Things to Know About New gTLDs

by SkyDriver Thu 25 Apr 2013, 11:23 am

Since ICANN’s announcement of the expansion of generic top-level domains (gTLDs) in 2008, there has been a lot of excitement over what this will mean for the future of the Internet. Until recently, there were only a few top-level domains, like .com, .net, .org, etc. After its announcement in 2008, ICANN is expanding this list to include other general terms, such as .pizza, .shopping, and .shoes. Companies are applying to host a specific gTLD and the new gTLDs that are accepted will be made available on the Internet. Here are some quick facts everyone should know about the gTLD expansion:

There are currently 329 valid top-level domains (TLDs), most are country code (cc)TLDs, such as .us for the United States and .uk for the United Kingdom.
As of March 18, 2013, ICANN had 1,912 applications for new gTLDs from registries. Although, that includes applications for the same gTLD and TLDs will be closed, once these gTLDs go live it will increase the potential number of domain names at least five or six times.
With this great a number of new TLDs, the potential for great new domain names if huge. Did not get that .com name you wanted? Now you may have the opportunity to get that domain name in any number of new gTLDs. The expansion will also allow you to target a specific audience with new generic TLDs, such as .pizza.
Some of these new gTLDs will be internationalized domain names (IDNs). This means that they will be able to register second-level domain names in local characters, such as accent marks and characters from non-Latin languages.
As of April 5, 2013, ICANN has accepted 93 TLD applications. These will likely be the first gTLDs to launch.
Trademark holders will be interested in the new Trademark Clearinghouse. You can list your trademark with them and they will let you know if someone is attempting to register a domain with your trademark. However the Clearinghouse will not block the registration, it only serves to give notice to both you and the person attempting to register the domain.
In addition to the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute Resolution Process (UDRP), there will be a new dispute resolution process for trademark holders, the Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS) system. This system will operate similarly to the UDRP, but the idea is that the process will be more streamlined and faster. However, the possible resolutions do not include transfer of the domain to the complainant, only a bar to the domain owner from using the domain name on the Internet, but he will keep ownership of the domain.
ICANN recommends that the first gTLDs be released for delegation as early as April 23, 2013, but the actual auction dates for domains will depend on each registry.
What will the registration process be like? Most likely, gTLD registries will have a Sunrise period for trademark holders to register domains with their trademark then a Landrush period for everyone else. During the Landrush, you can apply for a domain and if there is more than one application for the same domain name it will go to a private auction. If you win the auction then you can register the domain through an ICANN approved domain name registrar.