As reflected on ICANN website,four more new gTLD applications ( for .Movie, .Chesapeake, .CHK an .Kerastase) have been withdrawn .

Dish Network decided to withdraw its application for .Movie.The company wanted to operate .Movie ” as a restricted, exclusively-controlled TLD and as such, will not be commercially offered for registration by the general public.”

Afterdot LLC withdrew its applications for .Chesapeake and .CHK. .Chesapeake had a prioritization number of 470,while .CHK had a prioritization number of 820 .

L’Oreal decided to withdraw another .brand application ,this time for .Kerastese.This is the sixth application L’Oreal dropped .However,the company still has eight applications .

Nominet,the company behind .UK internet infrastructure,launched its revised proposall for .UK domain registrations at the second level (example.uk) .

You can read the press release after the jump :

“Nominet, the not-for-profit organisation best known for running the .uk internet infrastructure, today launches its revised proposal for .uk domain name registrations at the second level (example.uk). This forms part of a broader programme of work announced last month.

The company believes that a new second level domains policy is necessary to keep the namespace competitive alongside the introduction of over 1,000 new top level domains from 2014.  Combining a shorter suffix with the trust of the ‘.uk’ brand would offer a wider choice for existing .uk registrants and the millions of consumers and businesses who do not yet have their own online space.

Following a public consultation last year, Nominet put its initial plans for second level .uk domain registrations on hold, whilst feedback and suggestions were considered in depth. Nominet has responded by making significant changes to the original direct.uk proposal. The key elements of the new proposal and consultation are:

Enhanced checks on data supplied for all registrations. The process would ensure that the named individual resides, or the named business trades, at the specified address.  This aims to enhance consumer trust in the registration process and the data on record.   Information on any registrations to businesses would be displayed in the ‘WHOIS’ – the database of registrants for all domains.

For registrants not based in the UK, a UK ‘address for service’ would be required. This would also be displayed in the WHOIS.

A ‘right of first refusal’ would give registrants of existing .uk domain names at the third level (e.g. .co.uk, .me.uk, .org.uk etc) the opportunity to secure the corresponding registration at the second level. In the event of two competing claims, the oldest current, continuous registration(1) would be given priority. The proposal is to run the right of first refusal for a 6 month period from launch.

Domains not covered by a right of first refusal would be available to register from launch on a first-come, first-served, basis.

A competitive price point, with a proposed wholesale fee of £5.50 for one year or £4.50 per year for multi-year registrations.

Many bodies currently using .gov.uk domains will no longer be able to do so under the Government Digital Transformation Programme, which will consolidate the domains under gov.uk.  We propose to reserve the affected domains (using 1 July 2013 as the cut-off date for registrations).

A commitment to offer services to improve security across the whole .uk namespace.

The proposed service would sit alongside the existing portfolio of third level of domains administered by Nominet.  The high levels of awareness, recognition and trust associated with the current .uk namespace will continue to be attractive for millions of registrants, and Nominet is committed to offering, supporting and investing in all existing third levels, including .co.uk, .me.uk and .org.uk.

Nominet expects that some registrants would want to hold corresponding domains in both the third and second levels, or over time, move from one to the other.  The consultation asks for feedback on options such as discounting or reserving names, which could help ensure that this is practical and affordable.

Lesley Cowley, Chief Executive Officer at Nominet, said: “We listened to the extensive feedback on the initial consultation and the revised proposal is significantly different as a result.  We believe this is the right step to safeguard the long-term relevance of the .uk namespace in the face of unprecedented competition.  By attracting more consumers and businesses to a trusted and reliable online home, we can continue to make a strong contribution to the thriving UK digital economy.  But we are determined to harness the views of stakeholders so that, if we proceed, we do so in a way that is fair and practical.”

Simon McCalla, Nominet’s Chief Technology Officer said: “In response to the strength of feeling from our first consultation, we are tackling security differently.  Moving forward, our approach has changed in two ways.  Firstly, we have de-coupled security features from the second level domain proposals and will tackle this as part of a broader security roadmap that benefits the whole namespace.  Secondly we will be working with registrars to develop and introduce new security features rather than mandating change.”

The consultation will run until 23 September 2013 and responses will be published in November after the Nominet board has had the opportunity to review all the feedback.

If a decision to go ahead is taken, Nominet would notify existing registrants by email, and would run an awareness campaign to ensure that existing registrants have every opportunity to exercise their right of first refusal. Nominet would also offer existing .co.uk, .me.uk and .gov.uk registrants the opportunity to validate and verify their data for a nominal fee. However, this would not be mandatory.

For details of the consultation, please visit www.nominet.org.uk/SLDconsultation “

[news release] DomainsBot, the provider of leading domain suggestion technology, proudly launches TLD Recommendation Engine, the first Top Level Domain recommendation service.

