BUSINESS NEWS FROM THE FOUR-COUNTY REGION PORTLAND, OREGON JUNE 24, 2011 From .com to .anything BY ERIK SIEMERS BUSINESS JOURNAL STAFF WRITER A ruling this week that greatly expands the breadth of Internet domain name possibilities is fraught with pros and cons. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the global nonprofit organization that regulates the Internet’s naming system, on Monday voted in Singapore to approve a plan to expand the number of Internet address endings. Today there are just 22 so-called “generic top-level domains” — the letters that come to the right of the dot in a domain name — such as .com, .org and .net. The ICANN decision effectively paves the way for any word to be used as a domain name suffix. It was immediately hailed as a new way for companies to market their brands and products. For instance, Nike Inc., hypothetically, could apply for the use of .nike — allowing it to shift from traditional naming conventions such as store.nike.com to simply store. nike or basketball.nike. The new rules come with built-in safeguards to protect against cybersquatting. Proposed names, for example, must be run through a trademark clearinghouse. If someone tries to register a trademarked name, the owner of that trademark will be notified. Applicants will also be screened to see if they have a history of cybersquatting. However, Parna A. Mehrbani, an intellectual property attorney with Lane Powell in Portland who specializes in Internet trademark issues, said the biggest threat could come from the use of generic words — such as .shoes or .flowers. “It’s essentially opening up any number of new locations where anybody could file a registration for a domain that included your trademark,” Mehrbani said. Considering the potential of increased disputes, ICANN is incorporating a resolution process, referred to as the Uniform Rapid Suspension System, designed to provide trademark holders a quicker, less costly process to get domain names suspended in cases of clear-cut infringement. Phil Lodico, vice president of Coalition Against Domain Name Abuse — a Washington, D.C., organization representing several major brands, including Nike — believes the costs required of registering a top-level domain could outweigh the benefits. Mehrbani Just to apply for a new generic top-level domain costs $185,000. If the application is accepted, the applicant must pay another $25,000 per year to maintain the domain. Lodico also believes the new naming conventions would add little value. In other words, there’s little Nike can do with a .nike domain that it can’t already do with Nike. com. For others, however, the new ICANN rules could create opportunity. Portland-based SnapNames — a division of Los Angeles-based Oversee.net — is in the business of buying and auctioning onceregistered domain names that have been surrendered. Mason Cole, the company’s vice president of corporate communications, said SnapNames could offer to work with new registrants to help market domain names to its customers. “If you have rock.music or drama.movie, we’ve got a customer base of tens of thousands of people interested in those premium names,” Cole said from Singapore, where he was attending the ICANN meetings. esiemers@bizjournals.com | 503-219-3418 Reprinted for web use with permission from the Portland Business Journal. ©2011, all rights reserved. Reprinted by Scoop ReprintSource 1-800-767-3263. 4.875” x 6.75”