New gTLDs
Introduction
The expansion of generic TLDs was first suggested by the GNSO, an organization within ICANN which deals with the maintenance of gTLDs. The first model was announced at the ICANN meeting in Paris is 2008. Up until now ICANN has added 21 gTLDs to the root zone over three phases and the new gTLDs will be the fourth phase. It is predicted that there will be at least 500 applications.
The graph below shows an example of a new gTLD:
Timeline
The first Draft Applicant Guidebook (DAG), which contains detailed information on the new gTLD project and application guidelines, was released in October 2008 and since then four updates have been released: the second draft in February 2009, the third in October 2009, the fourth in June 2010 and the final draft in November 2010. Following the release of each draft, there is a 45 day public comment period during which any member of the public can submit comments regarding the guidebook. ICANN is also planning a four-months campaign to promote the new gTLDs. A clear schedule is yet to be released but it is expected that the Guidebook will be released around March 2011 in time for applications to start in 2011.
Overview
There are 2 types of application for the new gTLDs: open and community. Open applications would concern common terms such as ‘.car’ and ‘.movie’ as well as brand names. Brand names are also referred to as pTLD (p =‘proprietary’). Within pTLDs, there will also be open and closed types; open can be offered for public registration, whereas closed can only be used in company. Community applications would be for certain organizations such as geographical, area, education, political and social groups (charities) and other communities.
Applicants will need a business plan, necessary finances, technical know-how and proof that they can maintain the functions of a domain name registry. All applications must be submitted online and payment must be made in advance. The application fee is 185,000 dollars and if the application is successful, it will be necessary to pay an extra 25,000 dollars as a registration fee to ICANN. Aside from these costs, a successful application will need to put up funds to run the registry for three to five years. It is therefore a very costly undertaking, but as listed below, there are several merits:
Merits (of running a new gTLD):
- A highly effective global marketing tool
- Your own exclusive space on the internet
- Total control from head office increasing efficiency and security
- Direct navigation and management of internet traffic
- New gTLDs are impossible to squat; this will lead to increased reliability
- Helps build an in company network or network with customers.
However there are also several negative aspects:
Possible difficulties:
- Greatly increased costs (application, technical and operating costs)
- Increased costs and manpower required to take part in trademark rights protection mechanisms offered by ICANN for the new gTLDs
- Increased manpower required to monitor applicants competing for the same string
- Possibility of increased number of problems at the second level and more UDRP (Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy) cases to deal with. (However, the rights protections mechanisms suggested by ICANN may limit these problems)
- It may take time after to introduce the new gTLDs to the root system due to technical difficulties
Brights Consulting has set up a ‘New gTLD Support Team’ and been following the project carefully since 2007. If you are considering applying for a new gTLD, please feel free to contact us. We can offer professional consulting, assistance with your application, and also registry services through collaboration with our partners. We will offer comprehensive assistance to make sure that your workload does not increase after applying for the new gTLD. As experts in Intellectual Property, we promise to offer you full professional support.
Links
ICANN(English)
ICANNwiki(English)
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If you have any questions, please contact:
Brights Consulting Inc.
E-Mail: newgtld@brights.jp
Tel：03-5652-7560 Fax：03-5652-7561
http://brights.jp/
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