[council] ICANN's advice on pre-registration services

[Bruce Tonkin <Bruce.Tonkin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

From:  
http://blog.icann.org/2013/11/pre-reserve-a-domain-name-or-not-icann-answers-the-question/

Pre-Reserve a Domain Name, or Not? ICANN Answers the Question

by Cyrus Namazi on November 13, 2013

With delegation of new gTLDs successfully underway, the general public will 
soon be able to register domain names in a variety of new generic Top-Level 
Domains (e.g., yourname.anything).  This opens a new chapter in Internet 
history: one in which brands and businesses of all sizes will be able to invest 
in new online real estate.  The expansion of the Internet, resulting from the 
New gTLD Program, will not only affect the Domain Name industry, but it 
provides an unparalleled opportunity for marketing and advertising 
professionals to better align online identities with the products and services 
they represent.

You may have heard of new gTLDs in the news, or perhaps you've seen or heard 
advertisements on TV or online.   We are pleased that awareness is building. It 
means Internet users will be prepared to embrace this change and make the most 
of the many new choices available to them when the new domains become available.

Many of the advertisements are touting "pre-registration" as a means of 
securing your desired domain name, and some Registrars are reporting a high 
volume of pre-registrations.   Clearly, this is welcome news for new Registries 
and the Domain Name Industry as a whole.   However, we feel it is our 
responsibility to convey a note of caution for anyone pre-registering a domain. 
  This supplements and expands upon the statement made by the Names Council of 
the Domain Name Supporting Organization (DNSO) in 2000.  
http://www.icann.org/en/news/announcements/icann-pr-29sep00-en.htm 

As responsible Registrars are advising, successful pre-registration of a domain 
cannot be guaranteed.   ICANN seconds that advice, cautioning that registrants 
should be wary of anyone who claims to be able to guarantee a domain 
registration on a new gTLD.   There are several situations that can impact the 
availability of a domain name and some domain names may never be available for 
purchase.   Instances that can impact availability of Second-Level Domains 
include:

- Multiple Registars per generic Top-Level Domain 

Many gTLD Registries contract with multiple Registrars to provide registration 
services to Internet users.  The Registrar you pre-register with may not be the 
Registrar that eventually registers the name.


- Trademarked Names 

Rights holders that have submitted verified trademarks will be given priority 
access to request domain names related to their trademarks.

- Auction of Premium Names 

Some Registries may choose to offer perceived premium names for registration to 
the highest bidder before they're made available to the general public, so some 
of these names may not be available.


- Name Collision 

Certain Second-Level Domain names must be blocked by Registries because their 
activation could potentially impact the operations of some private domains.


- Some gTLDs may not be delegated 

There is no assurance that ICANN will sign Registry Agreements for all of the 
new gTLDs for which applications have been submitted, nor is there any 
assurance that all of the new gTLDs will be delegated.   If you pre-register a 
desired domain name and the underlying gTLD is not delegated, that domain name 
will not be available to you.

While we caution potential registrants to be skeptical of claims that a name 
can be "guaranteed" names, ICANN supports programs that are set up to help 
interested parties keep track of when the new domain names will be available.   
For example, some Registrars are providing programs that allow potential 
registrants to subscribe to status updates on new gTLDs.

The new gTLDs provide greater opportunities for choice, innovation and 
competition.   In addition to all the measures that ICANN, the community and 
our partners have established to ensure a safe and secure rollout, we also want 
to ensure that people understand the process for getting the new domain names 
they want.