A Top-Level Domain (TLD) is the last segment of a domain name or the part that follows immediately after the “dot” symbol. TLDs are mainly classified into two categories: generic TLDs (such as .com, .net, .edu, .org) and country-specific TLDs (such as .us for United States, .fr for France, .in for India). Technically, there are also more than 1,000 potential TLDs. They vary from .pizza to .space.
However, in respect to your question, “.dupont” does not presently exist as a TLD in the internet DNS infrastructure. DuPont is a well-known multinational company, specializing primarily in various industrial sectors such as high-performance materials, synthetic fibres, safety and security, among others. Just like many other corporations, DuPont’s website currently uses the .com TLD, and can be accessed via www.dupont.com.
As part of its New gTLD Program, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which oversees the internet’s naming system, has expanded the list of TLDs to include company and brand-specific names. Several corporations, such as BMW, Canon, and Google, opted to have their own, trademarked TLDs, like .bmw, .canon, and .google respectively. This kind of TLD is known as a Brand TLD or a dotBrand. The intention behind this extension is to enhance customer trust, control over domain’s content, promotional opportunities and emphasizing brand identity.
Still, not all companies opt for their own dotBrand TLD. The acquisition of a dotBrand TLD is a significant commitment in terms of resources. It requires an initial investment (Application cost was $185,000 as per ICANN) plus annual costs, not to mention the technical and bureaucratic processes involved (Source: ICANN).
Although having their own unique TLD may offer some distinct advantages, corporations weigh these potential benefits against their overall marketing and branding strategy and the associated costs, among other considerations. As of now, DuPont has not taken a .dupont TLD, and there’s no publicly available information that suggests they intend to. Nevertheless, with the ongoing changes and dynamism in internet usage, branding and security concerns, it’s possible that the TLD scenario might change in the future.
Sources used:
1. ICAAN: https://archive.icann.org/
2. Dupont Official Website: https://www.dupont.com/
3. DotBrand observatory: https://observatory.domains/
4. Name.com: https://www.name.com/
