18(b) How do you expect that your proposed gTLD will benefit registrants, Internet users, and others?

Prototypical answer:

Because of the rise in international demand for our products, we have consistently introduced new and innovative high quality products generally at lower prices, continued to increase our sales and distribution channels, and where possible met the demand via targeted mergers and acquisitions. Though FLIR has enjoyed a 22% CAGR in revenues since 2001, it also grown a large and complex distribution channel spread across the aforementioned sectors. Given the thousands of sales agents and distribution outlets dispersed across the world, it is becoming increasingly more difficult for the consumer to distinguish the authorized FLIR sales agents, partners, OEMs and distribution outlets on the internet. Accordingly, it will become more challenging for consumers to distinguish the authorized FLIR distribution outlets⁄products. The .FLIR space will provide FLIR and its authorized channel partners with a single, multi-functional and well-ordered namespace through which to communicate to the market, with the ultimate beneficiary being our end-customers and the general public.

.FLIR will benefit internet users by, among other things, enabling them to clearly recognize authorized sales agents and authentic FLIR products, from others in an increasingly complex distribution chain. With .FLIR, internet users will have the comfort and assurance that they are interacting with FLIR or an authorized agent of FLIR in a safe and secure environment. The .FLIR TLD will also have additional benefits to internet users by enhancing the logic and ease with which information may be obtained about FLIR products⁄channels.

The .FLIR TLD will benefit the target registrants by giving them the following unique differentiators in an increasingly crowded market: 1) A safe, secure namespace in addition or in lieu of their current second level domain name; 2) A “seal” of approval from FLIR as being an authorized distributor in good standing; 3) The benefits of association with the FLIR brand and consumer recognition; 4) The ability to be found faster and easier (via SEO or via direct navigation) by customers and prospects in .FLIR; 5) The option to advertise in a target rich, yet FLIR approved and authenticated environment; and 6) Help FLIR and the sales channels identify and impede the proliferation of counterfeit goods and services.

The .FLIR TLD will benefit FLIR (as elaborated on in response to 18(a)) by providing us with a consistent, visible and secure platform for all of our marketing and communication efforts.

i.) FLIR’s mission is to make the .FLIR TLD a safe, trusted and reputable name space for our products, divisions, as well as our authorized FLIR sales agents, OEMs and distribution outlets. We are cognizant that in order to deliver on the promise of “information our customers can trust” we have to quickly establish and then maintain the .FLIR TLD as a safe and secure domain space. To achieve this goal, it is important that FLIR:

1) Consistently maintain and exceed the ICANN’s compliance requirements as set forth in the new gTLD Registry Agreement (specification 9 and 10). This would require accurate and timely monthly reporting to ICANN.

2) Monitoring and enforcing the service level agreements with the registry back-end provider of choice: Neustar. Please see our answers to Questions 30 to 43 for more detail

3) Timely monitoring and enforcement of the Abuse Mitigation. See Answer to Question 28 (“Abuse Prevention and Mitigation”) for more detail

Only authorized suppliers and distributors, appropriate corporate divisions, customers, employees or other affiliated entities may apply to FLIR to request authorization to use of such registrations. FLIR shall review such requests and, in its sole discretion, may grant registrations on a case-by-case basis. Should FLIR choose to provide a domain name to a non-FLIR entity, FLIR will not charge the entity any fee for obtaining the name. Therefore, we have assumed no revenue for the .FLIR registry – only costs that will be fully funded by FLIR Systems, Inc.

ii.) The .FLIR TLD is a branded namespace, something that has heretofore not been available to customers and end-users. The branded aspect of the TLD, in and of itself is a differentiator, as it will clearly identify the namespace as one directly related to FLIR’s products and services. Further, the .FLIR TLD will be a natural and important complement to FLIR’s aforementioned extensive worldwide trademark portfolio and domain portfolio. It will also reduce the time and expense burden on FLIR in having to continually pursue cyber squatters attempting to hold domains hostage or trade off FLIR’s goodwill and brand.

