IBM, the global IT and IT services company, is likely to apply for their own gTLD when they become available according to a reading by Antony Van Couvering of their submission to ICANN’s comment forum on the fourth version of the Draft Applicant Guidebook. Van Couvering notes a few prescient points in the IBM submission including that: IBM is pleased that there will be no requirement for a sunrise period, which wouldn’t make any sense if the top-level domain were used for internal company purposes, and not sold to the public IBM notes that as yet there is no requirement that .brand top-level domains must use registrars. The only company to date that has openly expressed their interest in applying for a new gTLD is Canon, notably another IT company.
