Critics worry about impact of New.net domain plans

A start-up domain name registry operating outside the control of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) this week launched 20 new Internet domains as alternatives to .com, .net and other officially sanctioned ones. But some users and critics said New.net Inc. could do more harm than good by striking out on its own.

Pasadena, Calif.-based New.net is offering Web site registrations for $25 per year under its domains, which include the likes of .inc, .shop and .travel (see story). Officials at New.net said companies and Internet users want a wider choice of domains and ICANN is taking too long to create new ones as part of its management of the official Domain Name System (DNS).

But the start-up's move didn't sit well with Internet watchers such as David Maher, vice president of public policy for the nonprofit Internet Society in Reston, Va. Maher said he's concerned about the potential impact of companies, such as New.net, that are working outside the bounds of Marina del Rey, Calif.-based ICANN.

"It sure as hell is going to create a lot of problems in the whole domain naming system," Maher said. With no single organization overseeing the entire process, he said his biggest fear is that New.net and other upstart companies will independently create clashing domains, causing online "address collisions" that could leave Internet users gridlocked.

New.net isn't the first company to set up new domains outside the existing structure maintained by ICANN -- some 500 domains have been made available by different registries. The increasing number of unofficial domains could effectively result in the development of "a separate Internet within the Internet," Maher said.

For corporate users, the addition of New.net's domains raises the thorny question of whether companies are obligated to register domain names with the start-up in order to protect their trademarks.

An executive at a U.S.-based manufacturer, who asked to remain anonymous because his company is still reviewing its options, said users are in a Catch-22 situation. Managers at the manufacturer don't necessarily want to buy domain names from New.net for fear of legitimizing non-ICANN domains, he said.

But there's a danger that simply ignoring New.net will leave the door open for individuals or other companies to register trademarked names and then try to sell them back to their corporate owners for exorbitant prices, the executive added. The situation "is something that is actively being discussed" internally, he said.

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