From ICANNWiki

.prod is a Brand TLD that was proposed in ICANN's New gTLD Program. The successful applicant is Google (Charleston Road Registry Inc.).[1] .prod was delegated to the Root Zone of the DNS on the 29th August, 2014, completing the successful application for the string.[2]





Application Details

The following is excerpted from applicant´s response to question #18:

"The proposed gTLD will provide Google with direct association to ʺprod,ʺ an abbreviation of the term, ʺproduct.ʺ Google currently has 130 products and services, but also has many sub-product categories within each of its offerings. The mission of the proposed gTLD, .prod, is to provide a dedicated domain space in which Google can enact second-level domains that offer additional products and⁄or variations of Google products. Specifically, the new gTLD will provide Google with greater ability to categorize its products online, and in turn provide a more recognizable, branded, trusted web space to the general Internet population.

Charleston Road Registry intends to operate the proposed gTLD as a closed registry with Google as the sole registrar and registrant. The goal of the proposed gTLD is to allow Google to manage the domain name space for its product offerings. The proposed gTLD will provide Google with the ability to customize its domain and website names for its products offerings to signal to the general population of Internet users that its .prod websites are indeed managed by Google. The specialization goal of the proposed gTLD is to extend the Google product brand and reputation to each dedicated domain space. This specialization provides a mechanism by which Google can easily link its product offerings. This will allow Google to actively manage its product brand presence as well as the introduction and phase out of spaces for new or retiring products. This specialization makes it clear to Internet users that this is the authoritative and designated space where they can find products offered solely by Google, accessible via differentiated and streamlined web addresses."[3]





Name Collision Issues

In October 2013 ICANN released their final assessment and mitigation plan for the Name Collision issue that was facing the New gTLD program. On 18 November 2013, ICANN announced the applied-for strings that were eligible for an alternative path towards delegation that would allow applicants to proceed without waiting for further mitigation research and plans to be published. 25 strings, including .prod, were not eligible for the alternative path, and will have to wait for more plans to be published before continuing towards delegation.[4]

Contract Signed

On 23 January 2014 Google received a Registry Agreement signed by ICANN for .prod after passing all the required processes needed to become a Registry Operator for the string.[5]





Delegation and Availability

.prod was delegated to the Root Zone of the DNS on the 29th August, 2014, completing the successful application for the string.[6]





References