Domain Extensions

A total of 499 PIC Specs have been received and are now posted on the Current Application Status page on the new gTLD microsite. In an announcement on 5 February 2013, ICANN requested that New …

In an announcement on 5 February 2013, ICANN requested that New gTLD applicants submit PIC Specifications. PIC Specifications provide applicants with the opportunity to make public interest commitments based on statements made in their applications …

In an announcement on 26 February 2013, ICANN published a list of string similarity contention sets wherein two or more applied-for gTLD strings are identical or so nearly resemble one another visually that they are …

WhatBox? LLC, the applicant for the new top level domain .MENU, has selected NameJet, the leading domain name auction platform, and Afternic, the world’s largest premium domain marketplace, to operate the sunrise and landrush auctions, …

Objections to new gTLD strings must be submitted by 13 March 2013 at 23:59:59 UTC in order to be considered by Dispute Resolution Service Providers (DRSPs). The objection process is intended to afford businesses, individuals, …

The 2012 World report on IDNs deployment was presented during the UNESCO WSIS + 10 event in Paris on the 26th of February. “EURid-UNESCO World report on Internationalised Domain Names deployment 2012” is available and you …

Nominet announced today, 27 February 2013, that following its Board meeting yesterday, it will not proceeding with their original proposal on ‘direct.uk’ but will respond to feedback by looking at whether a revised proposal will …

ICANN released today the string similarity contention sets for New gTLD program. ICANN focused on the visually similar gTLD strings that resulted in only 2 “Non-Exact Match Contention Sets”: .hotels & .hoteis (small l is …

Two new gTLD applicants, GED Domains LLC and GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft, have send a joint statement to ICANN explaining the reasons why the .GED and .GEA gTLD strings should not be placed in string contention …

On 26 March 2013, ICANN will unveil a global repository for trademark data, the first of its kind in the domain name space. The Trademark Clearinghouse will enable companies and individuals to protect their trademarks, …

FairWinds Partners consulting firm has written a blog post criticizing General Motors’ decision to withdraw three of its five new gTLD applications. GM withdrew 2 new gTLD applications last week and another one the week …

This past week 4 more new gTLDs applications were withdrawn and their status was updated at the ICANN New gTLD website. All 4 were brand new gTLDs. General Motors LLC withdrew 2 more gTLDs after …

ICANN has released instructions and a request form for eligible governmental entities to request funding for filing objections. The Government Objection Funding Instructions provides the following: Governmental entity eligibility criteria; Instructions to complete the objection …

The National Arbitration Forum has secured the first appointment by ICANN to administer the Uniform Rapid Suspension System (URS). FORUM submitted an outstanding proposal demonstrating how it would meet all requirements presented in the RFI …