Monthly Archives: March 2005

Thu 31st March 2005
Written by DomainNameWire in EN
Domain name association posts record earnings - Domain name company Communicate.com (OTC: CMNN.OB) posted record earnings for the most recent fiscal year. Communicate.com is a profitable, debt-free emerging growth eCommerce company that owns and operates some of the Internet’s best domain names, such as Perfume.com, Stereos.com, GreatBritain.com, Karate.com, Boxing.com, Brazil.com, and Importers.com. Here are Communicate.com’s 2004 Financial Highlights: · Record net income of $498,097, an increase ... read more ...
Wed 30th March 2005
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Dotster enters extreme conflict with GoDaddy - When Dotster launched its domain name registration service in 2000, it radically changed the domain registristration market by offering registration for around $15. I was one of the first to flock to Dotster (I think my receipt number was something like purchase #21). The market has changed since then, as domain registration has become a low margin business and add-ons make most of the money for registrars. Dotster has been undercut by lower-priced registrars like ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Will Yahoo’s “Adsense” launch in midst April? - Yahoo’s Overture unit sent out its latest newsletter today, and it vaguely hints that Yahoo’s “Adsense”-like program will launch in mid-April. According to this article, the terms and conditions for advertisers will change in mid-April. It says that this is for a couple reasons, most notably because Overture is changing it’s name to Yahoo! Search Marketing Solutions. But it also mentions that some other changes are in the works. Maybe I’m reading into ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
GoDaddy starts petition to keep WhoIs privacy - GoDaddy, perhaps the most vocal opponent of the recent decision to nix proxy registrations of .us domain names, has created an information site and petition in favor of keeping private WhoIs registrations. You can visit the site at TheDangerofNoPrivacy.com. There are two reasons GoDaddy is upset about losing the right to proxy registrations for .us domain names: 1. I think GoDaddy CEO Bob Parsons really believes in the right to privacy, as he invokes images of the ... read more ...
Tue 29th March 2005
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
TiltPoker.com domain sells for $46,000 - The Pool drop service finally got back into action this week, snapping TiltPoker.com for $46k. Heaven help the person who neglected to renew this domain! Other top sales this week, according to DNJournal’s sales list, include Medals.com at $22k and Cabalas.com at just over $15k. This week also saw a high .us domain name sale with Dividends.us selling for $2,943. Go to DNJournal to see all of the details! ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
.net domain name prices might drop - It looks like prices for .net domain registrations might drop under Verisign’s proposed new deal with ICANN. The proposal calls for a registry charge of $4.25 per domain name per year, including a $.75 ICANN tax. Currently, the fee charged to registrars by Verisign is $6. These savings might be passed on to the registrants. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that this happens, and is ultimately passed on to .com domains as well. ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Telcordia: Keep .net domain during Verisign - Telcordia released its official report on which registry it thinks should managed the .net extension going forward (see “Nuetral Party to Evaluatate .Net Applicants by March 28″). Telcordia recommended that Verisign retain management of the domain name extension. Personally, I have no problem with this decision. It’s important to remember that Verisign and Network Solutions are no longer the same companies. The only concern I have is Verisign trying to take ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Apple fans don’t know domain name rights - I came across a posting on SpyMac today about the itunes.co.uk domain. The title of the posting shows how little Apple fans understand about domain names. Many of the comments are about how Apple has been wronged and that Benjamin Cohen is a cybersquatter. Among the comments: “The problem I have with this guy is that he claimed to never have heard of iTunes. So what? His ignorance of the fact that he was using a trademark does not make him free to continue to ... read more ...
Mon 28th March 2005
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Speaking of cybersquatting… - Now here’s a case where someone uses a trademarked name to capitalize on a situation. Paul Pashibin registered the Internet domain name tcfbankstadium.com on the same day TCF announced a deal with the University of Minnesota for a $35 million stadium sponsorship. Although I blame The University and TCF Bank for not registering the domain name in advance, I think Paul will face an uphill battle if this one goes to arbitration. ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
ITunes.co.uk Owner to Appeal Domain Order to High Court - The (current) owner of itunes.co.uk is appealing Nominet’s decision that forces him to hand the domain name over to Apple. And with good cause. As owner Benjamin Cohen said in a statement, “I must admit that we were not expecting the decision by Nominet’s appointed expert. Apple chose to launch the UK brand of “itunes” within the UK with the knowledge that we had owned the name for three years before their USA launch and four years before their launch ... read more ...
Sun 27th March 2005
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Adam Dicker revamps DNForum - Adam Dicker’s successful domain name forum, DNForum.com, is undergoing major changes. The forum will now have 4 full time paid admins, a unique “Forum Advisory Board”, and will have an advertising campaign. Details are found in this message Adam sent to DNForum members: Dnforum has always taken a business like approach to the domain industry. In continuing to head down the business path, I feel at this time I needed to replace the current moderator system ... read more ...
Fri 25th March 2005
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
ICANN due $2 domain send tax? - In a disturbing development, ICANN has proposed a $2 fee on the registry for a domain name transfer on its proposed .jobs and .travel domain extensions. However, the language is somewhat unclear: (c) Registry-Level Transaction Fee. Commencing as of the Effective Date, Registry Operator shall pay ICANN a Registry-Level Transaction Fee in an amount equal to US$2.00 for each annual increment of an initial or renewal domain name registration or for transferring a domain ... read more ...
Thu 24th March 2005
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
