Corporate or Retail Registrar?

I was about to write a cool article about a Registrar where I believed that it made sense to transfer domain name portfolios.
Unfortunately, I just found out about a major issue after having transferred some domain names and support is surprisingly slow to answer my last question on this very specific issue.

Prior to initiating a transfer project from a Registrar to another, it requires domain name knowledge but also Registrar market knowledge.
The feasibility of such a project requires to think in the long term: employees change job and it can be a high risk (for the company's emails for example) to have a new employee with no knowledge of domain names to take the lead on domain name operations if (s)he is new to this.
For this reason, I recommend to use Corporate Registrars who will be able to take care of all operations for managers with no or few knowledge.
Jovenet Consulting also helps companies to transfer domain name portfolios to the right retail or Corporate Registrar.

New domain name registration volumes:

• HOT - New gTLDs related to PLURAL versions of new gTLDs;
• New gTLDs related to HEALTH;
• HOT - New gTLDs related to "GENERICs" (generic new gTLDs);
• New gTLDs related to FRENCH new gTLD applications;
• New gTLDs related to CARS;
• New gTLDs related to RELIGION.

Tonight's Newsletter:
To subscribe and receive the latest NEWS in your email, click here.

In our previous Newsletter:

• Brands Can Use New TLDs to Stop Cyber Squatting;
• .GAY Community Application: what is next?
• Who is responsible to promote new gTLDs?
• .shop-Registry: Interview with CEO Hiro Tsukahara;
• DotBrands: Key figures of our August research;
• Rightside Strikes Gold With .LIVE;
• Infographic: ICANN’s New gTLD Program;
• The .CLUB Jackpot Auction (running September 9-16, 2016);
• DotConnectAfrica Fights ICANN’s Appeal as another Pretextual Ground;
• New gTLD AFRICA Appeal: DCA Trust Answering Brief vs ICANN & ZACR;
• The business strategy behind the web (TMCH);
• Four New gTLD Events;
• .Top Gains 422,000 Domain Names In One Day;
• Live .CLUB websites;
• .Webcam Loses 60% Of Its Registrations in a Month;
• Company behind WordPress opens .blog domain to the public.

Previous Campaigns can be viewed here.

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Old ".wine" new gTLD projections

Registration volumes are slow but they increase. This reminds me the projections I wrote in my business plan for the .WINE new gTLD (the dotVinum project). My projection dated 2011 stated that the Registry (all included) could start to be profitable in year one if 100,000 domain names were registered at a wholesale price of €7 - 14€ and €20 but this did not include Premium domain names.

Profitability:

1. Wholesale price of €7 in year one: €53.900,00
2. Wholesale price of €14: in year one: €753.900,00
3. Wholesale price of €20: in year one: €1,353.900,00

I calculated that profitability in year two was -217,690.00 for 10,000 domain names registered at a wholesale price of €20 but again, this did not include huge lists of Premium domain names and the back-end Registry service and operations were calculated for one single Registry, not multiple ones.

Scary, isn't it?

New domain name registration volumes:

• New gTLDs related to SPORT;
• New gTLDs related to ALCOHOL;
• New gTLDs related to REAL ESTATE.

HOT - Tonight's Newsletter:
To subscribe and receive the latest NEWS in your email, click here.

In our previous Newsletter:

1. Sunrise Period for .DOCTOR has started;
2. HOT - The new gTLD map;
3. Registries rebel against ICANN;
4. Does ICANN wish to open the window for more new TLDs sooner?
5. A few things I extracted from the ".mcdonalds" mission/purpose;
6. List of live .club websites.

Previous Campaigns can be viewed here.

Most recent Trademark Clearinghouse Sunrise Period announcements

The .PICTET new gTLD

Working on the Finance new gTLD report this morning, I noticed a change in the .PICTET new gTLD with a short increase of domain names registered. This dotBrand seems to have started to deploy and appears to be communicating on one single domain name, instead of multiple: the domainname is www.group.pictet.

One could think new gTLDs for Trademarks were created to multiply the number of domain name registered to install a trademark on Internet using different domain names but this does not seem to be the choice of PICTET.

