The .CPA new gTLD is here

On 12 June 2019, ICANN and American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, entered into a Registry Agreement (PDF download) under which American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, operates the .CPA top-level domain.

"Not official" since the application has not yet changes its status on the ICANN website but the official announcement from CPA seems no fake news.

What the application says

The mission and purpose of the .cpa TLD is explained below:

1. To secure and protect the Applicant’s house brand (“CPA”) as a gTLD;
2. Reflect the AICPA brand at the top level of the DNS’ hierarchy;
3. Provide stakeholders of the Applicant with a recognizable and trusted identifier on the Internet. Stakeholders include, but are not limited to:
1. its subsidiaries, affiliates and sister organizations in various countries;
2. approximately 377,000 members of AICPA’s products and services;
3. advertising and sponsorships partners;
4. prospective and current customers (currently, there are over 1 million CPAs worldwide);
5. accredited or recognized CPAs around the world; and
6. directors and officers of AICPA and its subsidiaries and affiliates.

By the way

Did you know there were 6 applicants for the .CPA new gTLD and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants wanted the TLD so much that it applied twice?

Check the official announcement.

Just updated: new gTLD reports for May/June 2019

1. New gTLDs related to POLITICS,
2. New gTLDs related to LUXURY,
3. New gTLDs related to the MUSIC,
4. Multiple Registries : group of Registries,
5. Singular VS Plural versions of a new gTLD,
6. New gTLDs related to CATERING and CULINARY,
7. New gTLDs related to PHOTOGRAPHY,
8. New gTLDs related to CITIES,
9. New gTLDs related to COMPANIES,
10. New gTLDs related to the LAW and LEGAL things,
11. New gTLDs related to FINANCE,
12. New gTLDs related to a COLOR,
13. New gTLDs related to SPORTS,
14. New gTLDs related to ALCOHOL,
15. New gTLDs related to REAL ESTATE,
16. FRENCH new gTLD applications,
17. New gTLDs related to RELIGION,
18. New gTLDs related to CARS,
19. New gTLDs related to HEALTH,
20. New gTLDs related to ADULTS.

Comparing .PAGE and .BEST

The .BEST Registry enters the month of June 2019 with another 1,000 domain names created. I'd suggest to have a look at the progression curve of this TLD compared to the .PAGE new gTLD belonging to Google.

The numbers

1. January 2019: the .BEST had 4,000 domains less than .PAGE;
2. February 2019: the .BEST had about the same but .PAGE had gained +3,500 more;
3. March 2019: the .BEST had almost caught up with .PAGE with 2,000 less domains but .PAGE had almost 14,000 domain names created;
4. April 2019: there's a gap of  less than 3,000 domains between the two registries. 
5. May 2019: the .BEST Registry announces 16,000 domain names created and the gap with .PAGE is reduced to 2,000 domains.
6. June 2019 (end): more .BEST than .PAGE coming ?

.Best hits 16K domains ! Register First your .Best domains in promo from $1.99 : https://t.co/D3gMiitOBJ#best #domains #domain #domainnames #domainname #execution #strategy #tld #icann #investor #investors #seo #digitalstrategy #inta #inta2019 #brand #thebest #brandprotection pic.twitter.com/SjMiD61xuG

— .Best (@BestTLD) May 29, 2019

Why compare .PAGE and .BEST ?
There is a list of domain name extensions that I'd strongly suggest to keep an eye on for any company with a need to secure its assets online. This list is not so long but can represent a danger if a third party, or a competitor, came to use the same extension with the exact same second level domain name.

I compare .PAGE to .BEST since one is just below the other in that list of domain name registration volumes. Also, it is interesting to see that one is maintained by a giant of the Internet (Google) and the other is operated and marketed by a small team of entrepreneurs based in Paris.

