In a new post by AdWeek.com entitled: “Brands Facing Dot-Com Domain Identity Crisis. As ICANN readies roll out, marketers and media outlets will spend millions”
” It all adds up to a 6,300% increase in web site domains.”
I actually have never seen the new gTLD program expressed in terms of a percentage of increase in web addresses but its a pretty dramatic number.
The article talks to big brand holders who are complaining about the cost of defensive registrations including Facebook:
“”in a universe of 22 Internet TLDs, Facebook has 2,000 defensive registrations across the major domains, such as .info, .biz, .com, .net and .org. ”
“But with hundreds of generic TLDs on the horizon, Facebook will probably have to abandon that defensive business model, resorting to legal take-downs as they happen, it said in comments filed with ICANN.
“We routinely have tens of thousands of enforcement targets. These infringing domain names are frequently used in efforts to defraud our users. With the impending launch of over 1,400 new gTLDs, we face enormous challenges in protecting our users and our brand,” wrote Susan Kawaguchi, Facebook’s domain name manager.”
Some brands say they may just give up on defensive registrations altogether:
“It’s not a fair system,” said Brad Newberg, a partner with Reed Smith, who represents a number of large brand owners. “The protections that were put into place are extremely costly, put all the burden on the trademark owner, and may not be effective at all.”
“With the costs of defensive registrations sure to skyrocket into the tens of millions, many brands are rethinking their Internet identity strategies.”
“There is no way this fortress mentality can be continued going forward,” said Bill Smith, a senior policy advisor for PayPal, said at the ANA last week.”
“Companies aren’t sure they should defensively register,” said Amy Mushahwar, an attorney with Ballard Spahr, which represents advertisers. “What they are contemplating is boycotting the defensive registration all together.”
Interesting
We still don’t think that brands need to go overboard with defensive registrations in the new gTLD space.
Its going to be many years before these new gTLD get random type in traffic enough to bother a brand or make it profitable for cybersquatters to register a bunch of typo brand domains.
We see a bunch of very good .com typo domains being dropped weekly, domains that have actually have traffic sometimes a lot of traffic and domain’s frankly that just are not typo’s but true defensive registrations that brands should have owned years ago.
“Its going to be many years before these new gTLD get random type in traffic enough to bother a brand or make it profitable for cybersquatters to register a bunch of typo brand domains.”
It’s not about random type in traffic.
It’s about customer manipulation. It’s about a site that comes up #1 in google for “Extended Warranty Lexus” that looks like, seems like, smells like a real site. It is getting easier and easier to make a site look good, as SSL (ever actually check the certificate owner?).
If it’s on LexusWarranty.biz, ranked by Google, and looks good why wouldn’t you trust it?
What should people base their trust on? There is a growing argument that all official email should come from .lexus.
I’m not saying that’s the right answer but the presumption is wrong if you are only worried about type in traffic. Companies could care less if you make a few $$ as long as you’re not costing them more though fraud, dilution of TM. etc.
Things could get fixed in much easier way, imho, but then I don’t have the money of ICANN to put that forth as the future.
Well in that case Trademark holders that register once with the TM clearing house should be able to get those domain names on a case by case basis quick and cheap with the URS.
Hello MHB,
.COM Profit Centers = Biggest Winners!
90 % + Revenues intersect back to .COM Profit Centers.
Gin it up Boys!
Gratefully, Jeff Schneider (Contact Group) (Metal Tiger)
The 6300% increase # they refer to is 63 times the current 22 gtlds. But it’s really not that big given the hundreds of TLDs out there when you include ccTLDs. It’s more like a 5x increase.
The Ad/TM groups are trying to boost it up
Hello MHB,
R. E. = ” It’s more like a 5x increase. ”
Worst case the URL pool of Currency Capital is growing exponentially.
Gratefully, Jeff Schneider (Contact Group) (Metal Tiger)
Jeff,
Did your parents have any kids who aren’t retarded? Do you own any domains of actual value? If not, why do you continue to post your stupid comments here? Are you lonely? Does posting dumb and ignorant comments here make you somehow feel connected to others? Do you live in your parent’s basement?
Michael Berkens wrote:
“Some brands say they may just give up on defensive registrations altogether”
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I noted that King.com doesn’t own the .ORG or .NET of the name, as well as other extensions, and they seem to be doing well despite that. (It’s interesting to see that KING.BIZ forwards to Budwiser’s site.) So maybe there is some wisdom in not worrying so much about defensive registrations. The .COM combined with a great site should be enough… although personally I’d still at least get the .ORG and .NET as well.
Not pc.