The Domain Name Universe Expands: Report on Recent Developments at ICANN

In 2008, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) announced a plan to dramatically expand the universe of available domain names by allowing any interested party to apply to operate any global top-level domain (gTLD) of its choosing. Until this new proposal was announced, new gTLDs (such as .biz or .mobi) had been introduced in a metered fashion with specific target groups or communities in mind. ICANN's new proposal would end the practice of limited, targeted rollouts, and instead allow registration of virtually any alphanumeric string as a gTLD, including generic terms, geographically or culturally descriptive terms, or trademarks...