When the .info names were first offered, trade mark owners were given the right to register their trade marks as .info names before the general public. However, no checks were in place to ensure that only legitimate trade mark owners were applying for the names. Accordingly, several thousand names were registered by individuals submitting false trade mark ownership information.
Afilias will redistribute the generic names using a randomised, round-robin name selection method. Those wanting a name can apply to one of several registrars. Each registrar submits batches of applications to Afilias which then assigns a random order to pick names from each of the registrars' batches.
Registrars will be allowed to submit batches of name requests over a three week period beginning in the late spring of 2002. To date, around 750,000 .info names have been registered.