--- id: "brand-tld" kind: "glossary-term" title: ".brand" language: "en" category: "TLD types and programs" updated: "2026-10-10T10:28:55Z" canonical: "https://tldlog.com/glossary/brand-tld/" translations: es: "https://tldlog.com/es/glosario/brand-tld/" de: "https://tldlog.com/de/glossar/brand-tld/" fr: "https://tldlog.com/fr/glossaire/brand-tld/" it: "https://tldlog.com/it/glossario/brand-tld/" pt-BR: "https://tldlog.com/pt/glossario/brand-tld/" ru: "https://tldlog.com/ru/glossariy/brand-tld/" zh-Hans: "https://tldlog.com/zh/cihui/brand-tld/" --- # .brand A top-level domain owned by a company and named after its trademark, such as .google or .bmw. Usually only the company and its affiliates can register names in it. ICANN contracts give these TLDs special terms. A .brand TLD is a top-level domain named after a company's trademark and run by that company for its own use. The public cannot register names in it. What makes it a .brand is a set of extra terms in the company's contract with ICANN, not any technical difference. ## What a .brand TLD is ICANN writes the designation as ".Brand". Under Specification 13 of the 2026 base Registry Agreement, a TLD qualifies when: - the string is identical to a registered trademark recorded in the Trademark Clearinghouse (in the 2026 Round, a .brand competing with another application for the same string may add words from its trademark's list of goods and services); - the trademark was issued to the registry operator or an affiliate before it applied, and is used in a business other than running a registry; - only the operator, its affiliates or companies holding a written trademark licence hold names and control their DNS records; - the string is not a generic word. A string that matches a brand is not automatically a .brand: the applicant must ask for the designation and pass an evaluation. A closed generic, an exclusive TLD on an ordinary word, is not allowed, and ICANN's guidebook states that .brand TLDs are not closed generics. ## Why companies apply for one, and why some give it up ICANN's announcement of 30 April 2026 presents brand TLDs as giving control over who can register and stronger security. These are ICANN's claims, not measured results. As of 31 August 2026, ICANN counted 1,257 Registry Agreements signed in the 2012 round, 494 of them with Specification 13. Both figures are cumulative and are not reduced when an agreement later ends, so they do not show how many .brand TLDs are live. In the 2026 Round, ICANN's snapshot of 7 October 2026 listed 333 brand applications out of 1,615; final numbers are due on 17 November 2026. Any operator may end its agreement for any reason with 180 days' notice. For a qualified .brand, ICANN may not hand the TLD to a new operator for two years without the brand's consent, unless a transition is needed to protect the public interest. The string can still be applied for in a later round. For example, on 8 June 2026 the operator of .juniper notified ICANN that it would end its agreement. ICANN found that .juniper qualified as a .brand and that moving it was not needed to protect the public interest, and on 15 September 2026 made a final determination not to transition it. ## Special contract rules: Specification 13 and the Code of Conduct exemption A committee of the ICANN Board approved Specification 13 for the 2012 round on 26 March 2014. In the 2026 form, while the TLD qualifies, it gives: - automatic exemption from the Registry Operator Code of Conduct (Specification 9); - no sunrise period, no trademark claims service and no RPM fees (the 2012-round form still required claims); - a choice between all ICANN-accredited registrars and up to three exclusive ones; - the two-year protection described above; - a separate vote of brand operators on any change to Specification 13. The Code of Conduct protects registrants, for example by stopping a registry from favouring a registrar it is linked to. When the brand and its affiliates are the only registrants, there is no outside registrant to protect. The exemption can also be granted alone, without Specification 13: the operator or its affiliates must hold every name for their own use, the string must not be generic, and the Code must not be needed to protect the public interest. The request is open to public comment. ## Costs and obligations of running a .brand As of October 2026, a 2026 Round application costs 227,000 US dollars (USD), plus USD 500 for the .Brand TLD Eligibility Evaluation and USD 400 for the Code of Conduct exemption evaluation. The applicant must supply SMD files, and the string must exactly match a mark in a file dated before the application. Recording marks in the Trademark Clearinghouse may take several months and involve its own fees. As of October 2026, under the 2026 base agreement, the operator pays ICANN a fixed fee after signing (USD 6,437.50 per quarter as of 1 January 2025), with no per-transaction fee until the TLD exceeds 50,000 transactions in a quarter or over four consecutive quarters. The one-time RPM Access Fee of USD 5,000 is waived while the TLD qualifies. The rest of the agreement still applies. The operator must also review the TLD at least once a year and, within 20 days after the year ends, send ICANN a certification signed by an executive officer, which ICANN may publish. If ICANN finds that the TLD no longer qualifies, the operator has 30 days to fix it or start dispute resolution. Otherwise the status ends, the Trademark Clearinghouse requirements apply and the RPM Access Fee is invoiced. Whether a given company qualifies is a legal question this text does not answer. ## How a .brand TLD can be used Names in a .brand TLD work like any other domain names. A company owning the mark "Example" that ran an imagined .example TLD could use shop.example for its online shop and support.example for help pages, and could let a licensed company use a name for products sold under the mark. Nobody else could register one. ICANN names .microsoft and .sky as examples of 2012-round TLDs for brands. ## Sources - [Registry Agreement (2026 Base Registry Agreement)](https://itp.cdn.icann.org/en/files/registry-agreements/base-registry-agreement-12-03-2026-en.pdf) - [2026 Round Applicant Guidebook, Module 7: String and Application Evaluation Procedures](https://newgtldprogram-2026-agb.icann.org/en/11-module-7-string-and-application-evaluation-procedures.html) - [2026 Round Applicant Guidebook, Module 3: Application Submission](https://newgtldprogram-2026-agb.icann.org/en/7-module-3-application-submission.html) - [Program Statistics | ICANN New gTLDs](https://newgtlds.icann.org/en/program-status/statistics) - [Specification 13 .BRAND TLD Provisions](https://newgtlds.icann.org/sites/default/files/agreements/agreement-approved-specification-13-31jul17-en.pdf) - [Registry Agreement Termination Information Page](https://www.icann.org/en/contracted-parties/registry-operators/services/registry-agreement-termination-service) ## related terms - [New gTLD Program](https://tldlog.com/glossary/new-gtld-program/) - [Registry Agreement](https://tldlog.com/glossary/registry-agreement/) - [back-end provider](https://tldlog.com/glossary/back-end-provider/)