In addition, for our existing as well as potential customers alike, a .FLIR TLD will simplify navigation, by making it far more intuitive than ever before to find information. For example to find information related to FLIR’s product related to “Thermography” a user today could do a search and then hopefully be presented with http:⁄⁄www.flir.com⁄thermography⁄americas⁄us⁄ as one of the top options. Or if they input www.thermography.com, as of the time of this application being written, they would be presented with a confusing error message which exclaims “Directory Listing Denied. This Virtual Directory does not allow contents to be listed. Contrast that with the user being able to input www.thermography.flir and would instantly find themselves at the content currently listed in www.flir.com⁄thermography⁄americas⁄us⁄ but without any confusion or extra steps.

The .FLIR TLD will provide a central platform and a clear taxonomy for authorized information related to FLIR products, divisions, markets, and distribution channels. In addition, it will delineate and differentiate partners, authorized FLIR sales agents, OEMs and distribution outlets from the multitude of resellers and online distribution outlets for FLIR or FLIR-like products.

With the increase in both the types of FLIR products as well as imitators, and the proliferation of the variety of online distribution channels available, it has become even harder and more confusing for consumers to distinguish the authorized FLIR distribution outlets and authentic FLIR products. The current FLIR.com site is not intended, nor can it be engineered for this purpose. Therefore, providing the end-user customer with a simple and clear indication of who is an authorized FLIR sales agent, or distribution outlet is a daunting task.

At a minimum, the .FLIR TLD’s intent is to make searching for and finding reputable FLIR online distribution outlets easier, faster and more reliable. For the authorized FLIR sales agent, OEM, or online distribution outlet, a presence on the .FLIR gTLD would lower their SEO and sales and acquisition cost. It will also reward them for being a partner in good standing by helping them differentiate their site from the multitude of other sites and outlets all purporting to carry genuine FLIR products.

We also anticipate the introduction of a .FLIR domain with the intended benefit of rewarding authorized distribution outlets for .FLIR with their own second level domain name will spur competition in our industry and encourage online distribution outlets to achieve a higher level of service and customer trust. Lastly, we expect it is the customer who ultimately decides the success of the .FLIR TLD. Currently customers have to assurances that whatever site they visit, is either a) an authorized agent of FLIR or b) sells authentic FLIR products or c) both. If it is important for consumers to be assured of the authenticity of the products they buy, and the credibility of the online outlet they purchase it from, then .FLIR as envisioned will help them in both circumstances.

An added benefit of the .FLIR TLD will be reducing our dependence and cost on purchasing and maintaining a portfolio of second level domains names across more than 100 TLDs. Since many of these names are for defensive purposes only, they hardly add to the overall user experience for the end-user. If our own .FLIR TLD could obviate the need to register even 10% of these names, the annual savings would be material. In addition, we often have to purchase second level domains on the secondary market in order to meet the requirement needed for a communications campaign or a product launch. There is a lack of suitable (generic) names in .com and other well-known gTLDs. This has created a lucrative business in speculation and secondary sales. Although lucrative to a few, this creates little economic value for the legitimate companies, and worse yet, a bad user experience as many of these names are maintained as a “link farm” in the meantime to generate revenues. We envision a different type of innovation, where the incentives and rewards are properly aligned and the resulting user experience is far more rewarding than what is available today.

iii.)The user experience we envision for .FLIR will be far more safe and trusted than what is possible today. As described above, many times users will navigate to names or sites they expect will have valuable information, only to find they are being used to monetize traffic, offer no information of value, or worst case, are a phishing or malware site designed to lure consumers and ultimately, result in identity theft. Currently FLIR has limited control over the 1000 or so second-level domains we maintain. The control is “limited”, as we are ultimately subject to the rules and policies of over 100 TLD registry operators.

With our own TLD, FLIR will have control over all aspects of the namespace, from registration use and policies to abuse mitigation and control. We can finally assure our online visitors and customers the same level of safety, trust and reliability they expect from our products.

