gTLD	Full Legal Name	E-mail suffix	Detail
.LLC	Dot Registry LLC	hotmail.com	View

DOT Registry plans to serve the Community of Registered Limited Liability Companies. Members of the community are defined as businesses registered as limited liability companies with the United States or its territories. Limited Liability Companies or (LLC’s) as they are commonly abbreviated, represent one of the most popular business entity structures in the US. LLCʹs commonly participate in acts of commerce, public services, and product creation.

Limited Liability Companies (LLC) are a relatively new business structure for the United States, the first LLC was validated in the state of Wyoming in 1977 and in 1996 the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws adopted the Uniform Limited Liability Company Act; providing for both the definition of an LLC and the governmental standards under which an LLC may be formed. It was through the Uniform Limited Liability Company Act that a standard set of policies were created to define, validate, and monitor the operations of LLC’s, thus creating a unique and accountable business community in the United States.

An LLC is defined as a flexible form of enterprise that blends elements of partnership and corporate structures. It is a legal form of company that provides limited liability to its owners in the vast majority of United States jurisdictions. LLC’s are a unique entity type because they are considered a hybrid, having certain characteristics of both a corporation and a partnership or sole proprietorship. LLC’s are closely related to corporations in the sense that they participate in similar activities and provide limited liability to their partners. Additionally, LLC’s share a key characteristic with partnerships through the availability of pass-through income taxation. LLC’s are a more flexibile entity type than a corporation and are often well suited for businesses owned by a single owner.

Common advantages to forming an LLC include:

1) Flexibility in tax reporting, LLC’s may choose if they would like to be taxed as a sole proprietorship, partnership, S Corporation, or C Corporation. This is the only business entity form in the United States that allows for taxation flexibility.
2) LLC’s have much less administrative paperwork and reporting requirements then corporations.
3) Unless the LLC elects to be taxed as a C Corp, LLC’s enjoy pass through taxation.
4) Limited liability, meaning that owners of an LLC, called “members” are protected from some or all liability acts and debts of the LLC.

LLC’s have become increasingly popular in the United States because their formation provides owners with the protection of a corporation and the flexibility of a partnership.

With the number of registered LLC’s in the United States totaling over five million in 2010 (as reported by the International Association of Commercial Administrators) it is hard for the average consumer to not conduct business with an LLC (popular LLC’s in the United States include: AOL and BMW). Through the creation of DOT Registry’s .LLC string, consumers can quickly validate that they are working with a member of the Community of Registered Limited Liability Companies, providing consumers with brand reassurance and peace of mind. DOT Registry believes that it is essential to identify limited liability companies online in order to expand on their creditability and further highlight their privilege to conduct business in the US. Proper representation of this community would allow consumers to make educated choices in choosing businesses to patronize and support.
LLCʹs can be formed through any jurisdiction of the United States. Therefore members of this community exist in all 50 US states and its territories. LLC formation guidelines are dictated by state law and can vary based on each state’s regulations. Persons form an LLC by filing required documents with the appropriate state authority, usually the Secretary of State. Most states require the filing of Articles of Organization. These are considered public documents and are similar to articles of incorporation, which establish a corporation as a legal entity. At minimum, the articles of organization give a brief description of the intended business purposes, the registered agent, and registered business address.
LLC’s are expected to conduct business in conjunction with the policies of the state in which they are formed, and the Secretary of State periodically evaluates a LLC’s level of good standing based on their commercial interactions with both the state and consumers. DOT Registry or its designated agents would verify membership to the Community of Registered Limited Liability Companies by collecting data on each Registrant and cross-referencing the information with their applicable registration state. In order to maintain the reputation of the “.LLC” string and accurately delineate the member to consumers, Registrants would only be awarded a domain that accurately represents their registered legal business name. Additionally, DOT Registry will not allow blind registrations or registration by proxy, therefore DOT Registry’s WHOIS service will tie directly back to each member’s state registration information and will be publicly available in order to provide complete transparency for consumers.
Entities are required to comply with formation practices in order to receive the right to conduct business in the US. Once formed an LLC must be properly maintained. LLC’s are expected to comply with state regulations, submit annual filings, and pay specific taxes and fees. Should an LLC fail to comply with state statutes it could result in involuntary dissolution by the state in addition to imposed penalties, taxes and fees.
While state statutes vary, the majority of states have adopted the following guidelines in regards to the formation of LLC’s:

