New TLDs Approved by ICANN but Doubts Remain

ICANN has not yet announced what domains will be introduced, but it has said they will be "available by December" — in time for the shopping season, perhaps? Registrars salivate as major corporations fear more legal battles over domain names.

by the @NewYork Staff
[July 19, 2000]

Domain name registrars and service providers are hopping with excitement over the creation of several new top-level domain names but there are lingering fears and doubts over the introduction of the new suffixes.

Time
The private corporation controlling Internet changes — Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) — Sunday announced the first new Top Level Domains (TLDs) since the early 1980s. While ICANN is aiming to have the new TLDs available by year end, many believe there isn't enough time to set up structures to avoid major corporate controversies.

ICANN's resolution (available at http://www.icann.org), calls for the introduction of new names in a "measured and responsible manner" but it lacked specifics on the number of new TLDs to be introduced and how trademark infringement issues will be avoided.

Register now. . .
Despite the uneasiness, registrars could not contain their excitement this morning.

Elana Broitman, director of policy and public affairs of Register.com described the ICANN decision as a "great opportunity" for competition among registrars.

"We're very excited that ICANN has approved the process of going forward with a streamlined process. Because of consumer demand (for new domain names), this will decrease pricing and enhance choices for consumers," Broitman added.

Christina Binko, a spokesperson for Network Solutions, Inc., was also thrilled at the news. "We are quite happy. There are some issues to be resolved but this is a positive step," she said.

. . . for the shopping season
ICANN has not yet decided how many new suffixes will be chosen to join the ".com", ".org" or ".net" names but there are indications that four new TLDs will be unveiled by December.

Binko said the Virginia-based Network Solutions has already submitted a white paper to the ICANN names council, spelling out suggestions to deal with possible conflicts, including intellectual property rights matters, restricted and unrestricted TLDs.

Register.com's Broitman also said ICANN-accredited registrars are toying with the idea of creating and operating a new registry on a "cooperative basis". Network Solutions, too, supports the concept of a new registry.

Network Solutions official Roger Cochetti, explained: "The new registry and ICANN could enter into a registry agreement substantially identical to that between the current gTLD registry, creating a level playing field, saving everyone time and assuring the applicaton of policies widely accepted within the ICANN community."

Trademarks
While registrars and ISPs get ready to offer the new domain names for sale, trademark rights proponents look on with some trepidation. They suggest stringent rules and regulations to ensure the new TLDs are dispensed without breaking the law.

For instance, trademarked corporate giants like Coca Cola or Pepsi should be able to select a certain number of variations to the new TLDs before they go on the open market, one advocate urged.

—End