Plans to launch individualised brand domains have been paused following a problem with the application system.

Following an information leak, the application system allowing businesses to apply for their own “dot Brand” Top Level Domains (TLD) was shut down. The technical mishap allowed some users of the TLD Application System (TAS) to see file names and user names belonging to other applicants.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which monitors the performance of the application system, claims the mishap does not appear to have caused any corruption or loss of data.

ICANN will announce by midnight tonight whether the programme will reopen and, once up and running, the application window is due to remain open until 23:59 UTC on Friday, 20 April.

Applicants wishing to see their company names, trademarks and keywords on the right side of the dot in web addresses from 2013 were given an original deadline of 12 April.

It was also stipulated that brands that missed the deadline may have to wait up to a decade before they could apply again, so the issue may provide a vital opportunity for some.

ICANN has set an initial target date of 30 April to reveal the list of businesses that have applied for dot Brand TLDs.