The registry for .name is being operated by Global Name Registry, a company based in London. Advance registrations for the new domain name exceeded the company's expectations. It said that over 60,000 domain and e-mail "products" have been sold to date. These sales, roughly half of which were generated in the US, were accrued in the first of a number of sales cycles, which will culminate in a May hard launch when real-time registrations will commence.
.Name is being promoted as the first generic internet domain exclusively for the individual, as opposed to commercial enterprises. However, trade marks and brands are offered some protection against abuse. Global Name Registry is offering a "Defensive Registration" service which is intended to enable trade mark holders to block nationally-registered marks from being registered. Its "NameWatch" service monitors the registration of specified names and words.
According to the company, IBM, Coca-Cola and Sony have purchased over 1,100 Defensive Registrations to date.