ANA Offers Olive Branch to Icann

The Association of National Advertisers offered a small olive branch to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, just three days before the organization is set to begin accepting applications for new top-level domains.

In an open letter to Icann's board of directors, the ANA proposed a way forward "in the interest of being constructive" suggesting that Icann go ahead with accepting applications Jan 12, but that stakeholders concerned about protecting their brands be put on a temporary "Do Not Sell" list at no cost. Since Icann approved the TLD plan this summer, advertisers have argued Icann's plan would be a financial burden to trademark and brand owners who would need to shell out $185,000 to apply for a TLD (not to mention defensive registration costs and other annual fees), confuse consumers and increase opportunities for fraud, identity theft and cyber crime. In his letter, Bob Liodice, ANA's president and CEO positioned the last-minute proposal as "reasonable and simple." But he also reminded Icann of the strong opposition it is facing for its plan.