New TLDs

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Noteworthy

Building a More Inclusive Internet for All: A Radix Initiative

10 Years of Radix and New gTLDs: An Interview with CEO Sandeep Ramchandani

Domains and Creators: Connecting Creativity, Clout and (Brand) Custody

New TLDs / Recently Commented

The Upside of Losing at New gTLD Auction

On eBay, a Virgin Mary Grilled Cheese Sandwich sold for $28,000, a ghost in a jar for $55,000, and a Corn Flake shaped like the state of Illinois $1,350. In each of these very real examples, auction participants placed significant value on the items they were pursuing, in spite of their questionable value. These lucky eBay winners may have also received a case of Winner's curse... Unfortunately, human beings are not always rational and information is rarely - if ever - perfect. So how do you avoid winner's curse for your TLD? more

The Digital Marketing & gTLD Strategy Congress Announces Keynote, Speakers, Initial Partnerships

The Digital Marketing & gTLD Strategy Congress has made the following announcement for the keynote, speakers, initial sponsors, partners and dates for the inaugural event taking place March 11 & 12, 2013 in New York City. more

FTC Chief Concerned Over Most New gTLD Bids

Kevin Murphy reporting in DomainIncite: The US Federal Trade Commission is still "looking at" ICANN's new gTLD program amid concerns that most of the applicants applied defensively, it has emerged. ... "We have been very, very concerned about ICANN and their dramatic expansion of the domain names, which we think will cause consumer confusion and even worse lead to more areas where malefactors can hide from the law while defrauding consumers," FTC chairman Jon Leibowitz said. more

5 Million Domain Names Registered in Q3 of 2012, Total Domains Pass 246 Million Worldwide

The third quarter of 2012 closed with a base of more than 246 million domain name registrations across all Top- Level Domains (TLDs), an increase of 5.7 million domain names, or 2.4 percent over the second quarter of 2012, according the latest Domain Name Industry Brief report from Verisign. From the report: "Registrations have grown by 26.4 million, or 12 percent, year over year. The base of Country Code Top-Level Domains (ccTLDs) was 104.9 million domain names, a 4.6 percent increase quarter over quarter, and a 20.7 percent increase year over year in the base." more

The Results of the ICANN Bingo Are In!

A few early technical hiccups with the system streaming it live did not prevent ICANN's prioritization draw from running smoothly yesterday, December 17, 2012. All 1917 remaining applications (out of initial 1930 announced last June) were processed in one of the meeting rooms at the Los Angeles Airport Hilton, starting at 13:00 local time. Shortly before midnight, or more than 10 hours later, Google's Dot MBA was the last application to be pulled out of the box. more

Wine Applications: Results of the New gTLD Prioritization Draw

There are 4 applications related to the wine business in the new gTLD program. Yesterday the new gTLD prioritization draw took place where each application was assigned a randomly-drawn priority number. These priority numbers are used to determine the order in which initial evaluation results are released. In the 1917 applications, 4 applications are related to wine. more

4 Key Dates on the gTLD Timeline

The new "dot-anything" domain extensions or "gTLDs" have been a major point of debate in the domain community for years now -- ever since they were just a glimmer in ICANN's eye -- and it's all come down to a few very important dates over the next six to nine months. more

Making the Most of the Draw: The Applicant Auction Conference

Yes, it is a bit odd that applicants for top-level domains need to attend the Prioritization Draw in person on December 17. Jetting to LAX to observe a raffle may seem like a waste of time and money. But here is how to make the most of it. Attend the Applicant Auction Conference at the Marriott Santa Monica on December 18. more

Verisign Dodges a Bullet, Gets to Keep .COM Pricing

According to a filing with the SEC, the Department of Commerce renewed the .COM agreement for six more years. The renewal was held up until the last minute (the old agreement expired yesterday) due to antitrust concerns, specifically about pricing. The main change in the new agreement is that Verisign is no longer allowed to increase the price above the existing $7.85... more

Top 10 Biggest Domain Stories of 2012 and Predictions for 2013

So my prediction from last year that "ICANN will open the new gTLD application period without any glitches" could not have been more wrong. And yes - I actually used the word 'glitches'... Regardless of my crystal-ball gazing skills, it's been another incredibly eventful year, and below are the Top 10 Domain Stories from 2012. more

New gTLDs, Last-Minute End-Arounds, and Fundamental Fairness

The ICANN community is ever closer to realization of its goal to bring long-overdue consumer choice and competition to Internet naming. Regrettably, but perhaps predictably, reliance on the Final Applicant Guidebook (AGB) is being challenged at the last minute by recent proposals from the Business and Intellectual Property Constituencies (BC/IPC), which demand "improvements" to the already extensive trademark protections that will be part of the new gTLD landscape. more

The Root Is Not a TLD

It's a simple, straightforward fact that the root is not a TLD. However, the current policy around new gTLDs treats the root like a TLD registry and as anyone who runs a TLD registry knows, they have certain inescapable characteristics that may not be the best for the root. In almost every TLD, once a domain name has been registered, the registrant can use it commercially with few restrictions... more

African Union Commission Formally Objects Through GAC to DotConnectAfrica’s Application for .africa

This is the African Union Commission's formal objection, through the ICANN GAC Early Warning Process, to the DotConnectAfrica Trust's amended application 1-1165-42560 for the .africa TLD. Here, it objects to the DCA .africa bid as not having the requisite government support for a Geographic name, and further characterizes DCA's bid as an "Unwarranted Interference and Intrusion" more

ICANN Board Starts New Initiative to Tackle gTLD Registration Data Challenges

The ICANN Board of Directors has directed the Chief Executive Officer to launch a new effort to re-examine the purpose of collecting, maintaining and providing access to generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD) registration data. The move follows the recommendations of a review team that examined implementation of WHOIS data policy. more

A Navigation Aid or a Brand TLD? (Part 1 of 2)

Every TLD has domain name registrants who use their domain name either as their primary site, the basis of their online identity, or as a navigational aid to direct traffic to other sites. The dominant purpose determines the long-term financial wellbeing of the registry. The choice to use a domain as a simple pointer to another site versus creating a branded identity online does not just happen. It is almost always the direct result of the registry's own efforts and focus. How does the registry define their customer? more