Approved Board Resolutions for new gTLDs

This is an extract of the approved board resolutions from a recent regular meeting dated 29 October 2017 of the ICANN board. Content not related to new gTLDs was removed.

On the .GAY and .MUSIC new gTLDs

The Board has adopted the "BAMC Recommendation on Request 17-4".

In simple words: for the moment nothing changes and procedures continue.

On the .AMAZON new gTLD

The Board asks the GAC:

1. if it has any information to provide to the Board as it relates to the "merits-based public policy reasons," regarding the GAC's advice that the Amazon applications should not proceed; or any other new or additional information to provide to the Board regarding the GAC's advice that the Amazon applications should not proceed.
2. if it has any new or additional information to provide to the Board, it does so by the conclusion of the ICANN61 meeting scheduled to take place from 10-15 March 2018, in order to assist the Board's appropriate and prompt consideration.

In simple words: for the moment nothing changes until 10-15 March 2018.

To learn more.

New gTLDs subsequent procedures

#ICANN60 GAC: WG on subsequent procedures 4 #newgTLDs hopes 4 initial report by April 2018, w final report (except WorkTrack 5) by Q4 2018.

— Samantha Dickinson (@sgdickinson) October 29, 2017

Time for .LOM and .VTO new gTLDs?

Lombardy and Veneto are two rich regions and it requires to be rich to operate a new gTLD.

If planning for more autonomy does not happen in one day, it is something that can be prepared, and new domain name extensions clearly offer that, on the Internet at least.

The next Round of the ICANN new gTLD program should be coming in a few years and both Lombardy and Veneto, as regions, will have full authority to submit ICANN an application to become sole operators of their own domain names. Note that Veneto won't be able to apply for a .VEN new gTLD since it is the ISO 3 code for Venezuela and the ICANN does not allow that.

Read my complete article on CircleID.

Advisors blocking emails from new gTLDs?

I read that some advisors block their clients from receiving emails using a specific new domain name extension.

Yes...I read that (...)

In more simple words, it means that a person in charge of offering the service to manage emails for you will decide that (for whatever reason) you won't receive emails from a complete domain name extension. For example, if the .TOP new gTLD is a concerned extension, it means that you won't receive any emails from any email ending in ".top".

TLDs with the worst reputations

There is a list of TLDs with the worst reputations for spam operations. It is maintained by Spamhaus and this is how it explains why a TLD can be bad: "A TLD may be "bad" in two ways. On one side, the ratio of bad to good domains may be higher than average, indicating that the registry could do a better job of enforcing policies and shunning abusers. However, some TLDs with a high fraction of bad domains may be quite small, and their total number of bad domains could be relatively limited with respect to other, bigger TLDs. Their total "badness" to the Internet is limited by their small total size".

OK, this is not a new story: some new domain name extension - because the domains they offer are cheap - are an open door to spammers and malware operators but unless I am wrong, this has always existed: don't you receive spam from emails ending in ".com" too?

Scarry

I understand that Spam is an annoyance but I would certainly not want a third party to take the decision to block me from receiving emails from an entire domain name extensions for the assumption that it is listed in the Spamhaus list or just because some people don't like new gTLDs "because .com is better":

• What if you miss that email coming from your new accountant who's using a ".accountant" domain name in its emails?
• What if you miss this email from that startup using a ".agency" because it wants to be identified as an agency online?
• What if you miss ALL THESE EMAILS because your advisor doesn't like new domain name extensions?

1,227
One thousand two hundred and twenty seven new domain name extensions were introduced to the Internet. In many of these "new gTLDs", domain name registration volumes are increasing, which also means that more people are using these in their email. If you have a doubt, have a look at this report. So: do you seriously want to take that risk?

Corporate Registrars
There are external advisors who "deal with domain names" and Corporate Registrars who it is the job to provide serious recommendations on how to deal with domain names and emails. They are not so many to be serious and I count five that I would recommend. On that list, none of them would ever - never - suggest their client to block a complete Top-Level Domain from sending emails.

And by the way
I have a client who uses a ".top" domain name for his website and decision was taken to use a ".top" because it matches with the name of the company. My client is fully satisfied with this: he even shortened his domain name changing to a ".top" and now redirects the ".com to the ".top", as well as emails.

Acquire a withdrawn new gTLD application?

Most withdrawn new gTLD applications were projects that submitted an application to ICANN but then, for whatever reason (auctions, failed project, lack of funding, too much time wasted waiting...) these applications were withdrawn.

