The .epson Dot Brand

Seiko Epson Corporation is a group of 99 companies which operate in 117 countries with around 79,000 employees. The company is eminent in the development and manufacture of information-related equipment, electronic devices and precision products.

The .epson TLD is intended to enhance communications with Epson's customers, employees, affiliates and internet users in general. The proposed new domain extension is intended to become a "supporting branding, technology and services platform for The Company's mission and its businesses". It will improve navigation to Epson content and enhance promotional opportunities. It will become another pillar of the company's reputation. "The branded nature of the TLD will serve as a differentiation force..."

The Epson trademark is registered in 186 countries or jurisdictions and the company already owns more than 2000 domain names. The new TLD will provide many alternatives. In line with its long term and sustainable business vision, the company foresees a great opportunity for further interaction with current and future customers.

The .epson string will ultimately be used extensively in marketing and core operations. Outreach and communication will be used to achieve the projected benefits, and "will be enhanced by the viral nature of communications about The Company." The new domains will reinforce and strengthen the ideals and vision of the company.

The .EPSON Registry will provide an Internet space, under the control of The Company, to allow for the distribution and exchange of information among The Company and its stakeholders by means of, but not limited to, websites, social networks, email and other technologies that will reside within the .EPSON domain name space.

After several years of delegation, strictly controlled licensing of the use of .epson domains may be extended to company affiliates.

The .epson TLD is intended to create a trustworthy, secure and positive experience for internet users. In tandem with leading-edge technologies and business methodology, it will encourage engagement with visitors. Navigation will be easy and the domains will be predictable.

Epson anticipates that the .brand TLDs, collectively speaking, will benefit each other greatly. Each will have significant media associated with them, consumers will quickly grasp what they are about, "and will expect many companies to operate them in generally consistent ways".

Epson points out the difficulty and expense of finding a relevant domain name from current providers. "Even if one is found, often pricing is prohibitive because the domain name is only available on the secondary market." With its own brand domain, Epson will have "an ample supply of relevant and available domain names".

And prophetically, the company says this supply "is likely to pay dividends in ways we do not currently foresee".

They should intuitively come to know and use .EPSON domain names to directly navigate to their intended destination. Search engines may be needed less, lowering consumers' time to get where they wish to go.

Epson describes the principles of their naming strategy for the TLD, for example:

...geographicnames.EPSON for locations of The Company's localized websites, function.EPSON for websites related to that company function, product.EPSON for websites related to that product. All of this will lessen users' confusion when interacting online with The Company.

The .epson string will be a safe and secure web destination supported by rigorous policies. Specific prohibitions include illegal or fraudulent actions, spam, phishing, pharming, malware distribution, defamation etc.

Geographic Dot Brands

Epson will support the reservation of geographic domains under Specification 5 of the New gTLD Registry Agreement. For example, country and territory names contained on the ISO 3166-1 list will be restricted from registration.

The company is planning a special release mechanism to facilitate the possible use of geographic domains which "will be used for the purposes of the representation of the Company's brandname". Although it is seen as impossible to anticipate any abuse or misconduct, nevertheless the GAC will be given the opportunity to object.

Generally, it is extremely unlikely that The Company's authorized use of any countryname.EPSON or cc.EPSON domain name could be confusing to users, or otherwise offensive to any country.

NOTE: cc = country code

Possible .epson Brand Domains

Electronics.epson
SemiConductors.epson
Printers.epson
Imaging.epson
Automation.epson
Robots.epson
POS.epson
Information.epson
Search.epson (specifically named in the application)

Notes

Brand names mentioned on this site are registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective corporations. This site claims no association with or endorsement by any of these corporations and their marks are mentioned only to illustrate opinion presented in the public interest.

All quotations on this page are from the respective companies' official ICANN brand TLD applications unless otherwise stated.

Many possible theoretical dot brands are mentioned (in English). There are also countless possibilities in other languages. This has significant potential value for international navigation.

This site is focused on reporting the strategic impact of the brand domains on internet communication, competition and commerce, and some comment is speculative.

It is not a comprehensive overview of what some of the world's largest corporations have chosen to reveal about their plans for the implementation of their proprietary domain strings.

ICANN is particularly concerned with the technical, financial, security and legal issues associated with the new TLDs. These issues are beyond the scope of this website.

For a comprehensive overview of the brand domains and their impact on the web, refer to ICANN's website and the individual applications (large parts of which are publicly published).

If you have a particular interest in an individual company, the public aspects of their applications are available for download via these ICANN links: You can also search a complete list of applicants there.

ICANN new gTLD applications

ICANN official website

TERMS, CONDITIONS, DISCLAIMER AND COPYRIGHT NOTICE. No part of this website may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without the express written permission of the copyright holder. The right of David Tyrer to be identified as the author of this work is asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. The Brand Domains site (www.thebranddomains.com) shall not be re-transmitted, repurposed, printed, lent or otherwise circulated in any printed or electronic form without the written permission of the copyright holder, and shall not under any circumstances have these conditions waived for any recipient. The artistic integrity of the work contained herein may not be altered or repurposed in any way, shape or form without the express written permission of the copyright holder. This site contains links to other sites outside our control or ownership. No responsibility is taken for any action or advice you may take from these sites or from any of the information presented by these pages. The Brand Domains bears no relationship with some third party advertisers displayed on this site. Display of those advertisements does not constitute endorsement, recommendation or association with them. Any references to any trademarks or service marks are not our responsibility and not under our control. Information on this site is presented on an "as is" basis in good faith only and as such Click as a Flash makes no warranties regarding the accuracy, adequacy or completeness of any of the material provided. We cannot be held liable for any errors, inaccuracies or omissions in the material presented on this site or its links, nor for the consequences of acting on any information that may be presented, which may have changed or be out of date. We cannot be held liable for any financial or any other damages that may occur from accessing, relying upon or using any hypotheses, opinions, investment advice, commercial advice, ideas or concepts presented here. No information presented here should be construed as legal advice. Content of this site is well-intended opinion and hypothetical speculation only and should not be construed as legal or expert advice. No warranty is given regarding the accuracy of this site and any information used is at your sole risk. No liability whatsoever is accepted with the exception of any that may be required under Australian law. Any brand names mentioned on this site are trademarks or registered marks of their respective owners. Any use of these marks on these pages is purely speculative and hypothetical and any discussion of those marks and/or companies is purely opinion expressed in the public interest. Terms and conditions are subject to change without notice. Copyright in some images resides with istockphoto® and these photos are used under licence. All data, images, text, videos and audio are presented for viewing purposes only. No part of the data, images, text, photos, art, audio, logos, movies or trademarks or any other content may be repurposed, copied, saved, resold or reproduced in any way without written permission. Click as a Flash's registered Australian Business Number is ABN 62 188 088 529. © David Tyrer 2013-14 All Rights Reserved.