Afternic Sells $850K In Domains Led By One Of Ours; TheFit.com during $31K -
The top seller of the week was one of our domain names, TheFit.com, that sold for $30,900.
QIS.com was a close 2nd at $27,000 with glggroup.com selling for $14,800.
Non-com’s had a pretty good week as well, with Loan.cc selling for $13,500, Pronto.Net selling for $12,500 and Cfl.org selling for $12K.
Here is the entire list of reportable sales:
Google+Michael Berkens ... read more ...
Monthly Archives: May 2011
Tue 31st May 2011
My Take On The New Guidebook: ICANN Will Approve The New gTLD Program In Singapore - After reading the new gTLD Applicant Guidebook (AG) that was published today, my feeling is that ICANN will approve the program in Singapore as planned while some of the specific rules in the Guidebook may and probably will change along the way.
The newest version of the AG provides no material or substantive changes from the previous version.
There is a lot of cleanup going on but no earth shattering change.
ICANN does give itself plenty of wiggle room to make changes on an ongoing basis as it ... read more ...
TMZ: Bravo Coming After The Owner of RealHousewivesofScottsdale.com though Other Housewives Domain Are Parked - According to TMZ.com, Bravo TV wants to shut down live cam website RealHousewivesofScottsdale.com.
According to TMZ:
“A rep for the reality network fired off a letter on Monday to RealHousewivesofScottsdale.com — a site that boasts live XXX performances from several “housewives” — and accused the site of sullying the “Real Housewives” reputation.”
But the site owner says he is not pulling the plug on anything … and he’s willing to go to court over it.
Of course there is ... read more ...
MTV/Sony Launch HypeMusic.com, On A Domain It Bought From BuyDomains.com For $2,688 - Today MTV announced the launch of a new music sitecalled HypeMusic.com
The domain name HypeMusic.com was purchased last November for $2,688 from BuyDomains.com and was part of our weekly Afternic report.
Here is how the whois record read prior to the sale:
Administrative Contact:
Buydomains.com
Inventory Management (brokerage@buydomains.com)
+1.7818397993
Fax: +1.7818392801
738 Main Street, #389
Waltham, MA 02451
US
After the sale the domain ownership went to proxy at Godaddy ... read more ...
Apple Confirms iCloud (.com) & Launch Date Is Jun 6th - In a press release today Apple confirmed its long anticipated service called iCloud”
“”Apple® CEO Steve Jobs and a team of Apple executives will kick off the company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) with a keynote address on Monday, June 6 at 10:00 a.m.”
“”Apple® CEO Steve Jobs and a team of Apple executives will kick off the company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) with a keynote address on Monday, June 6 at 10:00 a.m. ”
“At the keynote, Apple ... read more ...
Top Domain Name Wire Stories of May 2011 -
May flowers? A look back at the month in domaining.
Summer isn’t officially here in the northern hemisphere, but as schools call it quits for the year it certainly seems that way. Here’s a look back at the top stories on Domain Name Wire for May, ranked by number of page views.
1. Monte Cahn Sues Oversee.net Over $13 Million Incentive Plan – it’s unfortunate to see a court battle between Moniker’s founder and one of the biggest companies in the industry. ... read more ...
Hospitality Company Claims Leisure.com Infringes Its Trademarks -
Company wants to trade up to better domain name through lawsuit.
Leisure Hotel Corporation has filed a lawsuit against the owner of Leisure.com claiming trademark infringement, counterfeiting, false designations of origin, and cybersquatting (pdf).
Let me ask you a simple question: If you were the person who plunked down $150,000 to buy Leisure.com a couple years ago, what would you plan to do with it? The most obvious thing would be a site about travel. It’s ... read more ...
Lawsuit Alleges Reverse Domain Name Hijacking of AirFX.com -
Man files lawsuit after losing UDRP.
The same attorney who successfully defended the owner of glennbeckrapedandmurderedayounggirlin1990.com has filed a reverse domain name hijacking lawsuit on behalf of the owner of AirFX.com.
Marc Lurie lost a case over AirFX.com brought against him by AirFX, LLC in a National Arbitration Forum proceeding. Together with attorney Marc J. Randazza, he is now suing AirFX, LLC (pdf) for reverse domain name hijacking in U.S. District ... read more ...
