Monthly Archives: November 2008

Fri 21st November 2008
Written by The Domains in EN
Statistics of Domains in Latin America For Oct 2008. - This guest post was provided by Juan Enrique Sánchez, President of  NameAction.com who can be reached at jesanchez@nameaction.com According to a new report ·During October the Latin America county codes with the highest net number of new registrations were:: · Brazil (.br) – 22.297 domains. · Argentina (.ar) – 18.132 domains. · Chile (.cl)– 2.862 domains. · Venezuela (.ve) – 1.318 domains. ·The ccTlds`s with higher percentage growth were: · Granada (.gd) – 6.67% · Perú ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
UDRP Watch: Ping.me, GoldenGlobes.com, and NameJet Typo - A review of recently filed domain name arbitration cases. Here’s a quick look at recently filed arbitration cases at WIPO and National Arbitration Forum. Check back for updates as the cases are decided. Ping.me: Although the domain owner won’t talk, my guess is Ping Golf filed this case. They’ve been aggressive in the past trying to get Ping.net and other domains. GoldenGlobe(s).com: Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which runs the Golden Globe Awards, ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
ResellerClub to Take Over EstDomains’ Domains - Directi company to take over domains previously registered at EstDomains. Although ICANN has not announced it yet, it appears that domain registrar ResellerClub is taking over domains managed at domain registrar EstDomains, which is losing its accreditation. ResellerClub has emailed customers of EstDomains to tell them that it will be taking over: As you might be aware, EstDomains Inc will soon be de-accredited by ICANN and is awaiting its termination in lieu with ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Is PokerHost.com Fudging Dates? - Online casino files UDRP, but when was it actually founded? PokerHost.com has filed a UDRP complaint with WIPO to get the domain name PokerHost.NET. If you’re not familiar with the online poker industry, many poker sites use the .net version of their name for advertising. The .net site actually doesn’t allow real money betting and is either a free version or tutorial site, so it can be advertised on TV. Of course the short term goal is for people to type in ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
2o.com was Fair Deal, Jury Still Out on .com.au Domains - A look back at comments about this week’s Aftermarket.com auction results. A couple people commented about the Aftermarket.com auction held this week in Australia, and they commented about how many of the sales were absolute steals. Two comments in particular I have seen on various forums and blogs are that the purchase of 2o.com at $8,500 was a steal, and that the .com.au domains sold at very low prices. The first comment is somewhat true, the second one can’t ... read more ...
Thu 20th November 2008
Written by The Domains in EN
Buy Yung Yee’s Portfolio At A Discount - Ever seen a great deal get done and think to yourself, “I wish i could have been involved in that one?” Well you may have your chance. As you will recall that Yung Yee, arguably the best domain portfolio ever available, sold his portfolio several years ago for $165 million to Marchex, a publicly traded company. As of yesterday, Marchex closing price of $4.57 the market cap for Marchex ($175M) is just slightly more than the purchase price of Yung Yee’s portfolio, several years ago.  However ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN
New Report: Domain Registration Growth Drops By 50% - Generic top-level domains (TLDs) such as .com and .net were the most affected, seeing growth rates of 30 per cent in 2006 fall to under 10 per cent this year. Country code TLDs performed a little better, bolstered by strong growth in China for the .cn domain, falling from 37 per cent last year to 26 per cent this year. “Domain names have been around for a while and you would expect a levelling off,” he said. “The stellar growth of 20 per cent year on year cannot continue forever, but we are ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
A Tale of Two Auctions - Yesterday’s Aftermarket.com auction started out great. Then it flopped. I thought yesterday’s Aftermarket.com auction went great. And I still thought that well after the auction was over. Why? Because I didn’t watch the second half. I watched the first 25 or so auctions from my office, and then packed up and headed home. The first 25 lots went great. The sell through rate was high and the auctioneer was lively. The online interface was greatly improved ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Frank Schilling Loses His First UDRP - Schilling’s company comes down on wrong end of ChilliBeans.com decision. Frank Schilling’s Name Administration has lost its first UDRP decision, spoiling a perfect record of success (according to searches at National Arbitration Forum and WIPO). Schilling, teamed up with attorney John Berryhill as usual, failed to convince a three person WIPO panel that its use of the domain name ChilliBeans.com was generic. The complainant is a company selling sunglasses under ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
