with a narrow focus and charter that L’Oreal will take the lead in establishing. It is intended that this restrictive charter ⁄ membership criteria will be developed in accordance with the standards set forth in L’Oréal’s Code of Business ethics and will serve multiple purposes, including, but not limited to: establishing a trusted online source of information; minimizing the need for defensive registrations and domain name speculation; enhancing rights protection mechanisms; and prohibiting of proxy registration.

18.1.2 Potential Business Models

L’Oréal is still analyzing potential use case options for the type of domain names that will be permitted for registration, as well as the potential universe of .HAIR registrants. However, these decisions will be embodied in the proposed gTLD charter ⁄ membership criteria. In undertaking this research, L’Oréal is leveraging its corporate experience in networking with existing businesses, affiliates, partners, and customers, and marketing its products and brands through these third party partnerships. L’Oréal currently envisions a three-stage rollout for the .HAIR gTLD:

Stage One

The initial stage of implementation of the gTLD will involve L’Oréal registering a limited number of .HAIR second-level domain names.

The current best thinking involves a business model in which generic (ʺnatural,” “organic,” “color,” “highlights,” “styling,” etc.) and geographic (city⁄state) domain names would initially be reserved⁄allocated to L’Oréal. These domain names would provide a framework for a hierarchical and intuitive naming system for consumers to more easily navigate the .HAIR namespace. This initial use will provide L’Oréal’s IT and security personnel the time to run a number of tests to ensure seamless and secure access using the .HAIR domain names and interoperability with various software and Web-based applications. The registration and use of these domain names are intended to be within the scope of Section 1B of Specification 9 of the template Registry Agreement, regarding the maintenance, operation and purpose of the gTLD.

Stage Two

Once successful testing has been completed, L’Oréal’s existing business units and select licensees and partners would be allowed to register domain names in the .HAIR gTLD. At this time L’Oréal has not determined the identity of these select partners; however, any third party would be required to have a prior commercial or membership agreement with L’Oréal. This initial rollout guarantees that the identity and contact information for each .HAIR domain name registrant will be verifiable based upon a preexisting relationship. This allocation mechanism also minimizes startup and operational costs of the .HAIR gTLD.

This initial allocation of domain names within the gTLD will allow L’Oréal to properly and sustainably develop the .HAIR gTLD in such a manner as to ensure that the gTLD is viewed by Internet users as a trusted namespace for access to information regarding hair care products, beauty products, general information related to hair care and personal beauty, as well as potentially being a secure repository of goods and services related to hair care and beauty products.

Given the fact that L’Oréal will have full control over the number of registrations in the .HAIR gTLD namespace, L’Oréal expects that the number of domain name registrations will be less than 10,000 in the first three years of operation.

It is in Stage Two that L’Oréal will evaluate expanding the operations of the .HAIR gTLD to permit registration by other registrants outside of licensees and strategic partners. Should an assessment of its expansion strategy lead to a decision to extend registration rights to these other parties, this expansion is currently planned to take place during Stage Three.

Stage Three

Based on its experience with any expansion implemented in Stage Two, L’Oréal will assess whether its business plan and expansion strategy should be augmented by extending registration rights to a broader class of licensees, to potential customers of L’Oréal, and to other third parties. However, it is the current intention that L’Oréal would require any class of future potential registrants to be in compliance with and legally bound by the restrictive membership ⁄ charter criteria mentioned above. It is anticipated by L’Oréal that changes to the domain name industry, and particularly the impact of new generic-term gTLDs, may take approximately five years to be realized and assessed. Any decision to expand the gTLDs beyond corporate, licensee, and partner use would likely be predicated by a L’Oréal market analysis of both the market at the time for new gTLD registrations and consumer adoption of these new Internet addresses.

If L’Oréal’s market analysis justifies this expansion before the sixth year of operation, L’Oréal would, if necessary, work with ICANN to secure an amended Continued Operations Instrument corresponding to a potential increase in registration volume above the current executed level. However, this scenario is unlikely because L’Oréal, in calculating its COI, has already exceeded the baseline guidance set forth by ICANN.

Notwithstanding this potential future expanded use of the .HAIR name space, L’Oréal currently anticipates implementing a throttle mechanism to ensure that any proposed expansion is controlled and responsible. This proposed “time-out” mechanism is described in greater detail in the responses to the financial questions (Questions 45-50 of this application).

The potential use of the .HAIR gTLD will also be driven by L’Oréal’s future business strategies as identified in its annual report and investor filings, see http:⁄⁄www.loreal-finance.com⁄eng.
gTLDFull Legal NameE-mail suffixDetail
.couponsBlack Island, LLCdonuts.coView
Q18A CHAR: 7985

ABOUT DONUTS
Donuts Inc. is the parent applicant for this and multiple other TLDs. The company intends to increase competition and consumer choice at the top level. It will operate these carefully selected TLDs safely and securely in a shared resources business model. To achieve its objectives, Donuts has recruited seasoned executive management with proven track records of excellence in the industry. In addition to this business and operational experience, the Donuts team also has contributed broadly to industry policymaking and regulation, successfully launched TLDs, built industry-leading companies from the ground up, and brought innovation, value and choice to the domain name marketplace.

DONUTS’ PLACE WITHIN ICANN’S MISSION
ICANN and the new TLD program share the following purposes:
1. to make sure that the Internet remains as safe, stable and secure as possible, while
2. helping to ensure there is a vibrant competitive marketplace to efficiently bring the benefits of the namespace to registrants and users alike.

