UrbanBrain

Independent Objector Files 24 Objections for New gTLDs

Jacob Williams — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 03:28:36 +0000

ICANN’s Independent Objector for the New gTLD Program, Alain Pellet, has filed 24 objections against new gTLD applications. The objections, filed with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), were for several healthcare related strings as well as dotBrand applications for TLDs that have a similar geographic name, such as the hotly contested .PATAGONIA.

General Motors Withdraws its New gTLD App for .GMC

Jacob Williams — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 07:42:55 +0000

American automaker, General Motors, has withdrawn its application to ICANN for the .GMC New gTLD. This is the 15th application withdrawn from the New gTLD program, and the first from an automaker.

The GAC Issues 242 Early Warning Notices to New gTLD Applicants

Jacob Williams — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 09:44:19 +0000

ICANN Receives 1,930 New TLD Applications

Jacob Williams — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 09:24:31 +0000

ICANN has announced that it has successfully received 1,930 New gTLD applications in the first open round of the New gTLD program. Of those applications only 84 have been designated as “Community-Based,” and 66 are designated as geographic name applications.

Reveal Day – Who Applied For What

Jacob Williams — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 02:53:27 +0000

So this is it, the moment we’ve all been waiting for is just a little more than a day away. ICANN plans to reveal who applied for what during a live event being held in London on Wednesday June 13.

New TLD Application Period Officially Closes, Next Phase Begins

Jacob Williams — Thu, 31 May 2012 02:05:52 +0000

That’s it! After months of hard work, and over a month of system-down time the TLD applications system (TAS) has closed, signaling the end of the New gTLD application period. ICANN will not accept any more applications for New TLDs for a while — probably a long while.

A Look At How the New TLD Space is Shaping up in Japan

Jacob Williams — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 02:52:41 +0000

As the New TLD Application deadline steadily approaches things are finally starting to become clear in Japan.

Here is a quick rundown on how things are shaping up in the Japanese market.

When Will the Second Round of New gTLD Applications Begin?

Jacob Williams — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 03:17:29 +0000

So, when will the second round of New gTLD applications take place?

That is a good question.

A very good question.

While the goal of having a second New gTLD application round has always existed, it has never been clear as to when the second round will actually take place.

ICANN Releases New Version of the Applicant Guidebook

Jacob Williams — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 03:28:45 +0000

A new version of the gTLD Applicant Guidebook was published earlier today by ICANN. Is this the final version of the Applicant Guidebook? According to the cover page it is “Version 2011-09-19,” and hasn’t been branded as the “Final Version.”

ICANN 41 Report: The Course is Set for New gTLD Implementation

Jacob Williams — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 00:59:25 +0000

Now that the New gTLD Program has been approved, and the Applicant Guidebook is pretty much in its final condition, ICANN can begin working on the implementation of the New gTLD program and its collective parts. Some issues currently on the radar are:

ICANN 41 Report: ICANN Votes to Expand TLD Space

Jacob Williams — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 08:12:20 +0000

It has been over a week since ICANN 41 kicked off in Singapore and the ICANN Board approved the New gTLD program. Of course, the big news is the approval of the New gTLD program, so we’ll start there.

A Look Inside the Unofficial Final New gTLD Applicant Guidebook

Jacob Williams — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 08:10:59 +0000

The seventh version of the New gTLD Guidebook was released yesterday afternoon (5/31 JST) and is set to go in front of the ICANN board for consideration on June 20th.

The guidebook was released with a caveat that some of the proposed details remain open for consultation and revision. According to the statement released with the guidebook, the Board and Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) have scheduled a meeting on the 19th of June for further discussion.

At this point it is not clear how much of a role the recent public comment period played in the revision of the Applicant Guidebook. During the last public comment period, UrbanBrain along with several others in the community pointed out a few issues with rights protection mechanisms (RPMs) that still needed some attention.

State of the Domain Name Industry – Ready for New gTLDs

Jacob Williams — Fri, 27 May 2011 02:56:20 +0000

A few comments are still lingering about suggesting that ICANN has not shown significant demand or quantifiable benefits for New gTLDs through its economic studies. Though I will not argue the content of the many economic reports or the legitimacy of the models used to demonstrate demand or a lack thereof for New gTLDs, I would venture to say that a few examples — .UK taking over .ORG as the fourth largest TLD, .AU and .CA enjoying a 20 percent plus growth, .РФ (.RF – IDN ccTLD for Russia) registration explosion upon launch, and .CO easily crossing the 600k registration mark in its first year of operations — are all fine examples that the domain industry is healthy and is indeed ready for new gTLDs.

ICANN Signs Agreement With ICM Registry for .XXX

Jacob Williams — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 08:13:15 +0000

On April 1st, ICANN signed the Registry Agreement with ICM Registry for .XXX. ICANN General Counsel & Secretary, John Jeffrey followed up on the singing by explaining the delicate nature of the contract with ICM Registry in a blog post.

ICANN Approves XXX and New gTLD Timeline

Jacob Williams — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 08:43:22 +0000

The ICANN Board approved the .XXX domain name extension and adopted a new timeline for the New gTLD program last Friday at its regularly scheduled meeting of the ICANN Board held in San Francisco.