New Top Level Domains Available

On June 20, 2011, ICANN (otherwise know as the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) gave the much anticipated green light for the expansion of the gTLD space (generic top level domains - the letters to “the right of the dot” in a web address). The program has been in the works for years as ICANN has sought input, recommendations, and approval from numerous individuals and groups. While not everyone agrees that this expansion of the internet is a good or necessary idea, and the debates continue on even as the project has passed, it seems most everyone believed, good or bad, that this day would eventually come.


Currently there are 22 gTLDs including, .aero (air-transport industry), .asia (Asia-Pacific region), .biz (business), .cat (Catalan), .com (commercial), .coop (not chickens, but co-ops), .edu (education), .gov (government), .info (information), .int (international organizations), .jobs (used by companies to advertise jobs), .mil (US Military), .mobi (mobile devices), .museum (museums), .net (network), .org (organizations) and several more. There are also roughly 250 registered country codes, including .ca (Canada), .uk (United Kingdom), .hk (Hong Kong). Under the new rules, .almost-anything-everything will be possible.

The new gTLDs will allow for public and private entities to obtain branded, geographic, and generic domains such as, .megabrand, .automobile, and .san francisco. Also available will be gTLDs in non-latin scripts. Individuals, sole proprietorships, and as yet unformed legal entities will not have a chance to apply. Additionally, there is no allowance for reserving a gTLD or placing one on hold, as can be done with second level domain names. ICANN is requiring that any new gTLD be operational.

The price is enough keep all but big business and or government organizations from applying. The estimated cost is $185,000 just to apply. There may be some additional processing fees involved on top of the $185,000. There will also be an annual fee of around $25,000. But, it is not only the fee that will keep all but the big players out of the game; the application process itself is not as simple as filing out an online form and submitting your credit card. The application process includes checks on the applicant’s ability to actually run and manage a TLD, including the ability to manage and register second level registrations (those to “the left of the dot”), as well as an assessment of the gTLDs impact to the Internet, including any security issues. Lastly, the gTLD will go through a thorough conflict check, including a check against existing TLDs. On top of this there will be a procedure for opposing applications, if, for example, a corporation believes that the gTLD will infringe its trademark.

Applications are being accepted for the first round of new TLDs between January 12, 2012 and April 12, 2012. There will be additional application rounds in the future. ICANN is estimating that it will take anywhere from 8 months to 18 months to approve an application.  This means that new top level domains should be coming our way sometime in 2013.

--by Jennifer DeArmond
Schneck & Schneck