September.club
August is not really best moment to submit info related to new gTLDs. This is why the volume of info is low at the moment but September is coming. "Volume": it is what I do at Jovenet Consulting and it is something that I learnt after reading Communicator in 2003: the more information is spread about new gTLDs, the more it catches the eye.

Many of you know my passion for .CLUB : not only because they are a sponsor but also because .CLUB represents the perfect example of what a new gTLD is made for:

1. Identity and;
2. Precision.

This makes it an opportunity for me to announce that an auction will take place in September and I will be there to keep an eye on Chinese investors, because they will be there too.

New domain name registration volumes:

• New gTLDs related to COMPANIES (newsletter only);
• New gTLDs related to LAW;
• New gTLDs related to FINANCE;
• New gTLDs related to COLORS.

Tonight's Newsletter:
To subscribe and receive the latest NEWS in your email, click here.

In our previous Newsletter:

1. Interesting use of a new gTLD for a dotBrand. FAGE will be using "usa" instead of "home";
2. Updates on the New gTLD Program Webinar;
3. Donuts has announced a price increase;
4. The .WIN new gTLD passes 1 Million Registrations;
5. Dynadot becomes accredited to selling .GDN domain names;
6. Uniregistry to release over one million domains through registrar channel;
7. Updated: the .CLUB website:
1. LIVE SITES (www.get.club/livesites);
2. CELEBRITIES (www.get.club/celebrities);
3. INTHEWILD (www.get.club/inthewild);
4. .CLUB STORE (www.get.club/store).

Previous Campaigns can be viewed here.

Most recent Trademark Clearinghouse Sunrise Period announcements

.BLOG domain names are coming

Nominet, a new gTLD Registry services provider, is now indexed in Google and listed using a .BLOG domain name for its blog. Nominet has a certain number of new gTLDs under management and offer registry services for major strings such as .LONDON - .SURF - .BEER  - .WALES and... .BLOG.

New domain name registration volumes:

• New gTLDs related with a French connotation.

In the report can be noticed the slight increase of ".moi" domain name registrations. I went to to the .MOI Registry webpage and liked, as a French native, the explanation for the use a ".moi" domain name: "Un nom de domaine pour les particuliers et les entreprises pour célébrer la langue française en tant qu’élément rassembleur."
But did you read what comes next? I sent an email to their support :-)

Next Monday's Newsletter:
To subscribe and receive the latest NEWS in your email, click here.

Last Friday's Newsletter:

1. Is Buying a .WEB Domain Name Bright?
2. Afilias set to get .hotel despite hacking claims;
3. Details About Securing a .Blog Domain Name;
4. “Dave” becomes first .blog blogger;
5. 5 new gTLDs were delegated;
6. Are .SPORTs organizations doing their job?
7. "Matt" uses a .BLOG domain too;
8. Historic Internet Expansion Reaches Powersports Industry with Launch of .Motorcycles Domain Names;
9. .scot Experiences: Linlithgow Papercraft.

Previous Campaigns can be viewed here.

Most recent Trademark Clearinghouse Sunrise Period announcements

Is Buying a .WEB Domain Name Bright?

I agree this article won’t please everyone but there are several reasons why buying a domain name ending in .WEB could be – or could not be – a good decision. I will personally not buy one and here is why:

1. Let’s start with Trademarks;
2. Too many generics?
3. Increasing the value of a .com:
• I have the “.com” equivalent;
• I don’t have the “.com” equivalent.
4. Focus on a domain name with no plural;
5. Buy a descriptive domain name.

Read my complete article on B2C.

The .RESTAURANT new gTLD will be a success

It is a pleasure to read the Catering new gTLD report today. The month of August is clearly not the month when Registrants (the users to register domain names) renew or buy domain names. We early considered that the .RESTAURANT new gTLD would be a success and if we also agree that it goes against one of the definitions of "a good domain name" which consist in registering short domain name extensions, the registration curve of this Top-Level Domain increases slowly but keeps increasing, even during the month of August. We'd be a restaurant, we'd definitely secure our .RESTAURANT domain name.

