Posted by Jamila Hunte on Tue, Nov 10, 2009
Have you formulated your brand strategy to ensure that you do not miss your opportunity to leverage this new offering or protect your brand and trademarks from unauthorized and malicious uses? Well, not to worry, neither is ICANN. Those who are concerned about the new gTLDs have been watching and waiting for ICANN to give notice as to when they will begin accepting applications for the new gTLDs.A few months ago, we were told that they will begin to accept new
applications in Q1 of 2010 and now it looks as though this will not happen until the second half of 2010. ICANN’s CEO Rod Beckstrom has said that the new gTLDs will be available when, “we’ve adequately addressed the important issues that are on the table.” In other words, this is still a work in progress. The third version of the Draft Application Guidebook was released in early October and is available for public comment until November 22. There are still the issues of trademark protection mechanisms and stability and security of the Internet infrastructure that need to be further researched and developed. In a recent article published by Managing IP they have pointed out that one of the topics of great debate, the Globally Protected Marks List, has been squashed. This was a very popular idea that was welcomed by the trademark community; however they have received a lot of criticism from those outside the trademark community. What has been made very clear is that ICANN cannot make everyone happy, which is why the whole idea of the new gTLDs has had so much set back. So will the new gTLDs really happen? I will say, most likely, it is really just a matter of when. ICANN is continuing its quest to find a “happy medium”, if that is possible. They have also announced that they have received twelve responses for Expressions of Interest (EOI) for independent evaluators in the new gTLD program. These evaluators will examine ICANN’s operational readiness for the launch of the new gTLDs.
Although the launch of the new gTLDs do not appear to be happening any time soon, brand owners must also not forget about ICANN’s plan to deploy Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs). They will introduce a limited number of internationalized ccTLDs. In case you are wondering what this is all about, this is where a user can obtain a domain with a string of characters in their native language. ICANN has released their proposed final implementation plan regarding the IDN ccTLDs and have a launch date for this “Fast Track Process” on November 16th, 2009. If as a brand owner you have not heard of this, please take note of this as new issues can arise by the launch of these new ccTLDs. Educate yourself, understand what the registration procedures will entail and ensure that if there is a Sunrise period proposed for these ccTLDs that you are able to take full advantage and not get left in the dark.
Posted by Jamila Hunte on Tue, Jun 23, 2009
In a recent article published by Reuters entitled "Most firms unaware of Web domain changes: survey", they reported that two-thirds of companies are unaware of the ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned names and Numbers) proposed new gTLDs (Generic Top Level Domains) that are slated to be opened up in Q1 of 2010. Many businesses are unaware that their trademarked name could be used as a domain extension similar to .com, .net, .org, etc. In this economic climate companies are very concerned with keeping an eye on the bottom line, but should also not forget to ensure that their biggest asset- the trademark- is protected.
With companies already utilizing the resources they have, however limited they might be, to protect themselves against phishing, cybersquatting, email scams and counterfeit fraud, these new gTLDs could present a challenge, or depending on who you speak to, it could also be an opportunity. For many companies out there running a registry is not the primary focus of their business; let's also not forget the data security and consumer protection issues that come as part of the package. This is can be an enormous financial burden when you also consider that it will cost $185, 000 just to apply for a new gTLD. Brand owners need to be aware of the progression of these new gTLDs as they come into existence because it is not a matter of if it will happen, but when it will happen.
In its attempt at transparency, ICANN has issued a Draft Application Guidebook (DAG) that details the process of applying for the new gTLDs. The second version of the DAG was related in February 2009 which attracted hundreds of comments from those who have an interest in the new gTLDs and also from brand owners who feel less than comfortable with the whole idea. The Implementation Recommendation Team (IRT) was formed in 2009 shortly after the release of version two of the DAG at the request of the trademark community to identify solutions to the potential risks to brand owners as a result of these new gTLDs.
The IRT is composed of 18 members and have released their draft report in response to the overarching issues and provided recommendations on some of these issues. While the IRT maintains an important function, it is also up to brand owners and others in the community to also engage in this process. There is an opportunity right now to review their report which will be an important part of the ICANN meeting in Sydney, Australia on June 21st 2009. Brand owners and those who have a vested interest in trademark issues have until June 29th to submit their comments to the IRT. I don't believe that it is expected that all the nitty gritty parts of their recommendations will be embraced by everyone, but it is important for ICANN to know that the general idea of their recommendations have support. The IRT maintains that they are not for or against the new gTLDs, but are there to look outside the box to ensure that the rights of brand owners can some how be protected. If brand owners hope for ICANN to take their proposal of rights protection mechanisms seriously they must become involved https://st.icann.org/new-gtld-overarching-issues/index.cgi?new_gtld_overarching_issues.
Griping after the fact will not help the situation, especially if you are not in favour of the new gTLDs. So become engaged in the process if you can, before it is too late.