Register .Sucks as ICANN asks FTC for review — Big brands
Oprah, Apple and Microsoft among firms paying to protect their brands.
Intellectual property interests and brands owners are upset regarding the .sucks domain name and its pricing, but many big brands aren’t taking chances even as ICANN asks government regulators to review it.
.Sucks registry Vox Populi continues to advertise which firms are coughing up dough to prevent their .sucks domains from being available to the general public. Some of the latest: Oprah (Oprah.sucks), Verizon (Verizon.sucks), Apple (iPad.sucks) and Microsoft (xbox.sucks).
Sunrise pricing has an MSRP of $2,499, although some domains are marked as premium and come with higher prices. Prices will be lower following sunrise, but not necessarily for premium names. Consumers that want to register a .sucks domain and agree to use a dedicated platform can get the domains for only $9.99 during general availability.
Brand protection registrar MarkMonitor is charging just $25 above wholesale for .sucks domains.
Yesterday ICANN asked the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and Canada’s Office of Consumer Affairs to look into .sucks’ pricing following the Intellectual Property Constituency described it as “predatory, exploitative and coercive”.
