Domain Name News: “One of the .AUTO new gTLD applicant launches pre-registration and promotional site” plus 1 more

One of the .AUTO new gTLD applicant launches pre-registration and promotional site

Posted: 16 Nov 2012 05:05 AM PST

Dot Auto, LLC, one of the four applicants for the .AUTO gTLD (the other ones are Donuts, Fegistry, LLC and Uniregistry) has started their marketing for a potential launch of the gTLD, before they even know any results of the evaluation phase. The company launched .autoDOMAINIA, a “pre-registration and awareness solution”.

The press release tries to highlight why this applicant sees itself more qualified than the other applicants for this TLD:

Dot Auto LLC is the ONLY applicant to apply for an auto-related TLD that is also an active and valid participant in the automotive industry. Through the creation of autoDOMAINIA, and backed by parent company, Automotix, an authority in the automotive industry, Dot Auto LLC is committed to educating its client base about the benefits of having a .AUTO domain extension while creating awareness among automotive businesses worldwide, and maximizing pre-registration for the auto professional or enthusiast.

See the full press release after the jump.

Dot Auto LLC announces the launch of autoDOMAINIA, a pre-registration and awareness solution that introduces their applied-for gTLD, .AUTO, to consumers and businesses, worldwide.

Within the next year, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) will introduce hundreds of new, industry-specific Top Level Domains (TLD), such as .AUTO, to the Internet. The .AUTO domain extension will act as an alternative option to .COM or .NET, designed specifically to provide a commerce environment and information exchange network for the automotive industry. .AUTO will assist businesses in creating user friendly access to automotive products, services and information instantaneously through accurate search engine classifications.

Dot Auto LLC is the ONLY applicant to apply for an auto-related TLD that is also an active and valid participant in the automotive industry. Through the creation of autoDOMAINIA, and backed by parent company, Automotix, an authority in the automotive industry, Dot Auto LLC is committed to educating its client base about the benefits of having a .AUTO domain extension while creating awareness among automotive businesses worldwide, and maximizing pre-registration for the auto professional or enthusiast.

By pre-registering for a .AUTO domain name on autoDOMAINIA, automotive retailers and service providers can secure a better, more professional domain name for their business, product, or service. Registrants will be instantly identified as relevant and valuable members of the automotive industry, will stand out among their competitors and appear stronger to online investors; all the while increasing their Search Engine Optimization.

Any Registrant that holds a trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), will have priority over any other Registrant to be awarded the applied-for .AUTO domain. Brand and trademark holders should pre-register early to protect their interest.

Dot Auto LLC and Automotix are excited to participate in this new revolution of the Internet. Visit our website at www.autodomainia.com to pre-register your .AUTO domain name, today.

gTLD specialist Kurt Pritz resigns as ICANN’s CSO over conflict of Interest

Posted: 15 Nov 2012 09:09 AM PST

Picture from ICANN

As per an announcement from ICANN CEO Fadi Chehade, Kurt Pritz, former Chief Strategy Officer at ICANN and gTLD specialist has resigned from ICANN. Until Pritz became Chief Strategy officer in October he was Vice President for Stakeholder Relations. During the new gTLD program he was the key person presenting many of the facts of the program to various stakeholders.

To the ICANN Community,

Regretfully, I have accepted the resignation of Kurt Pritz, who has served most recently as ICANN's Chief Strategy Officer.

Kurt has submitted his resignation because of a recently identified conflict of interest, which he immediately communicated to ICANN. After analyzing this conflict of interest, we decided that a change in Kurt's role within ICANN would be appropriate. Kurt decided to resign his position and role as an officer of ICANN, to best serve the interests of the organization. Kurt will be engaged as a subject matter expert where needed, but will have no access to new gTLD applicant information nor will he play a role in the new gTLD program.

I have already put in place a plan for the reassignment of all of Kurt's management responsibilities.

I would like to thank Kurt for his many years of service and commitment to ICANN and our community.

Respectfully,
Fadi

Further details about the nature of the conflict of interest have not been released.

[via DomainIncite]