For the increasing number of people who missed the first round of the ICANN new gTLD program, any application - withdrawn or "for sale" - can be understood as a second chance to participate prior to the next round to begin so yes, I received the question below.

Can I acquire a withdrawn application?
I was sent that question, a request to which I had to answer "no". If the answer to such a question can sound obvious, I sent it to ICANN and I received the strange following answer below.

What ICANN answers
Since a withdrawn application enters the validation process, I wanted to have the real answer from ICANN. I removed the name of the person who answered.

My question

--------------- Original Message ---------------
From: Jean [whatever@jovenet.consulting]
Sent: 10/16/2017 3:06 AM
To: globalsupport@icann.org
Subject: Withdrawn new gTLD applications

Dear Sir,

Is it possible to acquire a withdrawn new gTLD application? (re-pay fees,
etc...)

With regards,

The automated answer

--------------- Original Message ---------------
From: ICANN Global Support Center [globalsupport@icann.org.masked]
Sent: 10/16/2017 12:28 PM
To: whatever@jovenet.consulting
Subject: RE: Withdrawn new gTLD applications [ ]

Dear Jean Guillon,

Thank you for contacting the ICANN Global Support Center.

This message is to confirm receipt of your request regarding withdrawals. We have forwarded your case to our internal department and a team member from that department will be in contact with you shortly.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Best Regards,
(Name removed)
Global Support Analyst II
ICANN Global Support Team

ICANN's answer

--------------- Original Message ---------------

ICANN Global Support Center globalsupport@icann.org.masked via whatever 9:44 PM (14 hours ago) to me

Dear Jean Guillon,

Thank you for contacting the ICANN Global Support Center.

I will be happy to provide you with further information. You may not acquire a withdrawn application, but if the TLD is still available, you may apply for a new gTLD.

I hope this information is helpful to you. Please contact us if you have any additional questions or concerns. This case will now be resolved. Thank you for contacting ICANN.

Best Regards,
(Name removed)
Global Support Analyst II
ICANN Global Support Team

WTF

Hey wait: did I miss an announcement?

CentralNic secures contract for 14 new gTLDs

CentralNic has agreed to provide KSregistry GmbH with its market leading Top Level Domain registry services. The deal with KSregistry covers 14 Top-Level Domain (“TLD”) extensions currently managed by OpenRegistry, which KSregistry acquired from Group NCC in 2017.

CentralNic’s registry services division is already the global leader and is the only company to support six out of the top twenty new Top-Level Domains, including .xyz, the domain chosen for new ventures by Google (abc.xyz), Deloitte (exponentials.xyz) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (engine.xyz) among many others. CentralNic is also a leader in TLD services for governments and enterprise, managing multiple country-code and geographic TLDs as well as the TLDs of global 1000 companies such as Saudi Telecom, Etisalat, and Kuwait Finance House.

Under the terms of the deal, CentralNic will increase the number of new Top-Level Domains for which it is the Registry management platform to 65, with TLD clients spread across four continents.

“I am delighted to agree this deal with KSregistry, whose owners are among Europe’s most successful experts in the domain name industry,” said Ben Crawford, CEO at CentralNic. “CentralNic has been providing registry infrastructure services for over 20 years, and our registry platform is known for its performance, scalability and security. We are also the world leader in migrating TLDs onto our platform, having won dozens of new TLD contracts away from other backend providers, whilst never having lost a TLD client.”

“Partnering with CentralNic to deliver registry services makes perfect sense for all parties,” said Alexander Siffrin, CEO at KSregistry. “CentralNic’s registry platform is the most advanced and feature rich in the world. Coupled with KSregistry’s unmatched management and customer service means that we can provide current and future TLD registry clients with very best technology, experience and support at competitive pricing.”

KSregistry contacted its Registry Operator clients prior to signing this collaboration agreement in order to gauge their support for migration to CentralNic’s backend registry. The reaction was overwhelmingly favourable, which is why KSregistry and CentralNic were able to conclude an arrangement quickly, which also gives CentralNic the option of using KSregistry’s SKYWAY data center.

First spam from a ".vin"

Website points then to a ".fr" website.

Some new gTLD contacts...are gone

A "new gTLD contact" is a contact that you find in any new gTLD application: there is a primary and secondary contact.

I checked new gTLD applications to investigate about a question that I have: are primary or secondary contacts still in place? This question is important to me because they are the local point of contact to operate the new domain name extension.

