On November 12, 2010 ICANN published its Proposed Final Applicant Guidebook for public comment. The public comment period is open until December 10, 2010.
The majority of redline changed in the guidebook serve to clarify existing provisions. There are a number of points outlining increased scrutiny applied to identify any applicants with a history of criminal or fraudulent activity to minimize the potential for abuse in the new gTLDs.
The term “Morality and Public Order objection” in previous versions of the guidebook has been changed to “Limited Public Interest Objection”. According to the new guidebook, “An expert panel hearing Limited Public Interest objection will consider whether the applied-for gTLD string is contrary to general principles of international law for morality and public order.”
The New gTLD Agreement has been modified in accordance with the ICANN Board resolution made November 5, 2010 regarding cross-ownership of gTLD registries and ICANN-accredited registrars. In addition to clarifying language, the agreement also contains the proposed “Registry Operator Code of Conduct “ to prevent abusive business practices where the registry will also operate as its own registrar. A corporation can now can perform the roles of both registry and registrar, although it must still treat all registrars on a non-discriminatory basis.
As the name of the document indicates, this version of the New gTLD Applicant Guidebook is proposed as the final draft that will allow the new gTLD program to get underway next year in accordance with the time proposed by ICANN last month. Discussions regarding this will take place at ICANN’s next meeting that convenes in Cartagena de Indias Colombia on December 10, 2010.
DENIC to allow usage of the ß character
Starting 16 November 2010, the German registry (DENIC) will allow registration of the Latin “small letter sharp S” (ß) as an independent character in .de domain names. There is currently a Sunrise period that limits availability to owners of current domain names containing “ss” (the standard alternative to ß) which were registered before 26 October 2010. After this Sunrise period ends on 16 November, registrations with ß will be available to the general public on a first come, first served basis under standard .DE requirements.
.COM.UA
The Ukrainian registry launched IDNs for its .com.ua and .kiev.ua domains which includes a Sunrise phase.
Sunrise: Until November 17, 2010 Cyrillic IDNs in these extensions will be available (with corresponding documentation) for the owners of Cyrillic text trademarks registered in the Ukraine and trademarks acknowledged as well-known in the Ukraine.
General Availability:
• November 19 – December 19, 2010 Cyrillic IDN registrations will be open to the general public under the standard requirements for .com.ua and .kiev.ua. However, during this time the minimum registration period will be for 10 years.
• From December 21, 2010 IDN names will be available to the general public under standard requirements.
Standard requirements for .com.ua and .kiev.ua do not require any local presence or trademark rights and domains can be registered for 1-2 years.
.فلسطين (.FALASTEEN)
.فلسطين (.Falasteen) is the IDN ccTLD representing the Palestinian Territories. This is being released as an Arabic version of the ASCII ccTLD .PS. Both the string and TLD must be written in Arabic when registering IDN domain names.
Sunrise: Until November 30, 2010 it will be possible to apply for domain names under .فلسطين (.Falasteen) with a matching trademark in Arabic registered in the Palestinian Territories or a matching company name if the company is registered under the Palestinian Ministry of National Economy. Applications will also be considered from “famous companies and organizations”. However, priority will be given to those with registered trademarks.
General Availability: From January 1, 2011 registrations will be available to the general public under the same requirements as .PS (no local presence or trademark requirements).
Since the spring there was ittle indication of a definite timeframe for new gTLDs but now ICANN has released a timeline showing May 30, 2011 as the date the first applications will be accepted.
How many new gTLDs will ultimately be proposed is still anybody’s guess, but in our estimation few will create any significant trademark protection issues. Historical data published by WIPO (the World Intellectual Property Organization) shows the vast majority of infringement cases are related to .com domains. In the long run this may actually work in favor of new TLDs. Many new gTLDs will be targeted to specific interests, categories and groups that will be identified by the extensions themselves.
With .brands being added to the mix, consumers can also be expected to become educated to the changing nature of domains. This was made clear in our proprietary research of Internet users where 39% of a broad audience stated they would trust a website with a known brand name used at the end of a URL more than one ending in .com. Even more, 44%, said having a .brand URL would make it easier to navigate to their desired destination.
As we all know, the Internet is fluid and domain names will constantly be adapted as new and innovative applications are developed. Like the Internet and the underlying technology in general, domain name management will become more technical and complex and require greater coordination across enterprises. The challenge of managing all this intersects at the IP manager’s office.
Initially, the Internet structure drove both domain name selection and user behavior. Now the opposite is occurring as a result of user behavior, and in no small part, the form factor of devices used to connect to and search the web. In the past year Apple alone has sold over 85 million iPhones and iPod Touch devices. With other Internet enabled “smart” devices, there are at any time likely to be close to 150 million people who have the ability to access the web using devices with a miniature keypad.
Miniaturization has also spilled over into the domain world. Short .com URLs have long been purchased. Now, select ccTLDs are becoming popular with the shift to tiny URLs. Shortened URLs have the benefit of being memorable and their brevity is a boon to mobile device users. High profile “shorties” include t.co for Twitter, goo.gl for Google and fb.me used by Facebook. Google has also responded to this change by suggesting entire search phrases based on just a few character entries.
