gTLD	Full Legal Name	E-mail suffix	Detail
.mcdonalds	McDonald’s Corporation	us.mcd.com	View

18(B)I. WHAT IS THE GOAL OF YOUR PROPOSED gTLD IN TERMS OF AREAS OF SPECIALTY, SERVICE LEVELS OR REPUTATION?

The key goals of the proposed new .mcdonalds gTLD are in line with ICANN’s Affirmation of Commitments: to promote consumer trust, competition and consumer choice. McDonald’s also seeks to foster its online reputation and provide an authoritative internet space through which McDonald’s can communicate with its customers directly and effectively. The ability to create second level domain names on demand related to specific marketing and specialty product development supports these goals.


18(B)II. WHAT DO YOU ANTICIPATE YOUR PROPOSED gTLD WILL ADD TO THE CURRENT SPACE, IN TERMS OF COMPETITION, DIFFERENTIATION, OR INNOVATION?

It is anticipated that the .mcdonalds gTLD will make positive contributions to the internet community through:

DIFFERENTIATION:
The .mcdonalds gTLD will simplify how internet users interact with McDonald’s by providing a distinctive domain space with simple navigation and easy access to information. Internet users will be able to directly navigate to the .mcdonalds gTLD site, saving time searching for an official site. By maintaining complete control over the domain names registered under the .mcdonalds domain space, Internet users will be able to rely on the authoritativeness of the domain names under .mcdonalds.

COMPETITION:
The differentiation of .mcdonalds gTLD as a trusted site for McDonald’s will drive TLD registry operators to improve consumer trust of their TLDs. Internet users will be encouraged to interact with domain names under .mcdonalds domain space. As a result, .mcdonalds will have a beneficial effect to enable increased competition. Therefore, the benefits of the proposed .mcdonalds will be distributed not only to its direct customers, but to the community at large encouraging improved services in the market place.

INNOVATION:
With the global expansion of the internet community, the existing TLD structure presents limitations to businesses establishing a coherent global online brand presence to meet their business needs. It is often difficult to register a domain name in the existing domain space due to unavailability of the desired name. This problem is amplified for organisations such as McDonald’s who work across many different geographical markets. Even when the desired domain name is available, it may come with a high price tag associated with a purchase of the desired name from a third party. Through the .mcdonalds registry, McDonald’s will have the ability to create domain names including the use of geographic names and potentially IDNs on demand which are locally relevant to its customer base and innovative new products. McDonald’s will be able to combine its use of the domain space with innovative user focused marketing and services to address the currently unmet needs in the existing domain name system.


18(B)III. WHAT GOALS DOES YOUR PROPOSED gTLD HAVE IN TERMS OF USER EXPERIENCE?

The .mcdonalds gTLD will provide a positive user experience, which meets the needs of the global internet community. McDonald’s will maintain control over the registration and use of second level domain names and will ensure that the new gTLD will only be used for purposes authorised by McDonald’s. Therefore .mcdonalds will:

- provide an easy and intuitive reference and access point for internet users;
- represent authenticity thus promoting user confidence;
- direct internet users to locally relevant information and products;
- use appropriate geographic names to connect with internet users in the relevant regions ;
- potentially use IDNs to enable customers to interact in their native language;
- enhance security and minimise security risks by implementing necessary technical and policy measures;
- strengthen brand reputation and user confidence by eliminating user confusion; and
- prevent potential abuses in the registration process reducing overall costs to businesses and users.


18(B)IV. PROVIDE A COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF THE APPLICANTʹS INTENDED REGISTRATION POLICIES IN SUPPORT OF THE GOALS LISTED ABOVE

The proposed registration policy is attached in response to Question 28.

Only the McDonald’s system will be eligible to register domain names in .mcdonalds. The domain name registration processes will address the requirements mandated by ICANN and will comply with all policy, operational and technical requirements and will adhere to applicable measures to protect customer trust and the stability of the internet.


18(B)V. WILL YOUR PROPOSED gTLD IMPOSE ANY MEASURES FOR PROTECTING THE PRIVACY OR CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF REGISTRANTS OR USERS? IF SO, PLEASE DESCRIBE ANY SUCH MEASURES.

McDonald’s is committed to protection of personally identifiable and confidential information in accordance with its objective of increasing consumer trust and providing a safe and legitimate internet space for internet users. Personally identifiable and confidential information will be protected in accordance with all applicable US State and Federal laws and regulations relating to internet security, privacy and user’s confidential information, as interpreted and applied, including the Privacy Act 1974 (US). McDonald’s also complies with all applicable data protection laws and regulations in each individual country in which it operates.

