DigitalBrandNews

Melbourne IT’s Chief Technology Officer, Dr Bruce Tonkin, discusses the implications and process around the new gTLDs.

The Facts about the New gTLDs Webinar

Melbourne IT has submitted recommendations for improving the ICANN process in the following areas.

•    “closed” gTLD – ICANN should identify a separate class of new gTLD where the applicant does not offer second level domains to third parties.

•    Application fees – provide a discount for applicants that apply for multiple names that are trademarks for the same legal entity (e.g product names)

•    Annual registry fees – for “closed” gTLD, allow brand owners to pay a lower annual fee for reserving the name as a brand protection mechanism (e.g $5,000).   For “closed” gTLDs reduce the annual fee for names that are trademarks for the same legal entity, and also reduce the fees as the volume of approved “closed” gTLDs increases.

•    Trademark protection at the second level – improve the protection for trademark holders at the second level, and match the level proposed to be offered at the top level.

•    Timeframe for the second round – announce a date for the start of the second round to be 6 months later than the date of publication of the applications for the first round.

Read Melbourne IT’s full submission to ICANN.

ICANN will be convening two open meetings with the first scheduled in Washington, DC on Thursday, 11 December from 2-5pm, and the second in Marina del Rey, CA on Friday, 19 December from 10am-1pm.  The purpose of the consultations are to explore draft recommendations regarding the relationship between registries and registrars as well as other potential models that would be acceptable to a consensus of the Internet community.    The draft recommendations state that a single organisation operating a gTLD for its own purposes will be able to perform the role of registry and registrar, and that a organisation that is operating a registry for one gTLD would be allowed to act in the role as registrar for another gTLD.

For the full ICANN announcement visit: http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-2-09dec08-en.htm