The time for change is upon us, and as ICANN’s Senior Director of Internationalized Domain Names Tina Dam has said, we are about to see “...the biggest technical change to the Internet’s addressing system…in many years.” Internet domains will not be in just the seemingly ubiquitous Latin-character alphabet for much longer. ICANN, the group that coordinates the Internet's naming system, announced that in early 2010 it will expand that system to include domains comprised of local language characters. That means we will begin to see Internet addresses in Chinese, Arabic, Thai, and other alphabets. Starting November 16, 2009, ICANN began accepting requests from countries and regional registrars for creation of Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) and it expects to act on those requests in the coming months.
Expansion of Internet naming will present certain challenges to businesses already online and working to maintain unique, identifiable Internet presences. In many ways, the current naming expansion could be a trademark owner’s greatest fear come true, already having to deal with cybersquatters and other online infringers whose only tools to this point had been Latin characters. Still, with this danger also comes great possibility. Preparing for name expansion can position trademark owners for tremendous opportunities heading into the future. At the outset, expect about fifty (50) new top-level domains (e.g., “.com” or “.net”) in local characters, for what should initially be 15 local alphabets, including traditional and simplified Chinese characters, Russian Cyrillic, Korean Hangul, and Thai. With the right plan and preparation, dealing with a whole new wave of cybersqatters and trademark infringers instead can develop into connecting with the billions of people who speak and read these other languages and who will come online in greater numbers in the coming decades.
Because Web sites serve as virtual real estate, businesses that operate internationally–or even otherwise–should prepare for the upcoming Internet name expansion by developing a plan for laying claim to the new territory ICANN will make available. Make an IDN wish list and weigh the factors relevant to your business in making that list. Prioritize what countries and alphabets in which to secure IDNs and what products/services and trademarks you want to cover/identify via those local language domains. Identify the IDNs you want and those sought by companies with names similar to yours: you may have missed out on a domain name in Latin characters, but you may be able to get the analogous domain name in Chinese or Hindi characters. Consider translation issues, phonetic equivalents, local slang, dialect, inuendo, double meaning, and local custom and how they may bear on target IDNs.
While you develop your plan and consider your resources for putting that plan into action, it is also important to consider market size and audience, and determine what risks there are in different markets for not registering domains. Due to market size and risk of lost sales, counterfeiters, and cybersquatters, depending on available resources, investing in securing Chinese character IDNs may be a more prudent use of resources than spreading resources to secure domains in several other languages as well. All of these factors should be considered in light of business goals and objectives.
Regardless of these IDN considerations, be ready to register as soon as possible. ICANN has not released availability dates for any IDNs, other than stating they plan on starting sometime in early 2010. Registrations will be made according to local registrar rules, just as domain registration is done now. Be prepared. So when IDNs are released, including some new Internet chaos of sorts, as others scramble to register domains you will have a reasoned plan to follow.