.bank
 | |
| Status: | proposed |
| country: | International |
| Registry Provider: | Verisign chosen by BITS and ABA |
| Type: | Niche |
| Community TLD: | Yes |
More information: 
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.bank is one of the proposed new generic top level domain names (gTLDs) intended for the use of companies engaged in providing financial services worldwide. The Domain Security Company formerly Asif LLC, a start-up company based in Wisconsin; [1] and the joint project between American Bankers Association (ABA) & BITS, technology policy arm of the Financial Services Roundtable, are among the organizations competing to get the approval of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers to operate the proposed TLD.[2]
Domain Security Company Initiative[edit | edit source]
On August 31, 2010, Mary Iqbal, CEO of Domain Security Company filed an application (85, 120, 345) with the United States Patent Office (USPT) as the rightful owner of the .bank intended for domain name registration services.[3] A similar patent application for .bank was also filed by the company in Pakistan. According to Iqbal, she had been working on the idea for several years and she is serious about her application with ICANN to become the registry operator of .bank TLD. On January 10 2012, the USPTO issued the patent no. 4, 085,335 for .bank to Asif LLC, the previous name of Domain Security Company.[4] However on January 19, the USPTO cancelled the patent because of error. In a letter sent to the company’s lawyer, the USPTO explained that a protest letter filed against the trademark was not processed before entering it in the Supplemental Registration. Under Trademark Act 1, 2, 3 and 45...”TLD would not be perceived as trademark.” The trademark office cited it has “broad authority to correct mistakes.” [5] [6]
ABA and BITS .Bank Project[edit | edit source]
The .bank project of American Bankers Association (ABA) and BITS is headed by Craig Schwartz, former chief gTLD registry liaison of ICANN. He serves as general manager for registry programs of the project.[7] According to Schwartz, ABA and BITS will establish a new company that will be responsible in filing the application for .bank gTLD. Their plan is to file a community-designated bid to avoid the ICANN auction in anticipation for any possible gTLD string contention from other applications. Schwartz explained, “We’ve looked at the scoring and while it may not come into play at all, we do believe we can meet the requisite score [for a successful Community Priority Evaluation]. But we’re certainly mindful of what’s happening in the space, there’s always the possibility of contention.” He added that their plan is to begin the operations of .bank as a business to business and it will be primarily used for secure inter-bank transactions and will partner with a several ICANN accredited registrars that would be able to meet the company’s security requirements.[8]
On April 2011, ABA & BITS announced that they signed a contract with Verisign to serve as their exclusive provider of back-end registry services.[9]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Domain Seurity Website
- ↑ Tiny start-up secures .bank gTLD trademark
- ↑ Trademark Application Filed for .Bank Top Level Domain Name
- ↑ Tiny start-up secures .bank gTLD trademark
- ↑ .Bank Trademark Canceled After “Mistake”
- ↑ USPTO Letter Regarding Patent 4,085,035 .bank mark
- ↑ Senior ICANN Staff Hired by .bank Project
- ↑ BITS may apply for six financial gTLDs
- ↑ Verisign Now Frontrunner for .bank