(1) The name of each limited liability company must contain the words ʺLimited Liability Companyʺ or the abbreviation ʺL.L.C.ʺ or the designation ʺLLCʺ.

(2) In order to form a limited liability company, one or more authorized persons must execute the Articles of Organization. Which shall contain: the name of the limited liability company; the address of the registered office and the name and address of the registered agent for service of process required to be maintained; and any other matters the members determine to include therein.
(3) A Limited Liability Company may be organized to conduct or promote any lawful business or purposes, except as may otherwise be provided by the Constitution or other law of this State.
All entities bearing the abbreviation LLC in their business name create the assumption that they have been awarded the privileges associated to that title such as: the ability to conduct commerce transactions within US borders or territories, the ability to market products, solicit consumers and provide reputable services in exchange for monetary values, and finally to provide jobs or employment incentives to other citizens.
Membership in the Community of Registered Limited Liability Companies is established through your business entity registration. In order to maintain your membership to this community you must remain an “Active” member of the community. Active” in this context can be defined as any LLC registered with a Secretary of State in the United States and its territories, that is determined to be authorized to conduct business within that State at the time of their registration. Registrant’s “Active” status will be verified on an annual basis as described above in question 18 in order to ensure the reputation and validity of the “.LLC” gTLD.
Since LLC’s are not currently delineated on the Internet, the creation of this string would mark a unique advancement in consumer security and confidence in the United States. Essentially, this will create the first ever, clear delineator for the Community of Registered Limited Liability Companies.

gTLD	Full Legal Name	E-mail suffix	Detail
.MERCK	Merck Registry Holdings, Inc.	fairwindspartners.com	View

Merck & Co. Inc., parent of Merck Sharp and Dohme Corp., Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, USA (collectively “Merck”), is a Fortune 100 company and one of the largest healthcare companies in the world. Merck has operated under the Merck name and trademark in the United States and Canada since as early as 1920. During this time, Merck has established a family of Merck marks that cover a range of goods and services.The family of subsidiaries, affiliates, foundations, licensees, and related parties that are authorized by Merck, to use the Merck marks in a range of economic and philanthropic activities, collectively act as a community. The gTLD string for which Merck is applying reflects this community: .MERCK. Merck has created a new wholly owned subsidiary, Merck Registry Holdings (“MRH”), to apply for and bring the .MERCK gTLD to market.

The Merck community includes, but is not limited to, the following:

1. Merck Core Businesses: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Consumer Care

2. Philanthropic and Corporate Responsibility Programs, such as: Merck for Mothers, The Merck MECTIZAN Donation Program, Merck Company Foundation, and Merck Helps (The ACT Program; SUPPORT Program; Merck Patient Assistance Program; Merck Vaccine Patient Assistance Program)

3. Medical and Scientific Publications and Websites, such as: The Merck Manual, The Merck Index, MerckResearch.net, Merck Medicus, Merck Academy, The Merck Institute for Science Education (MISE), UNCF⁄Merck Science Initiative, Merck Engage, and Merck Services

The Merck community coalesces around the Merck family of marks and the community of interests that relate to those marks. The Merck community is based on Merck’s widely recognized, registered family of Merck marks, and in the community’s internal union around the values, purposes, and common aims developed through decades of development. The community to be served by the .MERCK gTLD is therefore defined and readily identifiable, with members at all levels sharing interests, aims, and commitments to service.

