.Name, the latest generic top level domain, was launched today.
It follows yesterday's launch of .me.uk in the UK. Both domains are
competing for registrations from individuals, not businesses.
The registry for .name is being operated by Global Name
Registry, a company based in London. Advance registrations for the
new domain name exceeded the company's expectations. It said that
over 60,000 domain and e-mail "products" have been sold to date.
These sales, roughly half of which were generated in the US, were
accrued in the first of a number of sales cycles, which will
culminate in a May hard launch when real-time registrations will
commence.
.Name is being promoted as the first generic internet domain
exclusively for the individual, as opposed to commercial
enterprises. However, trade marks and brands are offered some
protection against abuse. Global Name Registry is offering a
"Defensive Registration" service which is intended to enable trade
mark holders to block nationally-registered marks from being
registered. Its "NameWatch" service monitors the registration of
specified names and words.
According to the company, IBM, Coca-Cola and Sony have purchased
over 1,100 Defensive Registrations to date.