New domain name registration volumes:

• New gTLDs related to CATERING;
• HOT - New gTLDs related to CITIES;
• New gTLDs related to PHOTOGRAPHY.

Tonight's Newsletter:
To subscribe and receive the latest NEWS in your email, click here.

In our previous Newsletter:

1. Next new gTLD round could start sooner than expected; 
2. Consideration - Dot Registry / ICANN IRP Final Declaration; 
3. Google registers Stories.google domain name; 
4. Consideration - Request for Cancellation of HOTEL Top-Level Domain S.a.r.l's (HTLD's) Application for .HOTEL; 
5. Trademarks - Une extension destinée à protéger les marques en Chine: entretien exclusif avec le registre du .商标 (.marque en chinois); 
6. GNSO Council Review of the Helsinki GAC Communiqué; 
7. How Are Search Engines Like Google Treating Top-level Domains in Search Results?

Previous Campaigns can be viewed here.

Most recent Trademark Clearinghouse Sunrise Period announcements

.AND for Google?

Round 1 of the ICANN new gTLD program

Google submitted an application for the .AND new generic Top-Level domain in the first Round of the ICANN new gTLD program but the methodology to apply - the "Applicant Guidebook" - did not allow Google to since ISO alpha 3 codes (ISO 3166-1 alpha-3) were prohibited as new gTLDs.

Charleston Road Registry INC, the Google's company dedicated to creating and managing new gTLDs for Google, had to withdraw the .AND application.

Round 2 of the ICANN new gTLD program

No one knows when Round 2 of the ICANN new gTLD program starts but I just read the latest GNSO Council Review of the Helsinki GAC Communiqué and noted this paragraph (point 4, page 6):
"Use of 3-letter codes in the ISO-3166 list as gTLDs in future rounds".

Basically it states that "the GAC advises the ICANN Board to:

1. encourage the community to continue in depth analyses and discussions on all aspects related to a potential use of 3-letter codes in the ISO-3166 list as gTLDs in future rounds, in particular with regard to whether such a potential use is considered to be in the public interest or not.
2. keep current protections in place for 3-letter codes in the ISO-3166 list in place and not to lift these unless future in-depth discussions involving the GAC and the other ICANN constituencies would lead to a consensus that use of these 3-letter codes as TLDs would be in the public interest.

The RATIONALE states: "In view of the intense debates and controversies over the use of geographic names in new gTLDs, the GAC requests that the community does not rush into a removal of the Applicant Guidebook protection of ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 codes".

Of course, there is a lot more being said and I suggest to read the Communiqué but this question opens the door to the possibility that Google could submit a .AND new gTLD application again in Rond 2

By the way, what does "AND" stand for?

No worry...it is just Andorra: the cheapest place to buy cigarettes and alcohol on earth ;-)

Want to SELL your new gTLD?

Congratulations today to StartingDot who sold its portfolio of new gTLDs to Afilias. The 3 new gTLDs (.SKI - .ARCHI and .BIO) were sold for an undisclosed amount and I bet that it will be "less restricted" to register a ".archi" domain name in a close future. Here is why, the .ARCHI FAQs state:

CAN ANYONE REGISTER A .ARCHI DOMAIN?
No, in order to register a .ARCHI domain name, you must meet at least one of the following criteria:

• being an individual professional architect or an architecture firm registered as a member of the International Union of Architects (“UIA”) Member Section. The current list of UIA Member Sections and Allied Member Section is available on the UIA website or;

• being an architecture-related organization (such as schools, museums, professional media, etc.) listed on a dedicated list defined by the APAC (i.e., Archi Policy Advisory Committee which is the supervising and regulatory body of the .ARCHI Domain) in collaboration with the UIA and available here.

Learn more about who can register a .ARCHI domain by reading our Domain Name Policy.

Basically, it means that you must belong to the group of Architects to register a domain name ending in ".archi" and if you don't, you're not supposed to be able to buy one (even if you can at most accredited Registrar). I suspect this is going to change for two reasons:

1. Afilias usually sells new domain names with no restriction;
2. The link to the .ARCHI Domain Name Policy is broken ;-);
3. The Press Release says: "...should enable all 3 of these TLDs to reach their full potential" and this tells a lot.