ICANN Recommends Against Revamping UDRP -
ICANN staff says now is not the time to open wholesale rethink of UDRP.
Echoing the sentiments of a number of UDRP providers as well as prominent UDRP defense attorneys, ICANN’s staff has recommended against having the Generic Names Supporting Organization opening a “policy development process” on UDRP.
However, in a new report ICANN notes that there are some complaints about process and implementation of UDRP that may warrant review should GNSO feel it necessary ... read more ...
New TLD Guidebook Won’t Be Approved in Singapore -
The guidebook itself won’t be done — but ICANN will approve something in June.
I’ve gone through the latest version of the new top level domain name applicant guidebook and read ICANN’s explanation of what it is.
I’d call it version 0.7 (beta).
And I’d argue that there will be no approval of the guidebook at June’s ICANN meeting in Singapore. Instead, ICANN hopes to loosely “approve the new gTLD program”.
It’s right there in ICANN’s introduction ... read more ...
Biggest Winner from New TLDs May Be Jones Day Law Firm -
Jones Day will get hefty pay day defending ICANN new in top level domain name disputes.
Who will make the most money from ICANN’s introduction of new top level domain names?
It’s likely to be law firm Jones Day.
ICANN has already publicly stated that it’s setting aside about a third of the application fees from new top level domain names for legal issues.
Its latest applicant guidebook specifically states that Jones Day is likely to defend ICANN in any legal ... read more ...
ICANN Deletes Parked Domain Question from New TLD Guidebook -
Applicants no longer asked to explain restrictions on domain name parking.
A controversial and intriguing addition to the previous applicant guidebook for new top level domain names has been deleted.
The April version included a new clause that applicants would have to explain “Will you impose any constraints on parked sites, or sites that offer only advertising?”
That clause has been struck from the May 30 version of the guidebook.
The question about domain parking ... read more ...
Latest New TLD Applicant Guidebook Still Disses Go Daddy, Demand Media -
Companies still fall victim to anti-cybersquatting rule for new TLD applicants.
The latest (but certainly not final) version of the new top level domain name guidebook still includes a provision that, at least by the spirit of the clause, would prevent Go Daddy and Demand Media (NYSE: DMD) from applying for new top level domain names.
Section 1.2.1 of the May 20 release (large pdf) includes a laundry list of reasons why an applicant would be barred from registering ... read more ...
Mon 30th May 2011
June Domain & Internet Calendar - June marks the return to a busy schedule for domainers.
DomainFest Barcelona kicks off on June 7-9th (agenda is below)
The Live Domain Auction will be held on June 8th at 4pm
Remote bidding for the Live auction will be available on SnapNames.com and is already opened for pre-bidding.
ICANN will be holding a meeting from June 19-24th
ICANN previously stated that they would be voting on the new gTLD program on June 20th, but since ICANN made that announcement its San Francisco meeting there has ... read more ...
Sun 29th May 2011
YouPorn.com Offers $4.5 Million To Buy Charlie Sheen’s Mansion - According to TMZ.com, YouPorn.com, which was acquired earlier this month by a Canadian company, Manwin, has “put in an offer of $4.5 Million in cash to buy Charlie Sheen’s palatial estate” in Hollywood.
Sheen’s mansion is on the market for $7.2 million.
TMZ writes;
“We’re told the YouPorn people have told Sheen’s people they hope to fulfill Sheen’s dream of moving in several porn stars to live at the mansion,”
“The YouPorn peeps told the realtor if Sheen accepts the deal, ... read more ...
Iran To Create Its Own Internet: Is a Beginning of a End of The World Wide Web? - According to a story in the Wall Street Journal, (sub req.) the country of Iran is planning on creating its own state run Internet service within the next 2 years.
Iran’s telecommunications chief claims that, in two years time, all Iranians will be forced to use a internal, state-controlled (censored) Internet, which would effectively cut off its citizens from the Internet.
He said about 60% of homes and business will be on the new Internet even sooner.
Approximately 11% of Iranians, or approximately ... read more ...
Fri 27th May 2011
Godaddy Loses Appeal On Case Holding Them Negligent In Turning Over Ownership Of Domain Accounts - Go Daddy.com, Inc., filed an appeal from a judgment entered in favor of Jeff Eysoldt, Mark Eysoldt, and Jill Eysoldt who had an account with Godaddy only to see the account control turned over to another person.
