.blue

Status:	Active
Manager:	Afilias
Registry Provider:	Afilias
Type:	Generic
Category:	Lifestyle
More information:

.blue is an active gTLD that in ICANN's New gTLD Program. The Registry and manager of the TLD is Afilias. The proposed application succeeded and was delegated to the Root Zone on 05 February 2014.

Application Details

Excerpted from Response to Question 18:
"The new gTLD assignment process allows for unique branding and Internet identity creation possibilities. Afilias anticipates businesses and individuals will have an interest in developing domains associated with the color blue, for branding and identification purposes.

.BLUE proposes to create an Internet space in which businesses, organizations and individuals can create an Internet identity tied to the color and the concept of blue. This will allow for an explosion of creativity and Internet offerings around this concept.

Businesses and organizations may want to create a professional web presence related to the color blue, including online stores or shopping experiences, to support social causes and activities, or use blogs, wikis and file sharing sites to support their merchandising, retailing efforts and business goals, or for sharing of information.

Individuals may use .BLUE domains to create websites to support or announce planned businesses and begin marketing efforts, research and tests, or to create web presences that reflect their interest or support causes that have an association with the color blue.

Associating directly with the color blue in a TLD will be strongly compelling for some businesses and individuals, but may take some time in catching on in popularity with the general public. As a result of this confluence of interest, we anticipate that we will have 20,000 domains under management (DUMs) after three years....

.BLUE will be an open TLD, generally available to all registrants (except in the Sunrise period)."

Objection

An official Legal Rights Objection was filed by Blue Cross and Blue Shield Assoc. against Afilias.

A Legal Rights Objection, as defined by the ICANN approved mediator, WIPO, is when, "third parties may file a formal objection to an application on several grounds, including, for trademark owners and Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs) [..] When such an objection is filed, an independent panel (comprised of one or three experts) will determine whether the applicant’s potential use of the applied-for gTLD would be likely to infringe [..] the objector’s existing trademark, or IGO name or acronym."

The objection was dismissed and Afilias prevailed, meaning they can continue with their application for the string uninhibited by the objection. The case was determined on August 16, 2013 and published by ICANN on September 25, 2013.

Contract Signed

On 07 November 2013, Afilias received a Registry Agreement signed by ICANN for .blue after passing all the required processes needed to become a Registry Operator for the string.

Delegation and Availability

.blue was delegated to the Root Zone of the DNS on 05 February, 2014, completing the successful application for the string.

Top-Level Domain