UrbanBrain

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.

Hitachi Ltd. Makes Plans for .brand TLD

Jacob Williams — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 14:20:53 +0000

Hitachi, Ltd. quietly made its intention on applying for a new top-level domain public today.

An official release on Hitachi’s website cannot yet be found, but Japan’s largest domain name registrar has posted a news release on their Investor Relations page today confirming that they have partnered with Hitachi to supply the application and back-end registry operations for “.hitachi”.

Hitachi is the second multinational brand based in Japan to announce its intention to apply and operate a .brand TLD registry. Canon announced its intention to apply last March.

ICANN Responds to .Brand Issues

Jacob Williams — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 09:52:04 +0000

The summary and analysis for comments on the New gTLD Applicant Guidebook was made available earlier today.

Several well-known brands such as IBM, Adobe Systems, AT&T, Lego, Microsoft and Verizon commented on the most recent version of the Applicant Guidebook. Most of these comments focused on the Rights Protection Mechanisms (RPMs) for trademark holders as well as special requirements required to run a .brand registry.

NXT Conference 2011

Jacob Williams — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 06:24:17 +0000

Part of the thrill of observing the New gTLD process since its official kickoff in 2008 has been observing the policy making bodies, and listening to experts from many different backgrounds make arguments on whether or not ICANN should continue this program that will ultimately bring about an explosion of new Internet extensions. After attending many ICANN meetings focused on policy and procedures, it was a breath of fresh air to get together with colleagues that have similar goal in mind at a conference recently held in San Francisco, California.

The conference, .NXT (dot-nxt), was aimed at entities looking to apply for and manage their own Internet extensions similar to .com, .biz, and, .info. Industry leaders, startups, and entrepreneurs from all over gathered together to share their ideas on business models for new extensions as well as discuss the rules for applying for Internet extensions (New gTLDs).

New gTLD Program Launch: Getting it Right

Jacob Williams — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 09:57:10 +0000

Exactly three weeks ago, I stood up in front of a modest-sized gathering of colleagues and over-enthusiastically proclaimed that I believed the New gTLD application period would begin in mid to late August 2011. I confidently stated “if not August, definitely by the end of the year.” This rather optimistic prediction took place at a recent ICANN Report Meeting sponsored by IAjapan and JPNIC; an event to report what took place at the preceding ICANN meeting to industry professionals in Japan.

New gTLD Program Reaches Turning Point in Cartagena

Jacob Williams — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 18:03:38 +0000

The ICANN meeting in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia started for us while sitting on the plane prior to departure in Tokyo; the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) had just submitted some strong comments on the process which ICANN has undertaken to move forward with approval and implementation of the New gTLD program.

The week was full of passionate comments from those hoping to apply for a New gTLD, from those hoping to completely stop the program in its track, and those simply concerned about getting the policy and rules right.

.CYM and Other Strings not Eligible

Jacob Williams — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 02:33:28 +0000

Community Top Level Domain registry hopeful, dotCYM, has been campaigning to run new top level domain, .cym, to benefit the Welsh community since before ICANN officially announced its New gTLD Program in 2008. Unfortunately, it now appears that .CYM is no longer possible.

CYM is short for “Cymraeg,” or “Welsh,” and was the natural choice for a New top-level domain for the Welsh community centered in Wales, a country in the United Kingdom located on the West border of England. Over 600,000 residents, representing 20 percent of the population in Wales, speak Welsh. Though it is considered its own country, Wales falls under the .UK ccTLD. The organization behind .cym felt the community could be better represented on the Internet with its own Top-Level domain. ,