Method used
I proceeded as follow:

1. I checked all new gTLD applications from a specific category from the Jovenet Consulting new gTLD reports;
2. I searched for either primary or secondary contact (full name and email);
3. I went to LinkedIn and checked if this contact still worked in the company (or if she is still linked to it).

In some cases, it is the Registrar or service provider in charge of operating the TLD which is used as primary and/or as secondary contact. This is a good choice when a .BRAND new gTLD doesn't want to have to take care of this. Some backend registry service providers also offer this as an option for generic TLDs, as well as other mandatory services to operate a new gTLD.

In other cases, the person's name and surname hadn't changed and had left the company or had changed position with an email still getting through to "someone". This is not so important as long as someone is in charge of reading these emails but I'd suggest to change this to the person in charge within the company.

I also found Gmails addresses used as primary contacts. That: I don't understand it. I am the first person to say that Gmail is a great and very well secured service but I'd certainly not use an email that does not match the domain of the registry's project, nor an email on which I don't have full control of.

I even  found an email using a domain names available for registration. This means that no email are going through and returning with an error. It also means that a third party registering that domain name could set up a "catch all" and receive all emails sent.

What to think about all this?

A new gTLD is a serious responsibility: like a domain name, it is not supposed to end after a website has been launched (unless maybe when your company's name is Whatever Engineering and you'd consider redirecting your ".com" to truly use your ".engineering" domain name).

Operating the emails of primary and secondary contacts have consequences : in the end, they are the same story as operating a domain name when only one person knows about the complete story. Don't forget about what can happen when it's time to pay or talk to ICANN: what if you miss that email? Same when planning to sell your TLD: this is probably where I would send my offer.

Ten Fold Engineering

Checking LinkedIn when I start my day is often something that I do first. I also do that exercise to double-check if one company which name has an ending in one of the new domain name extensions registered that new domain name.

Ten Fold Engineering belongs to these companies and has at least two domains:

1. Its ".com";
2. And its ".engineering".

Try this now:

• Hit on the ".com" above and get rid of the ".com" in the URL;
• Ad a "." right after the "d" and hit enter.

Isn't this shorter?

GNSO New gTLD Subsequent Procedures (Face-to-Face meeting) : 28 October 2017

This PDP Working Group is tasked with calling upon the community’s collective experiences from the 2012 round of the New gTLD Program to determine what, if any changes may need to be made to the existing oNew gTLD policy recommendations from 8 August 2007. Those who are interested in providing their input into new gTLD policy recommendations for subsequent procedures are encouraged to attend.

More here.

(previously wanted to post this to gtld.events : apologies)

Amazon looks for a gTLD Registry Counsel

Counsel will support the Amazon Registry Services business on a broad range of commercial contracting, licensing, technology, and regulatory matters relating to gTLD registries. Counsel will work directly with business teams, providing day-to-day advice, resolving issues that arise in existing commercial relationships and addressing pre-litigation legal disputes and inquiries. Counsel’s principal duties will include structuring, drafting and negotiating complicated technology, distribution, licensing, marketing, and other commercial agreements, including agreements with third parties in the domain name space. Counsel will also provide ongoing legal counseling in a wide range of areas relating to intellectual property, including contractual relationships, data protection, and regulatory compliance. Limited travel (domestic and international) may be required. The successful candidate must be inquisitive, enthusiastic about technology, have a sense of humor, be business minded and demonstrate sound judgment even in ambiguous situations.

Basic qualifications

• 5+ years of legal experience (with at least three years at a leading law firm or in house) as a transactional attorney, preferably with focused experience in specialized IT contracts and/or the domain name system
• Familiarity with trademark and copyright law
• A J.D. degree and membership in good standing in at least one state bar
• Limited travel (domestic and international) may be required

Preferred qualifications

• In house experience at a technology company
• Familiarity with cross-jurisdictional contracting issues is a plus
• Strong written and oral communication skills
• Strong analytical skills
• Excellent organizational skills, ability to manage multiple projects at once, follow through and meet deadlines
• Ability to work independently while being able to contribute successfully to cross-functional teams
• Common sense, great judgment, and a good sense of humor

Apply here.

October 2017: new gTLD reports are up-to-date

The second day of each month is a long day at Jovenet Consulting as we update new gTLD reports manually. Last month, we initiated a new report which will be updated on a monthly basis: the Multiple Registries new gTLD report. This report focuses on multiple registries domain name registration volumes and allows to see if domain name registrations increase or decrease.

So: what's interesting here?

