ICANN Publishes Applications For New Generic Top-Level Domain Names

On June 13, 2012, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) published a list of the 1,930 applications for new generic Top-Level Domain Names (gTLDs) it had received during its recent January to May 2012 application period. The influx of applications was due to new rules approved in June 2011 by ICANN, the body which oversees the registration and coordination of the Internet's system of unique domain names. The rules transform naming conventions for Internet Web sites by removing restrictions on allowable suffixes for domain names. Currently, Web site domain names end in either a country code (such as .ca or .uk) or in one of only twenty-two gTLDs, such as ".com" or ".org".  Now organizations can apply to register any character string as a gTLD. This will allow companies to register their brands as gTLDs or to select other unique domain names for marketing purposes, drastically increasing the number of available domains. Applications were received