Amazon and 8 South American countries have been battling over who gets to use the '.amazon' domain for 7 years (AMZN)
It's Amazon versus the rainforest.
Tech giant Amazon and eight South American countries are battling over
who gets to use the ".amazon" domain, the BBC reports. The two parties
have been battling since 2012, when the Internet Corporation for
Assigned Names and Numbers — known as ICANN — expanded the rules for
domains beyond the typically used .com and .net.
Back then, Amazon moved fast to petition ICANN for exclusive use of the
top-level domain .amazon, like many brands seeking to protect and
solidify their web presence.
The only problem: the web giant isn't the only thing named Amazon in
the world, and the rainforest has been around a lot longer.
The eight members of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO)
— Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and
Venezuela — took exception to Amazon's request for exclusive use of the
domain. The Amazon rainforest and river are large, prominent geographic
feature of these countries.
"We are not looking for financial compensation. Nor are we after ex-
gratia concessions to use one or a few second-level domains," Francisco
Carrión, Ecuadorian ambassador to the US, said in a letter to ICANN in
March, according to the BBC. "It is a matter of sovereignty for many of
us, and the offer to share the [top-level domains] with the company
Amazon Inc. is already a compromise."
The battle has been raging for years but has heated up since 2018, when
Amazon's application was taken off the "will not proceed list" by
ICANN, where it languished for years.
Under a shared governance plan proposed by the ACTO, the company would
be able to use the domain for URLs such as books.amazon, kindle.amazon,
or others as they come up and grow in commercial interest to Amazon,
according to the BBC.
The countries, on the other hand, would be able to use the domain for
purposes like tourism — tourism.amazon, for example — or cultural
heritage.
The plan also includes a committee to provide a place for either Amazon
or the countries in ACTO to object to new domains in the future.
Read more: Amazon just paid nearly $5 million to own the entire '.buy'
web domain
Amazon would rather the countries stick to modifications of the .amazon
domain for their use, such as br.amazon for Brazil, according to the
BBC. The company also said it would work with the countries to point
out and eliminate any names that are either confusing or sensitive.
The company also reportedly tried to make the ACTO countries see its
side of things by offering $5 million worth of Kindle e-readers if they
dropped the opposition in 2018. The countries did not agree to those
terms.
A spokesperson for Amazon did not respond to Business Insider's request
for comment.
So far, neither side has been willing to concede any additional ground.
In March, ICANN told both parties they would be given until April 7 to
hammer out a deal.
The day came and went, and neither Amazon nor ACTO notified ICANN that
an agreement was reached, according to a spokesperson for ICANN.
According to ICANN's resolution, Amazon now has until April 21 to
"submit a proposal on how it will address the ACTO member states'
continuing concerns regarding" Amazon's applications.
Amazon is no stranger to attempting to control domains close to its
business. The company purchased exclusive use of .buy in 2014 for
almost $5 million and won an auction for the .book domain for $10
million in 2014, despite protests from the publishing industry.
Tech giant Amazon and eight South American countries are battling over
who gets to use the ".amazon" domain, the BBC reports. The two parties
have been battling since 2012, when the Internet Corporation for
Assigned Names and Numbers — known as ICANN — expanded the rules for
domains beyond the typically used .com and .net.
Back then, Amazon moved fast to petition ICANN for exclusive use of the
top-level domain .amazon, like many brands seeking to protect and
solidify their web presence.
The only problem: the web giant isn't the only thing named Amazon in
the world, and the rainforest has been around a lot longer.
The eight members of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO)
— Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and
Venezuela — took exception to Amazon's request for exclusive use of the
domain. The Amazon rainforest and river are large, prominent geographic
feature of these countries.
"We are not looking for financial compensation. Nor are we after ex-
gratia concessions to use one or a few second-level domains," Francisco
Carrión, Ecuadorian ambassador to the US, said in a letter to ICANN in
March, according to the BBC. "It is a matter of sovereignty for many of
us, and the offer to share the [top-level domains] with the company
Amazon Inc. is already a compromise."
The battle has been raging for years but has heated up since 2018, when
Amazon's application was taken off the "will not proceed list" by
ICANN, where it languished for years.
Under a shared governance plan proposed by the ACTO, the company would
be able to use the domain for URLs such as books.amazon, kindle.amazon,
or others as they come up and grow in commercial interest to Amazon,
according to the BBC.
The countries, on the other hand, would be able to use the domain for
purposes like tourism — tourism.amazon, for example — or cultural
heritage.
The plan also includes a committee to provide a place for either Amazon
or the countries in ACTO to object to new domains in the future.
Read more: Amazon just paid nearly $5 million to own the entire '.buy'
web domain
Amazon would rather the countries stick to modifications of the .amazon
domain for their use, such as br.amazon for Brazil, according to the
BBC. The company also said it would work with the countries to point
out and eliminate any names that are either confusing or sensitive.
The company also reportedly tried to make the ACTO countries see its
side of things by offering $5 million worth of Kindle e-readers if they
dropped the opposition in 2018. The countries did not agree to those
terms.
A spokesperson for Amazon did not respond to Business Insider's request
for comment.
So far, neither side has been willing to concede any additional ground.
In March, ICANN told both parties they would be given until April 7 to
hammer out a deal.
The day came and went, and neither Amazon nor ACTO notified ICANN that
an agreement was reached, according to a spokesperson for ICANN.
According to ICANN's resolution, Amazon now has until April 21 to
"submit a proposal on how it will address the ACTO member states'
continuing concerns regarding" Amazon's applications.
Amazon is no stranger to attempting to control domains close to its
business. The company purchased exclusive use of .buy in 2014 for
almost $5 million and won an auction for the .book domain for $10
million in 2014, despite protests from the publishing industry.
