Domain name rush shuts out many

Associated Press

NEW YORK — The general public won’t be able to get Internet domain names ending in .info until next month, but already 25,000 names have been taken by businesses getting first dibs.

Want science.info? It’s taken. How about movies.info? Taken as well. Books.info? Consumers.info? Business.info? Forget about it.

In the first major address expansion since the mid-1980s, many common words are among those claimed as company trademarks — some with shaky claims to validity.

Individuals and organizations say they’re being shut out from the new names because many of the good ones won’t be left by the time registration is opened to them. And while consumers may challenge companies for a name, critics say the system is stacked against them.

Businesses holding trademarks have been able to claim ".info" names since July 25, well ahead of the Sept. 12 start for general registrations. Names are scheduled to become active on Sept. 19.

Trademark holders also receive special preference for three other domain names — .biz, .pro and .name. The remaining three — .coop, .museum and .aero — won’t be available to the general public at all.

The seven names were approved last year to relieve overcrowding in the field of names ending in .com.

Russ Smith, who operates Consumer.net, wanted science.info, but chemical giant DuPont Co. already took it. He looked up about three dozen other names and found all were already claimed as well.

Smith complained that many of the dictionary words were listed as being trademarked in other countries, with no easy way to verify. Even U.S. trademarks are suspect, he said, citing DuPont’s claims to "science."

DuPont spokesman Clif Webb acknowledged the company doesn’t have a trademark on "science," but it has one on "The miracles of science." Webb declined comment on the fairness of early registrations, saying the company is re-evaluating its policies.

Although the days of a domain name like business.com being sold for $7.5 million appear to be over, many still fetch much more than the initial registration price, which is typically less than $30 a year.

The registrant of business.info, identified as a company specializing in domain names for high-speed Internet service, even entered in the contact name field "This domain is for sale."

Movies.info, meanwhile, was registered by a German. Consumers.info went to an organization simply listed as "CCC." The registrant of books.info claimed a U.S. trademark, although the government’s database matched the listed trademark number instead with "Best Little Core House In America."

Afilias Ltd., the Newtown, Pa., company running .info, will let trademark holders register names until Aug. 27. After that, individuals, groups and other companies can challenge the validity of any claimed trademarks through arbiters at the World Intellectual Property Organization.

Challengers must place a deposit of $295, with $75 of that nonrefundable even if they win. Challengers who prevail may then claim the name only if they already own the trademark. Otherwise, the name goes back to the general pool, with no guarantee the challenger will get it.

Roland LaPlante, chief marketing officer for Afilias, considers the process fair.

"Trademark holders invested significant amounts of money, and it’s unfair for anybody to be able to capitalize on investments made by trademark holders," he said.

But Atlanta lawyer Bill Heinze, who specializes in intellectual property, said that while the trademark-protection services may stop speculators, it may also exclude people with legitimate claims.