14 DAY TRIAL // Canon, the well-known Japanese manufacturer of imaging and optical devices, is on its way to becoming the first company to apply for a customized, top-level domain name. The company is saying it has begun the acquisition process of the generic Top Level Domain (gTLD) .canon, though it may be at least a year until it could launch any new site using it. Canon is now the first company that has publicly expressed interest and intention to purchase a branded domain name.
"With the adoption of the new gTLD system, which enables the direct utilization of the Canon brand, Canon hopes to globally integrate open communication policies that are intuitive and easier to remember compared with existing domain names such as 'canon.com'," the company announced.
"Canon has made the official decision to begin necessary procedures to acquire ‘.canon’ upon the introduction of the new system. Following approval for the new gTLD system, which is expected to take place after the latter half of 2011, Canon will make full use of the new domain name to increase the convenience and effectiveness of its online communications," Canon explained.
The new gTLD under review by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has proven a controversial subject over time. Initially approved in 2008, gTLDs would be available to basically anyone with deep enough pockets. It was believed that the few hundreds of thousands of dollars needed to procure a gTLD would deter any shady character wanting to secure a custom domain name for nefarious purposes, but the proposal has been met with plenty of criticism.
The gTLDs were initially slated to be available for registration in early 2010, but the process has been pushed back. The domains should become available in late 2011, but Canon says it wants to be ready for when that happens and says it will launch sites using the .canon domain name as soon as possible.