Domain Name System to Add Brands

                The group that governs Internet domain names, ICANN, is now allowing website owners to apply to create their own versions of .com.  Under this new system, a company like Adidas can control the domain name of .adidas which would allow it to assign web addresses like wear.adidas or buy.adidas rather than adidas.com.  Not only could companies create their own top-level domain names, but non-profit organizations could do so, as well.  However, the price tag of $ 185,000 and the requirement that the applicant be "established public or private organization" with the necessary technical capability to keep a domain running will mean that not everyone will be able to create their own domain name suffix.  In addition, ICANN reserves the right to make the final decision on all new domain names. 

             According to ICANN creating the ability to control the domain naming will allow web users to find what they are looking for quicker.  However, that may not be true.  There is a real possibility that it will make it harder for consumers or internet users to determine who owns the site that they are visiting.  For example, if the music industry opened .records, who would have the rights to apple.records? Would it be Apple, Inc. which sells music through iTunes or Apple Corps Ltd., the Beatles music publisher?  In addition, it will become much harder to police one's trademarks because there will undoubtedly be legions of imposters.  However, unlike the first time around when ICANN first implemented the .com, .org, etc. domain name suffixes, there are anti-cybersquatting laws in place to protect trademark owners from extortion or the improper use of their trademarks in domain names.  Nevertheless, policing one's trademarks is already an arduous process even with the anti-cybersquatting laws in place and only 22 suffixes in play.  The addition of hundreds or thousands more suffixes will only increase the costs of policing one's trademarks. 

             Currently, there are about 22 existing domain name suffixes.  This new system could add hundreds or thousands.  Of the 22 existing domain name suffixes, .com remains the most popular and coveted.  In fact, the most recently added suffixes (.biz, .info, and .jobs) never really caught on with consumers.  So, this whole expansion may be much ado about nothing.