What
will be the impact of these new domains?
With some 20 million dotcom names registered worldwide, easy-to-remember
addresses have been almost completely used up, resulting in many
calling for new TLDs to be put in place. But the implementation
of these new TLDs has received mixed reviews. Industries seeking
expansion applaud the new TLDs, while those that believe ICANN
unfairly favors large corporate interests over individual Internet
users are criticizing these latest developments. This clash of
beliefs has resulted in several protests against ICANN and their
new regulations.
What will be the impact of these
new domains?
With some 20 million dotcom names registered worldwide, easy-to-remember
addresses have been almost completely used up, resulting in many
calling for new TLDs to be put in place. But the implementation
of these new TLDs has received mixed reviews. Industries seeking
expansion applaud the new TLDs, while those that believe ICANN
unfairly favors large corporate interests over individual Internet
users are criticizing these latest developments. This clash of
beliefs has resulted in several protests against ICANN and their
new regulations.
When will these new TLDs be in place?
At this time, there is no definitive time set. ICANN must now
negotiate contracts with companies or groups that made the winning
TLD proposals. The company administrators then need to coordinate,
design, and develop the technology needed for the shared database/repository
information, and officials haven't put firm dates on the availability
of registration services. However, they are expected to be in
place by mid 2001
Can I pre-register for these new
TLDs?
Due to the fact that negotiations between ICANN and the companies
that made the winning TLD proposals are still in progress, we
only offering pre-requests for the new TLDs at this time. However,
once these negotiations are complete and pricing and policies
are in place, we will notify Request Holders with this information
and give them the opportunity to secure their place in line. Due
to the lack of pricing structures and policies for the new TLDs,
we strongly recomend that you don't pay for pre-registration of
these new TLDs.
Will current domain name owners be
given special registration preference?
Most likely, the answer is no, but it depends on the rules put
in place by the TLD Registry. Some may impose a period of time
for trademark holders to register first. Other rules may require
compliance with the particular TLD. An example - only aerospace
companies can register .aero. Otherwise these new TLDs will be
available on a first-come, first-serve basis to anyone that wants
to register them. Even if the domain name you want is already
registered by someone else in a com/net/org, you still have the
opportunity to register it in one of the new TLDs. However, if
you successfully register a domain name in one of the new TLDs
that is currently trademarked by an individual or company with
an existing com/net/org, your domain name registrations could
be challenged by that individual or company. Second level domains
in the new gTLDs that embody existing trademark rights may be
held only by the owner of the trademark rights. If you register
a domain name in any of the new gTLDs that embodies trademark
rights owned by another person, the registration will be subject
to cancellation if the trademark owner brings a challenge under
the dispute settlement regime.
Will more TLDs be put into place
in the future?
Adding suffixes to the Internet is akin to adding area codes
to the national phone system to accommodate the growing number
of customers. For this reason, more TLDs are expected in the future,
although ICANN has thus far avoided such questions as to when
and how more new TLDs will be implemented.
Where can I find more information
on these new TLDs?
Check back to us for continued updates on the progress of these
new TLDs. The official ICANN web site, http://www.icann.com/ ,
is also updated after any major decision is made by the organization.
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