The following extensions fall under the purview of the new RAA:

Impact of the Changes on Registrants

As a part of the Whois Data Accuracy specification, the contact information for the Registrant contact of each gTLD domain name, will have to be verified within 15 days of:

• A domain name being registered with unverified contact details
• A domain name being transferred in
• The contact information of the Registrant contact information being modified.

If the domain holder does not verify the contact information within 15 days, we will have to suspend the domain name until the verification is completed. This requirement is in effect from January 1st, 2014. Domain names registered before this date are not subject to such verification unless their contact information is modified.

Starting January 1st, 2014, the Registrant contact of a domain name receives an email notification to verify the email address. This mail will contain a link that the Registrant must click on, to complete the verification, within 15 days.

If the registrant does not complete the verification in the allotted time, the name servers of the domain name will be modified to stop its resolution and the domain will be pointed to a white-labeled holding page. This page will suggest that the domain name has been disabled because the Registrant contact information is pending verification and will instruct the Registrant to contact their service provider to make it active again.

Important aspects of this process:

1. The verification email will be sent out as soon as the email address is associated with a domain name. Additional reminders will be sent on the 7th and 14th day, if the verification isn’t done until then.
2. The verification email will be sent out from the Reseller’s email address. It shall be a compulsory system mail, which cannot be customized or turned off.
3. In the 15 day verification notice period, the domain name will continue to resolve. The domain holder will not be obstructed from using their domain name in any way.
4. Once an email address has been verified, then all subsequent registrations, transfers or contact updates that use this email address will not require any verification.
5. Once a year, we send out a Whois Data Reminder email to the Registrant of the domain name, in accordance with ICANN guidelines. We shall monitor the delivery status of these emails – if the mail sent to a registrant email address of a domain name were to bounce back, our compliance team will review the case and take appropriate action against the domain name.

The way you think about domain names as a business opportunity is about to change radically, with the upcoming launch of hundreds of new gTLDs! What the ‘new gTLDs’ are and how you can leverage them to get maximum profit from your business?

New gTLDs – The Game Changers

With 45 new gTLDs ready to be launched in their Sunrise Period on 16th January, 2014, there are some truly exciting times ahead!

Here is how you benefit:

With new gTLDs you can register domains that are:

• More relevant
• Shorter and easy-to-remember
• Better categorized (by industry, reputation etc.)
• Reflective of and contributing to a coherent brand identity
• Enhanced credibility – in case of industry specific extensions that verify documentation

Registering a domain under a TLD with the above advantages can help boost your market exposure and give you a competitive edge.

For example, why let you settle for wildlifephotography.com, when you can offer him wildlife.photography or wildlife.photos, or even wildlife.camera!