.lancaster

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Status:	Delegated
Registry Provider:	AFNIC
Type:	Brand TLD
Priority #:	617 - LANCASTER

.lancaster is a new Brand TLD delegated in ICANN's New gTLD Program on 15 July 2015. LANCASTER manages the TLD with back-end registry provided by AFNIC.

Application Details

The following is an excerpt from the applicant's gTLD response to question #18:

"The mission and purpose of the proposed .LANCASTER Top Level Domain (TLD) is the creation and operation of a TLD dedicated to the Applicant, its brand, services and key customers. As such the objective is that the .LANCASTER TLD will serve as an official, trusted, secure and dedicated name space for the LANCASTER brand and products. To this end the Applicant seeks to launch the .LANCASTER TLD and to create and operate an innovative and secure platform in a manner which is consistent with its subject matter whilst committing to the promotion of consumer trust, consumer protection and integrity of the .LANCASTER TLD and the associated Internet space.

The Applicant is committed to ensure that it fully complies and meets or exceeds the requirements of ICANN in terms of competition, consumer protection, security, stability and resiliency, malicious abuse issues, and rights protection in relation to the expansion of the generic Top Level Domain name space by devising and implementing mechanisms in line with ICANNʹs Consensus Policies and Temporary Policies.

The Applicant proposes to launch and operate the .LANCASTER TLD to create a new Internet ecosystem dedicated to the Applicant and to enable and facilitate potential innovations, creation and promotion of new initiatives from the Applicant. The domain name space associated with the .LANCASTER TLD will create a new environment which will enhance diversity, choice and utility of the Domain Name System, based on a segmented approach, hence encouraging specialisation, differentiation, consumer recognition, and consumer choice in line with ICANN policy development.

In order to ensure the integrity, success and to build confidence in the .LANCASTER TLD and the associated domain name space, the Applicant is dedicated to ensuring that appropriate safeguards are put in place with a view to protecting, among other things, public interest, customers, trade mark owners and other third party rights owners.

Operating and overseeing this new Internet space in a transparent, fair and efficient manner will be essential to create goodwill in the .LANCASTER TLD and to develop confidence and trust in the .LANCASTER TLD.

The fact that the Applicant intends to operate the .LANCASTER TLD as a single registrant⁄single user registry model will allow the Applicant to control the operations of the .LANCASTER TLD and prevent violation of public interest, trade mark infringement and other types of malicious conducts. The .LANCASTER TLD will thus create an environment where opportunities for abuse and malevolent conduct will be virtually eliminated."