As the .mcdonalds gTLD will only be available to the McDonald’s system, the amount of personal data that will be collected for the purposes of operating the gTLD and made publicly available in the WHOIS database will be very limited. McDonald’s will provide a publicly available and searchable WHOIS look up facility in accordance with Specification 4 of the Registry Agreement. To prevent misuse of the WHOIS functionality, McDonald’s will utilise measures including a requirement where any person submitting a WHOIS database query is required to read and agree to the terms and conditions. This will include the terms of use that the WHOIS database is provided for information purposes only and that the user agrees not to use the information for any other purposes such as allowing or enabling the transmission of unsolicited commercial advertising.


18(B)VI. DESCRIBE WHETHER AND IN WHAT WAYS OUTREACH AND COMMUNICATIONS WILL HELP TO ACHIEVE YOUR PROJECTED BENEFITS.

McDonald’s currently intends to include the proposed new gTLD in certain advertising communications to drive consumers to the new branded URLs as appropriate for each country or campaign. This may also result in recognition of the new gTLD within the internet community to be a trusted site and as a sign of authenticity.

gTLD	Full Legal Name	E-mail suffix	Detail
.express	Express LLC	express.com	View

18(b)i. WHAT IS THE GOAL OF YOUR PROPOSED GTLD IN TERMS OF AREAS OF SPECIALTY, SERVICE LEVELS OR REPUTATION?


The key goals of the proposed new .express gTLD are in line with ICANN’s Affirmation of Commitments: to promote consumer trust, competition and consumer choice. Express also seeks to foster its online reputation particularly to support its new e-commerce operations as a global company. Further Express intends to provide authoritative internet space through which Express is able to communicate with its customers directly and effectively for improved customer engagement. The ability to create domain names on demand related to specific marketing, specialty service and product development supports these goals. Strengthened security measures, service levels and more effective functionality will provide a trusted and positive user experience.




18(b)ii. WHAT DO YOU ANTICIPATE YOUR PROPOSED GTLD WILL ADD TO THE CURRENT SPACE, IN TERMS OF COMPETITION, DIFFERENTIATION, OR INNOVATION?


It is anticipated that the proposed .express gTLD will make positive contributions to the wider internet community by providing:


DIFFERENTIATION (INCREASED TRUST):

The .express gTLD will simplify how internet users interact with Express by providing a distinctive domain space to funnel global customers to a single, trusted domain name. Internet users will be able to directly navigate to the .express gTLD site, saving time and resources searching for an official site. The current domain name system has shown that it is vulnerable to malicious abuses due to registration of domain names which seek to exploit consumer confusion. Express can address some of these vulnerabilities by maintaining complete control over the domain names registered under the .express domain space. Together with consumer trust, internet users will be able to rely on the authoritativeness of the domain names under .express domain space, which will differentiate interaction between internet users and Express.


COMPETITION:

The differentiation of .express gTLD as a trusted site for Express will drive existing and new TLD registry operators to make improvements in mechanisms to improve consumer trust of their TLDs. Internet users will be encouraged to interact with domain names under .express domain space. As a result, .express will have a flow on effect to enable increased competition. Therefore, the benefits of the proposed .express gTLD will be distributed not only to its direct customers, but to the internet community at large forcing improved services and competitive pricing in the market place.


INNOVATION:

With the expansion of the internet community to all corners of the world, the existing TLD structure presents limitations, not only in the availability of domain names for registrants, but also to businesses and organisations establishing a coherent global online brand presence to meet their evolving business needs. It is often difficult to register a domain name in existing domain space due to unavailability of the desired name. This problem is amplified for organisations such as Express who work across many different jurisdictions and geographical markets. Even when the desired domain name is available, it may come with a high price tag associated with a purchase of such desired name from a third party. Express has the ability to create second or third level domain names including the use of geographic names on demand which are relevant to its customer base, services and products. Express will be able to combine its use of the domain space with innovative user focused marketing and services to address the currently unmet needs in the existing domain name system providing greater consumer choice.




18(b)iii. WHAT GOALS DOES YOUR PROPOSED GTLD HAVE IN TERMS OF USER EXPERIENCE?


The .express gTLD will provide a positive user experience, which meets the changing and growing needs of the global internet community. Express will maintain control in the registration and use of domain names and will ensure that the new gTLD will only be used for purposes authorised by Express. Therefore, .express gTLD will:
- provide an easy and intuitive reference and access point for internet users;

- represent authenticity thus promoting user confidence;

- direct internet users to relevant information in a timely manner by creating domain names on demand and as such target a specific group of customers;

- improve customer engagement;

- use geographic names to localise its websites to connect with internet users in the relevant regions and to comply with local laws;

- enhance security and minimise security risks by implementing necessary technical and policy measures;

- strengthen brand reputation and user confidence by eliminating user confusion; and

- prevent potential abuses in the registration process reducing overall costs to businesses and users.


