Amazon, Symantec and Google face complaints over gTLD registrations

Icann's Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) has posted its list of the contested generic top-level domains (gTLDs), detailing which applications have been objected to.

The GAC Early Warnings list outlines a number of the gTLDs applied for along with a list of applicants and the objections received for each domain.

The list includes domains which could possibly be used for broad industries, such as the "beauty" domain applied for by cosmetics vendor L'Oreal or the "cloud" domain applied for by a group of companies including Symantec and Amazon.

The complaints argued that in many cases, the words were too vague to be controlled by one company and could be used to put competitors at a market disadvantage by denying access to common domains.

Not surprisingly, major technology vendors were involved in many of the filings. Amazon had a number of its applications contested, including the "app" "movie" mobile" and cloud domains. Symantec also had its claims on the "antivirus" gTLD contested.

Google, which filed under its Charlston Road Registry subsidiary, was met with complaints over the "blog" "app" "cloud" "search" and "gmbh" domains.

Other objections were based on regional connotations. Committee members in India objected to the Chrysler corporations application for the word "Ram" a religious term used in the country which is also the name for a line of trucks sold by Chrysler's Dodge subsidiary in the US.

The filings mark the latest turn in the gTLD registration process. In addition to considering the objections and complaints from the GAC, Icann is also set to undertake a review on the way it runs its Whois domain directory.