Amazon Prevails In Domain Name Fight With LATAM

Amazon has won a lengthy fight against eight Latin American countries for the provisional ability to use the .amazon domain name, according to a report by the Financial Times.

The dispute has gone on for about seven years. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) sided with Amazon over the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO), a coalition of governments in Latin America that argues the name “Amazon” refers to their own geographic region and should be theirs.

ICANN said it found Amazon’s terms, which featured numerous compromises, to be acceptable. The decision will be finalized after a 30-day public comment period. ICANN also said the decision was the best available option, because the two sides couldn’t reach a “mutually acceptable solution.”

Within the terms, which were proposed in April, Amazon promised not to include certain words in domain names, specifically ones with “a primary and well-recognized significance to the culture and heritage of the Amazonia region.” Amazon said it would block up to 1,500 sensitive words, and that additions could be allowed for up to two years.

ICANN said it would provide up to nine domain names that would have “non-commercial purposes” and “highlight the region’s culture and heritage through sites we host.” However, ACTO could not veto specific names, a move Amazon said would give them “authority over global naming decisions for Amazon’s new, not-yet-launched products and services.” The Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the proposal “does not address important concerns” that ACTO raised.

On Monday (May 20), the foreign ministry said it “lamented” the decision. “It is concerning that a decision by that entity fails to adequately consider the public interest identified by eight governments, in particular the need to defend the natural, cultural and symbolic heritage of the countries and peoples of the Amazon region,” the ministry said.