NEW YORK – This past week, another new gTLD domain name bit-the-dust when Richemont, the company behind Cartier jewelry and Mont Blanc pens, terminated its fifth dot-brand gTLD.
Reading over some backscatter comments on the issue I was enlightened with the below video, from Esther Dyson, former Chairman of the ICANN Board and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, who held back very little while she reminded people that she is clearly on record with her negative thoughts and opinions on the point of new gTLDs being worthless, outside of making lawyers, registries and registrars a little bit richer due to what she calls ‘HUGE trademark issues’.
She went as far as suggesting that the world is not running out of domains; people are running out of space in their heads.
I mean, I just think it is ‘offensive’ if I own a trademark now I have to go register it in 2800 different domains or what? So, it will create a lot of litigation, probably also make the lawyers, as well as the registries and registrars, rich, but it doesn’t, again, it doesn’t create space in peoples heads for more brand names, it just creates more subdivisions of each brand name or each trademark that already exists, and there is no value created.
Yes, a lot of money can be created in complicating a simple idea. Its called job security.