Phil Corwin of the Internet Commerce Association (ICA) attended the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) USA meeting yesterday at Georgetown University Law School in Washington, DC where the afternoon keynote address was by Larry Strickling, the Assistant Secretary for Communications and Administrator.
You can read Mr. Corwin recap of that speech on the ICA site.
However prior to the speech, Mr. Corwin reports there was a session held on the new gTLD program at which Fred Felman of Mark Monitor spoke as well as Pat Kane of Verisign.
According to Mr. Corwin, both Fred and Pat said based on confidential feedback, they expected 1,000-1,500 applications for new gTLDs in the first round next year, and that 2/3 of these were likely to be .brand applications.
Yes 1,000-1,500 applications for new gTLD’s.
ICANN has previously stated that it would not approve more than 1,000 new gTLD in any round, so I’m not sure what’s going to happen if 1,500 applications are received.
Of course the trademark groups were led the opposition to the new gTLD program for years and years and were certainly the most vocal opponents.
So it would be quite ironic if Mark Monitor and Verisign are correct and 700-1,000 application come in from brand holders trying to get their own extension.
> So it would be quite ironic if Mark Monitor and Verisign are correct
> and 700-1,000 application come in from brand holders trying to get
> their own extension.
Yes, that’s a safe bet since many brand holders will feel they have no choice but to do this, in order to protect their name. The big brands will have no problem absorbing the costs, but there are tons of smaller brands for who this will likely be a problem.
What a nice little scam this is turning out to be…
@Alex A
Exactly. Complete joke and unfair on all levels, a totally fragmented internet here we come. It would be interesting to find out who is really behind all of this, holding the keys and pushing the buttons all the way at the top of this “plan” ….
Don’t forgot according to ICANN this program is “revenue neutral”. LOL
The fragmenting of the internet could actually make ICANN irrelevant at some point.
I don’t expect to see any major .keyword released anytime soon. There are too many legal issues for potentially competitive keyword extensions.
Brad
IMO, it will make .coms all the more valuable as all of these new gtld’s will do nothing
more than confuse the hell out of everyone……………
Hi,
@ Alex A ….
“Yes, that’s a safe bet since many brand holders will feel they have no choice but to do this, in order to protect their name. The big brands will have no problem absorbing the costs”
___
Brand protection can be done by simply NOT registering these so called “TL” domain extensions….
Besides in ‘reality’…they are just TL “sub domain” extensions.
INHO… as always 😉
___
Take “Nike” or “Sony” as just two examples…they are the only ones that could EVER apply, and be granted their “.brand’ domain extension.
ICAAN,,,,could never approve these to be reg by someone else….due to “Nike’s & Sony’s respective ‘TM’S”….and Intellectual property rights.
There is nothing to ‘protect’…no one else could ever get these extensions…other than the companies themselves.
With that said…
I am quite sure…both will end up applying getting their new “.brand” extension.
But, They do not have to reg them, to ‘protect’ themselves or their brand(s) from anyone or anything.
Best,
‘D’