.makeup

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Status:	Delegated
Registry Provider:	L'Oréal
Type:	Generic
Category:	Lifestyle

.makeup is a gTLD delegated to the Root Zone in ICANN's New gTLD Program on 15 January 2016. The registry is managed by L'Oréal with back-end services provided by Verisign.

The application was issued a GAC Early Warning from the representative of Australia and GAC Chair, Heather Dryden. The warning system is noted as a strong recommendation on behalf of national governments to the ICANN Board that a given TLD application should be denied as it stands. Applicants are encouraged to work with objecting GAC members.

The warning states that the applicant is "seeking exclusive access to a common generic string .. that relates to a broad market sector," which Ms. Dryden notes could have unintended consequences and a negative impact on competition.

Application Details

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

"L’Oréal is a leading global consumer products company serving the needs of consumers around the world with 23 brands in five different segments. L’Oréal has 68,900 employees and its products are available for purchase online and in stores and outlets in over 130 countries.

Makeup.Com

Makeup.com is a dynamic collaboration of makeup experts and bloggers who have their fingers on the pulse of beauty. Each author comes from a unique point of view, but all share the philosophy that beauty is both deeply personal and good, creative fun.

At Makeup.com, beauty is a call to adventure, and makeup is an opportunity to explore and express the many dimensions of ourselves – not just a way to feel beautiful, but to be more confident in what makes each of us unique.

The Makeup.com mission is to encourage curiosity about, and passion for, makeup. Makeup.com is a vibrant community where expertise and stimulating, entertaining voices advance and enrich a thriving beauty conversation. It’s an environment where anyone can seek the very best beauty advice, and make genuine connections that inspire joy in beauty. Makeup.com is a member of the L’Oréal Group.

.MAKEUP Purpose

L’Oréal has filed this application for a .MAKEUP gTLD with the intention of bringing to market a trusted, hierarchical, and intuitive namespace for a dynamic collaboration of individuals and organizations whose primary focus is on providing and exchanging information regarding beauty products, cosmetics, and general information related to makeup and fashion. This .MAKEUP gTLD may also serve as a secure repository of goods and services related to cosmetics and beauty products. L’Oréal does not intend to apply for a community designation under ICANN’s Applicant Guidebook criteria. However, L’Oréal is committed to operating the .MAKEUP gTLD with a narrow focus and charter that L’Oréal will take the lead in establishing. It is intended that this restrictive membership criteria will be modeled in accordance with the standards set forth in L’Oréal’s Code of Business Ethics and will serve multiple purposes including but not limited to: establishing a trusted online source of information; minimizing the need for defensive registrations and domain name speculation; enhancing rights protection mechanisms, and prohibiting proxy registrations.

18.1.2 Potential Business Models

L’Oréal is still analyzing potential use case options for the type of domain names that will be permitted for registration, as well as the potential universe of .MAKEUP registrants. However, these decisions will be embodied in the proposed gTLD membership criteria. In undertaking this research, L’Oréal is leveraging the experience of Makeup.com in networking with existing businesses, affiliates, partners, bloggers, and others in the makeup community. L’Oréal currently envisions a three-stage rollout for the .MAKEUP gTLD:

Stage One

The initial stage of implementation of the gTLD will involve L’Oréal registering a limited number of .MAKEUP second-level domain names.

The current best thinking involves a business model in which generic (ʺtrends,” “face,” “winter,” “tools,” “authors,” “partytime,” etc.) and geographic (city⁄state) domain names would initially be reserved⁄allocated to L’Oréal. These domain names would provide a framework for a hierarchical and intuitive naming system for consumers to more easily navigate the .MAKEUP namespace. This initial use will provide L’Oréal’s IT and security personnel the time to run a number of tests to ensure seamless and secure access using the .MAKEUP domain names and interoperability with various software and Web-based applications. The registration and use of these domain names are intended to be within the scope of Section 1B of Specification 9 of the Registry Agreement, regarding the maintenance, operation, and purpose of the gTLD.

Stage Two

Once successful testing has been completed, L’Oréal’s existing business units, affiliated parties and select licensees and partners would be allowed to register domain names in the .MAKEUP gTLD. At this time L’Oréal has not determined the identity of these select parties; however, any third party would be required to have a prior commercial or membership agreement with L’Oréal. This initial rollout guarantees that the identity and contact information for each .MAKEUP domain name registrant will be verifiable based upon a preexisting member relationship. This allocation mechanism also minimizes startup and operational costs of the .MAKEUP gTLD.

This initial allocation of domain names within the gTLD will allow L’Oréal to properly and sustainably develop the .MAKEUP gTLD in such a manner as to ensure that the gTLD is viewed by Internet users as a trusted namespace for access to information regarding beauty products, cosmetics, and general information related to makeup and fashion, as well as potentially being a secure repository of goods and services related to cosmetics and beauty products.

Given the fact that L’Oréal will have full control over the number of registrations in the .MAKEUP gTLD namespace, L’Oréal expects that the number of domain name registrations will be less than 10,000 in the first three years of operation.

It is in Stage Two that L’Oréal will evaluate expanding the operations of the .MAKEUP gTLD to permit registration by registrants other than L’Oréal’s business units, affiliated parties, select licensees and partners. Should an assessment of its expansion strategy lead to a decision to extend registration rights to these other parties, this expansion is currently planned to take place during Stage Three, and likely after the first five years of operation.

Stage Three

Based on its experience with any expansion implemented in Stage Two, L’Oréal will assess whether its business plan and expansion strategy should be augmented by extending registration rights to a broader class of registrants. However, it is the current intention that L’Oréal would require any class of future potential registrants to be in compliance with, and legally bound by, the restrictive membership criteria mentioned above.

It is anticipated by L’Oréal that changes to the domain name industry, and particularly the impact of new generic-term gTLDs, may take approximately five years to be realized and assessed. Any decision to expand the gTLDs beyond this initial use would likely be predicated by a L’Oréal market analysis of both the market at the time for new gTLD registrations and consumer adoption of these new Internet addresses.

If L’Oréal’s market analysis justifies this expansion before the sixth year of operation, L’Oréal would, if necessary, work with ICANN to secure an amended Continued Operations Instrument corresponding to a potential increase in registration volume above the current executed level. However, this scenario is unlikely because L’Oréal, in calculating its COI, has already exceeded the baseline guidance set forth by ICANN.

Notwithstanding this potential future expanded use of the .MAKEUP namespace, L’Oréal currently anticipates implementing a throttle mechanism to ensure that any proposed expansion is controlled and responsible. This proposed “time-out” mechanism is described in greater detail in the responses to the financial questions (Questions 45-50 of this application).

The potential use of the .MAKEUP gTLD will also be driven by L’Oréal’s future business strategies as identified in its annual report and investor filings[.]"