Rocket said:
Before the deadline last evening at encirca.com, I registered 2 very generic sports related .pro domains. I hold advanced certifications for both of these technical pastimes and I am a card carrying member of both sports governing bodies. However, one of the sports does not have a Pro level certification.
So I'm curious of the following:
1. Suppose I meet the application requirement for these names. Can they be used for retail purposes? Example: Suppose I'm a professional bowler (I'm not) and I want to open an online bowling pro shop (I don't).
2. As I had mentioned, one of the sports does not have a Pro level certification. Will I get to keep the name as I have the standard level of primary certification?
Thanks in advance for your help.
The only recognized professions that qualify for RegistryPro's current verification process in order to be listed as the registrant of a second level domain are specific licensed professions within law, medical, accounting, and engineering and then only for those professions in four countries.
The Pro Forward service put forth by EnCirca provides a way for anyone to obtain rights to use a name. In using the service, you have agreed to abide by EnCirca's rules which provides them the right to cancel the use of the domains if the terms of service are violated.
Provided you do not infringe on trademarks and do not falsely claim professional credentials you should be fine as far as EnCirca is concerned. I hope that EnCirca will police use of its domains (anyone using their Pro Forward service will note that they are the owner of registration rights) so that the name space does not get truly out of hand. They have far more power and a reason to determine what level of censorship to impose as they could be held responsible for how their registered domains are used. That said, those who have the credentials to directly register second level domains are under no obligation to use the domains in a "professional" way so all they risk is their reputation. That will deter many from the most extreme use of domains, but not all. Freedom of speech is never truly free because there is always a price to pay through the reactions of others to that speech. It is somewhat self-regulating for anyone with a reputation they care to protect.
As the service provided by EnCirca is the first such offering, there is much debate over the future use of second-level dot pro domains. The current rules permit such a service but there are people (person? :-D ) who oppose what EnCirca has done.
No one is sure what the future will hold so as in any business decision, you weigh the pros and cons and determine your risk tolerance vs the possible rewards of being an early adopter in the dot pro name space. I took a chance obtaining names through the pro forward service but then when the controversy surrounding the domains heated up, I reduced my risk (but at additional cost) by converting the domains to now being registered in the name of my firm by registering two third level domains using the credentials of qualified professionals we employ. Some will think this expenditure on an un-proven name space is foolish. If it works out, I'm a genius. If not, I'm back to being my old self again.
I do not think ICANN will do anything that will be able to stop EnCirca's service (or a variation of it if needed) or anyone else who chooses to use domains they registered to lawfully conduct business as they choose.
Here is how Tom Barrett, CEO of EnCirca, explains the dot pro services of the company.
http://www.circleid.com/article.php?id=1005_0_1_0_C/
