As of today Global Name Registry – operators of the .name top level domain – are allowing web users to register second rather than third level domains. This will allow hundreds of thousands of new domains to become available in the .name space.
.name was introduced in 2001 as one of seven new generic top level domains that included .info and .biz among others. Intended for use by individuals, domains could only be registered in the third level – e.g. www.john.smith.name (note the dot between john and smith). This differed from other gTLDs, such as .com, where domains can be registered directly in the second level – e.g. www.johnsmith.com. This system was specifically designed to encourage customers to use them for the purpose they were intended.
However, today’s announcement allows .name domains to be registered in a similar way to other gTLDs. This has the advantage of giving consumers a greater choice of potential domains to choose from. But there has been some concern from intellectual property holders that this move will also give a whole new domain space for domain speculators to exploit.
Whether it will in fact open the floodgates to abusive registrants remains to be seen, but brand holders – especially those that use personal names in their advertising – should remain vigilant. Demys.net will keep you posted on developments.