Registering and using multilingual domain names
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method for registering multilingual domain names that include non-ASCII characters, the method comprising:
- providing a Web page including a field in which a user can specify a second-level domain name portion including non-ASCII characters using a non-ASCII character set, the non-ASCII character set being specified by an encoding selected by the user from among a plurality of encodings presented by the Web page;
receiving a request to register a multilingual domain name in a top-level domain (TLD), the multilingual domain name having the specified second-level domain name portion including non-ASCII characters, each character in the specified character set having an associated numeric value, the second-level domain name portion indicated in the received request by a sequence of the numeric values that are derived from the non-ASCII characters of the second-level domain name portion;
generating an ASCII-Compatible Encoding (ACE) for the specified second-level domain name portion based on the specified character set and the indicated numeric sequence for the second-level domain name portion;
constructing an ASCII domain name whose second-level domain name portion is the generated ACE and whose top-level domain name portion is the TLD;
determining whether the constructed ASCII domain name is available to be registered in the TLD and whether the indicated numeric sequence has already been reserved for another multilingual domain name registered in the TLD, wherein determining whether the indicated numeric sequence has already been reserved includes;
searching for the indicated numeric sequence throughout at least one database that includes multilingual domain names for a plurality of non-ASCII character sets; and
determining that the indicated numeric sequence has already been reserved when the indicated numeric sequence appears as a reserved multilingual domain name anywhere in the database; and
when it is determined that the constructed ASCII domain name is available to be registered and that the indicated numeric sequence has not been reserved, registering the multilingual domain name in the TLD, the registering including;
generating multiple distinct numeric sequence variants as equivalents for the specified second-level domain name portion of the multilingual domain name, each generated numeric sequence variant consisting of a sequence of numeric values;
reserving the generated numeric sequence variants for the multilingual domain name;
presenting a plurality of the variants to the user;
receiving a selection of one or more of the plurality of variants presented to the user; and
registering a domain name in the TLD corresponding to each of the one or more variants selected by the user.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method, system, and computer-readable medium are described for registering and using multilingual domain names that include characters outside the ASCII character subset supported by the DNS system. Such multilingual domain names can in some situations be registered by first being converted into appropriate ASCII-Compatible Encodings (ACEs) that represent the corresponding multilingual domain names and that use only characters within the ASCII character subset. In addition, a variety of binary variants may be generated at registration for each multilingual domain name and then used as equivalents for the multilingual domain name, such as by storing the variants in the registry as alternative domain names or by otherwise reserving the binary variants. When requests to resolve such a registered multilingual domain name into a corresponding IP address or URL are received, the stored binary variants and/or ACE information can then be used to respond in an appropriate manner.
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Citations
41 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method for registering multilingual domain names that include non-ASCII characters, the method comprising:
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providing a Web page including a field in which a user can specify a second-level domain name portion including non-ASCII characters using a non-ASCII character set, the non-ASCII character set being specified by an encoding selected by the user from among a plurality of encodings presented by the Web page; receiving a request to register a multilingual domain name in a top-level domain (TLD), the multilingual domain name having the specified second-level domain name portion including non-ASCII characters, each character in the specified character set having an associated numeric value, the second-level domain name portion indicated in the received request by a sequence of the numeric values that are derived from the non-ASCII characters of the second-level domain name portion; generating an ASCII-Compatible Encoding (ACE) for the specified second-level domain name portion based on the specified character set and the indicated numeric sequence for the second-level domain name portion; constructing an ASCII domain name whose second-level domain name portion is the generated ACE and whose top-level domain name portion is the TLD; determining whether the constructed ASCII domain name is available to be registered in the TLD and whether the indicated numeric sequence has already been reserved for another multilingual domain name registered in the TLD, wherein determining whether the indicated numeric sequence has already been reserved includes; searching for the indicated numeric sequence throughout at least one database that includes multilingual domain names for a plurality of non-ASCII character sets; and determining that the indicated numeric sequence has already been reserved when the indicated numeric sequence appears as a reserved multilingual domain name anywhere in the database; and when it is determined that the constructed ASCII domain name is available to be registered and that the indicated numeric sequence has not been reserved, registering the multilingual domain name in the TLD, the registering including; generating multiple distinct numeric sequence variants as equivalents for the specified second-level domain name portion of the multilingual domain name, each generated numeric sequence variant consisting of a sequence of numeric values; reserving the generated numeric sequence variants for the multilingual domain name; presenting a plurality of the variants to the user; receiving a selection of one or more of the plurality of variants presented to the user; and registering a domain name in the TLD corresponding to each of the one or more variants selected by the user. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium encoded with a plurality of instructions for controlling a processor to perform an operation for registering multilingual domain names that include non-ASCII characters, the instructions comprising:
