Time to increase your domain name registration budget.
From PRNewswire (via Yahoo Finance):
“Trademark and service mark owners have six weeks, starting today, to register domain names with the new .Pro top- level Internet domain (TLD), during a special pre-launch “sunrise” registration campaign announced by .Pro registry operator RegistryPro…..
Defensive registrations provide a strategic solution that enables registrants to block domain names that exactly match their trademarks, and to reserve a name for future use. These registrations cannot be used to point to an actual Web site, or as extensions to email addresses. However, after the .Pro domain begins operating in June 2004, registrants can convert a defensive registration to a live domain name if they meet the registry’s eligibility requirements.”
As I’ve discussed earlier, I am not a big fan of generic top-level domain names (gTLDs). At best, this new TLD acts essentially as a tax for those with registered domain names. At worst, it encourage the domain name gray market for cybersquatters. Perhaps transferring control of the domain name system from ICANN to the UN isn’t such a bad idea.
