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New gTLD’s approved by ICANN, are you concerned?

  

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After several years of exhaustive  discussion, debate and doubt, the ICANN board has finally approved the introduction of the new gTLD’s.  The highly anticipated vote, held in Singapore last month, provided the green light for an application process for new domain extensions to begin.  It was determined that the process will open on January 12, 2012 and close on April 12, 2012.  ICANN says they are limiting the first round of applications to 500, and after a period of intense scrutiny the first of the newly approved gTLD’s will see the light of day in 2013. The application process is comprised of meeting all of the requirements that are outlined in a 352 page document that is still under consideration.

In the current domain landscape there are 22 generic top level domains, and most of us are very  familiar with them - .com, .info, .net, .org, etc...  There are also more than 250 country code domains operating such as .ca for Canada.

Internet users will now, however, see domain spaces such as .apple, .eco, .bank, .insurance and perhaps even .brandprotect open up.  The term “domain space” is critical.  This means that newly registered gTLD’s are not domains, but are operating as full-fledged registries.  As such, the cost of owning a gTLD will be high.  First, there is the staggering $185,000 initial application (and evaluation) fee that goes to ICANN plus an additional $25,000 per year administration fee.  Next, add in legal and consulting fees, plus the cost to maintain the registry, and it is anticipated the spend on a gTLD will be in the millions during the first decade. 

In order to defray these costs the registry may choose to sell domains at the second level.  This means we could see domains such as ontariogrowers.apple or tdbank.bank in the future.  It becomes clear that as the domain space opens up, so does the possibility of more cybersquatting.  On a positive note, one of the main considerations is that applicants must prove claims to the domains they are applying for.  The process WILL check for trademarked names.  An objection process is in place as well.
Since the announcement was made a number of our clients have asked our advice on applying for and protecting their brand within the new internet landscape.  Here are a few points we recommend they consider:

• Assemble a team drawn from areas of the corporation such as Legal, Marketing, IT , Finance and Executive Management to discuss the financial feasibility, the technical feasibility, marketing pros and cons and brand protection issues of applying for and maintaining a gTLD.  Is there a business case to be made for having a corporate gTLD?
• Determine the tangible and intangible costs to the corporation of not applying for and having a presence in the domain space.  If your competitor has their own gTLD and you do not, what are the implications for your brand, and are they acceptable to you?
• Ensure all stakeholders are aware of the timelines in the process
• Put a process in place to handle objections to applications and infringements that may come up
• Review the initial evaluation results.  Complete applications will be posted on the ICANN site, and brand owners need to review and file objections on a timely basis
• Consider defensive registrations on the second level.  Where do you need to have a presence to protect your brand?

One of Brandprotect’s Senior Account Managers Jamila Hunte has these words on brand abuse in the new domain space “It is thought that the high cost and arduous process of applying for the new gTLD’s could deter the would be scammers from entering this new venture, but we are aware that there is still the potential for them to attempt to capitalize on this new offering by ICANN.   So in the interim, I would assess the risk and monitor the situation as it unfolds.”  Our Identity Theft expert, Dylan Sachs views the situation in this way “Due to the expected high cost of entry and detailed review of applications, there is no immediate concern that these new extensions will result in a spike in phishing attempts.”

BrandProtect will continue to provide updates on the latest developments on the new gTLD’s as they unfold.  Stay tuned for more updates as they unfold, and in the meantime protect your Rights, Revenue and Reputation!