.zippo

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

.zippo is a Brand TLD being proposed in ICANN's New gTLD Program. The applicant is Zadco Company.

Application Details

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

"Zippo Manufacturing Company (“Zippo”) is an innovative and renowned manufacturer of durable, diverse, and functional products, serving the needs of global consumers in more than 160 countries. Zippo products are available for purchase online in the United States and around the world. Zippo’s online content is viewable in the .COM, .NET, and .ORG gTLDs, and also in the .EU, .FR, and .RU ccTLDs, among many others. In order to apply for the .ZIPPO gTLD, Zippo has selected its subsidiary company, Zadco Company (“Zadco”), as the entity to file this application and bring the .ZIPPO gTLD to market. Zadco is a wholly owned subsidiary of Zahara, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Zippo.

Zippo will be analyzing general market adoption to determine short and long-term potential best-in-class use options to most effectively serve and enhance Zippo’s online strategy.

The intended future mission and purpose of the .ZIPPO gTLD is to serve as a trusted and intuitive namespace for the Zippo company and its consumers. However, to date, there has not been enough time or market information available to fully analyze and evaluate all potential use options.

Although ICANN has not specifically recognized a .BRAND gTLD specification in the current version of the Applicant Guidebook, it is widely anticipated within the brand-owner community that this will become a specialty subset of gTLDs. The .ZIPPO gTLD is planned as a .BRAND gTLD with the goal of protecting Zippo’s online presence and identity, expanding its marketing and promotion efforts, providing a secure channel for online products and services, and offering a platform through which to consolidate many of the intellectual property activities of Zippo.

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