.express should address the concerns that the current domain name system is open to potential malicious abuse and user confusion in the registration processes. Although the current system allows an eligible party to lodge a claim through existing Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) or other dispute resolution processes, the .express gTLD will reduce potential abuses in the registration processes and overall costs to internet users. User confidence in the domain name system will be strengthened, which will ultimately contribute towards promoting ICANN’s core values in benefiting the public interest.





18(b)iv. PROVIDE A COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF THE APPLICANTʹS INTENDED REGISTRATION POLICIES IN SUPPORT OF THE GOALS LISTED ABOVE.


The proposed registration policy is attached in response to Question 28.

Only Express will register domain names in .express at this stage. The domain name registration processes will address the requirements mandated by ICANN, including rights abuse prevention measures.





18(b)v. WILL YOUR PROPOSED GTLD IMPOSE ANY MEASURES FOR PROTECTING THE PRIVACY OR CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF REGISTRANTS OR USERS? IF SO, PLEASE DESCRIBE ANY SUCH MEASURES.


Express is committed to protection of privacy and confidential information in accordance with its objective of increasing consumer trust and providing a safe and legitimate internet space for internet users. Privacy and confidential information will be protected in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations relating to internet security, privacy and user’s confidential information, including adherence to the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act (Can Spam Act) 2003 (US) regarding the use of commercial email and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (US). Express has also obtained a Tier 1 Certification with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DDS), a compliance which ensures security and protection of sensitive customer information including credit cards. Obtaining Tier 1 PCI DDS certification requires a rigorous audit and significant investment by companies such as Express in order to ensure that Express’ customers’ data is as safe as possible when internet users purchase products online.


Express also has implemented its own privacy policy to demonstrate its commitment to the protection of user privacy and confidential information. Express’s privacy policy includes provisions regarding collection, use, transfer and access of personal information. In accordance with its privacy policy, Express uses the personal information collected for the following purposes:

- to deliver products ordered by its customers;

- to fulfil created requests and process returns or exchanges;

- to understand its customers’ needs and preferences;

- to maintain loyalty club membership for its customers;

- to develop, market products and services to its customers.


Protection of privacy and confidential information is of fundamental concern to most of Express’ customers as some interactions between Express and its customers involve online transactions with credit card payments. As such Express has a strong interest in ensuring a high level of privacy protection for its customers. Further Express does not knowingly collect or maintains information provided by children under the age of 13 on its online channels.

As the .express gTLD will only be available to Express, initially, the amount of personal data that will be collected for the purposes of operating the gTLD and made publicly available in the WHOIS database will be very limited. Express will provide a publicly available and searchable WHOIS look up facility, where information about the domain name status, registrant information including administrative and technical contact details can be found in accordance with Specification 4 of the Registry Agreement. In order to prevent misuse of the WHOIS look up facility, Express will utilise measures including a requirement where any person submitting a WHOIS database query is required to read and agree to the terms and conditions in accordance with the registration policy. This will include the terms of use that the WHOIS database is provided for information purposes only and that the user agrees not to use the information for any other purposes such as allowing or enabling the transmission of unsolicited commercial advertising or other communication.

Express will deploy Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) which is intended to benefit both Express and its users interacting with Express online. DNSSEC provides additional security by validating information in the transmission, therefore it is intended to benefit those who publish information in the domain name system (DNS) and the users who retrieve information from the new .express gTLD. Express already implements measures to protect privacy or confidential information of its users against misuse, loss, alteration and unauthorised access. Such measures include the use of firewalls, Security Sockets Layers (SSL) and other encryption techniques to protect information and file monitoring to detect access where confidential data is stored.

Express will continue to apply all security measures currently implemented and will comply with all other policies and practices required by ICANN in the Registry Agreement and any relevant Consensus Policy for protecting the privacy and confidential information of registrants and users in the new .express domain space.




18(b)vi. DESCRIBE WHETHER AND IN WHAT WAYS OUTREACH AND COMMUNICATIONS WILL HELP TO ACHIEVE YOUR PROJECTED BENEFITS.


The proposed new gTLD will be publicised by a media plan to promote recognition of the new gTLD within the internet community to be a trusted site and as a sign of authenticity.

During the initial stage of the operation of the proposed new gTLD, it is anticipated that internet users will be re-directed to current websites. However, over time, it is foreseen that communication to the internet community of the existence of the proposed new gTLD and encouragement to utilise the trusted site will contribute towards minimising malicious abuses and protecting internet users.