Here are the facts as laid out by the court:
“In November 2002, Jeff Eysoldt opened account number 1165490 with Go Daddy and transferred his domain name, Eysoldt.com, into that account.
When he set up the account, he agreed to the terms of Go Daddy‟s Domain ... read more ...
Internet.Co Sells For $40,000 On Sedo.com: Whiskey.Co Sells For $14K & Becomes a Latest In A String of Alcohol Related .Co Sales - The domain name Internet.co has become the latest .Co domain to sell on Sedo.com
The domain name Internet.Co sold for $40,000, the second highest recent sale to Mike Mann sale of Business.co for $80,000 a few weeks ago.
In my opnion a pretty nice sale for an extension less than a year old, by contrast I got Internet.biz on the original allocation back in March 2002 and since have less than 5 offers on the domain and nothing close to the $40K that the .Co just sold for.
Also selling today was ... read more ...
DOMAINfest Brings Back “Dine with an Expert” -
Opportunity to get domain name advice during DOMAINfest Barcelona.
DOMAINfest is offering “Dine with an Expert” at next month’s conference in Barcelona. This program allows attendees to reserve a spot at the lunch table with a domain name expert during the conference.
The conference offered this program during its February show in Santa Monica and it was a big hit. Numerous tables — including Frank Schilling’s — filled up quickly.
As of right now all ... read more ...
.XXX Is Going to Bank of Defensive Non-Registration Fee -
Registry will get a windfall in initial fees to block registrations of trademarks.
.XXX could set a record when it comes to defensive domain name registrations.
A “defensive registration” is when a brand registers a domain name solely to keep it out of the hands of cybersquatters or competitors.
When you look back at previous new TLDs you’ll find a number of large brands defensively registered their domains. But you’ll still find lots of brands that don’t ... read more ...
Thu 26th May 2011
Disney Surrenders To The Navy & Gives Up Trademark Application For Seal Team 6 - A couple of weeks ago we wrote about Disney applying for a trademark on the term Seal Team 6 just days after the raid led by the Seals led to the killing of Bin Laden.
Today comes the news courtesy of FoxNews.com that Disney has withdrawn its multiple trademark applications on the term Seal Team 6.
The Navy spokeswoman Amanda Greenberg is quoted as saying:
“The Navy is committed to fully protecting our trademark rights as it pertains to this matter and will continue to examine all our legal ... read more ...
SEOBook.Com: How Google Killed Category Killer Domains -
Well its certainly an interesting read over at SEObook.com a site dedicated as you would guess to SEO topics
Today’s story is on how Google has killed, or at least deeply devalued Category Killer Domain Names
The post is by Aaron Wall
Mr. Wall’s ultimate theory that domain names relevance are being killed off by Google’s new products and algorithm changes. His post highlights a recent newsletter from MediaOptions.com as proof that holders of Category Killers are trying to sell, trying ... read more ...
Apple Sues Owner of WhiteiPhone4Now.com, Then Dismisses Case -
Seller of white iPhones sued.
Apple has sued the owner of WhiteiPhone4Now.com (as well as the domain name itself), but then filed to dismiss the case on the same day (pdf).
However, the dismissal is “without prejudice”, meaning it can be refiled. It’s possible Apple was already in settlement talks with the owner or is refiling the case elsewhere.
Apple alleges the owner used the site to sell conversion kits to make the traditionally black iPhone white.
The ... read more ...
Go Daddy Files Patent Apps for “Redirecting to a Book Web Site” -
Registrar files two applications for ideas related to helping people find book web sites.
Go Daddy has filed two patent applications related to helping web users connect to book web sites.
U.S. applications 12/625892 and 12/625919 (pdf) provide for “redirecting a user to a book’s website after submitting a request for information about the book. The book’s website or a link to the website may be displayed to the user on a client browser.”
For example, a user ... read more ...
Pac-10 Goes After More Domain Names -
Sporting conference files dispute over three domain names.
The Pac-10 conference, which now has twelve teams with the addition of Colorado and Utah and will rebrand as the Pac-12, is again turning to the World Intellectual Property Forum in an effort to get domain names related to its new brand.
The group filed a complaint (and won) over pac-12network.com, pac12network.com, and pac-12network.org. All three are registered to an Ontario man.
The collegiate athletic ... read more ...