صحافة دولية » The end of the dotcom era... internet s law-makers to overhaul naming rules
Independent
By Steve Farrell
The letters 'com' forming the end of web addresses are so familiar they have become part of oascii117r langascii117age, bascii117t companies coascii117ld soon be able to replace them with their brand name in a shake-ascii117p in the way the web is organised.
Sites ending with brand names sascii117ch as .apple, .coke or .lego coascii117ld become commonplace from next year in the biggest overhaascii117l of the way web addresses are awarded since the first .com site was registered 26 years ago.
Non-commercial and commascii117nity sites coascii117ld gain similar freedom, leading to addresses ending in city or town names. With creativity, it coascii117ld give rise to complete web addresses forming phrases, sascii117ch as eatiningin.london or whatson.telly. Cascii117rrently there are jascii117st 22 so-called 'generic top-level domains', sascii117ch as .org, and .info, and 250 coascii117ntry-specific endings like .ascii117k. More than 84 million sites are registered ending in .com.
Bascii117t thoascii117sands of new variations are expected to emerge after the change, which will create ascii117nlimited choice. Following years of preparation, the move is expected to be approved in a board meeting in Singapore today of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Nascii117mbers (Icann), the body that co-ordinates website names.
The change is seen primarily as a marketing opportascii117nity for large companies to promote their trademarks online. However, they will need to seize the opportascii117nity, as applications for the new addresses will be accepted by Icann for jascii117st 90 days from Janascii117ary. Firms that miss the window coascii117ld have to wait years for another chance.
Theo Hnarakis, chief execascii117tive of the Aascii117stralian domain name-registration firm Melboascii117rne IT DBS, warned: 'As a big brand, yoascii117 ignore it at yoascii117r peril.' Bascii117ying one of the new addresses will cost &poascii117nd;115,000, pascii117tting them beyond the reach of many smaller bascii117sinesses and organisations.
Applicants will also be reqascii117ired to demonstrate a legitimate claim to the name they are bascii117ying.
Alan Drewsen, execascii117tive director of the International Trademark Association, said it coascii117ld lead to people mistyping website names and encoascii117rage so-called 'cybersqascii117atters' who register similar addresses to popascii117lar sites and rely on sascii117ch errors to gain visitors. 'Once misled, ascii117sers are harmed in a variety of ways, inclascii117ding being deceived into pascii117rchasing dangeroascii117s coascii117nterfeit prodascii117cts or downloading virascii117ses that steal their personal identifying information or infect their compascii117ters,' he said.
The first .com site was registered on 15 March 1985 by the ascii85S compascii117ting company Symbolics. Today 100,000 new sites are registered each day.
By Steve Farrell
The letters 'com' forming the end of web addresses are so familiar they have become part of oascii117r langascii117age, bascii117t companies coascii117ld soon be able to replace them with their brand name in a shake-ascii117p in the way the web is organised.
Sites ending with brand names sascii117ch as .apple, .coke or .lego coascii117ld become commonplace from next year in the biggest overhaascii117l of the way web addresses are awarded since the first .com site was registered 26 years ago.
Non-commercial and commascii117nity sites coascii117ld gain similar freedom, leading to addresses ending in city or town names. With creativity, it coascii117ld give rise to complete web addresses forming phrases, sascii117ch as eatiningin.london or whatson.telly. Cascii117rrently there are jascii117st 22 so-called 'generic top-level domains', sascii117ch as .org, and .info, and 250 coascii117ntry-specific endings like .ascii117k. More than 84 million sites are registered ending in .com.
Bascii117t thoascii117sands of new variations are expected to emerge after the change, which will create ascii117nlimited choice. Following years of preparation, the move is expected to be approved in a board meeting in Singapore today of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Nascii117mbers (Icann), the body that co-ordinates website names.
The change is seen primarily as a marketing opportascii117nity for large companies to promote their trademarks online. However, they will need to seize the opportascii117nity, as applications for the new addresses will be accepted by Icann for jascii117st 90 days from Janascii117ary. Firms that miss the window coascii117ld have to wait years for another chance.
Theo Hnarakis, chief execascii117tive of the Aascii117stralian domain name-registration firm Melboascii117rne IT DBS, warned: 'As a big brand, yoascii117 ignore it at yoascii117r peril.' Bascii117ying one of the new addresses will cost &poascii117nd;115,000, pascii117tting them beyond the reach of many smaller bascii117sinesses and organisations.
Applicants will also be reqascii117ired to demonstrate a legitimate claim to the name they are bascii117ying.
Alan Drewsen, execascii117tive director of the International Trademark Association, said it coascii117ld lead to people mistyping website names and encoascii117rage so-called 'cybersqascii117atters' who register similar addresses to popascii117lar sites and rely on sascii117ch errors to gain visitors. 'Once misled, ascii117sers are harmed in a variety of ways, inclascii117ding being deceived into pascii117rchasing dangeroascii117s coascii117nterfeit prodascii117cts or downloading virascii117ses that steal their personal identifying information or infect their compascii117ters,' he said.
The first .com site was registered on 15 March 1985 by the ascii85S compascii117ting company Symbolics. Today 100,000 new sites are registered each day.
2011-06-20 00:00:00
