The new gTLD application deadline is approaching fast, with just about six weeks left to submit. From our work at FairWinds, we know that many companies are working to finalize their applications, and some are even just getting started now. But everyone, regardless of when they got started, is hurtling toward the April 12 finish line. Continue reading “April 13, 2012: When the Real Fun Begins”
Month: February 2012
Should I Insure My New gTLD?
We have insurance to cover multiple aspects of our personal lives, as well as our business endeavors. One of the questions we’ve been hearing lately from new gTLD applicants is whether or not they will need insurance for their new gTLDs. It turns out, the answer – like the answers to so many other questions about new gTLDs – depends on how they plan to run their registry. Continue reading “Should I Insure My New gTLD?”
Defensive Dilemma
As a gTLD Strategy reader, you know what’s up when it comes to “defensive” new gTLD applications. You know they have nothing to do with protecting your trademarks or brands against cybersquatters – there are plenty of trademark protections and objection procedures laid out in the New gTLD Applicant Guidebook that will prevent opportunists from cybersquatting at the top level, not to mention the fact that the complexity and cost of the application both act as more or less insurmountable obstacles for squatters. Continue reading “Defensive Dilemma”
We’re Not in 1994 Anymore
The first UDRP decision involving a .XXX domain name was handed down by a National Arbitration Forum (NAF) Panelist on Tuesday. HEB Grocery Company, L.P. prevailed in its Complaint against Eric Gonzales over the domain name HEB.xxx. The decision itself was unremarkable as Mr. Gonzales clearly lacked rights or interests to the domain name. In fact, Mr. Gonzales admitted to registering HEB.xxx simply because the grocery chain had failed to “exhibit a proactive approach” towards registering in the new .XXX top-level domain.
Mr. Gonzales’ move to register HEB.xxx reminded me of the early days of the Internet. Way back in 1994, when there were less than three full-time employees at the Internet Network Information Center (“InterNIC”) handling domain registrations in .COM and only one-third of Fortune 500 companies had registered their main trademark in the .COM space, Josh Quittner wrote an article inWired about corporate adoption of the Internet. In what now seems an almost quaint analysis, Quittner examined the practice of cybersquatting, which was burgeoning as companies that had yet to get the message about “the Next Big Thing” failed to register their domains and Internet intellectual property laws and domain dispute arbitration were still in their infancy. As Quittner saw it, companies that didn’t register their .COM domain name should suffer the consequences. To prove his point, he registered McDonalds.com. Without a UDRP procedure or a precedent for domain recovery arbitration, Quittner was able to hold on to McDonalds.com for over three months, and only surrendered it to the fast food chain after extracting a $3,500 donation to a public school.
Fast-forward 18 years, and Mr. Gonzales’ attempt to make a point about HEB Grocery’s failure to register in .XXX was met with a swift and sound decision from the NAF Panelist. As ICANN paves the way for the introduction of hundreds, possibly thousands, of new gTLDs, the first .XXX UDRP decision is a reminder that we’ve come a long way since 1994. And, like the domain name space itself, the ways in which brand owners protect their online reputations are continuing to evolve.
Second Round: Not If, but When?
The ICANN Board has reaffirmed its commitment to opening a second round of applications for the New gTLD Program as “expeditiously as possible,” a move that surprised approximately no one. The Board still doesn’t “get” that for brand owners, the major unknown about the second application round is not the if, but the when. Continue reading “Second Round: Not If, but When?”
Time on Your Side
The process of thinking through, applying for, acquiring, and launching a new gTLD, in a lot of ways, is not so different from a roller coaster. In this case, we’re not referring to the fear or excitement it can induce, or its potential ability to make you want to puke. Instead, we’re talking about speed. Continue reading “Time on Your Side”
.BRAND Differentiation? Not in the Applicant Guidebook.
Because our business is working with brand owners, we launched this blog to address some of the issues that brand owners face and concerns they have when it comes to new gTLDs. As a result, we devote a good deal of time to discussing .BRAND gTLDs. By .BRAND, we mean the domain name extensions that companies apply for to correspond with their brand names, whether it be their core business name, like .TOYOTA for Toyota, or a branded product or service name, like .CAMRY. Continue reading “.BRAND Differentiation? Not in the Applicant Guidebook.”
The ABC’s of New gTLDs: Prohibited Three-Character Strings
When people talk about how new gTLDs will bring about a world of “.ANYTHING,” it can be easy to overlook the fact that there are certain restrictions on what strings will be allowed to become gTLDs. For example, numbers are not permitted in a new gTLD. Neither are country names. And new gTLDs must be at least three characters long, lest they be confused with existing country-code top-level domains (ccTLDs). General Motors, for example, cannot apply for .GM, as it is already the ccTLD for The Gambia. Continue reading “The ABC’s of New gTLDs: Prohibited Three-Character Strings”
Brave New World
The majority of the advice and guidance we offer brand owners here on gTLD Strategy has to do with the short term: figuring out whether or not to apply for a new gTLD, which to apply for, how to best answer the application questions, etc. But the truth is, a fully-developed new gTLD strategy doesn’t end once the application is approved and the registry is launched. That’s when the real fun begins.
In today’s cover article for iMedia Connection, FairWinds Managing Partner Josh Bourne discusses what life will look like for brands post-new gTLD delegation. Josh walks readers through a series of changes that new gTLDs are likely to bring to the Internet, and how brand owners should adapt their digital strategies to them, regardless of whether they apply for their own new gTLDs or not. Continue reading “Brave New World”
Star Gazing: Singapore-based StarHub Announces Plans for .STARHUB gTLD
According to a recent post on DomainIncite, StarHub, a telecommunications firm based in Singapore, has indicated that it will be applying for a .STARHUB gTLD. The company is scheduled to make a formal announcement today.
As we noted in our “State of Play” post, brands have kept their plans to apply quite close to the vest. StarHub is actually the first brand to publicly announce its intention to apply since the application period opened on January 12. Others, namely Canon, Hitachi, and Deloitte, have also gone public with their new gTLD plans, but all three did so before the application period kicked off. Continue reading “Star Gazing: Singapore-based StarHub Announces Plans for .STARHUB gTLD”
Dollar Signs Ahead
Back in October, we published a post titled “The Right Registrar,” where we discussed which registrar partner brand owners should choose if they decide to apply for and operate a new gTLD. There, we advised that brands choosing to operate closed registries should, for the sake of consistency, stick with their corporate registrar partners. Brands choosing to operate an open gTLD registry, on the other hand, should shop around for registrars with better consumer-facing interfaces and customer services representatives. But in both cases, we warned brands against rushing to jump into bed with any registrar partner too soon. Continue reading “Dollar Signs Ahead”