.boots

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Status:	Delegated
Registry Provider:	ARI Registry Services
Type:	Brand TLD

.boots is a Brand TLD being delegated to the Root Zone in ICANN's New gTLD Program on 5 August 2015. The registry is managed by THE BOOTS COMPANY PLC with backend services provided by ARI Registry Services

Application Details

The following is excerpted from the applicant's response to question #18:

"The mission⁄purpose of the .boots TLD is to promote the business of Boots Company PLC (‘Boots Company’), one of Europe’s largest pharmacy-led health and beauty retailers, established over 160 years ago. The mission⁄purpose of the .boots TLD is to provide the Boots Company with an authoritative, cohesive and intuitive online space through which to facilitate communication with customers and further build upon their already comprehensive e-commerce platform.

In transitioning the existing Boots Company domain name portfolio to the succinct, immediately identifiable and relevant .boots TLD, Boots Company gains significant first mover advantage in being one of the first TLDs dedicated solely to serving the digital needs of a single brand. This opportunity provides Boots with the ability to consolidate their existing domain name portfolio and online presence whilst further strengthening the Boots Company’s reputation for and commitment to convenience and customer service. The .boots TLD will also serve to meet the current and future needs of the Boots Company and its customer base by providing an agile platform which is able to adapt rapidly as the Internet and Boots Company use of it matures.

Further to this, the .boots TLD will allow domain name registrations by the various divisions of the organisation, as well as domain name registrations in respect of individual products and product lines and affiliates. These domain name registrations will be utilised to further market the Boots business in support of the company’s core strategy whilst providing a corporate home for Boots Company on the Internet.

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All domain names registered within the .boots TLD will be registered and maintained by Boots for the exclusive use of the Boots Company, its internal departments and its Affiliates (as defined in Article 2.9(c) of the Registry Agreement). The Boots Company will not sell, distribute or transfer the control or use of any registration within the TLD to any third party that is not an Affiliate of Boots. All domain names will be registered via an ICANN-accredited Registrar.

Once authorised by a staff member vested with the authority to approve domain name registration requests, domain names in the .boots TLD will be registered by a select number of specifically-authorised Boots Company marketing department staff members. Departments within the Boots Company will be able to request to register an associated .boots domain name to promote their activities, products and services and⁄or events with authority. Safeguards against allowing for registrations in violation of this eligibility restriction, including trademarks, are discussed in the responses to Question 28 and Question 29. Registration policies will strive to avoid the registration of any domain names which are confusingly similar to any trademarks or related proprietary material; offensive and obscene material will not be tolerated in relation to the use of domain name registrations.

The Information Technology Services Manager will be designated as the technical contact on all registrations within the .boots TLD. This staff member will be responsible for the ongoing technical services of websites utilising .boots domain names.

Domain names registered within the .boots TLD must further the published strategic goals of the Boots Company, as mandated by the registration policy which will be created and maintained by the company.

These restrictions underpin the achievement of the goals of the TLD, in particular enhancing trust in the Boots brand and forming an authoritative source of information relating to Boots Company operations."