.grainger

Status:	Proposed
Registry Provider:	Neustar
Type:	Brand TLD
Priority #:	437 - Grainger Registry Services, LLC
More information:

.grainger is a Brand TLD being proposed in ICANN's New gTLD Program. The applicant is Grainger Registry Services, LLC.

Application Details

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

"The applied-for gTLD registry will be a standard, not a community-based, registry. The applied-for gTLD registry will be a standard registry open only to Applicant and its subsidiaries and affiliates or business partners. For the avoidance of doubt, the applied-for gTLD registry will be closed to registrants that do not have a formal, written trademark license agreement from Applicant specifically allowing the registration of a second-level domain name in the applied-for gTLD registry (the “Required License”). The applied-for gTLD registry will not be a community-based registry and there will be no market for second-level registrations outside of registrants that are affiliated with Applicant and⁄or that have the Required License.

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (“Grainger”) is a leader in the distribution of maintenance, repair, and operating (“MRO”) supplies and related information to the commercial, industrial, contractor, and institutional markets in North America. Grainger, in 2011, had net sales of nearly $8.1 billion, and operates over 700 branches across the globe. Grainger’s products can be purchased worldwide in branches and online. Grainger content is accessible in multiple TLDs, including the .COM gTLD and the .CN, .CA, and .MX ccTLDs.

Grainger has created a wholly owned subsidiary, Grainger Registry Services, LLC (“Grainger Registry”), as the entity to file this application and bring the .GRAINGER gTLD to market.

The intended future mission and Purpose of the .GRAINGER gTLD is to serve as a trusted, hierarchical, and intuitive namespace provided by Grainger and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates for its business partners, customers and potential customers. Although ICANN has not specifically recognized a .BRAND gTLD specification in the current version of the Applicant Guidebook, the .GRAINGER gTLD is planned as a .BRAND gTLD, with the Purpose of protecting Grainger’s online presence and identity, expanding its marketing and promotion efforts, and providing a more secure channel for its online products, services, and information.

Grainger Registry intends to initially limit registration and use of domain names within the .GRAINGER gTLD to Grainger and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates. This initial limited use will allow Grainger Registry to establish its operations and achieve full sustainability. This limited use, coupled with the other requirements set forth in Specification 9 of the template Registry Agreement, is intended to exempt Grainger Registry from any annual Code of Conduct Compliance requirements."