Generic Domain Rules

.com (commercial) is a generic top-level domain (gTLD) used on the Internet's Domain Name System. It was one of the original top-level domains (TLDs), established in January 1985, and has grown to be the largest TLD in use.

.Net (network) is a generic top-level domain (gTLD) used on the Internet's Domain Name System. The .net gTLD is currently operated by VeriSign.

.org (organization) is a generic top-level domain (gTLD) used in the Internet's Domain Name System. In the typical style of most gTLDs, .org is sometimes pronounced in word form as 'dot-org' when spoken, although not all users of the TLD agree on this usage.

.org was one of the original top-level domains, established in January 1985, originally intended for use by organizations that did not meet the requirements for other gTLDs. Now anyone can register a .org domain. .org was the domain commonly recommended for use by individuals, although .name and .info are now alternatives.

The .org TLD has been operated since January 1, 2003 by Public Interest Registry.

.biz is a generic top-level domain (TLD) intended for domains to be used by businesses; the name is a phonetic spelling of the first syllable of "business." It was created to relieve some of the demand for the good domain names available in the .com top-level domain, and to provide an alternative to businesses whose preferred .com domain name had already been registered by another party. There are no specific legal or geographic qualifications to register a .biz domain name, except that it must be for "bona fide business or commercial use" (i.e. no personal or "soap box" sites, and no cybersquatting), and the usual legal remedies for trademark infringement are applicable. It was created in 2001 along with several others as the first batch of new gTLDs approved by ICANN following the boom in interest in the internet in the 1990s. It is administered by Neulevel.

In contrast to the sunrise period of .info, .biz did not grant trademark owners first chance at registration, but instead used a procedure whereby they could file intellectual property claims in advance and then challenge any eventual registrant through a policy named "STOP" (Startup Trademark Opposition Policy). A number of domains were successfully obtained by trademark owners from other registrants through this policy; some of the more controversial cases, where generic words were taken over based on trademark claims in a process deemed "reverse hijacking" by critics, included that of paint.biz and canadian.biz, the latter of which was reversed by a court decision.

Although intended to be a restricted domain aimed at businesses, in reality the .biz domain is run as an unrestricted domain, available to anyone for any use. No enforcement mechanisms are planned or intended, at least directly by the registry or registrars, though it is in theory possible for third parties to challenge noncompliant registrations through a dispute resolution policy.

.info (.information) is a generic top-level domain intended for informative websites, although its use is not restricted. It was a part of ICANN's highly publicized announcement, in late 2000, of a phased release of seven new generic top-level domains (gTLDs). The event was billed as the first addition of major gTLDs to the Internet since the DNS was developed in the 1980s. The seven new gTLDs, selected from over 180 proposals, were meant in part to take the pressure off the overcrowded .com domain.

.info has been the most successful of the seven new domain names, with over 4 million domain names registered up to March 2007. In addition, over 1.6 million .info websites are in active and dedicated use. In the immediate aftermath of September 11th, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority switched to the easier to remember mta.info website to lead users to latest information on schedules and route changes on the area's transportation services. Spain.info is used by Spain's tourism board to promote visitors to come to Spain.

.info is an unrestricted domain, meaning that anyone can obtain a second-level domain under .info. As a generic, unrestricted domain name, anyone can use .info for any purpose, similar to .com, .net or .org domains. This is in contrast to a TLD such as .edu or .coop, which comes with criteria. .info is the first and only top-level domain that was explicitly created and chartered for unrestricted use, though various other TLDs have ended up that way as a de facto situation. .info means information in about 37 languages around the world, and is a neutral name.

.coop is a generic top-level domain intended for the use of cooperatives. It was created as a result of ICANN's announcement in late 2000 of a phased release of seven new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) intended in part to take the pressure off the overcrowded .com domain. It was backed by a coalition of interest groups, was developed by the worker co-operative Poptel in the UK and became operational on January 30, 2002.

.coop is a sponsored top-level domain and restricted to those who meet specified criteria: cooperative organizations, wholly owned subsidiaries, and other organisations that exist to promote or support co-operatives. Its sponsor is DotCooperation LLC (also known as dotCoop), which was created as a subsidiary of the American NCBA (National Cooperative Business Association) to operate the TLD. It was the NCBA that funded the lion's share of the costs of creating .coop.

