In a move three years in the making, yesterday the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) approved the use of custom and extended Top-Level Domains (TLDs), registration for which will open next January. The new so-called gTLDs will replace the common .COM or .NET at the end of a web address with custom terms.
The gTLDs can take whatever form a purchaser desires. ICANN predict the most common uses will be generic terms (.CAR, .BANK, .SHOPPING) and brands (.NIKE, .CANON, .APPLE). However, those hoping to secure themselves a custom vanity URL will be out of luck unless they have remarkably deep pockets – applications will cost $185,000, plus a hefty yearly fee.
ICANN think the ability of a large corporation to register an entire TLD exclusively for their own use will result in shorter, more memorable addresses. A company with a diverse product portfolio such as Sony could register the .SONY gTLD, and give each of their products its own domain (playstation.sony, vaio.sony, bravia.sony etc.).
The essentially infinite number of available domains has also raised concerns about copyright and trademark infringement – for example Apple probably wouldn’t be too happy about somebody registering Apple.phone or iPad.tablet. The initial investment will probably act as a high enough barrier to entry to keep the spammers and domain squatters to begin with, however as the price comes down it will likely prove a problem.
ICANN predicts they will receive between 300 and 1,000 applications during the initial three month registration period beginning 12th January 2012, mainly from large corporations looking to protect their brands.
Rod Beckstrom, ICANN’s CEO, said of the move:
“ICANN has opened the Internet’s addressing system to the limitless possibilities of the human imagination. No one can predict where this historic decision will take us.”
