Amazon has been in a battle with eight South American countries over rights to the “.amazon” domain name for seven years. However, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has now taken Amazon’s side in the quest to win the rights to the domain name.

According to media reports, the final decision of the ICANN is now pending a 30-day public comment period. This may finally bring an end to the almost decade-long battle between Amazon and the South American countries. These countries are Brazil, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, Guyana, Bolivia and Suriname.

The Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organisation (ACTO) argues that the retail company, Amazon should NOT reserve the rights to the “.amazon” domain. They believe that it is a very important geographical region in Latin America.

The Amazon domain tussle

The amazon domain tussle has been going on since 2012. However, it got worse in 2018. This came after ICANN removed Amazon’s application from the “will not proceed list”. According to reports, the corporation said it remained “hopeful that additional time could lead to a mutually acceptable solution regarding those applications. However, ACTO and the Amazon corporation were unable to come to a mutually acceptable solution or agree on an extension of time for continued discussions.”

Amazon proposed new terms in April. It said it will not use any domain names that are significant to the heritage of the Amazonia region. It also said it will block up to 1,500 of such names. Furthermore, it will provide nine domain names for the member states. These names will be for non-commercial use to enhance the visibility of the region.

According to a Financial Times report, Amazon said ACTO member states will lose the rights to veto any specific names. They said this is because it will give them authority over naming decisions for Amazon’s future products and services.