.aero (aeroplane) is a generic top-level domain (gTLD) used on the Internet's Domain Name System. It is the first gTLD based on a single industry, and is reserved for aviation-related businesses. It was created in 2002 and is operated by SITA. There is also a Dot Aero Council created and controlled by SITA, which SITA supposedly consults on .aero policies.

The .aero domain is reserved for companies, organizations, associations, government agencies, and individuals in aviation and related industries.

Currently, two-letter codes under .aero are reserved for airlines according to the IATA Airline Designators, while three-letter codes are reserved for airports, according to the IATA airport codes.

.name is a generic top-level domain (gTLD) intended for the use of individuals' real names, nicknames, screen names, pseudonyms or other personal names. It was delegated to Global Name Registry in 2001, although it did not become fully operational until January 2002.

Domains can be registered on the second level (john.name) and the third level (john.doe.name). It is also possible to register an e-mail address on the form john@doe.name together with, or instead of, the domain john.doe.name. Such an e-mail address is a forwarding account, and requires another e-mail address to be delivered to.

When a domain is registered on the third level (john.doe.name), the second level (doe.name in this case) is shared, and may not be registered. Further third level objects like jane.doe.name or doe@doe.name may be registered. Other second level domains like johndoe.name remain unaffected.

When the .name domain was first launched, only third level registrations (and forwarded e-mail addresses) were available; it is only later, in January 2004, that second level registrations were made available as well. The original intended structure of names was first.last.name, so that an individual could get a domain corresponding to his or her actual name.

When a domain is registered on the second level (doe.name), third level domains or e-mail addresses under this second level (john.doe.name and jane@doe.name) are associated with the second level domain, and may not be registered with the .name registry. Other objects like janedoe.name and jane.johndoe.name remain unaffected.

The .name gTLD is intended for use by individuals and personalities, both fictional and real.

As a personal, unique and memorable identifier, .name addresses are increasingly being used as a natural address for Digital Identity applications.

.museum is a generic top-level domain (gTLD) used exclusively by museums, museum associations, and individual members of the museum profession, as these groups are defined by the International Council of Museums (ICOM). In joint action with the J. Paul Getty Trust, ICOM established the Museum Domain Management Association (MuseDoma), headed by Cary Karp, for the purpose of submitting an application to ICANN for the creation of the new gTLD, and to operate it if the application was approved. The .museum domain was entered into the root of Domain Name System on 20 October 2001, and was the first sponsored top-level domain to be instituted through ICANN's action.

The idea behind this domain is that it will be beneficial for Internet users to have a segment of the TLD namespace reserved for the use of museums; a namespace whose conventions are defined by the museum community. The .museum TLD will grant users a quick and intuitive way to verify the authenticity of a museum site. Conversely, since it is a type of formal third-party certification, museums using this namespace obtain a way to assure visitors of the site's validity.

In addition to the eligibility requirements specified in the .museum charter, a number of naming conventions apply to the labeling of subdomains. Extensive support is also being introduced for internationalized domain names, as described at about.museum.

.pro (professional) is a generic top-level domain. It was created in 2002 and is operated by the Registry Services Corporation. The intention of the domain is to signal to web visitors that the website owner is a professional with valid credentials, but so far .pro has not been popular.

.pro domains are very expensive compared to other domains. Professional credentials must be verified, and the domain costs $350, with a one-time $100 registration fee. The .pro serves as an official certification that the website owner's credentials are accurate.

.pro has three second level domains: .law.pro, .med.pro, and .cpa.pro, reserved for lawyers, physicians, and certified public accountants, respectively. Direct second-level registrations were later opened up, with restrictions.

.pro (professional) is a generic top-level domain. It was created in 2002 and is operated by the Registry Services Corporation. The intention of the domain is to signal to web visitors that the website owner is a professional with valid credentials, but so far .pro has not been popular.

.pro domains are very expensive compared to other domains. Professional credentials must be verified, and the domain costs $350, with a one-time $100 registration fee. The .pro serves as an official certification that the website owner's credentials are accurate.

.pro has three second level domains: .law.pro, .med.pro, and .cpa.pro, reserved for lawyers, physicians, and certified public accountants, respectively. Direct second-level registrations were later opened up, with restrictions.

.pro (professional) is a generic top-level domain. It was created in 2002 and is operated by the Registry Services Corporation. The intention of the domain is to signal to web visitors that the website owner is a professional with valid credentials, but so far .pro has not been popular.

