I've written about Google and their "closed generic" applications several times over the last 18 months. I also had the pleasure of being on a discussion panel on the topic at the most recent ICANN meeting in Durban, South Africa. So it's pretty clear where I stand on the issue. So the latest letter to ICANN's board on the subject of Google's proposed changes to their … [Read more...] about Google’s .Cloud Application Coming Under Fire (Again)
Google’s .App Under Fire
I've written about "closed generic" new TLD applications several times over the last year. I'm opposed to them, as I've said in the past and continue to say today. However I've generally been supportive of "restricted" TLDs. The Association for Competitive Technology (ACT) has serious concerns about Google's application for .app and want ICANN's board of directors to … [Read more...] about Google’s .App Under Fire
Google Does The Right Thing Opening Several Closed Generic Applications
Over the last few months one of the areas of attention in the new TLD project has been "closed generics". I've written about this several times in the past and I've also raised the issue in as many fora as possible. Yesterday ICANN published a letter they'd received from Google with respect to several of their new TLD applications. Whereas Google had made it clear … [Read more...] about Google Does The Right Thing Opening Several Closed Generic Applications
New Domain Association Site Launched
During the regional ICANN meeting in Amsterdam earlier this year there was a "side meeting" held by several companies in the domain name industry. The objective? To work on some form of strategy for marketing and education around the domain name industry and domains in general. The meeting was organised by Google's new TLD team, but there was a broad cross-section of both … [Read more...] about New Domain Association Site Launched
Google Bows To Pressure On Closed Generics
The debate surrounding "closed generics", which we've covered several times in the past, has attracted a lot of attention in recent weeks. At the centre of the debate were a number of new TLD applications from large companies including Google, Amazon and others. Google had stated that they planned to establish a number of domain extensions and operate them as "walled … [Read more...] about Google Bows To Pressure On Closed Generics
5 Reasons Why Closed Generic New gTLDs Should Be Opposed
I'm on the record multiple times over the last few months for my opinions on "closed generics". I first posted about it here back in June of last year: Big Brands Trying To Corner Generic Namespaces? Since then I've sent several letters to ICANN (supported by many others) and have been quoted and referenced in several articles on the subject including Politico.com: … [Read more...] about 5 Reasons Why Closed Generic New gTLDs Should Be Opposed
IEDR Lose Google.ie?
This could prove to be quite embarrassing. It looks like IEDR have allowed the nameservers for the domain google.ie to be updated to point to a 3rd party and away from Google. Effectively this means that google.ie and any services that rely on it are currently not working. Here's the current whois record for Google.ie. Note the rather odd nameservers: whois … [Read more...] about IEDR Lose Google.ie?
Google Withdraws 3 New TLD Applications
Google has withdrawn 3 of its new TLD applications. Its applications for .and, .are and .est are now listed as "withdrawn" on the new TLD application status page: As Kevin pointed out, the three strings break the rules, as they appear on the ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 list and are the codes for the United Arab Emirates, Estonia and Andorra. A fourth application, for .ksb … [Read more...] about Google Withdraws 3 New TLD Applications
Google’s Copyright Algorithm Change Welcomed By White House
Late last week Google announced a change to their algorithm to penalise copyright infringers in the search engine's results. The White House's Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, Victoria Espinel, last night welcomed this move: On Friday, Google announced that it will incorporate valid copyright removal notices into its search algorithms, moving infringing sites … [Read more...] about Google’s Copyright Algorithm Change Welcomed By White House
Big Brands Trying To Corner Generic Namespaces?
Trying to make sense of the nearly 2000 new TLD applications is not something that anyone can do quickly. Sure, you can look at the list and see who has applied for what, but it's only when you actually read the "public" part of their submission that you can get an insight into their plans. Let's call a spade a spade. If a big brand wants to get its own TLD then it's pretty … [Read more...] about Big Brands Trying To Corner Generic Namespaces?