ICANN Approves Historic Change to Internet Domains

By Rob Scott
June 21, 2011

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the international non-profit organization that governs website domains, has voted to allow custom, top-level, generic domains for those willing to pay.
“The era of .google, .microsoft and .apple is coming as ICANN decides to let organizations apply for custom domain suffixes.”
The proposed plan is expected to dramatically increase the number of Internet domain name endings from the current 22 generic offerings, by allowing domain names to end with almost any word in any language.
The Board vote was 13 approving, 1 opposed, and 2 abstaining.
The $185K fee and $25K annual cost is intended to deter cybersquatting and ensure applicants are not violating trademark rights.
“Many of the biggest brands are planning to apply for their .brand TLD, but many marketing leaders I’ve talked with look at this as a nuisance and are skeptical about whether Internet users will embrace them,” wrote Forrester analyst Jeff Ernst, in a blog post.

Topics: ICANN

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