Advertisers demand ICANN create a trademark blocklist

The National Association of Trademark Advertisers (NASA) believes that ICANN should create a temporary trademark blocklist.

The ANA requires this list to be created following the first round of applications for new domains under the New gTLD Program.

The ANA proposes that anyone can submit a request to have their brand included on a special blocklist. This would mean that the brand name would be ineligible for registration as a domain name. To ensure that the creation of this blocklist is as unbiased and fair as possible, the ANA proposes creating a working group of stakeholders.

At the same time, ANA President Bob Liodis demands an immediate response from ICANN, and if ICANN does not agree to such rules, ANA is ready to sue the organization.

ICANN's new domain program currently includes rules to combat cybersquatting in new domain zones. These rules prohibit the creation of a domain that infringes on a trademark owner's rights.

ICANN believes that creating such a list is impossible, since many commonly used words and geographical names are considered brands - "music", "blog", "network", "London", "Paris".