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

Prototypical answer:

i. Applicant is the global leader in eye care, offering the widest spectrum of eye care products in Surgical, Pharmaceutical, and Vision Care across 180 markets and in 75 countries. ALCON is Alcon’s most recognized brand with worldwide recognition. The. The proposed gTLD aims at consolidating the reputation of the Applicant’s brand and providing a unique and easily recognizable and verifiable and trustworthy access point for consumers and others located throughout the world.

ii. It is envisioned that the .alcon gTLD will be of general benefit to consumers and Internet users and others and that it will provide a single verifiable and trustworthy source for stakeholders to provide, and Internet users to access information regarding the products and services and other activities of Alcon in a secure and safe Internet environment under the sole control of Alcon. This will provide stakeholders with the means of providing information directly to consumers from a single platform and will provide consumers with the ability to connect to a single platform for trustworthy information regarding Alcon. It will also assist in avoiding consumer confusion with third parties and in the prevention of piracy and counterfeit and unfair marketing practices or false advertising relating to Alcon branded products and services. It will provide a single authoritative worldwide source that will eliminate possible confusion and eliminate the “clutter” as to other websites incorporating the term Alcon that may exist throughout the world

iii. As mentioned in the vision ⁄ mission statement before, some of the key reasons why Applicant is applying for .alcon are:
1. Marketing and branding: reflect the Applicant’s key brand, ALCON, at the top-level of the DNS’ hierarchy,
2. Safety and security: given the fact that the TLD and most if not all of the domain names registered therein will be under the control of the Registry Operator;
3. Affiliation between the core ALCON brand and the hundreds of product and service brands registered and⁄or used by ALCON and⁄or its subsidiaries in their day-to-day business;

iv. The Applicant intends to implement the following policies and procedures with respect to the registration of domain names in the .alcon top-level domain to include but not limited to:
1. Reservation of domain names in the name of the Applicant. These names include:
a) descriptive names, referring to the actual day-to-day business activities of the Applicant and⁄or its subsidiaries;
b) descriptive names, referring to the internal departments of the Applicant;
c) product and service brands promoted by the Applicant and⁄or its subsidiaries now and in the future;
d) other similar domain names.

2. Launch of the TLD:
a) Sunrise: allow physical persons, organizations and entities that meet the eligibility requirements in force at that point in time to choose the domain names that are identical to their trademarks;
b) General availability: other available domain names may be registered by physical persons, organizations and entities that meet the eligibility requirements in force at that point in time to choose the domain names in accordance with the applicable terms and conditions; and
c) Depending on the terms and conditions in force at the time of launch of the TLD, these domain names may or may not be registered in the name of the applicant for the domain name or in the name of the Applicant for the TLD. In any case, the Applicant reserves the right to impose additional and other restrictions from time to time at its sole discretion.

v. Given the fact that Alcon is established in the United States, it is subject to national privacy and data protection rules and practices and will comply with such rules and practices. In addition, Alcon expects to implement privacy policies equal to the current privacy policy that applies at its operating website at www.alcon.com.

vi. The Applicant is the global leader in eye care, offering the widest spectrum of eye care products in Surgical, Pharmaceutical, and Vision Care across 180 markets and in 75 countries. It currently supports these services using its ALCON.com domain as well as a multitude of ccTLDs and .com gTLDs. The Applicant has different ways in order to make existing and future clients, visitors and stakeholders aware of the (gradual) move from its ALCON.com (as well as Alcon’s other ccTLDs and .com gTLDs) to the .alcon gTLD. domain name to the .alcon TLD, including but not limited to:
1. Internet advertising campaigns;
2. having Internet traffic to its key domain names resolving into domain names registered in the .alcon TLD;
3. marketing campaigns; and
4. other similar initiatives.

Similar gTLD applications: (0)