DotMobi announced that the first internet address created specifically for mobile phones, .mobi, will be available through 16 of the top 20 domain name registrars worldwide. From May 22, members of select mobile industry associations will have the opportunity to register their trademark names as .mobi domains.
DotMobi is the informal name of mTLD, or mobile Top Level Domain Ltd. It says it has the backing of many of the world’s leading mobile operators, handset manufacturers, and software developers, and it was designated as the official worldwide registry for the .mobi domain by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers in July 2005.
DotMobi backers include Ericsson, GSM Association, Hutchison 3, Microsoft, Nokia, Orascom Telecom, Samsung Electronics, Syniverse, T-Mobile, Telefonica Moviles, TIM, and Vodafone. It is also a sponsor of W3C’s Mobile Web Initiative.
Trademark holders can register their trademarks as .mobi names starting June 12 and individual users can start filing for registration from August 28.
It was a different story for ICM Registry LLC, the company behind the proposed .xxx internet porn domain, which has announced that it will sue two departments of the US government for access to documents it claims show the US pressured ICANN into rejecting the .xxx domain.
The Florida-based start-up will sue the Department of Commerce and the Department of State to get them to release documents that they redacted when they responded to a Freedom Of Information Act request that ICM filed last year.
The suit is expected to allege that the documents released to ICM so far show that the US exerted undue political influence on ICANN’s consideration of the .xxx domain application, and that the redactions were unlawful under the FOIA.
ICM claims the documents show that the US government solicit[ed] foreign government intervention to achieve DoC’s domestic political goals.
Far less controversial of course, .mobi has had no such difficulty in getting ICANN approval. The .mobi initiative gives users and search engines the ability to easily identify sites specifically designed for mobile phones, said Bob Parsons, CEO and founder of GoDaddy.com, one of the larger domain name registrars. Internet-enabled mobile devices have become quite popular the past few years. In order to get the full experience of browsing with these mobile devices, it is only natural they get their own domain extension.
DotMobi meanwhile announced that it has published a Switch On! Guide for content developers and service providers, to help ensure that their web sites can be viewed and navigated by any mobile phone. The guide is said to contain rules and best practices, based on open standards.
DotMobi also said it is working closely with the World Intellectual Property Organization, registrars, copyright bodies, and site owners, to ensure that trademarks are properly protected during the sunrise period.
