Origins and limitations of “.brand”
On November 10, 2022, AFNIC addressed the announcement of ICANN’s official ten-year developed <.marque> program during the corporation’s 10th anniversary. The program allows successfully filed ICANN applicants and generally well-established industries or inventors to administer its domain name extension identical to its trademark. The proposed domain name’s beneficial development will strengthen trademark assets, increase Internet users and usage, and improve customer relationships. For example, the French corporation Banque Nationale de Paris et de Paribas (BNP) wanted to cluster its domain names like <.bnpparibas>, identical to its mark. Such actions allowed the corporation to make its trademark “stronger” and gain the trust of new Internet users to promote online banking. Domain name managers of large corporations believe such updates to <.trademark> extension stand out from the traditional <.com> extension. These new updates enhance the company’s legitimate identification and provide additional security for Internet users. Conversely, the <.marque> program lacks visibility and understanding to the general public in variety and top-level domain name extensions. As a result, there is a lack of capacity to support the system of introducing a variety of domain name extensions.
Given the current state of the internet ecosystem, taking such an expensive route will require the community to become informed and prepared for new developments and upcoming challenges.