As a community that exists only by virtue of its authorized use of the Merck family of marks, the use of which is restricted, its members are precisely known. As a result of a history of common economic, educational, and philanthropic activities, at a variety of levels, members of the Merck community have common objectives and operational aims.

The Merck community represents a highly organized network of businesses and organizations. These organizations represent a facet of the Merck community’s response to serving their larger communities and their client base. Merck has also been at the forefront of the use of innovative technologies in its research methods, as well as its development and production of new medications in the healthcare industry. Beyond the business world, the Merck community has pioneered the development and adoption of new services and Internet tools to support stakeholders including government health ministries, healthcare and insurance providers, and patients.

MRH, on behalf of Merck, is taking the lead on behalf of the Merck community to initiate the creation of the .MERCK gTLD. The Merck community has the hallmarks of identification and commonality that set it apart from other Internet users. These hallmarks include:

Membership Identification
Operational Accountability
Common Objectives
Well-established Members

1. Membership Identification
The Merck community is easily defined by its authorized use of the Merck family of marks. A member of the Merck community must be authorized to use one or more marks controlled by Merck.

As a community-based gTLD, the .MERCK gTLD faces very few hurdles or obstacles in readily and speedily identifying its qualified registrants. MRH is capable of readily implementing polices, rules, and technical methods for validating community members.

2. Operational Accountability
A community is also defined by its ability to exclude those who do not meet its requirements. Along with authorized use of a mark comes accountability. A Merck licensee or authorized user continues its use of the mark on the condition of meeting Merck’s requirements. Entities that may no longer be part of the Merck community will lose their rights to be part of the .MERCK gTLD namespace.

The .MERCK registry will implement compliance and eligibility monitoring, domain name revocation procedures, and recurring consultation with its registrant organizations in the Merck community, to ensure that it is able to maintain accountability to the community for its eligibility compliance.

3. Common Objectives
As an almost century-old business and community grouping, Merck is experienced in developing and working to meet common objectives.

The .MERCK gTLD will be at the forefront of the Merck community’s objectives for the Internet, which may be expressed as:

Identification and reduction of risk;
Timely provision of accurate and innovative healthcare-related information;
Development of best practices and standards; and
Advocacy of Internet policies that are in the broad interest of community members and their clients.

4. Well-Established Representative Organizations
The Merck community has an active membership made up of organizations that range over the full panoply of services, including medical research and development, education, policy development and advocacy, member support, business development, and philanthropy.

Merck has a legacy of liaising with industry counterparts for the promotion of products and industry initiatives. This dedication to relationship management will likely be carried over into MRH’s operation of the .MERCK community.

The structure of the Merck community is crucial in identifying eligible registrants and eligible partners who may assist in registrant outreach in their country or region. Merck’s central role in licensing its marks allows it to maintain direct and certain control over identification of its members and partners. The Merck community has a great deal of experience in identifying members. MRH, the applicant for the .MERCK gTLD, is in the best position to identify and manage the requirements of the .MERCK gTLD.

Merck has continued to lead its industry peers in researching and developing new medicines, creating purchasing assistance programs for patients, and offering thought leadership across its industry through a variety of initiatives, organizations, and publications.

Merck features an extensive network of partners and licensees. Merck continues to foster expanding partnerships with other business and non-profit entities and has numerous years of experience with managing and negotiating these relationships.

Programs such as Merck’s “Merck for Mothers” offer leadership on issues such as maternal mortality and family planning. In addition, the Merck Foundation has allocated more than $600 million to educational and non-profit organizations. Since 2008, Merck has ranked among the top three pharmaceutical companies in the Access to Medicine Index (ATMI) and number one among corporate philanthropy donors in the ATMI.

Merck publishes a wide variety of publications on various medical-related topics, which include the Merck Manuals and Merck Medicus. These publications are used as authoritative sources of information by physicians, veterinarians, and patients. Merck remains committed to continuing to offer these vital resources so that the most up-to-date, relevant information is available to healthcare professionals.