Changes

The .com gTLD, along with the other original TLDs, was first administered by the United States Department of Defense under the [[DARPA|Defense Advance Advance Research Project Agency]], which was first implemented in 1985. The [[NIC|Network Information Center]], which was run by [[SRI International]], was the first assigned registrar and administrator of the first domain names.<ref>[http://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc920.txt RFC 920], RFC-Editor.org.</ref> NIC was responsible for registering and hosting the domain names,<ref>[http://www.sri.com/about/timeline/tld-nic.html SRI International]</ref> as well as administering the [[IP Address|IP addresses]].<ref>[http://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc1020.txt RFC 1020], RFC-Editor.org.</ref>  

The .com gTLD, along with the other original TLDs, was first administered by the United States Department of Defense under the [[DARPA|Defense Advance Advance Research Project Agency]], which was first implemented in 1985. The [[NIC|Network Information Center]], which was run by [[SRI International]], was the first assigned registrar and administrator of the first domain names.<ref>[http://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc920.txt RFC 920], RFC-Editor.org.</ref> NIC was responsible for registering and hosting the domain names,<ref>[http://www.sri.com/about/timeline/tld-nic.html SRI International]</ref> as well as administering the [[IP Address|IP addresses]].<ref>[http://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc1020.txt RFC 1020], RFC-Editor.org.</ref>  

On October 1, 1991, the administration of the .com and all the TLDs was transfered to [[GSI|Government Systems, Inc.]].<ref name="rfc1261">[http://www.armware.dk/RFC/rfc/rfc1261.html RFC 1261], ArmWare.dk.</ref> It assumed all of SRI's service responsibilities, such as domain name registration, online informations services and help desk operations, as well as [[RFC]] and Internet-Draft archive and distribution services. The Internet registration services were provided by Defense Information System Agency (DISA) NIC, which was also operated by Government Systems Inc.<ref name="rfc1261"></ref> This task was sub-contracted by GSI to [[Network Solutions]] (NSI).

On October 1, 1991, the administration of the .com and all the TLDs was transferred to [[GSI|Government Systems, Inc.]].<ref name="rfc1261">[http://www.armware.dk/RFC/rfc/rfc1261.html RFC 1261], ArmWare.dk.</ref> It assumed all of SRI's service responsibilities, such as domain name registration, online information services, and help desk operations, as well as [[RFC]] and Internet-Draft archive and distribution services. The Internet registration services were provided by [[Defense Information Systems Agency]] (DISA) NIC, which was also operated by Government Systems Inc.<ref name="rfc1261"></ref> This task was sub-contracted by GSI to [[Network Solutions]] (NSI).

The legislation of the Scientific and Advanced Technology Act in 1992 gave an expanded mandate to the [[NSF|National Science Foundation]] (NSF). This is a statutory body, which supports and strengthens basic scientific research, engineering, and educational activities in the United States, including the maintenance of computer networks used to connect research and educational institutions. It assumed the responsibility of coordinating and funding the management of the non-military portion of Internet infrastructure, pursuant to the High-Performance Computing Act which was legislated on December 9, 1991.  

The legislation of the Scientific and Advanced Technology Act in 1992 gave an expanded mandate to the [[NSF|National Science Foundation]] (NSF). This is a statutory body, which supports and strengthens basic scientific research, engineering, and educational activities in the United States, including the maintenance of computer networks, used to connect research and educational institutions. It assumed the responsibility of coordinating and funding the management of the non-military portion of Internet infrastructure, pursuant to the High-Performance Computing Act which was legislated on December 9, 1991.  

In 1993, NSF and NSI entered a five-year cooperative agreement, which appointed NSI as the sole provider of domain name registrations for the .com, [[.net]], and [[.org]] gTLDs.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20010301153634/http://networksolutions.com/en_US/legal/internic/cooperative-agreement/agreement.html NSI-NSF Cooperative Agreement], Archive.org.</ref> In 2000, Network Solutions was acquired by [[Verisign]],<ref>[http://about-networksolutions.com/corporate-history.php Network Solutions History], NetworkSoutions.com.</ref> which retained NSI's registry business.  

In 1993, NSF and NSI entered a five-year cooperative agreement, which appointed NSI as the sole provider of domain name registrations for the .com, [[.net]], and [[.org]] gTLDs.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20010301153634/http://networksolutions.com/en_US/legal/internic/cooperative-agreement/agreement.html NSI-NSF Cooperative Agreement], Archive.org.</ref> In 2000, Network Solutions was acquired by [[Verisign]],<ref>[http://about-networksolutions.com/corporate-history.php Network Solutions History], NetworkSoutions.com.</ref> which retained NSI's registry business.  

===Overcrowding of .Com Domain Space===

===Overcrowding of .Com Domain Space===

.com is the most popular and widely registered top level domain name by internet users worldwide. In 2000, there were more than 20 million registered names under the .com domain name space.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/17/technology/17DOMA.html%20(last%20visited%20Dec.%202,%202000)www.nytimes.com NYTimes.com]</ref> The overcrowding of the .com domain space has resulted in difficulties for users to find appealing domain names. This led to a proposal from the Internet community to create new gTLDs to solve the problem. On April 18-19, 2000, during the [[ICANN Yokohama]] meeting, the [[DNSO]] Names Council proposed the implementation of new TLDs to promote competition in the domain name registration business, enhance the utility of the DNS, and  increase the available number of domain names.<ref>[http://www.icann.org/en/meetings/yokohama/new-tld-topic.htm#IIC www.icann.org]</ref> On November 16, 2000, ICANN approved seven new gTLDs which include [[.biz]], [[.info]], [[.name]], [[.pro]], [[.museum]], [[.aero]] and [[.coop]] to ease up the exhaustion of the .com and the [[.net]] domain space. Further expansion of available [[gTLD]]s is expected to be authorized at ICANN's 2011 meeting in Singapore.

.com is the most popular and widely registered top level domain name by Internet users worldwide. In 2000, there were more than 20 million registered names under the .com domain name space.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/17/technology/17DOMA.html%20(last%20visited%20Dec.%202,%202000)www.nytimes.com NYTimes.com]</ref> The overcrowding of the .com domain space has resulted in difficulties for users to find appealing domain names. This led to a proposal from the Internet community to create new gTLDs to solve the problem. On April 18-19, 2000, during the [[ICANN Yokohama]] meeting, the [[DNSO]] Names Council proposed the implementation of new TLDs to promote competition in the domain name registration business, enhance the utility of the DNS, and  increase the available number of domain names.<ref>[http://www.icann.org/en/meetings/yokohama/new-tld-topic.htm#IIC www.icann.org]</ref> On November 16, 2000, ICANN approved seven new gTLDs which include [[.biz]], [[.info]], [[.name]], [[.pro]], [[.museum]], [[.aero]] and [[.coop]] to ease up the exhaustion of the .com and the [[.net]] domain space. Further expansion of available [[gTLD]]s is expected to be authorized at ICANN's 2011 meeting in Singapore.

===U.S. Seizures of Domain Names===

===U.S. Seizures of Domain Names===