4 ms·

How possible would it be for an individual to register one of these, assuming they had the $185k figure I've seen floating around in articles related to this? I

by Xuzz 15y ago

How possible would it be for an individual to register one of these, assuming they had the $185k figure I've seen floating around in articles related to this? I doubt it would be a useful or smart investment, but I just wonder how theoretically possible it would be for someone (or a small company they setup, if ICANN requires that) to buy one for personal use (e.g., for myself, me.grantpaul or something similar). Edit: this appears to be impossible, according to the guidebook: "Established corporations, organizations, or institutions in good standing may apply for a new gTLD. Applications from individuals or sole proprietorships will not be considered." Or, alternatively — could a (funded) startup buy one? E.g. could AirBnB buy .bnb and then have sanfrancisco.bnb direct to the relevant San Francisco AirBnB page?

extension 15y ago
I've done my best to skim over the (huge) Applicant Guidebook and as far as I can tell, you don't need any reason per se to be granted a gTLD. You have to be a corporation or organization with good legal standing and financial stability, and you have to slog through an epic and expensive beurocratic process. Your application can be rejected on various specific grounds, some technical and some political. But I don't see anything that explains the purpose of gTLDs. So essentially, if there is no particular reason for you not to have one, you can have one.
- IgorPartola 15y ago
  Can I get .movie and sit on it until the movie industry pays me millions for it?
  - extension 15y ago
    It does at least say that you need to run a registry. So you can't just squat a gTLD. But I don't know, in general, how the prices and policies of the registrar are evaluated and enforced. It might be in there somewhere but it didn't jump out while scanning.
    - tankenmate 15y ago
      Registry fees alone will cost you a minimum of $100k a year even if you sell no domains. You also need to submit business plans and "proof" of economic viability; without those your application will be rejected. One factor that most people aren't aware of is that ICANN will require you to have enough money in reserve to keep the registry alive until a new buyer can be found in case things go bad; this can be as much as $4 per domain sold in cash as reserves. If you predict you'll sell 4 million domains you'd better account for the fact you'll need to keep $16M in the bank.
  - wmf 15y ago
    IIRC if multiple companies apply for the same TLD it goes up for auction.
code_duck 15y ago
What I've gathered is that they require licensees to run a registry for the given TLD. If you are not operating a registry or are administering it poorly, they may revoke your license.

by Xuzz 15y ago

extension 15y ago

I've done my best to skim over the (huge) Applicant Guidebook and as far as I can tell, you don't need any reason per se to be granted a gTLD. You have to be a corporation or organization with good legal standing and financial stability, and you have to slog through an epic and expensive beurocratic process. Your application can be rejected on various specific grounds, some technical and some political. But I don't see anything that explains the purpose of gTLDs. So essentially, if there is no particular reason for you not to have one, you can have one.

IgorPartola 15y ago
Can I get .movie and sit on it until the movie industry pays me millions for it?
- extension 15y ago
  It does at least say that you need to run a registry. So you can't just squat a gTLD. But I don't know, in general, how the prices and policies of the registrar are evaluated and enforced. It might be in there somewhere but it didn't jump out while scanning.
  - tankenmate 15y ago
    Registry fees alone will cost you a minimum of $100k a year even if you sell no domains. You also need to submit business plans and "proof" of economic viability; without those your application will be rejected. One factor that most people aren't aware of is that ICANN will require you to have enough money in reserve to keep the registry alive until a new buyer can be found in case things go bad; this can be as much as $4 per domain sold in cash as reserves. If you predict you'll sell 4 million domains you'd better account for the fact you'll need to keep $16M in the bank.
- wmf 15y ago
  IIRC if multiple companies apply for the same TLD it goes up for auction.

code_duck 15y ago

What I've gathered is that they require licensees to run a registry for the given TLD. If you are not operating a registry or are administering it poorly, they may revoke your license.