The full list of submissions for new internet address endings, allowing firms to create their own ‘.brand’ on the web, has been published. Requests to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the global organisation co-ordinating the expansion, include .porn, .ninja, and .ferrari. Several top-level domains have been applied for by more than […]
The full list of submissions for new internet address endings, allowing firms to create their own ‘.brand’ on the web, has been published. Requests to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the global organisation co-ordinating the expansion, include .porn, .ninja, and .ferrari.
Several top-level domains have been applied for by more than one party, including .sex, .home and .diy.
The list reveals that Google has applied for a number of top level domains (TLDs) including .android, .chrome and .fun, although the latter has also been applied for by two other companies.
Google also made unexpected inclusions such as .and, .boo, .dad and .new.
Domian name battles
The search giant has also requested .music, which has been claimed by seven other organisations including the online retailer Amazon.
In addition, the TLD .cloud has been applied for by seven different companies, for example, including both Amazon and Google.
Both the US drugmaker Merck & Co and its German rival Merck KGaA appear to have applied for the .merck ending, which may trigger an auction process.
Other gTLDs attracting multiple requests include .art, .book, .news, .play, .shop and .vip.
The most contested name is .app which received 13 applications.
However the .uk manager, Nominet, looks likely to secure .wales and .cymru after no-one filed identical claims.
Likewise the Dot Scot Registry was the only organisation to apply for .scot and the League of Arab States the only body to claim .arab.
The list also reveals that Apple applied for .apple, Intel for .ultrabook and Microsoft for .hotmail.
Out of the 1,930 submissions ICANN received, 750 were for the same 230 domains. 166 of them were in alternatives to the Latin alphabet.
Rod Beckstrom, CEO and president of ICANN said, “This is a historic day for the internet, because the internet is about to change forever. We’re standing at the cusp of a new era for online innovation, including new jobs, new businesses and new ways to share information.”
“If even three quarters of these applications are approved, the number of top level domains will expand four-fold”, he added.
Cost of a .brand domain
Applicants had to pay a $185,000 (£118,800) fee to take part in the application process. They also face a minimum $25,000 annual renewal charge to keep their suffix once it has been granted.
Critics have attacked the plan, noting the costs involved and the fact that bodies in the first batch to be processed may gain an unfair advantage.
Nations including Brazil, China and Russia have also suggested Icann’s functions be passed to the UN or another body more under governments’ control.
Samsung – which had objected to the process – has taken part, applying for both .samsung and its equivalent in the Korean alphabet.
Coca-Cola and the cereal manufacturer Kellogg’s, which also signed a petition in protest, have abstained from the bidding process.
Read the full list of applications here
