Why I oppose the .Patagonia gTLD application

CircleID posted earlier today about the “Do’s and Dont’s of commenting on new gTLD applications“.

Apparently, there is a lot of abuse of the system, to the point of spamming the platform that ICANN utilizes in order to poll the public opinion and solicit comments.

While the system lacks a few bolts and screws, it’s not unusable; for that matter, I registered yesterday in order to post my opposition to the .Patagonia gTLD application.

It took me 5 minutes to post the following, which I will then expand on.

“Broad geographic regions that largely belong to countries and carry a definite historic and national value, should not be permitted as gTLDs, even if they exist as corporate entities. I would oppose the creation of e.g. .Macedonia, and I respectfully oppose the application for .Patagonia.”

I have friends in Argentina and Patagonia is a national treasure, they tell me. It’s an area so huge proportionally to the rest of the land, as if the Grand Canyon spanned half of America, full of forests and icy regions and tundras and rivers.

On one hand, a clothing corporation by that name holds a registered trademark for “Patagonia“, along with Patagonia.com – on the other hand, a national treasure of Argentina (and Chile, for that matter) is about to become a gTLD by the applicant, clothing corporation Patagonia, Inc.

Being a Greek, the subject of history and cultural heritage of Macedoniathe northern region of Greece – has been a thorn in geo-politics, ever since Yugoslavia’s demise, and the declaration of independence of a nation that until 1944 was called “Vardar”. Culturally and historically, Macedonia is the host region of the ancient Greek Macedonian tribes and birthplace of Alexander the Great; as such, I would hate to see a commercial entity take over a .Macedonia gTLD and promote it as a clothing brand, for example.

While opposing a gTLD application does not hinder its claim to the gTLD, it is important to set forth the rules of the gTLD playground, before the next batch of applications arrive.

 

 

Comments

  1. Hello Acro,

    This whole Gtld debacle is threatening the very fabric of the Webs Business Platform. Enough already!

    This whole contrived issue is nothing more than protecting the Big boys turf and obstructing Small Businesses from having a level playing field. Bad for Country, Bad for small Business,Bad for everyone in the long run.

    Gratefully, Jeff Schneider (Contact Group) (Metal Tiger)

  2. emiliogaviria says

    Acro.net: About all the facts, one solid refutation. That´s right. Emilio Gaviria.

  3. emiliogaviria says

    Acro:¡ qué traducción!( my goodness). Repito. Sobre todos los hecho, una sólida refutación. Esto es correcto. Emilio Gaviria.

  4. Patricia Conti says

    Así como .ar corresponde a Argentina; .br a Brasil, etc., etc,: ¿por qué la extensión .patagonia no se reserva a la región del sur de Argentina que lleva ese nombre? ¿Qué necesidad tiene una empresa comercial EXTRANJERA, de ROPA, de elegir como extensión a una región de otro país? ¿Hay acaso algún interés especial más allá del comercial? Habría que ser cuidadosos de no invadir soberanías y derechos ajenos cuando se aprueben las extensiones…

  5. Patricia Conti says

    Also “.ar” corresponds to Argentina,.br Brazil, etc, etc,: .. Why the “. Patagonia” not reserved to the southern region of Argentina that name.? What need has a foreign trade company, clothing, choosing as an extension to a region of another country? Is there some special interest beyond the commercial? It would have to be more careful not to invade sovereignty and rights of others when approving extensions …

Speak Your Mind

*