Domain Wheeling and Dealing

Entrepreneurs and big companies are battling one another for the rights to manage hot new Web address endings, including .app, .home and .book. Some gathered in Prague, where they may decide to team up and pursue a contested domain together or duke it out.

The meeting is the second of three that the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) holds annually in different regions of the globe. The meetings, which are free and open to the public, offer participants a chance to air their opinions about the Internet, ask questions and receive updates from ICANN about the organization itself. But at this weekend's meeting, many of those seeking the rights to contested domains say they intend to meet with their competitors. Some hope to discuss teaming up to reach arrangements where one party might agree to withdraw an application so that another technically would have the rights to manage the name in question. But they would work together to manage the name and share profits if ICANN were to later approve the remaining application. It is also possible that some domain seekers will offer to pay their rivals to back out entirely. ICANN, which awards domains based on applicants' qualifications and plans for using the domains, is expected to begin evaluating the applications next month. It is unclear when selections will be announced, according to Michele Jourdan, a spokeswoman for the nonprofit.