Industry Expert Jeanette Eriksson Delivers Everything You Always Wanted to Know About the Next Round of New TLDs in a Series of Articles You Won't Want to Miss

With ICANN about to open the door for hundreds of new TLDs this year there is a hunger among potential new domain registry operators, registrants and service providers for information on how they can best take advantage of the new opportunities this will present. I've just read some of the most insightful writing I've seen anywhere on this topic in a series of three articles that industry veteran Jeanette Eriksson has written on behalf of Fairwinds for the prestigious World Trademark Review (WTR). In addition to having worked in this field for the past 17 years, Jeanette is the author of two books about the domain name system, domain name law and domain name strategies that have been published internationally. 

Her WTR articles were initially published behind that publication's paywall but now you can read the first two at no charge (WTR subscribers can read the third one now with a a public release expected to follow). If you want to get fully up to speed on the next round here's the Lowdown on the where you can read the first two: 

Jeanette Eriksson
Online Brand Protection and Domain Industry Consultant & Advisor

Jeanette posted article #1 in the series on her Linkedin page. Titled "How industry shifts, emerging threats and new opportunities are reshaping online brand protection" it features background from Jeanette and commentary she assembled from major industry figures who will be key players in the next round, including, to name just a few, Jeff Neuman (JJN Solutions), Todd Han (Dyandot), Robbie Birkner (OpusDNS), Ben Crawford (MarklMonitor), Lars Steffen and Thomas Rickert (eco - Association of the Internet Industry).

The graphic below notes some of the key components that have to be 
considered with the roll out of hundreds of new TLDs.

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Jeanette's second article dives into another big question that corporations have to consider now - To Apply or Not to Apply for a dotBrand in 2026? It can be read by all at World Trademark Review. In this article, Jeanette draws on insights from industry veterans and  examines the strategic benefits of owning a branded TLD, the psychological barriers that can derail decision-making, lessons learned from the previous application round, and the cross-functional preparation required to make this rare opportunity count.

The third and final article - From strategy to execution: the cornerstones of modern online brand protection - is available to WTR subscribers (who are getting more than their money's worth from this series alone) and will, as we noted, likely go into general release as well. If you read the first two articles, I'm sure you are looking forward to the rest of the story!

(Posted February 13, 2026)   

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