LEGAL MATTERS By Scott Petersen
of personalized top level domains. Businesses, organizations or individuals would be allowed to choose arbitrary top level domain names. Even non-Latin characters in Arabic, Chinese and other languages would eventually be allowed. Th us, the current top level domains
(.org .com .net and the others) will soon be joined by .microsoft .nordstroms .gasstation and so on. For example, if you purchase .peanutbutter you then become offi cially a "registrar" and you can actually allow your competitors use the domain as well. In addition to the cost of obtaining the right to become a "registrar" you then will have the cost of actually being a registrar: processing applications, dealing with domain name transfers and disputes and the like. But there will be a steep price to pay. For $185,000 (plus $25,000 a year
for renewal) you too can have your own generic top level domain. A common response has been to ask, "$185,000 to purchase a domain name? I can't aff ord it!" If this were your response, you are defi nitely not alone. So what is a restaurant or bar owner to
Domain names, web addresses and trademarks (oh my).
for Protecting Your Brand
A Recipe
for a broad expansion of gTLDs for Internet addresses (those web addresses that end in .com .net .org .gov .biz and so on). Th ere will soon be an infi nite number
O 16 | APRIL 2012
n June 20, 2011, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) voted to end restrictions on the registration of generic "top-level domain names" (gTLDs). Th e guidelines provided
do? Is there a need to pony up a six-digit fi gure to own your restaurant name as a top level domain? Unless you really want your own personalized corporate domain name for a web address, and you can aff ord it and you see a potential return on investment, it's probably best to stick with the dot com. Let's take a closer look at the situation.
TACKLING THE TASK New applications—which are estimated
to number under a thousand in the fi rst year—will be examined by those administering the program. It is a process could take a year or more. While an applicant need not own a trademark for the new gTLD, trademark registrations— from all over the world —will be taken into account in the examination process. Let's say I have a restaurant called "Toasty
Scott's." If I want to shell out $185,000 for the address greatfood@toastyscotts, I can certainly do so. But as a small restaurant with a website called www.toastyscotts.com, I provide my customers with everything
www.cheersonline.com
