New TLDs

Why This Domain Expert Has Stopped Talking About Domain Names

I'm lucky enough to spend my working life helping some of the world's largest brands drive their .brand TLD projects. The excitement and the challenges of this space stem largely from the fact that this is a new innovation; and when you're working with something truly groundbreaking, naturally there's an element of "learning as you go." And I'm not afraid to admit, sometimes we get things wrong. more

Are New TLDs Truly About Competition and Innovation or Is It to Make ICANN Rich and Powerful?

The ICANN Board resolutions adopted during the retreat in Trondheim, Norway on the 25th of September, 2010, painted yet another question mark for new Top-Level Domains (TLDs), despite its positive outlook. While the Board seems dedicated to resolve all the outstanding issues, applicants were still left in the dark in regards to some key issues that affect the economics of launching new TLDs. more

ICANN TMCH: The Haunted Trademark Clearance House

When the fantasy of a universal trademark clearance house was floated in the name of protecting existing trademark owners by the opposing lobbies against the global domain name expansion, particularly the gTLD programs, the domain name industry and ICANN quickly accepted the idea. A universal trademark clearance house is perhaps a greatest idea but in reality a fantasy. Today, at ICANN, the best minds are teamed-up and struggling to get the TMHC (Trademark Clearance House) constructed. more

The Popularity of .co (not .com) Domain Name Disputes

One of the most popular top-level domains under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) is not even a gTLD (generic top-level domain). It's a ccTLD: .co, the country-code top-level domain for Colombia, in South America. Based on statistics at WIPO as of this writing, 29 .co domain names have been the subject of UDRP disputes this year, making it the most-disputed ccTLD under the popular domain name dispute policy. more

Government Advisory Committee (GAC) Beijing Communiqué Inconsistent With ICANN’s gTLD Policy

The GAC Communiqué recommends that ICANN implement a range of regulations (which the GAC calls "safeguards") for all new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) covering areas ranging from malware to piracy to trademark and copyright infringement. The GAC proposes specific safeguards for regulated and professional sectors covering areas as diverse as privacy and security, consumer protection, fair lending and organic farming. Finally, the GAC proposes a "public interest" requirement for approval of new "exclusive registry access" gTLDs. more

What to Expect at ICANN 59, Johannesburg

I'm excited! Not because of the 30 hours that it will take me to get to Johannesburg, but because this ICANN meeting will be the second time we've put the Meeting B Policy Forum to the test. If the second time is a charm then hopefully we'll have cemented the Policy Forum into the ICANN meeting structure, and we can start a conversation about having two Policy Forums each year and one AGM meeting. more

Draft 0.5 of the New gTLD Applicant Guidebook

We all remember the nightmare of following the multiple versions of the "AGB" from the ICANN new gTLD program, and the time it took to get to the final version, which then took to allowing applicants to submit their new gTLD application, and which then took them to wait for their application to proceed... Welcome to version 0.5 of the next Applicant Guidebook. more

Bring Your .Brand to Life

A preview of my upcoming presentation for the Digital Marketing and gTLD Strategy Congress on why your Top-Level Domain (TLD) strategy is paramount to making or breaking your .brand... Your strategy will be the most significant weapon in your Top-Level Domain arsenal to drive the launch of your .brand, and you'll only get there with preparation and engagement. For the vast majority of .brand applicants, ICANN has recently informed you that you have passed your application. You've come this far. more

ICANN Africa Strategy: A New Approach to Africa - Welcome, But Not Inclusive

There is a new attempt to refocus on Africa. A recent announcement titled "A New Approach to Africa" was greeted with excitement but deliberations that transpired in a Global mailing list have projected a whole new dimension and caused a certain amount of dissatisfaction in some quarters. Africa had a good opportunity in the current ICANN new gTLD programme to submit applications for at least 17 gTLDs. more

New TLD Subsequent Procedures: A Proposed Model to Move Forward

Back in February 2017, I published the article "Next gTLD Round -- A Seven Year Itch" on CircleID advocating for the Board, ICANN Community, and ICANN org to reach a common understanding of what needed to be accomplished in order to identify a date to open the next application window for new gTLDs. In the past 18 months, there has been considerable movement toward the goal of opening the next application window for new gTLDs. more

United Arab Emirates TRA Investigating High Level Speculative Interests in Recently Liberalized .AE

Domain names registered under United Arab Emirates' recently liberalized county code Top-Level Domain (.ae) have attracted such high level speculative interests that red flags have been raised within the country's regulatory agency. Domain names such as 'vip.ae' and 'vips.ae' registered only a little over a year ago are currently receiving multi-million dollar offers according to reports. Abu Dhabi's newspaper, The National, reported last week that the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), the .ae administrator, has stated "registering a UAE domain with no intention other than to resell it could hurt the registrants if they are later accused of registering the site in bad faith, something forbidden by its rules." more

The DNSSEC Groundswell

It's been 15 long years since the standard for DNSSEC was developed and sadly adoption has been painfully low until recently, thanks to Dan Kaminsky, the infamous Internet Researcher who indentified that gaping hole in the DNS. The discovery of the fundamental flaw in DNS sparked industry wide attention! Every day, we move a little closer to widespread DNSSEC adoption, so I thought I'd take a moment and highlight some of the most notable milestones... more

The Online World Is Not Flat: The Need for Geo gTLDs

This post outlines location factors that make the online world not as flat as some have claimed. I then outline the impact of these factors on the demand for new gTLDs. Domain names can signal geography by means of country-code Top Level Domains (ccTLDs) and new generic TLDs (gTLDs). Location is back in the spotlight for reasons laid out by Professor David R. Bell of the Wharton School in his recent book. more

Applicant Auction for Top-Level-Domains:? Resolving Contention Fairly, Efficiently & Transparently

The quest for new top-level domains took an important step last spring with 1,930 applications to ICANN. 755 of these applications, from 145 different parties, are under contention. ICANN has encouraged these applicants to resolve the contention among them, and has established a last-resort auction in the event agreements among applicants cannot be reached. Here I describe a private auction model, the Applicant Auction, which is an efficient, fair and transparent approach to resolve contentions. more

GTLDs Valuation Components That You Must Not Overlook

This post outlines the valuation pitfalls that need to be avoided when competing for the acquisition of a new generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD). The most widely used financial tools to determine the economic viability of a capital investment project, such as bidding for a new gTLD, are the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and the Net Present Value (NPV), which measures the expected additional value a project would create if undertaken. more