Anyone who uses the Internet is familiar with the two classes of top-level domain names: country-specific top-level domains such as ".us" and ".ca" and standard top-level domains such as ".net", ".org" and the ever-popular ".com". In 2012, the Internet Corporation For Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), established a procedure to add "generic" top-level domain names (known as gTLDs) to this list. Implementation of these new domains is taking place over multiple phases. The first phase occurred when over 2,000 applicants paid ICANN an application fee of $185,000 to apply to register new top-level domains such as ".home", ".inc" and ".cisco". Now, the second phase--where other can object to these registrations on multiple grounds--ends very soon on March 13, 2013. Filing fees for these objections vary but they are well into the thousands of dollars. All these procedures and sky-high fees (which do not even include the time and expense it takes to prepare the applications and objections themselves) leads me wonder: what is the point to all this?
Business owners must be ever-vigilant to make sure that their valuable names are protected in cyberspace. Facebook, Twitter, Linked In and Google+ each have their own procedures to prevent "cyber-squatting," not to mention the problems that arise when more than one company has legitimate claims to the same trademark such as United Airlines and United Van Lines. The effort is endless. ICANN's initiative to add gTLDs to this mix (especially generic names like ".book" or ".hotel" that potentially could be locked up by one company) makes things needlessly harder for trademark owners. Even worse, the fees make this procedure prohibitive for all but the largest companies. And where is the benefit to the average consumer or Internet user in all of this? I fail to see the benefit to any of it.
Business owners must be ever-vigilant to make sure that their valuable names are protected in cyberspace. Facebook, Twitter, Linked In and Google+ each have their own procedures to prevent "cyber-squatting," not to mention the problems that arise when more than one company has legitimate claims to the same trademark such as United Airlines and United Van Lines. The effort is endless. ICANN's initiative to add gTLDs to this mix (especially generic names like ".book" or ".hotel" that potentially could be locked up by one company) makes things needlessly harder for trademark owners. Even worse, the fees make this procedure prohibitive for all but the largest companies. And where is the benefit to the average consumer or Internet user in all of this? I fail to see the benefit to any of it.