The .merck Dot
Brand (2)
SPECIAL
NOTE 1: Merck KGaA (based in Germany) is one of two applicants for
the .merck TLD and is covered on this page.
Merck Sharp
& Dohme Corp. (based in the USA) has also applied for the .merck
string.
The issue
is further complicated by the fact that Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp.
has filed both a "standard" and a "community" application
for the TLD. (Their standard application is covered on a separate
page.) Merck KGaA has only filed a community application.
It is unclear
how this difficult challenge of two legitimate applications can be resolved.
SPECIAL
NOTE 2: Merck KGaA's brand application is unusual by being a community
application. Applicants have the additional requirement of demonstrating
to ICANN that they are part of and endorsed by some kind of "community".
These requirements are covered by the Community Based Designation questions
19 and 20 (which are not applicable to standard applications):
19. Is
the application for a community-based TLD?
20 (a).
Provide the name and full description of the community that the applicant
is committing to serve.
20 (b).
Explain the applicant's relationship to the community identified in
20(a).
20 (c).
Provide a description of the community-based purpose of the applied-for
gTLD.
20 (d).
Explain the relationship between the applied-for gTLD string and the
community identified in 20(a).
20 (e).
Provide a description of the applicant's intended registration policies
in support of the community-based purpose of the applied-for gTLD.
20 (f).
Attach any written endorsements from institutions/groups representative
of the community identified in 20(a).
Merck KGaA
is a major pharmaceutical, chemical and life science company with around
40,000 employees operating in over 70 countries. There are more than
250 companies in the group. A very wide product range is offered. For
example, its life science division alone offers more than 40,000 products.
The new
.merck TLD will provide an ample supply of domain names to serve Merck's
huge product range of tens of thousands of items. It will solve the
current problem and expense of locating and acquiring domains on the
secondary market which can even delay the release of new offerings.
The distinctive
name space will increase user choice. Consumers are expected to quickly
understand the essential concept of brand domains. The new TLD will
reflect Merck's strong customer focus. The naming conventions will be
logical, predictable and intuitive.
For instance,
patients seeking information about a particular medication might search
for the name of the drug at PRODUCTNAME.MERCK, or research professionals
inquiring about new laboratory equipment might begin their search
at EQUIPMENTNAME.MERCK.
The company
has a long history.
Since
Friedrich Jacob Merck laid the foundation stone in 1668, the name
Merck has stood for medicines and chemical products that have proved
invaluable to people and have created inestimable value for the company.
The Merck
Group cites its corporate identity branding guidelines that define use
of the "Merck" trademark — and its web and social media
guidelines to illustrate how its community members are recognised as
part of the Merck family. The .merck TLD will result in more effective
brand recognition for the group.
The .merck
string will enable the Merck community to effectively communicate with
all stakeholders in a unified and global way by leveraging websites,
social networks, email and other technologies.
Today
Merck KGaA holds rights in the name and the trademark "Merck"
in more than 180 countries worldwide...
...The
".MERCK" space will further help Merck unite all members
of the Merck Community under one single name online, and provide the
Merck Community with a universal, comprehensive forum through which
to present its information to the public.
Merck has
a focus on innovation. The .merck string will be used to comprehensively
communicate its initiatives internally and externally in new ways, improve
navigation to content and promote the group's activities, goods and
services. Users will receive time and cost benefits and a more distinctive
and positive experience.
The Merck
community will be able to "develop uses for domain names which
today are too complicated or completely unforeseen".
Merck is
expanding its product range, seeking new solutions and advancing research
capabilities. It is making acquisitions and building partnerships. The
new TLD will be an important asset to enable the company to provide
its employees with cutting edge resources to exchange information, achieve
its goals and develop new services.
State
of the art technologies combined with a modern, safe and trustworthy
Internet presence within the ".MERCK" space underline Merck's
mission to deliver first class products, treatments and solutions
in the business areas of chemical, pharmaceutical and life science.
The .merck
string will provide a platform of reliability, safety and trust. Robust
security features will enhance online sales portals. Security and authenticity
is of particular importance to patients, healthcare professionals, scientists,
researchers, investors, employees and the public who rely on quality
standards when procuring medications or laboratory devices. The Applicant
will ensure that all .merck domains "are only used for purposes
authorized by Merck KGaA".
