The resolutions adopted at the ICANN Board meeting on May 15 have been published on its website. The third paragraph was on the fate of the longtime .AMAZON gTLD issue. It has been reported several times that Amazon is the only company that wants the domain name; they intend to use it as a brand, something the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) countries oppose. Their tough stance resulted in ICANN’s Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) unilaterally voting against delegating the domain name. However, Amazon filed an Independent Review Process and the decision was overruled.
This “Amazon War” has been ongoing for seven years, but it now appears that it is nearing its end. The ICANN resolution reads that there is no reason not to delegate the domain. This probably means that Amazon can begin celebrating victory. It is noteworthy that during this time the company has shown great flexibility and willingness to compromise with ACTO. In particular, Amazon representatives took on the obligation to reserve domain names with cultural and historical value for the ACTO countries. The company was also willing to provide financial support for future domain name applications from the Amazon Basin countries and offered their governments compensation involving Amazon products and services. However, ACTO representatives were intractable and gained big appetites. In particular, they wanted the
In the end ICANN ruled in Amazon’s favor. The final decision on the delegation will be made after the required 30-day public hearing period, but observers do not believe the ICANN Board will be swayed at this point.
