COMPUTERGRAM INTERNATIONAL: OCTOBER 09 2000 + First Domain "Sunrise" Period Launched at .ws As a taster of what we can expect when ICANN introduces new top- level domains into the domain name system early next year, country-code TLD registry WebSite.ws (Global Domains International Inc) is offering companies 90 days to beat the cybersquatters. WebSite.ws has been accepting registrations in the .ws namespace since March, under a deal with the Samoan government, which owns the rights to the .ws ccTLD. But this week, possibly in a move to capitalize on the renewed interest in domain name issues and to ramp up its visibility ahead of new competitive gTLDs, the company announced it will give companies 90 days to register their .ws names before opening them up to the public. The company has reserved the names of the Fortune 500 public companies, Fortune 500 private companies, top 200 internet companies and all major sports teams, and is aggressively telemarketing these firms. Whichever domains have not been registered, at the cost of $35 a year, by the end of the year will be released into the public, to be potentially snapped up by cybersquatters. "If you want to register your name, great. If you don't we would like to make it available to someone else," explained director of corporate communications Robert Blodgett. CEO Alan Ezeir added in a statement: "In September we contacted [retail chain] Nordstrom Inc to offer 'nordstrom.ws', but they declined. I fully expect there is a Mr and Mrs Nordstrom out there who would love to attain this web site for personal use, without any intent to threaten or blackmail Nordstrom's corporation." Although the move is billed as a "war against cybersquatting", it isn't entirely altruistic. WebSite.ws is charging for the registrations - and the reserved names could bring in about $50,000 a year. When New York-based alternative DNS operator Name.Space Inc tried a similar trick earlier this year, registering certain trademarks in the .news and .sports spaces "on behalf of" the holders, it was promptly delivered cease and desist letters. But Blodgett points out that .ws has been accepted by ICANN into the root of the authoritative DNS, so the situation is somewhat different. This first "sunrise period" sets the stage for the introduction of new gTLDs next year. Many of the applicants to operate the new registries specify such periods in their plans, to avoid a mad dash by cybersquatters to lay claim to trademarked domains. Companies are going to increasingly find the cost of web "land" going up. It is estimated that it currently costs about $10,000 per year to register one name in every gTLD and ccTLD and sub- domain. The more TLDs that are introduced, the higher the total cost. Some registries, like .tv, have staggered registration prices based on how valuable dotTV Inc thinks they are, with china.tv going for $100,000 for example.