Stakeholders
will be able to have peace of mind when they visit .merck domain names
since they will know they are clean spaces free of typosquatters, illegal
or fraudulent actions, spam and the like.
They
will know that Merck is diligent in its efforts to eliminate counterfeit
medications, harmful substances or dangerous advice via the ".MERCK"
TLD.
Response To The
Other Merck Company
Merck KGaA
has a unique response planned to avoid confusion with Merck Sharp &
Dohme Corp.
...in
order to avoid trademark-related concerns within North America, the
Applicant will use geo-targeting tools to prevent any Internet traffic
originating from the US or Canada from accessing websites within the
.MERCK space. As defined above, all members of the Merck Community
maintain their principal places of business outside of North America,
and thus no domain names within the space shall be registered by entities
headquartered within this geographic locale.
Community Specific
Information
The "Merck
Community" has evolved over more than four decades and in 1996
a single corporate brand was established to create a unified global
identity. The community has a presence in more than 70 countries and
strives to act responsibly in society in general and the group's Corporate
Responsibility Report can be read on Merck's
website.
The Merck
Community was affirmatively established in 1968, the year which marked
the 300th anniversary of Merck. In 1968, the individual companies
comprising the Merck Group realized that a common identity was paramount
to successful communication and effective worldwide branding.
Merck KGaA
intends to maintain the .merck space for the benefit of the Merck community
at large and members will cooperate to achieve this common beneficial
goal. Only community members will be eligible to register domain names
and Merck will maintain strong oversight and governance over the integrity
of the space. The Merck Group "has collectively branded tens of
thousands of products and services on a worldwide scale, since 1968."
The "Merck Community" is defined in the following statement.
Merck
KGaA operates its worldwide business through over 250 companies which
(1) are fully owned subsidiaries of Merck KGaA, (2) use Merck as the
sole element or as a component of their company name, and (3) use
the German figurative trademark No. 30130670, "MERCK", as
their umbrella brand. The nexus of these companies, together with
the parent company Merck KGaA, constitutes the "Merck Community".
Merck KGaA
clearly defines its identity as a "Community" by maintaining
an up-to-date list of members. Constituents actively self-identify themselves
as members. Allocation of .merck domain names will be strictly controlled
and applicants will first have to apply for a"Merck Community Membership
ID." All websites will be required to serve the mission and purpose
of the Group. Any site which does not comply with the terms & conditions
will have its domain name revoked.
Only members
of the Merck community will be able to register domains and they will
have a vested interest in ensuring that their common goals are represented
in the space. The community is described as being "identical with
the intra-corporational hierarchy of the Merck Group..."
Merck KGaA's
usage policy defines how it will monitor and manage the new TLD for
everyone's mutual benefit.
The TLD
is designed to reinforce the ideals of the Merck Community, and to
provide an online forum for the collective benefit of the entire Merck
Community. Therefore, domain usage guidelines will be implemented
and enforced to constantly ensure the integrity of users' ".MERCK"
experience and the reputation of the TLD.
 Geographic
Dot Brands
Merck KGaA
will reserve in the first instance certain geographic names in accordance
with the New gTLD Registry Agreement.
These country
& territory descriptors are sensitive issues for various governments,
and they are detailed on the ISO 3166-1 list, a UN Group of Experts
manual on standardized names and a UN Working Group list of geographical
names.
The terms
on these lists will be prevented from registration until such time as
they are released.
The New
gTLD Registry Agreement states that geographical names can be released
if the country concerned agrees, it is reviewed by the GAC and then
approved by ICANN. Merck will seek the release of some terms.
If a
country wishes to use one of the relevant ".MERCK" domain
names, its GAC representative may make a written request to us, the
Registry Operator, and we will immediately consider the release request.
If a
member of our community wishes to use a reserved country name, we
will obtain approval from that country's GAC representative.
The Applicant
states that any use of a country term would be to represent the Merck
company and no possible abuse or misconduct can be anticipated. The
terms would be unlikely to confuse visitors or offend governments. Hence
it should be unlikely for the GAC to oppose such use.
Possible .merck
Brand Domains
HealthCare.merck
Pharmaceutical.merck
LifeScience.merck
PerformanceMaterials.merck
Chemicals.merck
LiquidCrystals.merck
ProcessSolutions.merck
MerckSerono.merck
MerckMillipore.merck
BioScience.merck
Technology.merck
Search.merck
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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