A brand is the most powerful component and serves as the origin of the quality of goods / services. Enormous amount of investment and hard-work is being put into creating and protecting a brand. With the advent of the internet, it has become sine qua non to protect the brand(s) in the virtual world. Opportunity has now arrived to strengthen the corporate identity on a global basis and to prevent cyber squatters from usurping the hard-earned goodwill and reputation. In other words, a BRAND can now command the respect it deserves.
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the international body governing the Internet naming and addressing practices, has announced a proposal which will allow for a virtually unlimited number of new generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs), to the Internet landscape. This present move by the ICANN shall help corporates to affirm their own brand in the Internet in a bigger way and assert their importance.
Presently there are only 22 different generic top-level domains (gTLDs), including .com and .net, and approximately 250 country code TLDs (ccTLDs) such as .sg (Singapore) and .in (India) etc., The new proposal of ICANN will now allow corporates / organizations to propose and apply for generic top-level domains associated with particular interests or business sectors. These domain names will help organizations enhance branding, revenue, security, and user interaction. This means that the internet shall be witnessing URLs such as india.google, windows.microsoft, steel.tata.
Your organization now has complete independence of discretion on how you project yourselves in the online space and such discretion goes beyond the boundaries those earlier specified by ICANN.
What is the need to register new gTLD’s?
Under the proposal, the new naming system brings the possibility for an entity to effectively own, access and control Internet name spaces and achieve a competitive advantage. This has the potential to alter advertising and branding platforms and change the way consumers find information on the web, and the way businesses organize their information online. Some of the benefits of a registering a new gTLD include:
- Global brand recognition
- Minimized possibility of cyber squatting in the New gTLD
- Nearly unlimited URLs on demand
- Increased consumer trust.
There are also certain disadvantages of this proposal namely, very high cost, need for a technical support to maintain the gTLD’s.
Fee and Timeline
The evaluation fee of ICANN from prospective applicants is USD 1, 85, 000. According to the gTLD Applicant Guidebook, a USD 5,000 deposit is required to be made at the time the user requests an application slot within TAS – (TLD Application System), and the remaining $180,000 to be submitted with the full application. This is just to start the evaluation process. Additional fees may be required during the course of the application review process, and this fee doesn’t include additional infrastructure fees that a gTLD may generate. ICANN estimates that the evaluation process could be as short as nine months or as long as twenty months, depending on the application, intended usage and other issues.
The gTLD Application process
The entire application process for new TLDs is online and will use a system called TAS. The applicant / authorized representative of the applicant is required to register themselves before applying online. This user registration must be done before 29th March 2012. The Applicaant / Authorized Representative can then proceed to submit the online application. The Application consists of various segments like answering a series of questions on general information, financial, technical and operational capabilities. The Application must pass an administrative completeness check to ensure that all required or otherwise necessary information has been included in the application. The Application must be submitted before the final deadline of April 12, 2012. The Application then goes through an initial evaluation. This will include background screening on the entities applying and the individuals named in the application. Following the initial evaluation, the application may have to go through extended evaluation, dispute resolution or string contention prior to transition to delegation.
IMPORTANT DATES
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12 January : ICANN BEGINS ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS
29 March : THE LAST DAY FOR USER REGISTRATION
12 April : THE LAST DAY TO SUBMIT APPLICATIONS
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It is important to note that only established corporations, organizations or individuals “in good standing” may apply for a new TLD and that third parties will be able to file objections to TLD applications. There will be a special period during which objections can be filed. The purpose of this is to ensure the continued integrity and good quality of the internet.
ICANN will be conducting background screenings of applications, focusing on
(1) General business diligence and criminal history; and
(2) History of cybersquatting behavior.
Applicants must also submit documentary proof of financial statements / to be eligible. Some applications will require supplemental documentation: community endorsement, government support or non-objection and/or documentation of third-party funding commitments.
Why Domain Name Disputes India?
The application process for a new gTLD is complicated and very specialized and needs an expert assistance. Further, a new gTLD application process requires clear understanding of the ICANN guidelines and the applicant must be able to demonstrate various financial and technical requirements for establishing a registry to operate a top level domain name (gTLD).
Application for a new gTLD also involves considerable investment. Domain Name Disputes India (DNDI) has the specialized experience and understanding of ICANN application procedures that are needed to successfully apply for a new gTLD. DNDI is India’s First Law Firm to deal exclusively with Domain Name Registration and Prosecution and hence, we are well-equipped to handle and complete this process.
- We perform and prepare a due-diligence on your proposed new Top Level Domain.
- We assist you in preparing and obtaining the requisite documents for submission with ICANN.
- We assist your organization with the complete application process, including preparing statement of case, preparing financial statements with the help of your Finance Department, gathering the required corporate submission information, advising on the technical sections of the proposal, preparing business capabilities requirements and assisting with responses during evaluation and delegation processes. In short, we provide start-to-end and complete assistance with a new gTLD application that complies with the ICANN application process and are there to assist you all the way through to assignment of your top level domain.
- A significant part of the new gTLD application includes providing details on technical capabilities specific to registry operations. With our assistance, you can be sure the technical section of the application is complete and detailed.
iBrand Protection in association with Domain Name Disputes India, are India’s first consultants dealing exclusively with Online Brand Protection & Domain Name Disputes. iBrand Protection offers its clients detailed online brand protection strategies and solutions to protect them from online frauds, cybersquatting, sale of counterfeit goods etc., To know more, please visit www.domaindisputesindia.com or mail at karthik@domaindisputesindia.com.