Is it really a problem if such domain names can be registered by anyone who wants one? I personally don't think so. I even think that selling the portfolio of TLDs now is the best moment to do it since the StartingDot's team has built the .ARCHI's credibility insisting on presenting the .ARCHI new gTLD as the only option for Architects. If Afilias now offers other Registrants to acquire a ".archi" domain name for another use...

Another interesting thing about this acquisition is this little sentence in the press release: "Other Registry Operators interesting in talking with Afilias should contact us at WeBuyTLDs@Afilias.INFO". We don't talk about buying domain names here, we talk about buying complete Registries: a real business today.


News:

1. Dispute - Hugo Boss recovers domain in cybersquatting dispute (hugoboss.site);
2. Press Release - Registry acquires Premium TLDs .ARCHI, .BIO and .SKI;
3. Registration volumes:
1. New gTLDs related to CITIES;
2. New gTLDs related to CATERING;
   (the .PAMPEREDCHEF new gTLD was added to the report)
3. New gTLDs related to PHOTOGRAPHY.
4. Virgin Loses URS On The Domain Name VirginMedia.vip;
5. African brands wiped off the map as ICANN flips the kill switch on 10 gTLDs;
6. New Internet Security Domains Debut;
7. Photos & Highlights from the 1st Domain Startup Summit in Santa Monica, California.

Most recent Trademark Clearinghouse Sunrise Period announcements

Verisign is confirmed as .WEB Registry

A lot of people are talking about the .WEB new gTLD acquisition by Verisign for an amount of $135,000,000. Stories are covered in our Newsletter. Many new gTLDs have been delegated with some dispatched in different of our new gTLD reports.
We are working on a new website with A LOT of content coming. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor of this website? Contact us now.

News:

1. The .QUEST new gTLD Sunrise Period starts today;
2. New Ombudsman begins;
3. Give .GAY to the gays, roars exiting ombudsman;
4. ICANN - The .RIO Case study;
5. IANA Insanity - or, how I learned to stop .worrying and .love the .new .internet;
6. Registration volumes:
1. New gTLDs related to CITIES;
2. New gTLDs related to CATERING;
3. New gTLDs related to PHOTOGRAPHY.
7. Announcement - JCB Launches New Website;
8. The .WEB auction cover for today:
1. Excellent read - Why Verisign Bought The .WEB Domain Extension And What NOT To Expect";
2. Thoughts About Verisign’s $135 Million Dollar .Web Acquisition & What It Means For Domainers;
3. Article - Verisign Buys .web Domain Rights For US$135 million;
4. Article - Verisign likely $135 million winner of .web gTLD;
5. Article - $135 Million Winning Bid for .WEB Sets a Stunning High Water Mark for Rights to Run a New gTLD.
9. Legal - A new gTLD for the Finance industry;
10. .PHARMACY new gTLD - Illegal Purchases of Controlled Substances Are Made Easier via Rogue Internet Drug Outlets, Reports NABP.
11. Just delegated new gTLDs:
1. The .LILLY new gTLD
   (added to the HEALTH report)
2. .MCKINSEY
3. .AFAMILYCOMPANY
4. .LADBROKES
5. .UCONNECT
   (added to the CARS report)
6. .ABC
7. .HYATT
8. .INTEL
9. .GLADE
10. .PRU
    (not added to the FINANCIAL new gTLD report)
11. .JEEP
    (already added to the CARS report)
12. .SRT
    (added to the CARS report)
13. .VISA
    (added to the FINANCIAL report)
14. .BANAMEX
    (added to the FINANCIAL report)
15. .PRAMERICA
16. .CHRYSLER
    (already added to the CARS report)
17. .DISCOVER
    (already added to the FINANCIAL report)
18. .CITI
    (added to the FINANCIAL report)
19. .AMERICANFAMILY
20. .HONEYWELL

Most recent Trademark Clearinghouse Sunrise Period announcements