.photo

Overview

• .photo is a generic top-level domain (gTLD) created for photography-related websites.
• Proposed through ICANN's New gTLD Program, the string conveys immediate context for content focused on photos and photography services.
• The registry and manager named in the application and related material is Uniregistry.

History

• Application and program: Proposed as part of ICANN's New gTLD Program (application details revealed on 13 June 2012).
• Registry agreement: Uniregistry received a Registry Agreement signed by ICANN on 14 November 2013.
• Delegation: .photo was delegated to the DNS root zone on 18 January 2014, completing the successful application and delegation process.
• Operator background: Uniregistry Corp. was presented in application materials as a new venture formed by domain industry veterans to serve as the delegated registry services provider for .photo.

Usage and Audience

• Target audience:
  • Professional photographers and photography studios
  • Amateur photographers and hobbyists
  • Individuals and organizations sharing photographs with friends, family, and the wider Internet
  • Businesses offering photography-related services or content
• Registry intent and services (as described in application materials):
  • Position .photo as a meaningful, semantic namespace for photographic content
  • Provide directory services, traffic-generation toolkits, and search-related functionality to promote the .photo namespace and its registrants
  • Operate the TLD to benefit both registrants and Internet users seeking photography-related resources

Registration Rules

• Registry policy stance:
  • The registry described its role as a neutral services provider, stating it would not give preferential registration opportunities to any particular market participant.
  • The registry planned to implement safeguards for intellectual property interests while fostering growth of the namespace.
• Pricing and renewals:
  • Application materials stated a flat pricing structure and fixed renewal costs, with no material price increases planned for the first five years.

SEO and Brand Impact

• Semantic and branding benefits:
  • .photo is intended to convey clear semantic meaning about site content, helping users immediately understand a site's focus on photos or photography.
  • The registry argued that semantically meaningful TLDs serve as mnemonic devices that aid discoverability, memorability, and differentiation of web resources.
• Positioning:
  • The TLD was promoted as a specialty namespace suited to registrants who want a descriptive, photography-focused domain rather than a more general TLD.

% IANA WHOIS server
% for more information on IANA, visit http://www.iana.org
% This query returned 1 object

domain:       PHOTO

organisation: Registry Services, LLC
address:      100 S. Mill Ave, Suite 1600
address:      Tempe AZ 85281
address:      United States of America (the)

contact:      administrative
name:         IANA Contact
organisation: GoDaddy Registry
address:      100 S. Mill Ave, Suite 1600
address:      Tempe AZ 85281
address:      United States of America (the)
phone:        +1 480 505 8800
fax-no:       +1 480 624 2546
e-mail:       iana@registry.godaddy

contact:      technical
name:         IANA Contact
organisation: GoDaddy Registry
address:      100 S. Mill Ave, Suite 1600
address:      Tempe AZ 85281
address:      United States of America (the)
phone:        +1 480 505 8800
fax-no:       +1 480 624 2546
e-mail:       iana@registry.godaddy

nserver:      A.NIC.PHOTO 2001:dcd:1:0:0:0:0:10 37.209.192.10
nserver:      B.NIC.PHOTO 2001:dcd:2:0:0:0:0:10 37.209.194.10
nserver:      C.NIC.PHOTO 2001:dcd:3:0:0:0:0:10 37.209.196.10
nserver:      X.NIC.PHOTO 156.154.172.82 2610:a1:1074:0:0:0:1:82
nserver:      Y.NIC.PHOTO 156.154.173.82 2610:a1:1075:0:0:0:1:82
nserver:      Z.NIC.PHOTO 156.154.174.82 2610:a1:1076:0:0:0:1:82
ds-rdata:     8311 13 2 7f11b4d8e82f14ace5adcfa2c5cb6701d6e40d87c4f92b129aa62118a7890beb

whois:        whois.nic.photo

status:       ACTIVE
remarks:      Registration information: http://nic.photo/

created:      2014-01-16
changed:      2024-04-17
source:       IANA