A couple of people emailed me in private to ask the timeline for ICANN’s gTLD program rollout. I did a search, and I was able to find a pdf with the scheduled timeline (ICANN pdf). Keep in mind that the schedule was published at ICANN 41 in Singapore, which was held in June of 2011.

The next major date for the gTLD program is January 12, 2012. On January 12, the application window opens for interested parties who wish to apply for a gTLD. I would imagine that companies who apply for the same TLD will be encouraged to work together to form a joint entity application or work something out. I would also imagine there will be deals cut to try and reduce the number of applications for the same TLD.

Following the application period, the next important date on the gTLD calendar will be April 12, 2012 when the application window closes. The timeline suggests that applications will be published as soon as 15 days after this window has closed, although it may take longer to do so. I am not sure if the applications will be published publicly or just for the internal ICANN community.

The timeline is a bit vague after that, but it gives you an idea about the initial process.

I would not be surprised to see politicking in an effort to delay the program, but as of right now, it looks like things are set to go as planned.

Tips on how to avoid a phishing attack or scam

Over the last week or two, I’ve received several emails from various domain registrars reminding me of ICANN’s requirement of keeping Whois information accurate. It’s important that you keep your information up to date, but it’s even more important to realize that some criminals use these mandatory emails as an opportunity for phishing attacks to steal account information.

Some of the subject lines from the emails are:

• Action Required: Notice Regarding Your Domain Name(s) – Network Solutions
• {MONIKER.COM} [Account xxxx] Action Required: Your Annual Whois Update Notification – Moniker
• Important Notice Regarding Your Domain Name(s) – Go Daddy
• Important Notice Regarding Your Domain Name(s) – Enom

If you receive an email from your domain registrar with a subject line like this, it’s probably a legitimate request, but here are a couple of ways to determine whether it’s real or not.

I think just about all registrars personalize these emails to you. They won’t say “Dear Customer” but they will say “Dear Elliot.” Please keep in mind that someone could specifically target individuals, so this is not the best indicator.

Most emails will have the names of domain names you own listed within the email. Again, this is not fail proof either because someone could do this manually and list a few of your domain names.

Finally, many registrars will list your account number within the email. This is likely the most difficult thing for a scammer to obtain since it’s more of an internal number than something someone could get elsewhere. It’s not fail proof either, as it’s possible for someone to find out this number if they’ve done business with you and had a domain name pushed from their account to yours.

Ultimately the best advice is to not click on the links in these emails. Visit the domain registrar’s website and there should generally be a link within your account or on the home page to ICANN’s update. If you keep your Whois information accurate, you should be fine.

ICANN President and CEO Rod Beckstrom just announced (via Twitter) that he is leaving ICANN. According to his Tweet, Beckstrom intends to leave the organization in July of 2012.

Under Beckstrom, ICANN recently approved the gTLD program, with the applications expected to be considered in the next several months. Beckstrom became President and CEO of ICANN just over two years ago in July, 2009. You can read more about Beckstrom on the ICANN website.

A full press release with the announcement is expected soon.

Over the past couple of weeks, a number of organizations have issued strongly worded press releases condemning ICANN and the gTLD program. Among those who have criticized ICANN was the CEO of the International Advertising Bureau (IAB) and the CEO of the Association of National Advertisers (ANA).

According to Randall Rothenberg, CEO and President of the IAB, “There appears to have been no economic impact research, no full and open stakeholder discussions, and little concern for the delicate balance of the Internet ecosystem.”

Bob Liodice, President and CEO of the ANA stated that, “Brand confusion, dilution and other abuses also pose risks of cyber predator harms, consumer privacy violations, identity theft and cyber security breaches. The decision to go forward with the program also violates sound public policy and contravenes ICANN’s Code of Conduct and its undertakings with the United States Department of Commerce.”

While Rothenberg and Liodice are of course entitled to their opinions, I am surprised they were not more vocal about their beliefs during the gTLD approval and discussion process that went on for a number of years. Many companies and organizations provided commentary, and there were plenty who opposed the gTLD program.

I am sure one opinion would be that it’s better to oppose this late than never, but it’s strange to see. What were some organizations waiting for to comment? I can’t believe they didn’t know about the program or know how to participate. That just wouldn’t make sense that such large organizations didn’t realize this was taking place.

There have been a whole lot of complaints from trademark owners that new TLDs could potentially cause massive amounts of cybersquatting.

Similarly, it could cost them tens of thousands of dollars or maybe much more to protect their brands in a variety of new TLDs when ICANN releases them. This whole debate sounds pretty interesting and the trademark owner contingent makes a good point about this.

Well, it would be a better point if they actually owned all of their brand names in existing TLDs, or if the ones they didn’t own were being cybersquatted in different TLDs.

I thought it would be interesting to take a look at some leading brands to see if their brand names were sitting unregistered, which I believe is what will happen for many new gTLD domain names. For instance, Xerox.sport hardly seems to be a domain name that would be coveted by cybersquatters.

Here are some unregistered brand names in various ccTLD and TLD extensions:

• HewlettPackard.tv
• NewYorkTimes.travel
• McDonalds.aero
• Intel.ac
• MercedesBenz.sc
• Gucci.jobs
• MorganStanley.im
• Xerox.fm
• Danone.la
• Motorola.name
• Disney.mn
• Budweiser.vc
• Accenture.bz
• Hyatt.ac