Issue 189 - 9th June 2005

Green light for .xxx or should that be red light?

.xxx, a sponsored Top Level Domain (sTLD) designed for the adult industry, has been given the initial go-ahead by the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). This is the second application by ICM Registry - the first was rejected in 2000.

ICM Registry will be responsible for the technical aspects of running the TLD. A non-profit organisation called the International Foundation for Online Responsibility (IFFOR) will be in charge of regulating the domain. It is not clear at this stage exactly what level of regulation there will be, but material involving or reaching minors seems to be a primary concern.

The potential reality of .xxx has already prompted some considerable debate. Some believe that the suffix will allow easier and more effective filtering, thus preventing inadvertent viewing. Others see it simply as a form of legitimisation of the adult industry. 

WIPO recommends IP considerations for gTLDs

As recently reported in online media, the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) has recommended in a report to ICANN that standardised mechanisms to protect Intellectual Property (IP) be factored into the releases of new generic TLDs (e.g the forthcoming .jobs and .travel).

In the report WIPO suggests the use of processes that are already widely employed by country-code TLD registries, namely Sunrise Periods. These allow IP/trademark owners to secure registrations ahead of general release and, in cases where they are not actually eligible to register, to make defensive registrations thus preventing others from registering their IP.

Domain name registrations reach 76.9 million

According to a new domain name report, global domain name registrations have reached 76.9 million. The report states that over 6.7 million new domain names were registered during the first quarter of 2005, marking the highest ever increase in domain name growth. Country-code registrations continue to play a significant part of the growth, counting for 35% of total registrations. China, Japan and South Korea are driving growth in Asia, with huge numbers of Internet users already and many more yet to come online.

Source: VeriSign Inc.

The expanding global coverage of Internet connectivity and consolidation of the Internet's appeal as a serious business arena have helped the domain name market attain its current buoyancy. In contrast to the boom and bust of the late nineties, the market is now seen as being sustainable.

ICANN stays with current operator for .net

ICANN yesterday announced that the Board has chosen VeriSign to manage the the .net TLD for a further six years. The current operator beat off competition from five other candidates in a selection process that was independently evaluated by Telcordia Technologies Inc.