The .microsoft
Dot Brand
Microsoft
Corporation provides software, services and hardware in more than 100
countries. Microsoft has a multitude of products such as Office software
and the Xbox and is a major player in the world of business, media,
entertainment and the internet. The company has more than 90,000 employees.
Billions of consumers and businesses work, communicate or play with
Microsoft products every day.
Microsoft's
mission is "to transform the way people work, play and communicate
throughout the world through the provision of software, services and
hardware." Its aim is to help people stay connected with their
diverse interests, create breakthrough ideas, and solve a wide variety
of business problems.
The .microsoft
extension has the potential to deliver a private computing experience
that leverages the power of the famous Microsoft brand. The .microsoft
string is described by the Applicant as "the gTLD counterpart to
our world-famous Microsoft brand". Microsoft recognizes the importance
of sustaining and building on the value of its brand and it intends
to appropriately operate its registry with the highest possible standards
of service.
Microsoft
is one of the most valuable and recognized brands in the world. The
purpose of the .microsoft registry is to promote Microsoft’s
products, services, and brand.
We are
also assessing the opportunities that a new .microsoft gTLD has for
the delivery of secure communications, products and services.
The proposed
.microsoft string will allow the company to further differentiate itself
on the web. The application emphasizes the significance of operating
a TLD that exactly matches its world-famous brand.
The registration
of all .microsoft domain names will be restricted to the company and
its subsidiaries. All domains will be used to enhance the company's
commercial or strategic interests.
The TLD
will enhance the ability to make connections with many thousands of
partners, millions of developers and billions of customers. It is expected
to provide Microsoft with a valuable new way to interact with customers
across a variety of devices and services. Relationships will strengthen
and grow.
With respect
to the marketing of its new brand extension, Microsoft only states that
"appropriate" outreach and communications will be utilized.
However it can be safely assumed that the corporation will make a big
and broad effort to launch the new Microsoft websites. This communications
campaign and domain implementation will likely have part of its focus
on the following vision of the future:
We believe
that the most engaging digital experiences will grow out of the combination
of four things: smart devices, cloud-based services, natural forms
of interaction between people and technology, and people's imaginations.
Microsoft
will work closely with its chosen registry services provider Verisign
to ensure the highest level of security protection for the .microsoft
string. Interaction with customers will be as secure as possible. Microsoft
is also committed to protecting the private data of customers and employees.
All kinds
of potential threats and malicious activities will be resisted. For
example, activities such as fraud, spam, phishing, pharming, malware
distribution, botnet control and trademark violation will be protected
against as far as possible.
Microsoft
is fully aware that a robust abuse prevention and mitigation plan
is essential for a new gTLD to guarantee the stability and security
of the Internet space...
...In
addition, Verisign, Microsoft's registry services provider, also brings
extensive experience on minimizing malicious and abusive behaviors
within the domain name space.
 Geographic
Dot Brands
Microsoft
is committed to operating the .microsoft string in compliance with applicable
laws, consensus policies, the Registry Agreement and RFCs*.
The Applicant
will abide by GAC advice and reserve from initial reservation country
& territory names as per the requirements of Specification 5 of
the Registry Agreement.
Further,
to avoid any conflicts with the Mission and Purpose of the .microsoft
TLD, reserved names will not be made available to Governments or other
official bodies.
Microsoft
will not in the first instance register domains comprised of names on
the ISO 3166-1 list, terms on a UN Group of Expert's manual on geographical
names or a UN Working Group's list of standardized names.
Due to
its size and global presence, the company is likely to apply for permission
to deploy geographic terms in the future.
Microsoft
may seek to reach agreement with applicable governments or pursuant
to a proposal reviewed by the ICANN Governmental Advisory Committee
and approved by ICANN regarding release of country and territory names
for registration at the second level by it for its own use.
*SPECIAL
NOTE: RFC = Request For Comments.
RFCs are
organizational & technical documents containing internet specifications
& policies such as networking, protocols, procedures, programs,
concepts and opinions etc. RFCs are prepared by the Internet Engineering
Task Force, the Internet Architecture Board and the Internet Research
Task Force.
Wikipedia.
RFC article.
Possible .microsoft
Brand Domains
Software.microsoft
Services.microsoft
Hardware.microsoft
Cloud.microsoft
Windows.microsoft
Office.microsoft
Xbox.microsoft
Bing.microsoft
Download.microsoft
Update.microsoft
Ideas.microsoft
Create.microsoft
Search.microsoft
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
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