At its recent Board meeting, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) approved the creation of additional gTLDs (generic top-level domains), potentially allowing anyone who meets the requirements to operate a gTLD.
The number of TLDs has previously been limited to 21 gTLDs, such as .com, .org, .net, .gov, .asia, along with approximately 250 different ccTLDs (country-code top-level domains). The new proposal will allow any public or private organization to register any string of letters as a gTLD.
This expansion has the potential for allowing companies to register their brands as gTLDs, such as .msn for Microsoft, or .mac for Apple. It is also likely that a number of cities will operate gTLDs, such as .berlin, .paris, or .nyc. Although trademarks will not be automatically reserved, an objection-based mechanism for trademark owners to argue for protection will be considered. In addition to objections based on rights infringement or confusing similarity of the gTLD name, objections will likely also be available against a gTLD name based on moral judgments. Disputes will be resolved through a yet to be determined independent dispute resolution provider, or an auction for competing applications. Even non-contentious gTLD applications will have to pass through application, evaluation, delegation and approval phases.
It is anticipated that the final version of the implementation plan will be published in early 2009, with applications for new names being available in mid-2009. The cost for applying for a new gTLD has not been set, but is expected to range from $100,000 to $500,000. Any business or organization applying must also prove that it is capable of managing a gTLD or can reach an agreement with a company that will.
Whether the expansion of gTLDs will have a positive or negative effect on the use of the internet is open to great debate. Previous expansion of the gTLD space to include such suffixes as .biz and .travel, has had limited success in drawing internet users away from the .com space. It remains to be seen if these new niche gTLDs will succeed in attracting direct internet traffic, or whether they will be primarily reachable through search engine listings. Corporations will need to strategically plan the extent of their offensive and defensive domain name acquisitions, and to continue policing their rights against infringing and cyber-squatting activity on the internet.
Vol. 53, June 2010