Branded domain names beckon for big business

The International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which administers the global internet registration system, is preparing to open the door to the registration of customised ‘to the right of the dot’ URLs. For the first time users can access unique URLs that can match brand names with associated terms or products and also, in the words of Adrian Kinderis the CEO of AusRegistry, look at “securing a piece of internet infrastructure”.

While businesses with small marketing budgets may find the expected costs to be prohibitive, the one off registration price of $185,000 plus an annual fee of $25,000 will grant the registrant company the ability to stake a claim to an instantly recognisable web address and provides a level of protection for their brand online. Further, an important feature incorporated into the system is a process of presumptive renewal which should provide comfort to potential registrants concerned that their expensive acquisition could be undermined through a lapsed registration.

It is important to note that the GTLD system will not trump or replace existing means for the legal protection of intellectual property. The GTLD infrastructure presided over by ICANN includes a dedicated dispute resolution mechanism by which companies may challenge registrations under the system that they see as being hostile to their interests. In this sense, the GTLD system presents a potential new layer of protection which runs parallel to existing legal mechanisms of local courts and dispute resolution through the World Intellectual Property Organisation.

While the ‘.com’ URL signature is unlikely to disappear in the short term, it is expected that big businesses and those to whom positioning on the internet is a vital component of their profile will warm to the opportunities that the GTLD scheme presents and thereby usher in a new means of using the web to allow customers to connect with brands online.

Key Contacts