Changes

===Brands as Community===

===Brands as Community===

While  [[Brand TLD]]s are not an officially recognized type of TLD by [[ICANN]], in the sense that they do not have requirements such as those placed on [[IDN]]s, [[GeoTLD]]s, and [[Community TLD]]s, they do make up 34% of the entire applicant pool.<ref>[http://news.dot-nxt.com/gtld/all/infographic InfoGraphic, News.Dot-Nxt.com]</ref> A small subset of these 643 applicants applied as communities. The benefit they saw in applying in Community likely varies, with some likely trying to secure the TLD over competitive brands that may share the same name, acronym, or trademarks, and others just understanding the applicant guidebook in a way that they saw themselves as community. The following 20 applicants, in addition to the aforementioned contested Brand Community app for [[.merck]], make up the Community Brand Applicants:

While  [[Brand TLD]]s are not an officially recognized type of TLD by [[ICANN]], in the sense that they do not have requirements such as those placed on [[IDN]]s, [[GeoTLD]]s, and [[Community TLD]]s, they do make up 34% of the entire applicant pool.<ref>[http://news.dot-nxt.com/gtld/all/infographic InfoGraphic, News.Dot-Nxt.com]</ref> A small subset of these 643 applicants applied as communities. The benefit they saw in applying in Community surely varies, with some likely trying to secure the TLD over competitive brands that may share the same name, acronym, or trademarks, and others just understanding the applicant guidebook in a way that they saw themselves as a community. The following 20 applicants, in addition to the aforementioned contested Brand Community app for [[.merck]], make up the brands that applied for Community Priority TLDs related to their registered marks and brands.

1. <big>'''[[.aco]]'''</big>

1. <big>'''[[.aco]]'''</big>, the applicant is [[ACO Severin Ahlmann GmbH & Co. KG]], which is a "leader in drainage technology with a 2010 turnover of over US$ 670 million. The family-owned company headquartered in Rendsburg⁄Büdelsdorf, Germany, was founded in 1946... The major innovation strength of ACO is built on intense research and development, and its technical expertise in processing polymer concrete, plastic, cast iron, stainless steel and reinforced concrete. The duration of the company is not restricted to a certain period...Today a total of 94 fully owned affiliates in more than 40 countries exist, covering all five continents. The ACO community consists of 3800 employees worldwide."

 

The TLD will be a [[closed TLD]] as registration will be restricted for its own use. [[Afilias]] is providing backend services.<ref>Application 1-1026-17004. Retrieved 15 November 2012</ref>