New domains cause wrangles

Two more top-level domain names - .travel and .jobs - have been approved by the oversight body for the internet's addressing system, but industry figures warned that many firms will find little business value in the new names, though they may have to register them defensively.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers approved the .travel and .jobs suffixes earlier this month, and has designated Tralliance and Employ Media as their respective registrars.

Both domains are expected to go live late this year. But two recent cases suggest that the introduction of more domain suffixes could create problems for some firms.

One of the cases is the ongoing dispute between Apple and the founder of a small internet firm, CyberBritain, over the itunes.co.uk domain name. Benjamin Cohen bought the domain two months before Apple introduced iTunes. However, registry Nominet awarded the domain to Apple after ruling that Cohen was deliberately trying to exploit Apple's brand. Reportedly, Cohen now intends to take the case to the High Court.

In a separate incident last week, George Hollingbery, the Conservative candidate for Winchester, registered a domain containing the name of his Liberal Democrat rival in an attempt to direct users to another web site. LibDem Mark Oaten uses the .com domain, while Hollingbery registered under .co.uk.

Lesley Cowley, chief executive of Nominet, said she was confident that UK case law could combat such cases of cyber-squatting, and protect the rights of small companies against larger businesses.

"In the UK we do not prioritise brand holders over others who have the right to register," Cowley added.

However, Cowley questioned the value of introducing further top-level domains. "There are a lot of new entrants coming into a difficult, well-established market," she said. "There will be an on-going debate as to whether new [domain] names improve choice and competition or just increase confusion."

Roger Bamforth of analyst company Quocirca argued that tighter controls are needed on registrations for domain names. "The problem is that companies can sign up to own [domain names] - names are not allocated on the basis of an endorsement," he said. "This means that it is in [the companies'] hands whether they are buying a domain name as a catch-all or if they are genuinely trying to identify and differentiate their company."

See also:

Apple 'cult' wins iTunes domain battle

UK firm plans to fight Nominet decision  16 Mar 2005

Domain name sytem offers back door to criminals

Phishers could hijack new domain name system  07 Mar 2005

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