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:
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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

Innovation in the new gTLD space? (in French)

Si le registre reste le point de départ de tout nom de domaine, ne peut-il pas en plus devenir un point focal de l’industrie qu’il convoite ? Un carrefour de la communauté qu’il représente ? 

Dans ce contexte, ne peut-il pas proposer au titulaire une valeur ajoutée supplémentaire au nom de domaine et proposer l’enregistrement de son site Internet dans un annuaire des utilisateurs de son extension?

Rappelons que le registre est aussi propriétaire de la base de données des titulaires et que cela ne représente pas un problème de s’adresser à eux.

Un annuaire des utilisateurs d’une même extension est un projet facile à réaliser, mais d'autres idées peuvent également être mises en oeuvre. Le registre propriétaire du ".email" ne pourrait-il pas par exemple proposer une solution d’email cryptés et celui du ".directory" une solution d’annuaire?

Lire l'article complet dans le Journal Du Net.