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providing a Web page including a field in which a user can specify a second-level domain name portion including non-ASCII characters using a non-ASCII character set, the non-ASCII character set being specified by an encoding selected by the user from among a plurality of encodings presented by the Web page; receiving a request to register a multilingual domain name in a top-level domain (TLD), the multilingual domain name having the specified second-level domain name portion including non-ASCII characters, each character in the specified character set having an associated numeric value, the second-level domain name portion indicated in the received request by a sequence of the numeric values that are derived from the non-ASCII characters of the second-level domain name portion; generating an ASCII-Compatible Encoding (ACE) for the specified second-level domain name portion based on the specified character set and the indicated numeric sequence for the second-level domain name portion; constructing an ASCII domain name whose second-level domain name portion is the generated ACE and whose top-level domain name portion is the TLD; determining whether the constructed ASCII domain name is available to be registered in the TLD and whether the indicated numeric sequence has already been reserved for another multilingual domain name registered in the TLD, wherein determining whether the indicated numeric sequence has already been reserved includes; searching for the indicated numeric sequence throughout at least one database that includes multilingual domain names for a plurality of non-ASCII character sets; and determining that the indicated numeric sequence has already been reserved when the indicated numeric sequence appears as a reserved multilingual domain name anywhere in the database; and when it is determined that the constructed ASCII domain name is available to be registered and that the indicated numeric sequence has not been reserved, registering the multilingual domain name in the TLD, the registering including; generating multiple distinct numeric sequence variants as equivalents for the specified second-level domain name portion of the multilingual domain name, each generated numeric sequence variant consisting of a sequence of numeric values; reserving the generated numeric sequence variants for the multilingual domain name; presenting a plurality of the variants to the user; receiving a selection of one or more of the plurality of variants presented to the user; and registering a domain name in the TLD corresponding to each of the one or more variants selected by the user. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A system comprising:
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a processor; a computer-readable storage medium storing a plurality of instructions that cause the processor to; provide a Web page including a field in which a user can specify a second-level domain name portion including non-ASCII characters using a non-ASCII character set, the non-ASCII character set being specified by an encoding selected by the user from among a plurality of encodings presented by the Web page; receive a request to register a multilingual domain name in a top-level domain (TLD), the multilingual domain name having a the specified second-level domain name portion including non-ASCII characters, each character in the specified character set having an associated numeric value, the second-level domain name portion indicated in the received request by a sequence of the numeric values that are derived from the non-ASCII characters of the second-level domain name portion; generate an ASCII-Compatible Encoding (ACE) for the specified second-level domain name portion based on the specified character set and the indicated numeric sequence for the second-level domain name portion; construct an ASCII domain name whose second-level domain name portion is the generated ACE and whose top-level domain name portion is the TLD; determine whether the constructed ASCII domain name is available to be registered in the TLD and whether the indicated numeric sequence has already been reserved for another multilingual domain name registered in the TLD, wherein determining whether the indicated numeric sequence has already been reserved includes; searching for the indicated numeric sequence throughout at least one database that includes multilingual domain names for a plurality of non-ASCII character sets; and determining that the indicated numeric sequence has already been reserved when the indicated numeric sequence appears as a reserved multilingual domain name anywhere in the database; and when it is determined that the constructed ASCII domain name is available to be registered and that the indicated numeric sequence has not been reserved, register the multilingual domain name in the TLD, the registering including; generating multiple distinct numeric sequence variants as equivalents for the specified second-level domain name portion of the multilingual domain name, each generated numeric sequence variant consisting of a sequence of numeric values; reserving the generated numeric sequence variants for the multilingual domain name; presenting a plurality of the variants to the user; receiving a selection of one or more of the plurality of variants presented to the user; and registering a domain name in the TLD corresponding to each of the one or more variants selected by the user. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
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Specification