New Aftermarket Launches with Odd Name and Business Model - No, TLDOffers.com won’t sell you top level domains. I’ve written before about new domain name aftermarkets and asked if there was room for anything to compete against the incumbents. Few people think it’s possible. Today I saw a press release for a new market called TLDoffers.com. The name threw me for a loop, especially after reading the home page of the web site: “A top level domain (TLD), sometimes referred to as a top level domain name or TLDN. Basically, ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Marchex Scales Back Domain Parking Service - Sitebox rapidly scaling down as it is no longer strategic to company. Local search and advertising company Marchex (NASDAQ: MCHX) is scaling down its third party domain name parking service Sitebox. Company executives believe the service is no longer strategic to the company. Sitebox produced revenues of $5 million in the first half of the year, but less than $1.5 million in the third quarter. The company expects revenues to drop further to $0.5 million in the ... read more ...
Wed 19th November 2008
Written by The Domains in EN
WIPO Decision With Big Ramifications: Dealers Can Use A Manufacturer’s Trademark In Its Domain Even When Their Sales Are Not Authorized By The Trademark Holder - Here is a WIPO decision of wide ranging impact, the first one deciding that a dealer or reseller can use the trademark of a manufacturer even if not authorized by the manufacturer to reseller it products and without the trademark holder permission. In what i consider to be an important WIPO ruling, pressure gauge maker ITT sought to get the domain name ITTbarton.com, itt-barton.com and 11 other domain names, owned by a seller of ITT pressure gauges, a company called Differential Pressure Instruments. ITT ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN
Foundit.com: A Great Use of a Domain is Launched - A couple of years ago I leased the domain foundit.com, with an option to buy to a startup. Since then the buyer has been hard at work and today they announced the completion of their lost and found site for all things, from your camera to your laptop to your blackberry and much more. Another great example of how you can use a good domain and turn it into a business with an idea, a lot of hard work and a few bucks: The Company FoundIt is a loss protection and recovery service that virtually guarantees ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Big Companies Get Benefit of Doubt in UDRP Decisions - A recent UDRP decision begs the question, do big companies get the benefit of doubt in UDRP? Most UDRP arbitration filings are against small time domain owners. So a recent case caught my eye because the respondent was a major media company, Scripps Networks. Scripps networks owns HGTV, Food Network, and DIY network among others. The case was brought by Automotive Networks Corporation over the domain names WheelsTV.com and MyWheelsTV.com. Scripps won because the ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
It’s Domain Name Auction Day - Two live domain name auctions kick off this evening. Two live domain name auctions that are part of the Traffic Down Under conference will take place this evening starting at 5:30 PM Eastern U.S. time. The first auction is organized by Aftermarket.com and starts at 5:30. I previewed that auction last week. Online bidding started early and already a number of domains have received multiple bids. Later this evening at 9:00 PM EST the RickLatona.com auction will take ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Live Current Media Raises Much Needed Cash - Live Current raises $1.06 million in private placement. Live Current Media (OTCbb: livc.ob) is facing a serious cash crunch, but it eased somewhat today. The company announced that it has raised $1.06 million through a private placement. Investors include Live Current CEO and Chairman, Geoffrey Hampson, the Company’s President and COO, Jonathan Ehrlich and Chief Corporate Development Officer, Mark Melville, along with outside investors. Hampson has already invested ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
DOMAINfest Global to Party during Universal Studios - Opening night party to include exclusive access to two rides. DOMAINfest Global ’09, a domain conference organized by domain parking company DomainSponsor, has announced that its opening night party will take place at Universal Studios. Even better, conference goers will get exclusive access to two rides without the wait: Jurassic Park and Revenge of the Mummy. DFG attendees will also get a personal, behind-the-scenes tour of the studios. Buses will begin departing ... read more ...
