Canon set to buy .canon domain name

Canon.com will become Canon.canon when the firm's plans are approved

Canon has announced that it plans to be one of the world’s first companies to have a personalised top-level domain name.

At the moment internet users can find the Canon web site at Canon.com but eventually this will change to Canon.canon, once the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann), which maintains and regulates the internet’s addressing system, finally begins taking registrations.

Icann announced it would liberalise generic Top Level Domain (gTLD) names in June 2008 at its international public meeting in Paris, but the process has been hit by delays as stakeholders iron out potential difficulties.

The internet oversight body said at the meeting that the new gTLD system would commence registration applications within 2010 at the earliest. Approval for the system is now expected to come around the latter half of 2011.

At the moment the number of gTLDs is restricted to 21, which includes the core group of .com, .info, .net and .org. After the liberalisation process, gTLDs could theoretically include almost any word, in almost any language.

While acquiring the rights to a gTLD will run into thousands of pounds, Canon said a personal domain name would be worth the money in order to help communication efforts.

“Canon hopes to globally integrate open communication policies that are intuitive and easier to remember compared with existing domain names such as Canon.com,” said the Canon announcement yesterday.

“Canon has made the official decision to begin necessary procedures to acquire ‘.canon’ upon the introduction of the new system,” it said.

However, the plans for new gTLDs have not gone down well with everyone.

Some corporations have argued the new system will force them to spend thousands of pounds buying a personal domain name in order to protect their brand.