.web

Status:	Proposed
country:	International
Type:	Generic TLD
Category:	Technology
More information:

.web is a proposed new generic top level domain name (gTLD) to ICANN's new gTLD expansion program.

Applicants

1. Web.com is the parent company of two ICANN accredited registrars- Network Solutions and Register.com is applying for the TLD. The company owns the Web.com trademark issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
2. Radix, a subsidiary of Dubai-based company Directi, owner of various registrar and web hosting businesses such as ResellerClub, Media.net, LogicBoxes, BigRock, Skenzo and WebHosting.info. The company is applying for 31 domain name strings including .web. The company partnered with ARI Registry Services to provide back-end registry solutions.
3. STRAAT Investments, a holding company founded by Juan Diego Calle and parent company of .co Internet also submitted an application for the TLD. The company partnered with Neustar to serve as its back-end registry service provider.
4. Schlund Technologies GmbH
5. Afilias
6. Google (Charleston Road Registry Inc.)
7. Donuts (Ruby Glen, LLC), one of 307 applications submitted by the company

Current Applications

Web.com

Some have said that Web.com has a strong case through the Legal Rights Objection because it owns the Web.com trademark. In a statement, Web.com CEO David Brown said, "We believe we possess the natural platform from which to successfully market the new .WEB top level domain since we are the sole owner of the Web.com trademark as issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark office."

Radix's Early Warning

Radix received a GAC Early Warning as an entire applicant, where each one of the applicants was flagged by the U.S. Government. This seems to be the only time a portfolio applicant had all of their applications warned. The issue does not deal with the technical capabilities or thematic content of their applications, but rather the inclusion of an email address associated with the US' Federal Bureau of Investigation. It seems that Radix included correspondence with this address as a recommendation with each of their applications.

Previous .web Applications & Current Contention

.web was applied for in the 2000 first round of TLD expansion by Image Online Design. ICANN did not approve the application at that time, but IOD argues that it never officially rejected its application. Thus, in October, 2012, IOD sued ICANN for breach of contract and trademark infringement. It is seeking an injunction to prevent ICANN from awarding the TLD to any of the current 2012 applicants, which does not include IOD, and also for profits from the alleged trademark infringement. The original application for .web was denied in part because IOD was already operating an alternative root using that TLD. They claim to still have 20,000 domains registered in their alternate route.

.web and Image Online Design

Alternate root registry Image Online Design hosts 20,000 .web domains on a root system that is different from ICANN's. company Theunsuccessfully applied for the .web gTLD in 2000 and sued ICANN in Fall 2012, citing a breach of contract and trademark infringement. It claimed that ICANN should never have allowed other companies to apply for the gTLD, and is seeking an injunction that prevents ICANN from awarding .web to another bidder and gives Image Online Design profits from the alleged trademark infringement. Its complaint cites an early ICANN meeting where the first proof-of-concept gTLDs were approved by the ICANN Board; the chair at the time, Vint Cerf, did not approve the .web application filed by Afilias because of the existence of Image Online Design's .web operations.

Top-Level Domain

Governmental Advisory Committee. Considers and provides advice on the activities of ICANN as they relate to concerns of governments, particularly matters where there may be an interaction between ICANN's policies and various laws and international agreements or where they may affect public policy issues (ICANN Bylaws).