WIPO publishes domain name brawl formula summary - WIPO has published an extremely useful tool for anyone involved in a domain name dispute that is considering arbitration (or is forced to defend). WIPO has posted a list of common questions in disputes and how the panels generally interpret those questions. The site also includes relevant cases for each of those questions. See the site here. Among the questions: 1.5 Can a complainant show rights in a geographical term or identifier? Consensus view: The report of ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
USAToday covers Mattel.org dispute - In an article titled David beats Goliath in domain-name dispute, USAToday reports on the case of Gopi Mattel. Gopi successfully beat Mattel Inc’s assualt on this mattel.org domain name. Mattel Inc. claimed it was trademark infringement and even claimed that Gopi had changed his last name to Mattel solely to register the domain. The artibration panel found in favor of Gopi. Gopi introduced two damning claims: first, Mattel Inc waited 4 years after Gopi registered ... read more ...
Wed 23rd March 2005
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Communicate.com Acquires 650+ Dot-Coms - Communicate.com Inc. (OTCBB:CMNN) today announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire more than 650 dot-com URLs. Upon completion of the transaction, Communicate will own hundreds of product-specific and category-specific domain names that end in “bound.com”, such as shoppingbound.com, resortbound.com, timesharebound.com and winebound.com, to name just a few. The domain names cover a vast array of products services, travel destinations and topics. Communicate.com ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
ICANN Approves EURid’s Agreement for .eu Domain Name - Following is a press release that details ICANN’s progress on the .eu domain. See “Critical .eu meeting today”. ICANN Approves EURid’s Agreement for ‘.eu’ Domain Name LUXEMBOURG, March 23 /CNW/ – – EURid’s ‘.eu’ Domain Application Approved by ICANN’s Board – PriceWaterhouseCoopers Selected as Validation Agent for ‘.eu’ Domain Name applications – EURid Published a New Timetable for Launch of ‘.eu’ Domain Confirming ... read more ...
Tue 22nd March 2005
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
GospelMusic.com sells for $150k Lottery.org $67k and more - DNJournal has just posted its weekly list of top domains sales, and this week was another winner! GreatDomains sold GospelMusic.com for $150,000, and Sedo sold lottery.org for $66,667, which is the highest .org sale ever reported by DNJournal. There were some other hefty sales, and overall it was another great week in the domain name aftermarket. Check out DNJournal’s column. ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Hillary Clinton wins domain name - Hillary Clinton won the rights to hillaryclinton.com in a recent a National Arbitration Forum decision. It may have been a battle for Clinton to get her domain name, given that she’s a politician, but the owner of the domain didn’t even respond to the dispute. Furthermore, the owner had generic pay-per-click/portal information on the site. Generally speaking, political domain names can be registered by other people as a first amendment right. For example, ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
GoDaddy launches radio show - GoDaddy, one of the largest domain name registrars, is launching its own radio show on March 30. At first it will be on Sirius and XM satellite radio, plus a few AM stations. It will also be available on the web. GoDaddy promises the show won’t be an infomercial, and will include valuable information about domain policy issues, internet security, etc. This is just another example of the booming domain name industry, and could be a sign of things to come. I’ll ... read more ...
Mon 21st March 2005
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Network Solutions phone survey - I got a call from a survey company tonight on behalf of Network Solutions. It appears that Network Solutions is trying to determine what matters most to customers: price or service. For expert domain name holders like me, I’d say price and at least mediocre service is the best combination. Network Solutions’ prices are much higher than other registrars–$34.95 per year compared to $8-$15 at most other registrars. Other services, such as domain forwarding, ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Critical .eu assembly today - According to The Register, “The .eu domain may finally come alive, five years after its conception, following a meeting this coming Monday. ICANN will discuss “Delegation of .EU and EURid-ICANN Agreement” at a special board meeting on 21 March and if it gives it the green light then, well, then you might be able to actually buy an .eu domain by April 2006.” Read the article here. ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Domain Hijacking underneath ICANN’s new send policy - SearchEngineJournal.com has a great first-person story about trying to hold a domain name that is facing repeated hijacking attempts. ICANN’s policy used to require a confirmation from the current domain name owner before a transfer. Now the transfer is automatic after five days unless the current owner cancels the transfer. The new policy was created to help domain name owners–many times I tried to transfer domains held at poorly managed registrars only to ... read more ...
Sat 19th March 2005
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
.au to recover 20,000 geographic domain names -

.au, Austrialia’s CCtld, will mislay restrictions on 20,000 geographic domains opening them adult for registration. A full list of these domain names will be accessible in about 6 weeks, according to this article. Domains will not be auctioned off. If there is some-more than one applicant for a domain name, a lottery will be held.

Via: domainnamewire.com

Fri 18th March 2005
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Snapnames signs adult new disdainful registrar - Snapnames has added another exclusive registrar to its list, ItsYourDomain. As an exclusive registrar, domains names in ItsYourDomain’s system will not follow the regular drop cycle. Instead, they will be released exclusively to Snapnames’ customers before they are deleted. Impact: Snapnames continues to corner the market for exclusive registrar agreements. This puts other drop services like Pool and enom at serious risk unless they strike exclusive deals ... read more ...
Thu 17th March 2005
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Sedo announces 809 domains sole in February -

Sedo.com currently announced that it sole 809 domains in Feb 2005 for roughly $1.4M, or an normal of $1,685 per domain. Among the vast sales were Neighbors.com for $50,000, Therapy.com for $50,000, and MOMA.com for $40,000.

Via: domainnamewire.com