Over the last couple of years several of the gTLD registry operators have requested contractual changes with ICANN.
In many cases the change was small enough that it fit into what is called the Registry Services Evaluation Process (RSEP), which is the case of “new services” such as Verisign’s Registry Lock.
In other cases, however, the requested change is much bigger and requires that ICANN open it up to public comment.
Such was the case with the proposed “Phased Allocation Program in .JOBS”. which has been open to public comment.
You can read the proposal here (PDF), but in essence it broadens the usage scenarios and the possible registrants of .jobs domains quite significantly. Under the current regime companies are restricted to registering their company name or a close derivative. Under the proposal all those restrictions are gone out the window. From a registrant perspective that may seem appealing at first, but the way that this is being pitched could lead to only a very narrow number of registrants actually gaining at any level. Ultimately, however, the only entity that stands to gain would be the registry.
If you have the time take a read over some of the comments – they are quite revealing!