• New gTLDs related to CATERING and RESTORATION (.restaurant - .kitchen - .bar - etc...): the .PUB new gTLD is going down but .COFFEE is doing great. The .MENU new gTLD is diving but surprise: .食品 (.food) has more registrations.
• New gTLDs related to PHOTOGRAPHY (.photo - .film - .gallery - etc...): the .CANON .BRAND new gTLD creates more domain names and - interesting - the .PHOTOS seems to catch up on its singular version. The .PICS is diving and .ART does well.
• New gTLDs related to CITIES : these are not geographic TLDs but city names only (.paris - .london - .tokyo - etc...). Users seem to register domains ending in ".tokyo" and surprise, there are now 2 domain names ending in ".stockholm".
• New gTLDs related to COMPANIES : new domain name extensions that we believe a company should keep its eyes on (available in our Newsletter).
• New gTLDs related to the LAW and LEGAL matters (.legal - .attorney - .lawyer - etc...): the .LAW new gTLD passes the 10,000 new domain name registrations. Congratulations.
• New gTLDs related to FINANCE (.finance - .bank - .fund - etc...): the .LOAN has more than 2 million registrations (which is a lot) and one would be surprised to know how this can be possible compared to second best .BID which has 500,000 only ;-) .TRADE is diving into the red and .ACCOUNTANT passes the 100,000 registrations. Congratulations. The .BANK is not as successful as expected but I am confident that it remains the future for Banks still using a risky ".com". The .PICTET (.BRAND) new gTLD registers more names as well as .NADEX and .KFH (note that these could be tests).
• New gTLDs related to a COLOR (.red - .pink - .green - etc...): the .RED and .BLUE suddenly have more registrations (...) and the .ORANGE (.BRAND) tries new things.
• New gTLDs related to SPORT (.hockey - .basketball - .ski - etc...): the .CLUB new gTLD does great with 1.1 million registrations and increasing and .RACING goes down. The .GAMES new gTLD does good and congratulations to .COACH which passes the 10,000 registrations. Seems that .XBOX (from Microsoft) is working on something too.
• New gTLDs related to ALCOHOL (.beer - .wine - .vodka - etc...): don't drink and drive.
• New gTLDs related to REAL ESTATE (.realestate - .realtor - .villas - etc...): this is not the most interesting report but some TLDs have interesting curves: they've never been in the red since the beginning of the year: .HOUSE - .PLACE - .INSURE - .CREDIT - .BROKER and .HOMES. The .PROPERTY seems to be dying.
• Singular VS Plural versions of a new gTLD : these are domain name extensions which exist in their singular and plural version (ie: .gift and .gifts). The .GIFT and .REVIEWS are not doing good. Interesting: the .FAN new gTLD now has 5 registrations for the first time: the beginning of a new life? I suggest to dig more with .FAN and .FANS : there's a surprise.
• FRENCH new gTLD applications : these are applications submitted by French companies only. The .OVH (a Registrar) has less registrations while the .MAIF (a .BRAND) has more.
• New gTLDs related to RELIGION (.catholic - .bible - .church - etc...): the .WEDDING new gTLD passes the 10,000 registrations. Congratulations.
• GENERIC new gTLDs : new domain name extensions that we believe they could replace ".com" one day. The .INTERNATIONAL new gTLD has a little more registrations.
• New gTLDs related to CARS (.taxi - .auto - .car - etc...): there are more .TAXI domain names and, interesting, the .SEAT new gTLD (a .BRAND) seems to have a serious strategy with more than 400 registrations.
• New gTLDs related to HEALTH (.health - .doctor - .hospital - etc...): the .HEALTH new gTLD, as expected, has a good progression curve and .LUNDBECK (a .BRAND), registers more domains for its trademark.
• New gTLDs FOR FRENCH : new domain name extensions which have a meaning in French (which also mean something in french). This is the longest report that I have to update and not the most interesting. I will stop updating that one next year. The .LOL new gTLD doesn't find the situation funny on that one.
• New gTLDs related to ADULTS : domain name extensions dedicated to sex and vulgarity. Such new gTLDs are not a success but...the .SUCKS.
• NEW - Multiple Registries : group of Registries operating five (5) and more domain name extensions. Famous Four Media is high on top with more than 5 million registrations in total and second best, Donuts, reaches 2.4 million. GMO has an interesting progression curve.

All new gTLD reports are available here.

3 new gTLDs for "game"

There are 3 new generic Top-Level Domains for the sign "game":

1. The .GAME new gTLD;
2. The .GAMES new gTLD;
3. The .游戏 (.game) new gTLD.

These 3 new gTLDs appear in the SPORT new gTLD report.