ICANN harnesses the power of private enterprise to bring forth these public benefits. While pursuing its interests, Donuts helps ICANN accomplish its objectives by:

1. Significantly widening competition and choice in Internet identities with hundreds of new top-level domain choices;
2. Providing innovative, robust, and easy-to-use new services, names and tools for users, registrants, registrars, and registries while at the same time safeguarding the rights of others;
3. Designing, launching, and securely operating carefully selected TLDs in multiple languages and character sets; and
4. Providing a financially robust corporate umbrella under which its new TLDs will be protected and can thrive.

ABOUT DONUTS’ RESOURCES
Donuts’ financial resources are extensive. The company has raised more than US$100 million from a number of capital sources including multiple multi-billion dollar venture capital and private equity funds, a top-tier bank, and other well-capitalized investors. Should circumstances warrant, Donuts is prepared to raise additional funding from current or new investors. Donuts also has in place pre-funded, Continued Operations Instruments to protect future registrants. These resource commitments mean Donuts has the capability and intent to launch, expand and operate its TLDs in a secure manner, and to properly protect Internet users and rights-holders from potential abuse.

Donuts firmly believes a capable and skilled organization will operate multiple TLDs and benefit Internet users by:

1. Providing the operational and financial stability necessary for TLDs of all sizes, but particularly for those with smaller volume (which are more likely to succeed within a shared resources and shared services model);
2. Competing more powerfully against incumbent gTLDs; and
3. More thoroughly and uniformly executing consumer and rights holder protections.

THIS TLD
This TLD is attractive and useful to end-users as it better facilitates search, self-expression, information sharing and the provision of legitimate goods and services. Along with the other TLDs in the Donuts family, this TLD will provide Internet users with opportunities for online identities and expression that do not currently exist. In doing so, the TLD will introduce significant consumer choice and competition to the Internet namespace – the very purpose of ICANN’s new TLD program.

This TLD is a generic term and its second level names will be attractive to a variety of Internet users. Making this TLD available to a broad audience of registrants is consistent with the competition goals of the New TLD expansion program, and consistent with ICANN’s objective of maximizing Internet participation. Donuts believes in an open Internet and, accordingly, we will encourage inclusiveness in the registration policies for this TLD. In order to avoid harm to legitimate registrants, Donuts will not artificially deny access, on the basis of identity alone (without legal cause), to a TLD that represents a generic form of activity and expression.

DONUTS’ APPROACH TO PROTECTIONS
No entity, or group of entities, has exclusive rights to own or register second level names in this TLD. There are superior ways to minimize the potential abuse of second level names, and in this application Donuts will describe and commit to an extensive array of protections against abuse, including protections against the abuse of trademark rights.

We recognize some applicants seek to address harms by constraining access to the registration of second level names. However, we believe attempts to limit abuse by limiting registrant eligibility is unnecessarily restrictive and harms users by denying access to many legitimate registrants. Restrictions on second level domain eligibility would prevent law-abiding individuals and organizations from participating in a space to which they are legitimately connected, and would inhibit the sort of positive innovation we intend to see in this TLD. As detailed throughout this application, we have struck the correct balance between consumer and business safety, and open access to second level names.

By applying our array of protection mechanisms, Donuts will make this TLD a place for Internet users that is far safer than existing TLDs. Donuts will strive to operate this TLD with fewer incidences of fraud and abuse than occur in incumbent TLDs. In addition, Donuts commits to work toward a downward trend in such incidents.

OUR PROTECTIONS
Donuts has consulted with and evaluated the ideas of international law enforcement, consumer privacy advocacy organizations, intellectual property interests and other Internet industry groups to create a set of protections that far exceed those in existing TLDs, and bring to the Internet namespace nearly two dozen new rights and protection mechanisms to raise user safety and protection to a new level.

These include eight, innovative and forceful mechanisms and resources that far exceed the already powerful protections in the applicant guidebook. These are:

1. Periodic audit of WhoIs data for accuracy;
2. Remediation of inaccurate Whois data, including takedown, if warranted;
3. A new Domain Protected Marks List (DPML) product for trademark protection;
4. A new Claims Plus product for trademark protection;
5. Terms of use that prohibit illegal or abusive activity;
6. Limitations on domain proxy and privacy service;
7. Published policies and procedures that define abusive activity; and
8. Proper resourcing for all of the functions above.

They also include fourteen new measures that were developed specifically by ICANN for the new TLD process. These are:

1. Controls to ensure proper access to domain management functions;
2. 24⁄7⁄365 abuse point of contact at registry;
3. Procedures for handling complaints of illegal or abusive activity, including remediation and takedown processes;
4. Thick WhoIs;
5. Use of the Trademark Clearinghouse;
6. A Sunrise process;
7. A Trademark Claims process;
8. Adherence to the Uniform Rapid Suspension system;
9. Adherence to the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy;
10. Adherence to the Post Delegation Dispute Resolution Policy;
11. Detailed security policies and procedures;
12. Strong security controls for access, threat analysis and audit;
13. Implementation DNSSEC; and
14. Measures for the prevention of orphan glue records.

DONUTS’ INTENTION FOR THIS TLD
As a senior government authority has recently said, “a successful applicant is entrusted with operating a critical piece of global Internet infrastructure.” Donuts’ plan and intent is for this TLD to serve the international community by bringing new users online through opportunities for economic growth, increased productivity, the exchange of ideas and information and greater self-expression.