DomainsBot, which currently services the world’s largest registrars, has created a program that replaces the current static domain search process with one that services multiple relevant TLDs. This new tool offers greater opportunity for registrars as well as registrants who purchase relevant and multiple domain names.

“Finding relevant and available domain names has been frustrating for registrants,” explains Emiliano Pasqualetti, CEO and Chief Data Scientist of DomainsBot. “With the introduction of hundreds new gTLDs, registrants have an unprecedented quantity of options. DomainsBot TLD Recommendation Engine is analogous to the well-known recommendation engines of Amazon.com and Netflix. Users of those services receive relevant suggestions and interact with an interface designed to improve user experience and boost transactions. DomainsBot TLD Recommendation Engine brings this same powerful technology to the domain name industry.”

The TLD Recommendation Engine works by showing the registrant a list of the most relevant TLD offered for their specific domain query. This is done by measuring the relevance to a given domain name search which is measured through intelligent machine learning that sources collected data. Metrics include content analysis of popular and relevant websites, frequency analysis of searched and registered domains, social media data mining and geographical targeting. Registrars can also submit custom content to personalize a registrant’s user experience.

Adam Eisner, Director, OpenSRS states: “DomainsBot’s TLD Recommendation Engine will allow us to provide cutting-edge search technology to accompany the new TLDs we roll out. We look forward to introducing it as new TLDs enter the market.”

Top registrars have already begun to roll out the new TLD Relevancy Search engine for their customer base.

Chris Sheridan, VP of Business Development at eNom Demand Media said, “Selecting TLDs by relevance creates a better end-user experience which is a key factor in the success of the new gTLD program. We are excited to provide this technology to our partners.”

“The arrival of new Top Level Domains means customers will be faced with more domain choices than ever before, and to make sure customers find the right domain a more dynamic search is needed to cover all the possibilities. We think the new DomainsBot search will help customers discover new TLDs and enhance their experience when purchasing from our website,” said Doug Schneider, Executive Vice President of SMB Solutions at Melbourne IT.

The DomainsBot TLD Recommendation Engine is free to registrars and resellers that currently use the DomainsBot Name Suggestion API.

To sample a demo version of the TLD Recommendation Engine, please visit demo.domainsbot.com

Donuts is expanding in the lead-up to the launch of new generic Top Level Domains. The company applied for 307 strings and has announced it has now completed a round of hiring that further strengthens its sector-leading team of domain and Internet industry experts. Donuts also announced the opening of its new office in Calabasas, Calif., where sales and marketing efforts are based.

In their announcement, Donuts state they have staffed an international team to build channel relationships and prepare for the next phases of the new gTLD programme.

“New gTLDs are the next evolutionary step in online identity and represent the largest expansion of the namespace since the commercial phase of the Internet,” said Dan Schindler, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing and a Donuts co-founder.  “Donuts will ensureend users worldwide are informed about the benefits available to them.  Our team of industry experts is already at work with our partners around the world.”

Joining Donuts in the new Calabasas office are:

• Bob Samuelson – Vice President Sales & Marketing – Most recently with Adobe Systems, Samuelson brings more than a decade of experience in the Internet and domain name industries.
• Alina Syunkova – Director Sales & Marketing USA, Affinity Partnerships – Fluent in English and Russian, Syunkova most recently led coordination efforts between ICANN’s staff and Board of Directors.
• Michele Jourdan – Director Sales & Marketing USA, Affinity Partnerships – A seasoned PR and marketing professional, Jourdan helped develop and lead ICANN’s new gTLD outreach effort.

Additionally, Donuts expanded its U.S. and international reach with the additions of:

• Matt Bamonte – Director Sales & Marketing USA, Registrar Channel (Wilmington, Del.) – Bamonte joins Donuts from the Corporation Service Company, where he led successful domain name marketing campaigns.
• Amy Repp – Director Sales & Marketing Europe, Affinity Partnerships (London) – Repp brings extensive experience in customizing and managing new gTLD applications in previous roles.

Additionally, Donuts expanded its U.S. and international reach with the additions of:

• Matt Bamonte – Director Sales & Marketing USA, Registrar Channel (Wilmington, Del.) – Bamonte joins Donuts from the Corporation Service Company, where he led successful domain name marketing campaigns.
• Amy Repp – Director Sales & Marketing Europe, Affinity Partnerships (London) – Repp brings extensive experience in customizing and managing new gTLD applications in previous roles.
• Jenny White – Director Sales & Marketing Europe, Registrar Channel (London) – White brings more than a decade of domain name industry experience both from an operational perspective as well as registrar relations.