Lastly, we intend to use the .FLIR TLD as a unifying platform for our marketing, communications and branding efforts. This will enable us to communicate with all of our stakeholders better, faster and less expensively, while setting a high but consistent bar for us to meet in terms of user expectations for safety, trust and ease of use. Second-level domains within the TLD will only be used for purposes authorized by FLIR, and we will closely monitor the registration and use of all second-level domains. Domain usage guidelines (see answer to question 18c below) will be established and enforced in order to safeguard the Internet user experience and the reputation of the TLD and the company. In addition, the TLD will enable predictable, intuitive and easy navigation for any and all users.

iv.)FLIR will operate the .FLIR TLD as a sole registrant model. All second-level domain registrations will be authorized by FLIR and registered by FLIR to only be used in accordance to our Domain Name Registration and Use Policy (see question 28 and 29). FLIR will use an accredited ICANN registrar or registrars for the purpose of making these registrations. It is anticipated that only authorized suppliers and distributors, appropriate corporate divisions, customers, employees or other affiliated entities may apply to FLIR to request authorization to use such registrations. FLIR shall review such requests and, in its sole discretion, may grant registration use on a case-by-case basis. Should FLIR choose to provide a domain name to a non-FLIR entity, FLIR will not charge the entity any fee for obtaining the name. Whereas these registrations represent the IP or Trademarks of others, FLIR will attain full permission of the relevant parties before registering said mark. Domain use requests from qualified parties will be assigned both in order of application and relevance to the FLIR mission and domain use policy, at FLIR’s sole discretion.

FLIR additionally recognizes both the ICANN requirement and domain industry practice of reserving (preventing) the registrations of selected strings and intends to comply:

Reserved Names: In .FLIR we will reserve the following classes of domain names, which will not be available to register via the Sunrise or subsequent periods:
* The reserved names required in Specification 5 of the new gTLD Registry Agreement.
* The geographic names required in Specification 5 of the new gTLD Registry Agreement, and as described in Question 21 and Question 22 (“Protection of Geographic Names”).
* The registry operator will reserve its own name and variations thereof, and registry operations names (such as nic.FLIR, registry.FLIR, and www.FLIR). This has been a standard practice in ICANN’s past gTLDs.
* We will indefinitely reserve names related to ICANN and Internet standards bodies (iana.FLIR, ietf.FLIR, w3c.FLIR, etc.). Whereas FLIR sees no practical reason to assign these domains to the relevant entities, given the directed purpose of the namespace, should any of these organizations bring a valid consideration, or should ICANN require it, FLIR will provision the domain as required.

Dispute Resolution Mechanisms: As required in all gTLDs, rights holders will have access to several dispute mechanisms. These are fair and transparent processes to adjudicate claims to domain names, as the sole registrant, FLIR will be the defending party in certain dispute mechanisms.
* FLIR will operate a Sunrise Dispute Policy to provide special protection of qualified trademark rights. Additional details on this process can be found in Question 29.
* The ICANN required Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) will apply to .FLIR. As the sole registrant, in this procedure, FLIR will be the defending party to any challenge. Should FLIR lose a UDRP challenge, the default action would be to remove the domain from the registry and add it to the reserve list. Unless the challenging party qualifies to use the registration as defined under the .FLIR domain use policy. Please note details in question 29.
* As required by ICANN, .FLIR domains will also be subject to the Universal Rapid Suspension (URS) policy. We detail our implementation of the URS in question 29.
* Although FLIR’s current operating model does not allow for multiple registrants and therefore erroneous transfers are highly unlikely, we will comply with ICANN’s Registrar Transfer Dispute Resolutions Policy ( http:⁄⁄www.icann.org⁄en⁄transfers⁄dispute-policy-12jul04.htm ). Our technical and operational services are designed to support this dispute mechanism.

