There are currently around 22 types of top-level domains such as .com or .org, in addition to country codes such as .es for Spain. Companies believe that enough is enough, and 40 large corporations, such as Coca Cola, have complained that domain expansion raises costs and increases the risk of fraud and impersonation.
This event could represent one of the biggest changes to the Internet since its creation decades ago, and will be coordinated by ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), which is a non-profit organization that operates internationally, and is responsible for assigning Internet Protocol (IP) numerical address space, as well as the administration of the generic top-level domain (gTLD) and country code (ccTLD) name system.
The launch of so-called "brand dots" is the latest major change to the strict rules governing Internet nomenclature since the launch of .com domains in 1985. The biggest recent change came last year when the domains were created .xxx to give adult websites their own space on the Internet. This domain has 250,000 websites in nine months.
However, this new change takes web page personalization to a new level. In this way, many brands or institutions see many possibilities in this, although others see identity theft problems. Protecting the brand could cost them millions.
How it will affect the Brands
Ford, for example, may apply for the rights to .ford, while Pepsi is apparently interested in purchasing .pepsi in order to launch the website drink.pepsi. Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, has announced the city council's intention to register. Other cities, including New York, Paris, Sydney, Rome and Berlin, also plan to launch their own top-level domains (TLDs).
Rod Beckstrom, the president of ICANN, said now is the time to get expert advice and get your marketing people dedicated to taking advantage of new opportunities. But for many, ICANN has not done enough to protect consumers from fraud and spelling errors, such as Amazon.comm, so the potential consumer harm would be great.
However, the proposed changes have not gone down well with some large companies and governments. Jon Leibowitz, head of the US Trade Commission, has warned that easing the rules could be a "disaster", as he sees too many costs for few benefits, The Guardian has reported.
More than 40 of the world's largest companies, including Coca-Cola and Johnson & Johnson, have also complained that the expansion will increase costs and risk of Internet fraud.
Applicants have until April 12 to register, after which an eight-month evaluation process will take place. The first domain top-level sites are expected to be effective by 2013. In the meantime, ICANN expects there to be up to 4,000 applications.
Source of Information: europapress.es
