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The new .biz registry attracts criticism
Monday, June 25 2001
by Andrew McLindon


The first generic top-level domain dedicated exclusively to the business
community, .biz, has been attracting criticism and controversy in equal measure. 

The registration process for the new domain has been criticised by a Gartner
analyst for not doing enough to protect the trade marks of applicants for the new
domain, while the owner of the .com and .net top-level domains, VeriSign, has
been accused of trying to damage the credibility of .biz. 



An e-mail from Network Solutions, a subsidiary of VeriSign, has been sent to
hundreds of professional domain name registrars encouraging them to send as many
applications for .biz domains and to do it is as soon as possible.



This is being seen by some in the Internet industry as an attempt to overwhelm
NeuLevel, which runs the .biz domain and, therefore, weaken the domain's
reputation among businesses and strengthen the .com and .net domains. Others,
however, view it as a fair business offer. They also point out that NeuLevel
recently extended its application deadline for intellectual property owners from
09 July 2001 to 06 August 2001, and this should ensure it can cope with the
expected huge number of submissions. 



Neither Networks Solutions or NeuLevel were available for comment. 



The e-mail said, "NeuLevel is treating the random registrant selection process
like a lottery - the more applications you submit for a domain name the better
your chances will likely be of registering that name. To help better your
chances, we're providing discounts on application submissions of 10 or
more...Finalize your request(s) today and you'll automatically get the 40 percent
discount we promised...The coming .biz Web extension is a tremendous business
opportunity, and we hope you are excited about it as we are".



Meanwhile, NeuLevel has been criticised by Ted Chamberlin of Gartner's Enterprise
Network Strategies section, for implementing a protection service for enterprise
trademarks and brands that he said may be "toothless" and "too costly for all
but the most famous brands". 



NeuLevel has introduced a fee-based intellectual property (IP) claim database, in
which enterprises that hold a trademark (registered, pending or common law) can
submit trademark claims prior to the registry's opening of the domain name
application process. Applicants for domain names after the opening will receive
notice of a trademark owner's claim when they submit an application for a claimed
name. A dispute resolution process will attempt to resolve trademark quarrels.



"The intellectual property (IP) claim service will cost trademark-holding
enterprises about USD90 per domain name submission. Yet it offers no claim
guarantees and appears to deliver few measurable benefits (aside from an alert
that some entity is trying to register an enterprise domain name). Moreover,
enterprises must bear the onus of either settling the dispute or entering into
arbitration to dispute the claim of their domain," said Chamberlin. 

He added that Gartner believed that this IP claim service will be more strategic
for enterprises that have built strong brand recognition with their established
Internet domains and that wish to defend any infringements on their name. 

"Since each trademark claim submittal costs the same - there is no discount for
multiple claim submittal - enterprises eyeing the .biz domain should submit
trademark claims only on names they deem vital to their Internet success. A
more-efficient alternative does not yet exist for protecting trademark names in
the new top-level domain," according to Gartner.

.biz domains are expected to be active by October, 2001.