Tue 18th November 2008
Written by The Domains in EN
Amazing: In 2008 Mainstream Publications Are Still Asking: “Whether It’s Worth Buying Your Own Domain Name” - Caught an article in Computer Active UK that started with the above title. It is truly amazing, that more than 10 years after I registered my first domain, this question is still being asked by a publication dedicated to the Computer industry. When I read stories like this, i can feel the value of my portfolio grow. We all forget that so much of the world is still just starting to get online. As they do they will continue to realize they need at least a decent domain, so you will have a new group ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN
CitiBank: “Display Advertising is Declining Faster Than Anyone Expected” - According to Citibank analyst Mark Mahaney, Display advertising is declining faster than expected and marketers are holding back on spending in 2009 because of growing economic uncertainty analyst. Mahaney suggested that the online ad market is in worse shape than previously imagined. “October spending in display saw a sharp deceleration from September as advertisers continue to worry about the macro environment,” he wrote. “Premium, guaranteed advertising, especially, has been highly impacted ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN
Yahoo’s Yang, stepping down as CEO - Expect shares of Yahoo to jump at the opening in reaction to the news tonight that co-founder Jerry Yang is stepping down as Chief Executive Officer of Yahoo. Yang will return to his former role as Chief Yahoo, and will remain on the board of directors.. Yang is widely seen as the one who blocked Microsoft attempted takeover a couple of years ago and once again refused Microsoft’s $31 offer, asking for $38. Yahoo is sitting at under $11 before the announcement.  We expect to see the stock trade ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Global Warming May Be Hazardous to Your Domain Names - Country code domain names carry risks. Here are a couple examples. Sure is pretty. Until the water rises. This headline isn’t a joke. Here’s how global warming and subsequent rising ocean waters could doom a domain name extension. Last night I read an article in The Economist about the Maldives, an island nation planning for the day it will be below sea level. The article also mentioned Tuvalu, an even smaller island nation of just over 10,000 inhabitants. ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Big Three Registrars Ask Feds for Bailout - A comical look at the state of our economy (satire). [As CEOs of the “big three” auto manufacturers in the U.S. go hat-in-hand to the federal government today, I thought I’d take a humorous look at what may happen if the biggest three registrars ran into trouble.] Representatives of the “big three” domain name registrars — GoDaddy, eNom, and Network Solutions — asked Congress for a bailout today after facing unheard of financial hardship. “There are ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
GoDaddy Increases Default Registration Period to 5 Years - Be careful as you click through checkout on GoDaddy. If you’re used to quickly clicking through the GoDaddy checkout process to register domains, be warned: the default registration period has changed to 5 years. The graphic below shows the default when I tried to register the domain RegisteringDomainsForMultipleYears.com. Most domainers already stop at this step to change the default from two years to one, and it’s likely that you’ll catch the change when ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Bank Buys 3 Character Domain Name for $50,000 - Sale of ABL.com headlines sales week at Sedo. Fresh off a million dollar sales week, domain broker Sedo is keeping the momentum alive despite not completing any six figure transactions over the past week. The top sale for the week was ABL.com for $50,000. The seller was ABL Research, Inc. of Duluth, Georgia. The buyer appears to be Allied Bank of Pakistan, which has used the domain name ABL.com.pk for its web presence. The latest balance sheet for the bank show ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Moniker to Consolidate 12 Domain Registrars Into One - Moniker to consolidate management of its registrars to Moniker’s system. [Update: See comment from Monte Cahn regarding further consolidation of 105 SnapNames registrars.] Have you ever won a domain at Snapnames and found the winning registrar — such as 1HostUnitedKingdom.com or AceofDomains.com — to look suspiciously like Moniker other than a different logo? That’s because these registrars are all “owned” by Moniker. Starting this Tuesday afternoon, ... read more ...