New TLDs

Implications of ICANN’s New TLD Disqualification Policies and Cybersquatting 3-Strike Law

ICANN's proposed final applicant guidebook unraveled some new policies that would disqualify applicants from the new TLD program. ICANN states that if you lose 3 UDRP cases, you will be disqualified from being a major shareholder, partner, officer, director of a new top-level domain registry... Has ICANN opened a new can of worms with the 3-strike rule? more

ICANN Takes “Fail” To A Whole New Level

Today is April 12 2012. It's also meant to be the day that the new TLD application window closes. Now it's not. ICANN has spectacularly failed to manage the new TLD process and will miss its own deadline by over a week... In a rather badly worded announcement ICANN states that it's extending the deadline for online applications (the only way to apply) until April 20th at 23:59 UTC. more

Africa vs. Africa: The GAC Early Warnings on New gTLD Applications Indicate an Africa Divided

Last week, the much-anticipated Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) Early Warnings on new gTLD applications were finally issued. And the GAC didn't disappoint. A total of 242 warnings were issued on 163 strings (including 31 strings applied for by Radix). The GAC warnings yet again show that Africa is perfectly capable of being at the top of league tables -- for the wrong reasons. more

DNSSEC is But One Link in the Security Chain

As the implementation of DNSSEC continues to gather momentum and with a number of ccTLDs, and the '.org' gTLD having deployed it into their production systems, I think it is worth pausing to take a look at the entire DNSSEC situation. Whilst it is absolutely clear that DNSSEC is a significant step forward in terms of securing the DNS, it is but one link in the security chain and is therefore not, in itself, a comprehensive solution to fully securing the DNS system. more

Is the New Top-Level Domains “Technical Issue” a Harbinger of Future gTLD Issues?

Does the "technical issue" announced today in ICANN's TLD Application System (TAS) and the subsequent extension of the submission deadline call into question the stability and integrity of the new gTLD program? This development underscores the notion that ICANN could consider a more metered and staged approach to the introduction of gTLDs... more

ICANN.WTF? FTC & OCA Asked Whether .SUCKS is a Law Breaker (Part II)

The first part of this article reviewed the actions taken by ICANN in response to a March 27th letter from the Intellectual Property Constituency (IPC) alleging that the pricing of Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH) registered terms by the .Sucks registry were "predatory, exploitative and coercive" and requesting that ICANN halt the registry's rollout. This second part explores additional ramifications of ICANN's decision to request two national regulators to review the legality of the registry's operation. more

DOJ Closes Probe of VeriSign Over .Web TLD

The Justice Department has closed its investigation into VeriSign Inc.'s involvement in an auction for the .web internet domain. more

ICANN Releases New gTLD Applicant Guidebook ...Would Apple Need Permission from China for .MAC?

The much-anticipated New gTLD Draft Application Guidebook is out! ICANN has released Version 3. Lots of changes, some minor, some large. All worth reading if you're a potential applicant or just interested in the promise of new Top-Level Domains (TLDs). The public comment period clock started October 4, and runs until November 22 of this year. more

ICANN’s Board Decisions in Nairobi Will Determine Its Credibility and Respect for Years to Come

Today is the morning of the most revered Thursday in the ICANN meetings calendar -- The public forum. It is tradition personified. It is the day when the show and the showcasing really begin. It is the stage and the choreography of the open microphone that can help influence ICANN decisions one way or another and make the supposed bottom up model appear at its best. more

What New gTLD Applicants Want for Round 2

After talking to a few new gTLD applicants who participated in "Round One" of the ICANN new gTLD program, here is a list of complaints and questions I received, and probably a few things potential candidates should pay attention to prior to submitting an application... Applying is too expensive, I want my TLD for $200,000 "all included" (ICANN fee + consultancy services to fill in my application) more

EURid Gets .?? (Cyrillic for .eu)

EURid, who run the .eu registry, have finally been delegated .?? (Cyrillic for .eu). Punycode xn--e1a4c. One of the things that EURid is chartered to do under its contract to the European Commission was to get the extension in scripts other than Latin. EURid used ICANN's IDN ccTLD "Fast Track" process, though whether the process is truly "fast" or not is debatable, as it is still quite a long process. more

KnujOn Releases New Security, Abuse and Compliance Report

We have just issued a new report detailing abuse of the Domain Name System and Registrar contract compliance issues. The report specifically discusses several items including: Registrars with current legal issues; Illicit Use of Privacy-Proxy WHOIS Registration; A study on the contracted obligation for Bulk WHOIS Access; and more. more

Rod Beckstrom’s First 100 Days at ICANN

Rod Beckstrom took over as ICANN President/CEO on July 1, 2009, so October 9th marked his 100th day in office -- and a good opportunity to examine the progress made by ICANN during his short tenure. ...to borrow an analogy from American football: when you have the ball in the Red Zone, you need to score touchdowns, not field goals. So far, under Rod's leadership, ICANN has moved down the field on a number of issues. In particular, ICANN scored a "touchdown heard round the world" by bringing the MoU/JPA to a successful conclusion. more

Don’t Rely on Initial TLD Registration Volumes

When deciding to register a given domain name under any of the new ICANN-proposed top-level domains (TLDs), remember that a relatively high initial registration volume does not necessarily imply that the domain names will command high market value or that demand for them will grow. Below are some of the reasons... more

44% Of Domain Names Globally are Country Code TLDs, 56% Generic TLDs, Reports CENTR

The Council of European National Top level Domain Registries (CENTR) released its global TLD report today, stating that the global TLD market grew 1.4% year over year at the end of first quarter this year. more