New gTLDs: How To Stay Tuned

Following-up with new gTLDs is exciting for companies and entrepreneurs and we offer two free ways to do this:

1. The News section from this Blog is one way;
2. The Newsletter is a second one.

What you'll get
Important ICANN announcements related to new generic Top-Level Domains from the ICANN new gTLD program; reports on registries' domain name registration volumes; links to articles of interest (of the moment), dates on new gTLD conferences and other meetings; alerts about Sunrise Periods and other Trademark Clearinghouse announcements and events; explanation on major players' moves; announcement of new gTLD projects and updates on Round 2 of the ICANN new gTLD program; updates on luxury, music, politics and other domain name registration volumes on which registrants should secure their domain name with?

New gTLDs: a good read

This is a recent article, entitled "Food for thought on the new TLD business

models", written by Loic Damilaville.

I strongly suggest the reading of this publication for new comers to the new gTLD world, entrepreneurs wishing to launch a new domain name extension or, Trademarks starting to wondering about securing - and using - their .BRAND personalized domain name extension:

• Unequal business models;
• Brand TLDs (or .BRAND);
• Sponsored (or Community) TLDs;
• GeoTLDs (geographic Top-Level Domains);
• Pure generics:
• generic domains that can only reach a small customer base;
• "open" generics, with terms used worldwide, which are lucky enough to address a global target or at least one that is very broad. 

• The consequences in terms of marketing strategies;
• Exclusive TLDs versus mass TLDs;
• Bad pricing never pays;
• Rights holders and domainers, two false friends;
• Convincing investors;
• "Success" or failure is not related to volume but to the relevance of the strategy with respect to market conditions.

Read the publication on the AFNIC website.

2 new features added to the Trademark Clearinghouse

Two new features were added to the Trademark Clearinghouse:

1. Update a Valid POU to a Verified Trademark Record: it allows trademark holders/agents to update the POU documents through the Mark details page in case the current POU documents submitted no longer reflect the validity of the trademark.
2. "Invalid" Trademark Record - Extra correction: this new functionality is accessible directly through the TMCH web interface for trademark holders with a prepaid account and agents. It gives the possibility to modify either the trademark name or the trademark registration number (not both).

To learn more: check the TMCH News.

.AMAZON : Approved !

This is what the paragraph from the latest "Approved Board Resolutions | Special Meeting of the ICANN Board" says on consideration of Amazon Corporation’s proposal on ACTO member states continuing concerns (.AMAZON New gTLD Application):

Resolved (2019.05.15.13), the Board finds the Amazon corporation proposal of 17 April 2019 acceptable, and therefore directs the ICANN org President and CEO, or his designee(s), to continue processing of the .AMAZON applications according to the policies and procedures of the New gTLD Program. This includes the publication of the Public Interest Commitments (PICs), as proposed by the Amazon corporation, for a 30-day public comment period, as per the established procedures of the New gTLD program.

What's of interest to me
I did a copy-paste of the below because that is what is happening next...at least that is what the paper says. The future will tell about reality:

The April 2019 proposal included, in addition to the creation of a joint Steering Committee, the following commitments:

1. “Not use as domain names in each .AMAZON TLD those terms that have a primary and well-recognized significance to the culture and heritage of the Amazonia region;
2. Provide nine domain names in each .AMAZON TLD to be used for non-commercial purposes by ACTO and its member states to enhance the visibility of the region; and
3. Block from all use up to 1500 domain names in each .AMAZON TLD that have a primary and well recognized significance to the culture and heritage of the Amazonia region”

The Amazon corporation also notes in its proposal that its TLDs would be “highly-restricted .BRANDs” and that “Amazon would only register domain names that align with its global brand strategy so that the .AMAZON TLDs are strongly affiliated with the reputation of the Amazon brand, which should eliminate concerns of ACTO and its member states that third parties will abusively use the TLDs.”

Finally, the Amazon corporation stated that it would host the nine domain names noted above and would make use of “proactive security controls paired with reactive and detective controls to offer the most comprehensive approach to security” related to the “provisioning and configuration of .AMAZON domains.”

Read the full story.

Numbers from the Trademark Clearinghouse

The Trademark Clearinghouse issued a new statistical report:

• 45,154 Trademark record submitted;
• 43% submitted for multiple years;
• 84% registered by Trademark Clearinghouse agents;
• 82% are verified;
• 117 countries covered;
• 131 jurisdictions.

Check the report