.calvinklein

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

.calvinklein is a Brand TLD being proposed in ICANN's New gTLD Program. The applicant is PVH gTLD Holdings LLC.

Application Details

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

"Calvin Klein, Inc. (“Calvin Klein”) is a leading fashion design and marketing studio, serving the needs of global consumers with stores in multiple countries. Calvin Klein products are available for purchase online in the United States. Calvin Klein’s online content is viewable in the .COM gTLD and also in the .DE, .EU, .NL, and .TV ccTLDs. In order to apply for the .CALVINKLEIN gTLD, PVH Retail Stores, Inc. (“PVH Retail Stores”), a sister company to Calvin Klein, has created a wholly owned subsidiary, PVH gTLD Holdings LLC (“PVH gTLD Holdings”) as the entity to file this application and bring the .CALVINKLEIN gTLD to market. Both PVH Retail Stores and Calvin Klein are wholly owned subsidiaries of PVH Corp.

Calvin Klein designs and markets womenʹs and menʹs designer collection apparel and a range of other products that are manufactured and marketed through an extensive network of licensing agreements and other arrangements worldwide. Brands include Calvin Klein Collection, ck Calvin Klein, Calvin Klein, Calvin Klein Jeans, and Calvin Klein Underwear. Worldwide retail sales of products sold under the Calvin Klein brands were approximately $6.7 billion in 2010. In 2010, over $300 million was spent globally in connection with the advertisement, marketing, and promotion of the Calvin Klein brands and products sold.

Calvin Klein will be analyzing and evaluating other .BRAND gTLD applications as well as general market adoption to determine short- and long-term potential best-in-class use case options to most effectively serve and enhance Calvin Klein’s online strategy.

The intended future mission and purpose of the .CALVINKLEIN gTLD is to serve as a trusted and intuitive namespace provided by PVH gTLD Holdings for Calvin Klein and its consumers. However, PVH gTLD Holdings is primarily filing this application on behalf of Calvin Klein in ICANN’s first round for precautionary reasons given the uncertainty regarding when ICANN will be opening a second round. Therefore, although PVH gTLD Holdings is committed to moving forward with the .CALVINKLEIN gTLD application, to date there has not been enough time, and currently there is not enough market information available, to fully analyze and evaluate all potential use case 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 .CALVINKLEIN gTLD is planned as a .BRAND gTLD, with the goal of protecting Calvin Klein’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 Calvin Klein.

PVH gTLD Holdings intends to initially limit registration and use of domain names within the .CALVINKLEIN gTLD to Calvin Klein and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates. This initial limited use will allow PVH gTLD Holdings 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 PVH gTLD Holdings from its annual Code of Conduct Compliance requirements."