.skype

Status:	Delegated
Registry Provider:	Verisign
Registry:	Microsoft
Registry Backend:	GoDaddy
Type:	Brand TLD
Priority #:	978 - Microsoft
More information:

.skype is a Brand TLD delegated in ICANN's New gTLD Program. Microsoft manages the TLD and is its Registry. The proposed application succeeded and was delegated to the Root Zone on 24 June, 2015. .

Application Details

The following is excerpted from the applicant's response to question #18:

"The mission of Microsoft Corporation is to transform the way people work, play and communicate throughout the world through the provision of software, services and hardware. Microsoft does business throughout the world, with offices in more than 100 countries and over 90,000 employees. Microsoft acquired Skype in October 2011. Skype is a software-based communications platform that enables real-time communications over the Internet. Skype’s platform offers high-quality, easy-to-use tools for consumers and businesses to communicate and collaborate globally through voice, video and text conversations. Skype is available on a wide range of platforms, including - Windows, Mac and Linux computers; Android, iPhone⁄iPad and Symbian mobile devices; LG, Panasonic, Samsung and Sony televisions. Skype’s intuitive interface enables powerful one-to-one or multi-party communications and even the ability to call landlines and mobiles at Skype’s great rates. Skype is based on a peer-to-peer architecture that has provided the scalability necessary to support the continuing growth of the Skype community. For example, for the year ended 31 December 2011, the number of Skype-to-Skype calling minutes was equivalent to approximately 25% of the total of all global international PSTN, according to estimates published by TeleGeography in January 2012.

With Skype, you can share a story, celebrate a birthday, learn a language, hold a meeting, work with colleagues – just about anything you need to do together every day. You can use Skype on whatever works best for you - on your phone, your tablet, your computer, or your TV.

We are assessing the opportunities that a new gTLD has to enhance the security and accessibility of the Skype communications platform for our more than 670 million registered Skype users. The mission of the .skype gTLD is to lay the ground work for providing consumers and businesses who interact with Skype through the .skype registry with a more secure and authentic experience, to promote the Skype communications platform and to protect the Skype mark and associated intellectual property.

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The Microsoft Domain Name Management team is responsible for the development, maintenance and enforcement of the .skype Domain Management Policy (sDMP). This policy defines the rules associated with eligibility and domain name allocation, sets out the license terms governing the use of a .skype domain name and describes the dispute resolution policies for the .skype TLD. This policy is intended to be updated and revised regularly to reflect Microsoft’s commercial and strategic interests and, where appropriate, ICANN consensus policies. The policy is summarised below. It is subject to change. Registration of a .skype domain name is undertaken in four steps: Eligibility Confirmation, Naming Convention Check, Acceptable Use Review, and finally Registration. Domains in the .skype registry cannot be assigned to third parties. All domains in the .skype registry will remain the property of Microsoft."