.woodside

Status:	Proposed
Registry Provider:	ARI Registry Services
Type:	Brand TLD
Priority #:	938 - Woodside Petroleum Limited
More information:

.woodside is a Brand TLD being proposed in ICANN's New gTLD Program. The applicant is Woodside Petroleum Limited.

Application Details

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

"The new .woodside gTLD will operate as a restricted registry, in which Woodside Petroleum Limited (Woodside) can create and control domain spaces that promote its company’s identity and authenticity. In this regard, the .woodside gTLD will be used by Woodside to provide information, services and resources to consumers in a way that promotes trust, convenience and utility. The .woodside gTLD will provide an authoritative internet space for Woodside, its affiliates and partners that are associated with the brand. Second and third level domains can then be utilised for different parts of its business, relevant to its areas of operation, projects or geographic locations, with internet users assured of brand authenticity.

Woodside is an independent Australian oil and gas company playing a key role in supplying energy to the Asia-Pacific region. Woodside is one of the world’s leading producers of liquefied natural gas (LNG), helping to meet the demands for cleaner energy from Japan, China, Korea and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region. In 2011, Woodside delivered sales revenue of $4.8 billion and an operating profit of $1.5 billion. Woodside has offices in Australia, the US, Korea and China and has 3,856 employees worldwide. Woodside’s mission is to create and deliver outstanding, sustained growth in shareholder wealth with a vision to be a world-class LNG leader. In this regard, consumer trust and continuous innovation are paramount considerations in all its activities.

Since the inception of the current domain name system, business activities conducted on the internet are constantly changing and evolving with increased complexity. The volume of commercial transactions over the internet is continually growing and bringing benefits of simplicity and lowered transaction costs to businesses and consumers. However, at the same time, criminal activities over the internet including data breach, hacking and phishing activities have also become more sophisticated resulting in loss of consumer confidence beyond mere monetary harm. The .woodside gTLD will facilitate greater trust and assurance from internet users connecting with Woodside online, whilst still allowing convenient and efficient interaction.

Woodside’s mission and purpose of the proposed new gTLD share ICANN’s initiatives to promote public interest. Woodside is committed to contribute towards achieving such initiatives in line with ICANN’s Affirmation of Commitments, which includes:

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Only affiliate entities of Woodside will be eligible to register domain names in .woodside at this stage. The domain name registration processes will address the requirements mandated by ICANN, including rights abuse prevention measures."