.Sport Whines Again: Please Don’t Allow .Football!

Group again asks ICANN to not allow any individual sports to get top level domain names.

Last August the so-called .Sport Policy Advisory Council (basically a group that wants to launch the .sport top level domain name) told ICANN it was unhappy with the idea that there could be individual sports (such as .baseball) as top level domains. At the time, the .Sport Policy Advisory Council wrote:

We cannot accept ICANN approving any applications for top-level domains that could diminish the solidarity implied with .SPORT.

This coming from a group that may not even be awarded .sport!

You can read about its original request to ICANN here.

They’re at it again, sending another letter (pdf) to ICANN’s Board and CEO explaining that it would be completely unacceptable for ICANN to accept applications for individual sports, such as .football, .basketball, etc.

The PAC looks forward with anticipation to the release of the 4th Draft Applicant Guidebook prior to your next ICANN meeting in Brussels in June 2010. In this regard, we again emphasize that the PAC is unwavering in its position that ICANN acknowledge, respect and not interfere with the core value of sport solidarity by ensuring that individual sports not be introduced unless and until the international sports family has had time to gauge their impact on sport solidarity and international federations independently. The PAC members reiterate our concern that ICANN may be prematurely entertaining a process that will allow proliferation of names in sub-categories or individual sports, which will lead to a number of detrimental effects (as detailed in our August 20th, 2009 letter which we have attached for your reference) in the event that ICANN does not take into account the PAC’s previously stated position, which is that we emphatically oppose any diminution of .SPORT.

You really can’t make this stuff up.

© DomainNameWire.com 2010.

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1. .Sport Asks, Just What is a Top Level Domain?
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3. Olympic Committee Continues to Pester ICANN for Special Status

dotSPORT Continues its Trademark Frontrunning

Company tries to get leg up in new TLD process with trademarks.

I’ve written a couple times about prospective new top level domain applicants trying to trademark the names of their proposed TLD (e.g. .eco).

But it appears dotSport LLC, one of the companies going after what will likely be a competition for .sport, is being quite aggressive.

According to filings at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the company has tried to register DotSport, RegistryDotSport, Life.Sport, and Registry.Sport, and a couple logos.

Its first two applications for DotSport and RegistryDotSport were denied. But then the U.S.P.T.O. allowed the trademark for Life.Sport, a graphical logo of DotSport, and a graphical logo.

There’s just one problem. dotSport filed these applications as “intent to use” since .sport doesn’t exist yet. Once the applications were allowed, dotSport had six months to file showing that it was now using the marks in commerce. Yet new TLDs still aren’t here, so the company has had to ask for additional 6-month extensions. You can request up to five extensions. I wonder if new TLDs will come out in time?

The company is still trying to get approval for Registry.Sport. It filed an application on January 29, 2009 that is currently denied for being descriptive. It filed another application for Registry.Sport on May 5, 2010.

These trademarks could create some problems given that at least one other entity is trying to get .sport as a top level domain name. If dotSport LLC loses, would the other registry be infringing on dotSport LLC’s marks?

© DomainNameWire.com 2010.

Review and rate domain name parking companies at Parking Judge.

Related posts:

1. New Top Level Domain Trademark Frontrunning Battle Heats Up
2. Olympic Committee Continues to Pester ICANN for Special Status
3. Trademark Holders Shouldn’t Rush to Get New TLDs