.pro domains are very expensive compared to other domains. Professional credentials must be verified, and the domain costs $350, with a one-time $100 registration fee. The .pro serves as an official certification that the website owner's credentials are accurate.

.pro has three second level domains: .law.pro, .med.pro, and .cpa.pro, reserved for lawyers, physicians, and certified public accountants, respectively. Direct second-level registrations were later opened up, with restrictions.

.pro (professional) is a generic top-level domain. It was created in 2002 and is operated by the Registry Services Corporation. The intention of the domain is to signal to web visitors that the website owner is a professional with valid credentials, but so far .pro has not been popular.

.pro domains are very expensive compared to other domains. Professional credentials must be verified, and the domain costs $350, with a one-time $100 registration fee. The .pro serves as an official certification that the website owner's credentials are accurate.

.pro has three second level domains: .law.pro, .med.pro, and .cpa.pro, reserved for lawyers, physicians, and certified public accountants, respectively. Direct second-level registrations were later opened up, with restrictions.

.jobs is a top-level domain approved by ICANN on April 8, 2005 as a sponsored TLD as part of the second group of new TLD applications submitted in 2004. The licensed operator of .jobs is Employ Media LLC (http://www.goto.jobs). It is restricted to employment-related sites. It entered the root in September, 2005, and began accepting registrations later in the year.

The intended use is for companies and organizations to register some version of their corporate names in the .jobs domain and use it for a site specifically aimed at those seeking employment with that company, as distinguished from general corporate and marketing sites in other top level domains such as .com. For instance, asda.jobs is a site giving information about jobs available at British grocer ASDA.

.travel is a top-level domain approved by ICANN on April 8, 2005, as a sponsored TLD in the second group of new TLD applications evaluated in 2004. It is restricted to the use of travel agents, airlines, bed and breakfast operators, tourism bureaus, and others in the travel industry. It is sponsored by Tralliance Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of TheGlobe.com.

ICANN's independent evaluators recommended against approval of Tralliance's application to sponsor .travel, but ICANN's Board of Director's approved the delegation of .travel on April 8, 2005. Also on April 8, 2005, travel journalist and consumer advocate Edward Hasbrouck made a request under ICANN's bylaws that the decision to approve .travel be referred to an independent review panel charged with determining whether that decision was made in a manner consistent with ICANN's bylaws on openness and transparency, and that the decision be stayed pending independent review. Those requests remain pending.

The official launch began in October 2005, with a screening process to determine eligibility to register domains in each of three monthly groups for October, November, and December. Normal registrations began in January 2006.

.mobi (also known as DotMobi) is a top-level domain approved by ICANN and managed by the mTLD global registry dedicated to delivering the Internet to mobile devices via the Mobile Web. It is financially backed by Google, Microsoft, Nokia, Samsung, Ericsson, Vodafone, T-Mobile, Telefonica Moviles, Telecom Italia Mobile, Orascom Telecom, GSM Association , Hutchison Whampoa, Syniverse Technologies, and VISA.

DotMobi domain names were made available for public registration on September 26, 2006. Although introduced quite recently, .mobi has already made headlines with several 6-figure domain sales, including german website Flowers.mobi for $200,000, Sportsbook.mobi for $129,800, and Fun.mobi for $100,000, possibly indicating the confidence developers have in this young extension. It has also had its share of criticism due to allegedly breaking the principles of device independence. Some argue that providing content tailored to particular devices can and should be done by other means than a specific TLD, such as using hostnames within an existing domain, content negotiation through the HTTP protocol, cascading style sheets or other forms of adaptation.

The .cat TLD is a generic domain. Its policy has been developed by ICANN and Fundacio puntCAT. It was approved in September 2005. It is intended to be used to highlight Catalan language and culture. The .cat domain is not territorial, but applies to the whole Catalan-speaking community, whether or not a site is based in the Catalan Countries. In order to be granted a .cat domain, one needs to belong to the Catalan linguistic and cultural community on the Internet. A person, organization or company is considered to belong if they:

* Already have contents in Catalan published online.
* Have access to a special code (sometimes called ENS), issued during special promotions or by agreements with certain institutions.
* Develop activities (in any language) to promote the Catalan culture and language.
* Are endorsed by 3 people or 1 institution already using a .cat domain name.