Toronto, August 31, 2011: The ACA is demanding that proposed changes to the Top-Level Domain (TLD) program be scrapped, warning it would permit applicants to claim virtually any word – generic or branded – as domain suffixes (.coke, .pepsi, .beer, .toys, etc.), supplementing the 22 generic TLDs (.com, .edu, .net, .gov, .org, etc.) now in use.
Under terms of the new program, proposed by Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), applicants would be charged an initial cost of $185,000 plus annual fees. The changes are due to go into effect in January.
In an urgent letter this week to ICANN President Rod Beckstrom, Bob Reaume, the ACA’s Vice President, Policy & Research, cautioned: “This program has very serious financial and legal implications for brand owners in Canada. We are concerned that, if carried through, this program will cause harm and damage to marketers by diminishing the power of trademarks, contravening the legal rights of brand owners, introducing confusion into the marketplace, encouraging the likelihood of cybersquatting and requiring brand owners at great cost to monitor and protect against domain name abuse.”
Reaume pointed to ICANN’s own impact assessment report that indicated the costs of the program may include misappropriation of intellectual property; defensive registrations; domain navigation dilution because consumers have more places to look; harm to internet users from increased cybersquatting; reduced investment by intellectual property owners; and losses from failed TLDs.
Reaume warned the program “could become a minefield for criminal activity, aimed at consumers especially, if it remains possible for others to ‘hijack’ trusted brand names. Virtually unlimited damage could ensue if criminals owned sites with trustworthy TLDs that appealed to children, the elderly, or any other vulnerable group of citizens.”
The ACA strongly urged ICANN to abandon the program in its current proposed form, and to consult with client-marketers and brand owners to ensure their interests are listened to and accounted for.
About the Association of Canadian Advertisers
The ACA is a national, not-for-profit association exclusively dedicated to serving the interests of companies that market and advertise their products and services in Canada. Membership in the ACA is restricted to client marketers only.
