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By Sonya Rabbitte, 18 December 2001 15:30

NEWS The company responsible for dot-biz domain names is scrapping the way it currently allocates them and will start again from scratch in February. The company said yesterday that it will introduce a simplified application system and plans to return all pending applications and application fees. NeuLevel has faced much opposition to the current method. The procedure requires interested parties to apply for a domain name with a $5 cover fee, although they were not guaranteed to get the URL they wanted. As a result applicants often filed multiple registrations because they did not know if the name they wanted was uncontested or if there were hundreds of other applicants. In cases where domain names were over-subscribed, NeuLevel planned to pick a winner at random, which led to claims that domain names were not always issued to authorised trademark holders. It even found itself in court earlier this year after unhappy applicants filed a case with a Californian court, claiming the 'lottery' style application system was against state law. The revised system will encourages registrars (who buy addresses from NeuLevel and then sell them on) to put forward just one application for each domain name. It will also ensure applicants are only charged if they are successful, and should avoid disputes on over-subscribed addresses. NeuLevel said the new system is aimed at clearing the backlog and encouraging contestants to drop the court charges. NeuLevel said that all existing applications will be returned, and the company will refund its $2 portion of each application fee to registrars who should pass it on to their customers. Ken Sorrie, marketing director with UK-based registrar Internetters, welcomed the move. "It will get the issue out of the way and back to normal business. They are trying to make it fair and they should be applauded for that," he said. But he added that it will still be possible for applicants to lodge multiple registrations, and said it was unlikely that Internetters will limit customers to just one application. Over 500,0000 dot-biz domain names have been issued so far but up to 39,000 applications are still on hold.