WordPress maker Automattic applies for 16 top level domains including .matt

Automattic, the company behind WordPress, has applied for 16 new top-level domains, including its founder’s first name and several generic words. The applications show how large web companies are using ICANN’s next round to lock down brand and naming space.

Automattic already operates .blog, one of the more successful new gTLDs from the 2012 round, with about 375,000 registrations. Its new applications fall into three groups: dot-brands such as .wordpress, .woo and .tumblr; generic words such as .craft, .human, .jazz, .make, .robot, .story and .vibe; and the personal name .matt. Some applications are backup replacement strings, which the ICANN process allows applicants to hold in reserve.

Dot-brand TLDs are usually closed registries. They are not open to the public, and they give the owner direct control over every name under the extension. For existing domain holders, dot-brands rarely change the market; they are defensive and operational tools rather than new places to register names.

The generic-word applications matter more. If Automattic wins strings such as .story, .pop or .robot, it will control the registry and decide whether to open registrations, how to price names and what rules to set. That creates new second-level inventory and, for people holding matching names in other extensions, a new adjacent market. It also leaves open the question of whether these strings will be operated like .blog or kept closed.

The .matt application is unusual. A top-level domain for a person’s first name is rare. Mullenweg already holds matt as a second-level domain in many extensions, but owning the TLD gives him a namespace no one else can use. It is best read as a personal identifier rather than a commercial product, and its value is hard to measure.

For domain holders, the main effect will come at launch. If these TLDs open, there will be sunrise periods for trademark holders followed by general availability. Names that match existing brands will require defensive decisions, while descriptive names may become more available depending on how Automattic prices and markets each extension.

What is still unknown is how the application round will resolve. ICANN evaluation, objections and contention can change the list, and Automattic may not receive all 16 strings. The company has not announced pricing, launch timing or whether each registry will be open to the public. Domain holders should watch the registry’s published intentions before acting.