.website

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

.website is a proposed TLD in ICANN's New gTLD Program.

Applicants

1. Radix, one of 31 TLDs applied for by the company.
2. Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., it is one of 68 applications that Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd. has filed for on its own behalf.
3. Donuts (Fern Edge, LLC), one of 307 applications submitted by the company.

GAC Early Warning

The Independent State of Samoa issued a GAC Early Warning to all three applicants, recommending that they withdraw their applications. The warning system is noted as a strong recommendation on behalf of national governments to the ICANN Board that a given TLD application should be denied as it stands. Applicants are encouraged to work with objecting GAC members.

Samoa notes that it is a developing country whose income and economy is not highly diversified and fragile. Its ccTLD, .ws, has been marketed as a shorthand for "website" since 1999. The registry has over a million registrations and the profits from this have become an important revenue source. It fears that the introduction of ".website" would devastate this enterprise. It also believes that .website is confusingly similar to its .ws.

Donuts Responds

Jon Nevett, co-founder and EVP of Donuts, replied to the GAC Early Warning from Samoa. He notes that while Donuts does not believe .website will negatively impact .ws, in the case that it does is not an established grounds for rejection in the Applicant Guidebook. Indeed, he points out that the cause of the new gTLD program is to create consumer choice and competition. Regarding similarity Donuts remains confident that they will not be flagged by ICANN's String Similarity Panel. He notes that the proper way of voicing further concern may be through objection from the actual .ws registry rather than the government.

Radix

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.

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).

Top-Level Domain