Amazon Wins Domain Dispute with S.A. NationsAmazon Wins Domain Dispute with S.A. Nations

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has agreed to continue processing Amazon’s request for the “.AMAZON” domain following a lengthy battle with several South American countries in the Amazon basin, including Brazil.

After seven years of review, ICANN has agreed to give the e-commerce giant complete control of the .AMAZON domain. The quarrel over the domain arose after the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) disputed the web store’s right to ownership of the domain given the existence of the Amazon basin region.

Amazon now hopes to use the new domain as a generic top-level domains (gTLDs) that can replace .com URLs. Examples of usage for the domain include “books.amazon” and “fashion.amazon.”

“We welcome and appreciate ICANN’s decision to continue processing Amazon’s applications for the .AMAZON Top-Level Domain,” says an Amazon spokesperson in a statement. “We recognize and take seriously the concerns of the Amazonia regional governments regarding its use. Amazon looks forward to working with those governments to implement our proposed Public Interest Commitment to protect the culture and heritage of the peoples of the Amazonia region, while allowing Amazon to use the Top-Level Domain in support of our globally recognized brand to surprise and delight our customers.”

The ACTO, which represents countries in the Amazonia region, worked extensively with the Amazon company over the last three years to come to a mutual decision over the domain. Amazon offered to provide the governments of Brazil and Peru $5 million in kindles and web-hosting services during the negotiations, but the region’s governments stuck to its demands to jointly run the .amazon registry.

While ICANN has agreed to process the Amazon gTLD’s, the nonprofit’s domain process allows for a 30-day period of public comment, which will begin once the e-commerce giant publishes its Public Interest Commitments (PICs).