Limited Sunrise:
* We plan to implement a Sunrise period of 45 days for the purpose of complying with ICANN requirements. Prior to regular registration, .FLIR will operate a limited sunrise by offering the opportunity for qualifying authorized suppliers and distributors, customers, employees, authorized FLIR sales agents, OEMs and distribution outlets the opportunity to request the use of .FLIR registrations - with the submission of a matching international trademark. These trademarks will be verified through the Trademark Clearinghouse by a contracted third party (Note: FLIR will comply with any ICANN requirements in the selection of said contractor). Should the mark not be present in the Trademark Clearinghouse, the declared Trademark will be verified against its country of origin Trademark Database.
* FLIR will incorporate a continuous Trademark Claims Services system from the start of Sunrise and throughout General Availability, exceeding requirements by ICANN. When the Claims Service is active, there will be a notice sent to the prospective registrant of any .FLIR domain name (in this case FLIR itself), prior to its registration, should such domain name constitute an identical match of a mark registered in the Trademark Clearinghouse. Moreover the right owner or owners, as recorded in the Trademark Clearinghouse, will be informed once any such domain name has been registered following this event.

v.) Fundamental to the value proposition for .FLIR is the creation of a namespace where visitors and users are confident that they are only dealing with authorized FLIR stakeholders and⁄or whatever data is presented is authorized, accurate and up-to-date. A sole registrant model affords the greatest control over creating and maintaining this environment. FLIR will take responsible and reasonable measures to insure the security of online transactions while respecting and protecting private and confidential information.

FLIR will deploy DNSSEC and will comply with all of the other policies and practices required by ICANN in the Registry Agreement and⁄or via any Consensus Policy. Please reference our answer to Question 28, regarding the use of proxy and privacy services. We will allow the use of such services, in so far as they comply with ICANN policies and requirements, which can protect the privacy and personal data of registrants. In Question 28, we also describe our proposed policies to limit the use of privacy and proxy services by malicious parties.

With its .com and other domains, FLIR currently employs robust practices with respect to the security of online transactions and users’ private or confidential information. FLIR’s privacy policy is posted at http:⁄⁄www.flir.com⁄corporate⁄en⁄?id=16274, and FLIR intends to use these policies as well as other best practices and policies driven by ICANN regulations and regulations governing publicly traded companies to ensure the protection of private and confidential information.

Please reference our answer to Question 28, regarding the use of proxy and privacy services. We will allow the use of such services, in so far as they comply with ICANN policies and requirements, which can protect the privacy and personal data of registrants. In Question 28, we also describe our proposed policies to limit the use of privacy and proxy services by malicious parties.

Please reference our answer to Question 28, regarding the use of proxy and privacy services. We will allow the use of such services, in so far as they comply with ICANN policies and requirements, which can protect the privacy and personal data of registrants. In Question 28, we also describe our proposed policies to limit the use of privacy and proxy services by malicious parties.

FLIR intends to offer Registry Lock Service, Which will help protect registrant data from unauthorized modifications and transactions such as domain transfer and delete. See answer to Question 23 for more details.

vi.) FLIR understands that to harness the benefits we envision for .FLIR, we must take an active role in creating awareness of the .FLIR TLD amongst our stakeholders, partners and customers. First and foremost, as .FLIR will form the basis of our unified communication and marketing platform, adoption and use will be lead by us, and provide some immediate examples of use. Next, as we reward our trusted sales agents, partners, OEMs and online distribution outlets with a second-level domain name in .FLIR, we will require them to update their name server records to ensure all .FLIR sites resolve to the relevant content and thus provide the best user experience from the onset. For example, if Distributor X were to be awarded a second-level domain www.distributorX.flir then they would be required to point their current site or a relevant portion of their site to the www.distributorX.flir site. This strategy will bolster the value proposition of the .FLIR TLD, which is to distinguish and differentiate, authorized agents for and authorized information about FLIR products. Overtime, repeated exposure to the various stakeholder websites ending with .FLIR will reinforce this value proposition for customers, internet users and even search engines.

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