.bnl

Status:	Proposed
Registry Provider:	Afilias
Type:	Brand TLD
More information:

.bnl is a Brand TLD being proposed in ICANN's New gTLD Program. The applicant is Banca Nazionale del Lavoro.

Application Details

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

"i. BNL is the Applicant’s most recognized brand. The Applicant was founded in 1913. Since 2006, the Applicant is part of the BNP Paribas Group, one of the best rated banks in the world (Rated AA- by Standard & Poorʹs) and having one of the largest international networks with operations in 80 countries and counts with nearly 200,000 employees. The proposed gTLD aims at consolidating the reputation of the Applicant’s brand; ii. From the Applicant’s perspective, .BNL will bring a high degree of recognition and specialization to the currently existing name space. Where in most cases the specific connotation that has been initially given to the gTLDs (or even ccTLDs) has disappeared, the .BNL top-level domain will be unambiguous as regards the identity of the Registry Operator, the source of the content and services offered under the .BNL and⁄or the affiliation between the Registry Operator and the TLD; iii. As mentioned in the vision ⁄ mission statement before, some of the key reasons why Applicant is applying for ..BNL are: 1. Marketing and branding: reflect the Applicant’s key brand BNL at the top-level of the DNS’ hierarchy, 2. Safety and security, given the fact that the TLD and most if not all of the domain names registered therein will be completely or at least partially under the control of the Registry Operator; 3. Affiliation between the core BNL brand and the hundreds of product and service brands registered and⁄or used by BNL and⁄or its subsidiaries in their day-to-day business; iv. The Applicant intends to implement the following policies and procedures with respect to the registration of domain names in the .BNL top-level domain to include but not limited to: 1. Reservation of domain names in the name of the Applicant. These names include:

a) descriptive names, referring to the actual day-to-day business activities of the Applicant and⁄or its subsidiaries; b) descriptive names, referring to the internal departments of the Applicant; c) descriptive names, referring to the subsidiaries or the Applicant, joint ventures and⁄or other forms of entities linked to the Applicant; d) product and service brands promoted by the Applicant and⁄or its subsidiaries now and in the future; e) any denomination, subject to the respect of the legal conditions applicable, in order to facilitate the Applicant’s communication and in particular the proximity with its customers; f) any denomination, subject to the respect of the legal conditions applicable, in order to facilitate the applicant business and in particular the proximity with the customers. g) reserved names according to specification 5 of the new gTLD Registry Agreement h) geographic names according to specification 5 of the new gTLD Registry Agreement i) etc.

2. Launch of the TLD:

a) Prior to Sunrise⁄ TLD launch: the registry operator will populate a list of reserved names and will reserve the right to register domain names during the pre launch phase. The list will be made available to sponsoring registrars and potential eligible registrants as an additional procedures to minimize any abusive registrations and other activities that would have a negative impact on Internet users b) Prior to general availability: The registry operator will ensure a Trademark Claims service during the start-up phase as provided in the registry agreement. These mechanism will be supported by the established Trademark Clearinghouse as indicated by ICANN. The Trademark Claims service provides notice to potential registrants of existing trademark rights, as well as notice to rightsholders of relevant names registered. Registry operators may decide to continue offering the Trademark Claims service after the relevant start-up phases The registry operator will also implement safeguards against allowing unqualified registrations in accordance to, the registry’s eligibility restrictions or policies c) Sunrise: allow physical persons, organizations and entities that meet the eligibility requirements in force at that point in time to choose the domain names that are identical to their trademarks; d) General availability: other available domain names may be registered by physical persons, organizations and entities that meet the eligibility requirements in force at that point in time to choose the domain names in accordance with the applicable terms and conditions. e) Depending on the terms and conditions in force at the time of launch of the TLD, these domain names may or may not be registered in the name of the applicant for the domain name or in the name of the Applicant for the TLD (BNL). In any case, the Applicant reserves the right to impose additional and other restrictions from time to time at its sole discretion;"

Top-Level Domain