New TLDs

2016 New gTLD Year in Review (Infographic)

This post provides an overview of The 2016 New gTLD Year in Review infographic, reflecting on some of the intriguing highlights of the gTLD industry. The data analyzed within the infographic is based on the following: New Top Level Domains (TLDs) contained in the data set reflect open TLDs and exclude single registrants such as brands; For greater insight, TLDs have been separated into four quartiles or 'tiers' with tier 1 being the top 25% and tier 4 being the bottom 25%... more

Court Refuses Injunction in .africa TLD Case

"DotConnectAfrica's attempt to have ICANN legally blocked from delegating the .africa gTLD to rival applicant ZACR has been denied," Kevin Murphy reporting in Domain Incite. more

December 2016 Dot Brand Insights

The dot brand observatory is a research program on brands who registered their name at the top level of the internet domain name system -- the DNS. The research looks at the registration of second level domain names by brands, but also the use of these domain names to provide services and experience to customers. This research is carried out every other month, and we illustrate hereafter a certain number of highlights of our December analysis. more

2016: The Year That Was in .brands TLDs

Back in June, I wrote about the progress of .brands at the half-way point of the year. At the time, the total number of domains registered in .brand TLDs had grown by 238% in just six months, including a number of significant, high-profile .brands that had publicly launched. I also shared several broad patterns of usage that had started to emerge. As we approach the end of 2016, let's take a look at the year that was. more

Curious Statement About 2012 gTLD Round Name Collision Fears at IGF

During his presentation at IGF on 7 December in Guadalajara, Akram Atallah, President of ICANN's Global Domain Division, said the following: So when you look at that, you'll see that we are left with only 20 to go. There are a few that need to be withdrawn that haven't withdrawn... This surprised me, but since the meeting was about possible new application procedures and not the handling of the last round's persistent problems, I decided not to ask at that point. more

Deadline of Dec 11 for Nominations for Public Interest Registry (.ORG Operator) Board of Directors

Would you be interested in helping guide the future of the Public Interest Registry (PIR), the non-profit operator of the .ORG, .NGO and .ONG domains? If so, the Internet Society is seeking nominations for three positions on the PIR Board of Directors. The nominations deadline is Sunday, December 11, 2016.,,, In 2017 there are three positions opening on the PIR Board. Directors will serve a 3-year term that begins in April 2017 and expires in April 2020. more

Group Creates International Association for Geographic TLDs

The operators of geographic top-level domains such as .nyc, .london, .berlin and .tokyo have founded an international non-for-profit association in Brussels. more

.ORG Registry Stays With Current Backend Operator, But Will Save Millions in New Deal

"The non-profit that runs all .org domains and provides the bulk of the funding for the Internet Society and Internet Engineering Task Force has just saved itself millions of dollars a year," reports Kieren McCarthy in The Register. more

Aussie Football Code Makes Habit of Brand Innovation with Its Branded TLD

The world's first sporting code to launch its own branded Top-Level Domain (TLD) has continued to flex its innovation muscle with a creative new endeavor. The Australian Football League (AFL) has added www.coffee.afl to its existing line-up of .afl sites. The dedicated website offers fans the chance to buy team branded coffee pods, with proceeds going to support their clubs. more

Governments Pushing for Greater Control Over Geographic TLDs

Governments are toying with the idea of asking ICANN for greater powers over gTLDs that match their geographic features," Kevin Murphy reporting in Domain Incite. more

The Strength of Top-Level Domains in UDRP Decisions

Another domain name dispute decision -- this one for '24hour.fitness' -- has highlighted the increasing (potential) relevance of the top-level domain (TLD) under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP). As I have written before, the proliferation of new TLDs is having an impact on whether and how UDRP panels consider the TLD in their decisions. more

ICANN57 Preview: What to Expect in Hyderabad

The domain name industry descends on Hyderabad this week for ICANN's 57th annual public meeting, with a mixed sentiment of excitement and determination as ICANN stands on its own two feet absent US Government oversight. We'll have to get used some new acronyms as a result: PTI -- Public Technical Identifier; and the CSC -- Customer Standing Committee, but otherwise I don't think many of us will notice the difference. more

How .eco Domain Was Won, Vancouver Team Behind the TLD

In the high-stakes world of internet domains, .eco was a dream green prize -- and is now finally going online, Lisa Johnson reporting in CBC News. more

Registration Operations Workshop at ICANN57 Hyderabad

Following a very successful series of workshops held during IETF meetings, the next Registration Operations Workshop (ROW) is now being held during the upcoming ICANN meeting in Hyderabad, India. While the previous workshops were of advanced topics attended by industry experts, the current one will be more of a tutorial and is open to all interested parties. more

Is Nomulus the Answer?

Google announced Nomulus: a tool to operate a new generic Top-Level Domains technically. In the world of new gTLDs, this announcement sounds like it is going to replace, or come as an alternative to backend registries. It could, but this sounding is incomplete... To create domain names ending in a brand new Top-Level Domain, an applicant had to submit an application to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) during the first round of the new gTLD program... more