New TLD Goes .Pro

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) came to
terms with the owners of the new top-level domain (TLD), .pro, officials
announced Wednesday.

RegistryPro, the new owners, say the new domain extension is unlike
anything seen in the domain industry to date. With digital certificates to
certify the validity of a site, coupled with digital signature and
encryption services, consumers and organizations can send secure documents
over the Internet.

While a Sunrise period for trademark owners hasn’t been established yet,
Sloan Gaon, RegistryPro chief executive officer, expects to announce a
timeframe in the next month or so, with the first extensions going “live”
at the end of the year or early next year.

Because of the limited nature of the domain extension, and those eligible
to sign up for a .pro domain name, Gaon doesn’t expect huge numbers like
those experienced with the launch of other new TLD extensions last year.

“I think a comparison of .pro with other TLDs is unfair,” he said, “because
we’re not open for everyone. There are about 35 million professionals in
the world who are eligible and we expect a great turn out with them. About
75 percent of those polled said they would prefer a .pro (extension) over
other TLDs.”

According to officials, people will be able to file court documents, taxes,
insurance claims and other sensitive/privileged information using the
site’s Web forms. The new registry is relying on industry compliance of
legislation like the E-Sign bill to ensure secure transactions.

The new TLD is available to lawyers, certified public accountants (CPAs)
and other organizations that maintain a database of licensed professionals
and plan on opening up the domain to engineers, architects and surveyors
sometime in the future.

The reason for the relatively small pool of eligible .pro registrants is
the domain extension approval process, which requires the license number of
the person’s/company’s credentials, be they lawyer or CPA.

John Hudson, senior director at online CPA firm CPA2BIZ, Inc., said the new
domain makes it easier for customers to entrust their information online,
something in hack- and virus-prone systems today.

“As CPAs conduct more business online, the security of communications and
the preservation of client confidentiality become increasingly significant
concerns and the .pro product will help to address those concerns,” he said.

If nothing else, the price alone for a .pro domain extension will weed out
most of the cybersquatters and unlicensed practitioners. According to
Lisette Zarnowski, RegistryPro spokesperson, it will cost domain owners
between $250-300 per year for the .pro domain.

While the pricing model hasn’t been finalized, digital certificates will
need to be annually reviewed and renewed, she added. Also, any domain
extensions by owners who were disbarred/suspended will be removed from the
registry, after tracking down and verifying the complaint.

While some might think the new TLD sunrise period is just another chance
for trademark owners to gobble up the good domain names, Gaon points to a
legitimate need for companies to have a certified, secure domain extension,
besides claiming turf.

“The reasons are two-fold,” he said. “One, trademark holders want to
defend and protect their names. The second is the ability of (those
company’s) legal departments to use the services .pro provides. It allows
attorney’s to electronically sign documents and encrypt e-mails. It’s a
great utility for the general counsel at these businesses.”

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