If you've been following the ICANN new TLD program over the last couple of years you'll probably be aware of some of the applications and the applicants. However in the case of the competing bids for the .africa string the competitors, or at least one of them, has brought more "colour" to the proceedings than most of the other applicants combined. DotConnectAfrica (DCA) … [Read more...] about More DotConnectAfrica Fun And Games
Top-level domain
Domain Guardians Confirm 7 Figure Offer On Australian City Domains
A couple of weeks back Domain Guardians announced they were brokering the sale of several Australian city domains. These weren't the domains associated with small little towns that nobody would have heard of, but a set of high value premium domains including Sydney.com.au, Brisbane.com.au and Melbourne.com.au. Australian media is now reporting that they've received an offer … [Read more...] about Domain Guardians Confirm 7 Figure Offer On Australian City Domains
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
.TC, .GD and .VG Having “Issues”
Key Systems' subsidiary KSregistry GmbH runs the backend registry for .tc, .gd and .vg on behalf of Adams Names. However it looks like there's been some kind of issue with the management of the country codes and of Adams Names. The details at this juncture are not clear, but KS have issued a statement: Today, the KSregistry GmbH, a hundred percent subsidiary of the … [Read more...] about .TC, .GD and .VG Having “Issues”
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
ICANN Terminates Two More Registrars
In the last couple of days ICANN has terminated two more registrars for breaching their contracts - CI Host (PDF) and Power Brand Center (PDF). CI Host seems to have vanished. Their listed website no longer works and the contact details that ICANN had for them are no longer valid - the offices are now occupied by another company! Using archive.org I was able to grab a … [Read more...] about ICANN Terminates Two More Registrars
Barnes & Noble Weigh In On Amazon’s New TLDs
Some pretty big companies are beginning to show an active interest in ICANN's new TLD project. The most recent of them is bookseller Barnes & Noble. The letter, which is available both on the ICANN website and below, is quite narrow and pointed in its scope and focusses on the perceived competition issues with Amazon's bids for several "closed … [Read more...] about Barnes & Noble Weigh In On Amazon’s New TLDs
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
Going To ICANN 47 Durban? Check The Hotel Restrictions!
ICANN's first public meeting of 2013 will be held in Beijing in April, but they've opened registration for the subsequent one in Durban, South Africa in July. The July meeting - ICANN 47 - will be held in Durban International Convention Centre with hotel accommodation available in the surrounding area. However attendees need to be careful when booking as the cancellation … [Read more...] about Going To ICANN 47 Durban? Check The Hotel Restrictions!
ALAC To Submit Objection Against .health
ICANN's ALAC plans to submit an objection against .health Why? Their rationale is as follows: Objection statements on community grounds will be drafted for the applications for .health given that the four tests for community objection grounds were passed. ALAC were also examining a few other strings including: .nyc .patagonia .amazon However they did not feel … [Read more...] about ALAC To Submit Objection Against .health