Tag: new gTLDs

Apr162016 by editorNo Comments

DotConnectAfrica Wont Give up! Wins Second Injunction from a US Court over .Africa

DotConnectAfrica the applicant for .Africa, won’t give up till its justice is served. Yesterday, the company, in a press release announced that a United States District Court, ruling has granted a Preliminary Injunction for DotConnectAfrica, the decision for case no. 16-CV-00862 RGK (JCx) [PDF]. The case involves DotConnectAfrica Trust v. Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers & ZA Central Registry. The 8 page ruling breaks down major points that the court considered when making the ruling. This win comes barely a month after the applicant won a Ex Parte Application for Temporary restraining order [PDF Case No: CV 16-00862 RGK (JCx)] that barred the delegation of .Africa till the case has been determined. The preliminary injunction (PI) means that the case w

Aug232015 by editorNo Comments

The McFadden Files: How Geo Panel contractor bungled .Africa evaluation to favour ICANN’s preferred candidate

Uncategorized

ICANN’s new gTLD guidebook clearly specified how its contractors were supposed to act with competence, and also independently to assure best quality performance in the evaluation of the 1930 new gTLD applications that were submitted under the new gTLD program. The outcome of an Independent Review Panel however indicates otherwise in one of the most controversial applications under the ICANN new gTLD program. The discovery process of the .Africa IRP which pitted DCA Trust against ICANN showed a wide array of underhand dealings between InterConnnect Communications, the independent firm that was contracted to review geographic names and ICANN staff that were guided to ensure that ICANN’s choice, ZACR got the string and not DCA Trust. Here is an excerpt from the new gTLD Applicant Gu

Jun242014 by Alex ReeceNo Comments

Value of generic top-level domains is sagging says Sedo Survey

Domains, Internet

When asked by a domain name exchange whether their companies are really into the domain name market these days, a huge number of American respondents said no. Reports By Scott M. Fulton, III It's very rare that a consumer survey sponsored by a company providing a service to those consumers sounds a warning about the diminishing value of a chunk of that very service. Back in 2012, ICANN launched its program to introduce generic top-level domains, or gTLD, into the Internet's domain name system creating potentially endless new namespaces for registrants to secure their brands. With new gTLDs compartmentalized by subject matter or industry category (.coffee, .food, .invest), others being truly generic (.shop, .store) and others just plain ridiculous (.whatever)--the original promise was t

Mar132014 by Alex ReeceNo Comments

Senator Jay Rockefeller blasts .Sucks as a gTLD, Asks ICANN to reject it

Domains

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) thinks .sucks, one of hundreds of new generic top-level domains being considered for the Internet by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, should not be approved because it will undermine the credibility of Icann's gTLD expansion. The only apparent purpose of .sucks, Rockefeller says, is to extract defensive registration payments from Internet users, unfairly defaming individuals, organizations and businesses. "A gTLD like 'sucks' has little or no socially redeeming value and it reinforces many people's fears that the purpose of gTLD expansion is to enrich the domain name industry rather than benefit the broader community of Internet users," Rockefeller wrote in a letter to Stephen Crocker, chairman of the Icann board of directors. A n...

Feb272014 by Alex ReeceNo Comments

Delays in .africa launch as African Countries slow to reserve dotAfrica

Domains

The dotafrica domain has been staged for more delays as both applicants Uniforum ZACR and DotConnectAfrica Trust are facing various delays in processing their respective applications. The domain is among the 1930 that were applied for in early 2012. Currently ICANN has put over 100 new top level domains in the root ready for delegation. In Africa, several activities have seriously affected the normal programming of a domain delegation, Uniforum ZACR despite giving too much hope to applicants in the beginning of 2014 are facing numerous hitches. Late 2013, South Africa’s Uniforum ZA Central Registry (ZACR) had announced that it expected the commencement of the .africa ‘sunrise’ phase in March 2013. However recent reports indicate that the planned sunrise launch of the .africa internet d