Internet Governance

Every company should take a close look at two very basic issues related to the importance of the Internet in everyday business matters:

1. Increased exposure for trademark infringement and cybersquatting due to ICANN’s expanded gTLD program.
2. How the new gTLDs, which include generic industry names such as “dotShop” and a broad range of well-known brand names may impact your company. Do you know whether another organization has applied for a generic name associated with your industry and whether your competitors have applied for new gTLDs to grab competitive advantage?

New gTLDs will also bring fresh opportunities. Dozens of applied-for gTLDs include non-Latin characters, meaning we will now see full Internet addresses in Mandarin, Cyrillic, Arabic and more, which offers another level of opportunities for global expansion.

Kirton McConkie offers the following key services related to the new generic top level domain names (gTLD) application reveal list announced by ICANN.

• Establish internal processes for maintaining compliance with the ICANN registry agreement if you have secured a gTLD, even if you intend only to use it for corporate purposes and not open it to the public.
• Devise a strategy for protecting an organization’s interests at the second-level of new gTLDs.
• Monitor ICANN policies and submit public comments on proposed modifications to the gTLD application process and to other proposed ICANN policies.
• Advise how to incorporate new gTLDs and other ICANN policies into a business plan.