The implications of this reach beyond just search and social media users. Internet users expect the companies they do business with to provide contact convenience as well. IP managers learned to loathe the introduction of TLDs as it meant more defensive registrations, but today it is important to selectively add domain names that can provide a competitive advantage. Domain names need to be simple and memorable to have the greatest impact and results. And as with all domains this should include registering likely misspellings of the desired URL.
The White House senior advisor for intellectual property enforcement requested a meeting at the White House in late September on voluntary measures to crack down on online pharmacies trafficking in counterfeit prescription medications. The World Health Organization estimates 10% of global pharmaceutical commerce involves counterfeit medications. To date there has been no news released on the outcome of the meeting.
For more more on this see the blog Krebs on Security
Among the high visibility companies that have acquired unique domain names for marketing purposes is Overstock which acquired “O.co”, reportedly paying $350,000 for the shortened URL. In addition to Overstock, other recognizable brands including Amazon, Apple, Google, and Twitter “T.co” have registered .CO domain names.
.CO is being promoted as an alternative to .com, and with Google announcing it intends to treat it as a “global” domain, .co may fare well in this regard. With international recognition by business community as an abbreviation for “Company,” “Corporation” and “Commerce, the domain has provided many companies with the opportunity to register their primary brand as a viable domain name. For others it’s a very attractive short domain.
Recently .CO Registration hit 466,246, as compared to over 100,000,000 .com domains.
dotMasr the Egyptian IDN registry announces sunrise for مصر (.Egypt)
Beginning August 22, 2010 the Egyptian IDN registry will launch the Sunrise phase for مصر (.Egypt). During Sunrise only applications from businesses and organizations will be issued domain names in Arabic.
Based on limited information there will be two Sunrise phases followed by a Landrush phase
Sunrise:
Applicants will be required to submit the following documentation during the first Sunrise:
1. Commercial Registration Certificate in Egypt or A copy of the certificate of registration of a valid trademark (Must be Arabic character Trademark)
2. Legalized Power of Attorney
The registry posted that in the second Sunrise phase, only one of the documents will be required. No time frame has been provided regarding the second phase.
Landrush (no date specified):
The current information is that anyone can apply for an Egyptian IDN during Landrush. The only documentation required will be a legalized power of attorney. However, the policy committee has not finalized the details and these could change.
Timing for امارات. (.EMARAT) posted by .ae Domain Administration (aeDA)
aeDA has announced proposed dates for the four launch phases of the IDN امارات. (.EMARAT). Other than the proposed timing, no other information has been provided at this time.
Phase 1 (Government Phase): opened 30 May 2010
Phase 2 (Trademark Owners in the UAE and other GCC countries): from 27 September 2010
Phase 3 (Exclusive and Special Names): from 15 November 2010
Phase 4 (General Availability): from 11 December 2010
The number of expected new gTLDs is still speculative and will likely remain just that until the application period ends. However there is a website of proposed new gTLDs that have been identified by Internet addresses and extensions. The site lists 106 proposed new gTLDs containing a mix of categories: community, ethnic, geographical (geo; country, region, city), IDN and specialized. Not all known IDNs proposed are on the list, and .deloitte is missing from the brand category. The specialized category contains proposed gTLDs such as .car, .mls, .money, .music, .sport, .web as well as 26 others.
A check of the supporting websites indicates a number of proposed gTLDs have backing and potentially viable business cases, while others appear to be seeking support and investment. There are likely as many if not more new gTLDs being considered that haven’t been announced, so while the exact number isn’t known it is apparent there is growing interest in the new gTLD concept.
The complete list can be viewed at www.newtlds.tv/newtlds
Landrush for .co has started and will extend from June 21 through July 13. All trademark restrictions have been removed, allowing anyone to apply for available .co names. Duplicate applications will be decided by auction.
Single character .co domain names have been getting significant attention. Twitter acquired t.co and will be developing this as their proprietary domain name shortener. Ten bidders initially participated in the auction for e.co which was ultimately sold for $81,000.
There are still opportunities to apply for prime keyword domain names to create memorable URLs for micro-sites and advertising opportunity.
The launch of .co began March 1 with a Grandfather phase followed by a Sunrise Local A phase for holders of trademarks registered in Colombia. The Sunrise Global B phase for global trademark holders begins April 26 and extends through June 10.
In addition to being common abbreviation for company and corporation, a .co domain name can help increase website traffic. Using proprietary typographical analysis our research indicates that on average a .co domain name can generate 7% of the traffic of the equivalent .com domain name. In many cases this will make it well worth the cost of adding a number of .co domains to your portfolio. The estimates are based on website averages for domain name type-in behavior and analysis of typographical errors.
Due to the resemblance to .com and other popular associations companies may need to consider securing their brand as a defensive registration since .co will become available to the general public in the landrush and general availability phases.
Companies interested in application for any phase can submit their domain name requests now and we’ll handle submission for the appropriate phase. For more information and terms and conditions, contact your client services manager.
Launch Details:
- Sunrise phase B: 26 April 2010 through 10 June 2010. Applicants must have an active trademark registered in a trademark office or registry that corresponds to a state or entity described in the WIPO Standard ST.3 code on or before 30 July 2008. Applications for domains with multiple qualified applicants will go to auction.
- Landrush phase: 21 June 2010 through 13 July 2010. During landrush, applications are open to the general public. Multiple applications for the same domain will go to auction.
- General availability: commences 20 July 2010. Domains will be available on a first-come first-serve basis.
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