Domain Name Wire reports on the changes in destiny of a distressful new .HIV gTLD. This is an English abbreviation for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and the domain became the first, launched as a "social cause" TLD. It initially came with a high registration price of about $200, but it was supposed that German dotHIV Registry, which received the rights for the domain, would allot a certain sum in charitable organizations, fighting against AIDS, from each visit of any site in .HIV zone.
Experts estimated a plan as a generous step, but not having any business perspectives. And the contour proved them right. For a year of working, the domain managed to collect only about 500 registrations. In April of 2015, dotHIV Registry put the domain up for auction, but there weren't any volunteers interested in paying even a starting price in $200,000 for it.
As a result, Uniregistry became a new owner and administrator of the domain. There is no information about the conditions it obtained the rights for .HIV. The prospects of the domain are also vague. According to the contract with ICANN, it is the charitable domain, and all incomes from its activity have to be transferred for charitable needs. In this case, experts see two variants of contour. Either Uniregistry will try to reconsider the contract, or the .HIV purchase was done for a good reputation boom, and its financing will be covered by other projects.
