TLDH: Major Expansion of Group's Activities - Registrar Business and Priority Reservations Program Launched

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, November 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Highlights

• TLDH's wholly owned registrar business, Minds + Machines Registrar Limited, launches at ICANN's Buenos Aires meeting;
• TLDH debuts its Priority Reservation service for five gTLDs: .best, .casa, .ceo, .cooking, and .horse, with others to follow;
• Internet users now able to pay nominal fee to reserve names on first-come, first-served basis in participating gTLDs ahead of formal launch through TLDH's Priority Reservation service;
• TLDH Priority Reservation platform open to all qualifying new gTLD applicants and registrars;
• TLDH unveils affordable pricing model for premium names.

Top Level Domain Holdings (AIM: TLDH) today announces a major expansion of the Group's activities with the launch of a Priority Reservation service available to consumers through its wholly-owned registrar business, Minds + Machines Registrar Limited (http://www.mindsandmachines.com). It is the first consumer-focused initiative undertaken by the Group and lets Internet users for the first time make a nominal refundable payment to reserve domain names of their choice within participating gTLDs ahead of their launch, unless claimed by a qualified trademark holder. The Priority Reservation service will initially be limited to five gTLDs - Peoplebrowsr's .ceo and .best, and TLDH's .casa,. cooking, and .horse - with more to be added on an ongoing basis.

TLDH considers its Priority Reservation service to be a significant development as, unlike existing pre-registration services on the market, it allows consumers to reserve names on a first-come, first-served basis, as opposed to paying merely to reserve their right to compete in future auctions should multiple parties apply for the same name.

Minds + Machines is able to achieve this through its Online Priority Enhanced Names database (the "OPEN" database) which holds a master list of reservations for participating gTLDs, ensuring that users will receive their reserved names unless claimed by a qualified trademark owner or appearing on one of ICANN's lists of reserved or blocked names. In such instances, the reservation fee will be fully refunded.

Priority Reservations made through the Minds + Machines registrar for names within the Company's gTLDs will pay no additional fee when the gTLD goes live; their reserved names will automatically convert to new one-year registrations.

OPEN for all

The OPEN database and Priority Reservation program have been designed so that all open, uncontested gTLD applicants and ICANN-accredited registrars can freely join the platform.

"This is a winning proposition for both industry participants and consumers," said Antony Van Couvering, CEO of Minds + Machines. "We expect the number of registries and registrars wanting to be on the Priority Reservation program to grow significantly in the coming months."

TLDH anticipates increasing the number of gTLDs available through the service by adding more of its wholly-owned uncontested gTLDs to the platform, along with open, uncontested gTLDs from other applicants on an ongoing basis.

"The idea is to make it possible for consumers to quickly find a great domain name across a range of new TLDs and put down a genuine marker to reserve the name in front of everyone except qualified trademark holders," said Fred Krueger, Chairman of TLDH.

Jodee Rich, CEO of Peoplebrowsr, continued: "This is a great initiative. It lets anyone wanting to offer reservations - applicants for uncontested gTLDs and registrars alike - a low-cost mechanism for engaging with and understanding what consumers want. I would encourage everyone to come onboard."

Premium Name Pricing

Separately, TLDH today unveiled premium name pricing strategy for its wholly-owned gTLDs. TLDH will not charge large initial fees for premium names, but instead will offer comparatively low initial prices, with renewal fees each year at about the same level as the first-year price.

"Premium names are great names that we want to see used by businesses, individuals and communities. In existing gTLDs, premium names are often beyond the reach of genuine users, making them the preserve of speculators," said Fred Krueger, Chairman of TLDH. "We ideally want domain names in our TLDs to be registered for actual use. We believe more modest annual fees will encourage this, helping put great names within the reach of a wider audience - not just those with the largest wallet - while ensuring we receive regular revenues from premium names."

The Company expects there will be thousands of premium names in each of its gTLDs available through the Priority Reservation service. TLDH-owned names sold through the Minds + Machines registrar start at 29.95 euros a year, PeopleBrowsr's .ceo and .best will start at 99.95 US dollars.

Protecting Intellectual Property

The Priority Reservation program is fully compliant with various Rights Protection Mechanisms mandated by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to protect intellectual property and other rights. Names claimed by trademark owners during a Sunrise Period, reserved by ICANN for international governmental organizations, or otherwise blocked or reserved by ICANN for any reason, will take precedence over names reserved through Priority Reservation. For certain TLDs, TLD applicants may set additional criteria or requirements governing the Priority Reservations.

An extensive FAQ on the Priority Reservation program is available at http://www.mindsandmachines.com/FAQ.

Further Information:

Top Level Domain Holdings Limited
North America
Antony Van Couvering

gth media relations
Toby Hall /Suzanne Johnson Walsh    

Or visit the group's websites at http://www.tldh.org and http://www.mindsandmachines.com

SOURCE Minds + Machines