ICANN has published the full list of applied for gTLDS

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 17:35:00 +0100

It is a very exciting time for the online world. However, there are also imminent dangers for brand owners, trade mark holders and businesses alike. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (“ICANN”) has recently allowed for a radical increase in the number of Top Level Domains (“TLDs”), such as .com and .info. ICANN has today published the full list of applicants and strings that have been applied for and you can find the list here: http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/program-status/application-results/strings-1200utc-13jun12-en

Now that the list has been published, we are able to evaluate the potential risks to your brands and businesses. This is a serious concern for everyone. Please note that this is not just an issue for brand owners and trade mark holders. As you can see, applicants have applied for generic gTLDs, such as .blog, .beauty, .fashion and .media. Further issues will also follow once the gTLDs go live, as anyone will then be able to register brands as “sub-domains” (the part before the gTLD, such as lewissilkin.advertising).

The next steps are as follows, so even if you haven’t applied, it is important to prepare and get involved if there are any potential threats to your business:

13 June 2012 – “Reveal Day”: announcement of all applied-for domain names
13 June 2012 – Application comment period begins and formal objection period begins
12 July 2012 – Initial evaluation begins
12 August 2012 – Application comment period ends

You will now need to prepare to launch official objections with ICANN if you are concerned about any of the applied for gTLDs. Plus, you will also need to prepare to protect your brand from unwanted registrations once the gTLDs go live. ICANN have promised a “Trademark Clearinghouse” which is expected to play an important role in the launch of the New gTLD Program and in ensuring ongoing protection of trademark rights. The Trademark Clearinghouse will accept and authenticate rights information, and will support both trademark claims and sunrise services, required in all new gTLDs.

We at Lewis Silkin can help you with any queries that you may have about the new gTLDs, so please do not hesitate to give us a call.

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ICANN has published the full list of applied for gTLDS