GoDaddy files four patents related to adding new TLD options to a registrar.
GoDaddy has filed four patent applications describing methods for adding new top level domain names to a registrar’s offerings.
Each top level domain name a registrar offers comes with its own restrictions, GoDaddy explains:
A large part of the difficulty in adding new TLDs is that each TLD may (and usually does) have unique business requirements. As non-limiting examples, the business requirements for a TLD may include whether the thick or thin Registry model is being used, minimum and maximum registration periods, valid registration periods, length of any registration grace periods, billing requirements, domain name transfer requirements, auto renewal requirements, reseller information, and so on. Each TLD may have its own combination of business requirements that must be correctly handled by the domain name registering entity.
I can summarize the invention like this: using a database to manage TLD business rules rather than hardcoding them.
Of course, the patents are a bit more complicated than that.
GoDaddy proposes a Top-Level Domain Markup Language (TLDML):
TLDML is a markup language that describes the attributes and business rules for a top-level domain. Unlike Extensible Markup Language (XML), TLDML is preferably a strictly defined markup language where every tag has a pre-defined meaning Tags are preferably not introduced unless their meaning is first clearly defined. Similar to how HTML instructs a browser how to render a page to an end user, TLDML instructs a domain name registering entity how to manage a top-level domain subject to the registry’s requirements. A TLD’s business rules will typically include many, if not all, of the registry’s requirements. In some embodiment, the TLDML may also describe attributes specifically determined by the domain name registering entity in offering the TLD. A Registrar may create the format and specify the data points that will be captured in a TLDML document.
The four related patents are titled “A TLD MARKUP LANGUAGE”, “CREATING AND USING A TLD MARKUP LANGUAGE”, “ADDING TLD REGISTRATION CAPABILITIES TO A REGISTERING ENTITY” and “TLD MARKUP LANGUAGE BASED DOMAIN NAME REGISTERING ENTITY”.
The applications were filed in 2012 and just published today.
ChuckWagen says
I’d like to patent way of waterboarding new TLD operators.
Crypto da Mr Bitcoin says
I cant trust godaddy with any patents and it would become even worse if they started to patent troll :/
James says
Unbelievable, that sounds like Apple’s patent for making a rectangular shaped cell phone, Apple sued Samsung because they also make rectangular shaped cell phones, and won and were awarded millions.
iMedia Designs says
Unbelievable, that sounds like patent war for making money…
Rubens Kuhl says
Unfortunately, patenting this idea is a sure way to prevent its adoption. If of all registrars only GoDaddy can use this on boarding method, registries have no incentive to deploy something that can only be used by them. And it might even cause issues with “equal access” clauses of registry agreements… if GoDaddy wants this method being universally adopted, the first step would be to reliquinsh any rights to it.