Overview
- .taobao is a brand gTLD created through ICANN's New gTLD Program.
- The string was applied for and pursued by Alibaba Group Holding Limited to represent the Taobao marketplace brand at the top level of the DNS.
- Registry information in source material lists Neustar; the TLD status is Delegated.
History
- Application reveal: New gTLD applied-for strings were publicly revealed on 13 June 2012.
- Name-collision process: In 2013 ICANN assessed name-collision risks for new gTLDs; .taobao was among 25 applied-for strings that were not eligible for ICANN's alternative path and therefore required further mitigation before delegation could proceed.
- Delegation: The .taobao gTLD was delegated to the Root Zone on 21 January 2016.
Usage and Audience
- Purpose: The gTLD was pursued to safeguard and extend the Taobao brand (淘宝), Alibaba's Chinese-language B2C and C2C marketplace.
- Taobao background (from applicant materials):
- Taobao was founded in May 2003 and operates at www.taobao.com (also known as 淘宝网).
- The Taobao Marketplace was described as China’s largest online retail platform in the applicant's submission, with high transaction volume and large user and listing counts (figures cited for the platform in the applicant's material include transaction volume and user/visitor metrics).
- Audience: Primarily Alibaba/Taobao and their affiliates, customers and business partners tied to the Taobao brand as described by the applicant.
Registration Rules
- Alibaba indicated that, at least during the initial months or years after delegation, .taobao was likely to be operated as a "single registrant TLD."
- The applicant quoted the single-registrant concept from ICANN: all domain registrations in the TLD are registered to and maintained by the Registry Operator for its exclusive use, and the Registry Operator does not sell, distribute or transfer control or use of registrations to third parties that are not Affiliates.
- The applicant explicitly stated it had not yet defined in detail the types of domain names, who would be entitled to register or use names, or which types of use would be allowed or recommended; policy decisions were to be developed after delegation.
SEO and Brand Impact
- Brand protection: Alibaba emphasized that .taobao would be used primarily to safeguard and protect the Taobao brand and trademark at the DNS top level.
- Control and trust: Operating .taobao as a single-registrant TLD was presented as a means to maintain control over registrations and mitigate risks to brand reputation.
Notable Cases or Examples
- Taobao (www.taobao.com) is the principal brand associated with the string and the reason for the gTLD application.
- Key milestones: application reveal (13 June 2012), ICANN name-collision assessment and alternate-path ineligibility (2013), and delegation to the root zone (21 January 2016).
Operator
Alibaba Group Holding Limited
Whois
% IANA WHOIS server
% for more information on IANA, visit http://www.iana.org
% This query returned 1 object
domain: TAOBAO
organisation: Alibaba Group Holding Limited
address: Fourth Floor, One Capital Place, P.O Box 847
address: George Town Grand Cayman KY1-1103
address: Grand Cayman
contact: administrative
name: Project & Process Manager
organisation: Alibaba Group Holding Limited
address: Fourth Floor, One Capital Place, P.O Box 847
address: George Town Grand Cayman KY1-1103
address: Grand Cayman
phone: +852-22155100
fax-no: +852-2215-5200
e-mail: ngtld-alibaba@cscglobal.com
contact: technical
name: Senior Director, DNS Infrastructure Group
organisation: Identity Digital Limited
address: c/o Identity Digital Inc.
address: 10500 NE 8th Street, Suite 750
address: Bellevue WA 98004
address: United States of America (the)
phone: +1.425.298.2200
fax-no: +1.425.671.0020
e-mail: tldtech@identity.digital
nserver: A0.NIC.TAOBAO 2a01:8840:32:0:0:0:0:17 65.22.52.17
nserver: A2.NIC.TAOBAO 2a01:8840:35:0:0:0:0:17 65.22.55.17
nserver: B0.NIC.TAOBAO 2a01:8840:33:0:0:0:0:17 65.22.53.17
nserver: C0.NIC.TAOBAO 2a01:8840:34:0:0:0:0:17 65.22.54.17
ds-rdata: 62422 8 2 9f3d7ceb441cd4dac22efcccf5e79d238163e139ab368abddaa1029302a77bcb
whois: whois.nic.taobao
status: ACTIVE
remarks: Registration information: http://www.alibabagroup.com
created: 2016-01-08
changed: 2025-08-27
source: IANA
