Monthly Archives: March 2014

Thu 20th March 2014
Written by DomainHack.er in EN and tagged
Protect your brand from cybersquatting - First published in Harvard Business Review Right now, we are witnessing what an executive at the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN (http://www.icann.org/en/about)) called "the biggest change to the Internet since its inception." As ICANN begins launching new generic top-level domain (TLD) extensions, we'll no longer be limited to addresses ending with .com, .net, and other already familiar TLDs. We'll see .clothing, .food, .sport, and many, many more. Some ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
.CO Internet S.A.S Acquired for $109 Million - Neustar traded on the NYSE under the symbol NSR has a market cap of roughly $2.16 billion, today after the close they announced the acquistion of the company behind the .CO extension. Neustar is acquiring  .CO Internet S.A.S for $109 million. Neustar recorded $4 million in revenue for its role as the back-end provider for .CO Internet, which will be eliminated upon consolidation. Neustar is proud to announce the acquisition of .@dotco .CO Internet will expand Neustar’s registry services http://t.co/xpv8XLDRHe — ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainHack.er in EN and tagged
Suggest a New gTLD Domain Name to a Domain Owner - I’ll preface this article by saying that this suggestion probably won’t work. That being said, even if there is a very small chance it works, it’s worth using it as a last ditch effort to acquire a domain name. Let me explain further. For the majority of my domain acquisition efforts, I try to purchase domain names that have been registered for many years. Oftentimes, I contact the owners of domain names that are either underutilized or the websites haven’t been updated for a long ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainHack.er in EN and tagged
Closed Generic TLDs – The Final Battle? - Over the past couple of years I've posted several times on the issue of "closed generics" (e.g. see posts from Feb 24, 2013 Jun 14, 2012). In essence these are new TLD applications where the string is a "generic term" AND the applicant wanted to keep all domains in the registry for their own use. The baseline registry agreement with ICANN now contains language that resolves the issue, or at least it would appear to do so: Section 3d of Specification 11 of the Registry Agreement — Registry ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Disturbing: 12 Year Old Hobbex.com Registered 4 Years Before Trademark Lost In UDRP - Hobbex AB of Borås, Sweden, just won a UDRP on the domain name Hobbex.com which is owned by Vertical Axis Inc. The case is disturbing because  the domain holder registered the domain four years before the trademark holder got their trademark yet the majority of the three member panel gave the domain to the trademark holder finding that they used the “trademark for many years before it secured its registration”. Moreover the trademark holder registered it in 2006 and waited until late 2013  ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainHack.er in EN and tagged
Drop In VeriSign Shares Highlights Risks Associated With Domain Business - Shares of VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) dropped 6% on Tuesday, March 18, after the U.S. National Telecommunications Information Admisnistration (NTIA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC), announced its intent to transition key internet domain name functions. In essence, the U.S. DoC would be giving up its control on certain functions of the NTIA, which handles registrations of domain names. The sell-off post the announcement was a result of the market’s uncertainty in VeriSign ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainHack.er in EN and tagged
First New UDRP Decision Issued For gTLDs - Terms Conditions and Privacy Statement Mondaq.com (the Website) is owned and managed by Mondaq Ltd and as a user you are granted a non-exclusive, revocable license to access the Website under its terms and conditions of use. Your use of the Website constitutes your agreement to the following terms and conditions of use. Mondaq Ltd may terminate your use of the Website if you are in breach of these terms and conditions or if Mondaq Ltd decides to terminate your license of use for whatever reason. Use ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN
Another Banner Day For Domains As Total Adds is Almost 65,000; 35K From .Com - Domain name registrations continue to grow with a bunch of new gTLD going live and as people continue to register more of the orginal TLD’s .com, .net and .org Yesterday new domain registrations over all TLD’s (not counting ccTLD’s) grew by a net of 64,430 domain name .Berlin added 4,408 new registrations on the day after it went live. A few new gTLD came out with their initial numbers: .Company had 6,228 registrations .Center had  5,279 registrations .Systems had 2,934 .Academy had 2,591 .Management ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Be Careful of Phishing Attack to Gain Google Credentials - Be careful using Google Docs and Google Drive as Symantec discovered a new phishing attack that is looking to get your Google log in credientials. Afterdawn.com covered the recent finding: Researchers over at security firm Symantec have come across a new advanced phishing attack aimed at stealing your Google credentials. The new attack specifically targets Google Docs and Google Drive users. An email will hit your inbox with a subject line of “Documents” or similar, claiming there is an ‘important ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Richard Branson is initial URS loser - Panel denies claim to Branson.guru. Last month I wrote about how billionaire Richard Branson had filed some cases under the new Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS) policy to suspend domains that cybersquatted his name and brands. One case that hadn’t been filed at the time was for Branson.guru. A decision has been handed down and Branson has the distinction of being the first person to lose a URS case. Branson’s lawyers (actual counsel for his company Virgin) made ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN
Breaking: Neustar acquires .CO for $109 million - Neustar pays $109 million for registry that runs .co domain name. Domain name registry Neustar has acquired .CO Internet S.A.S and associated assets for $109 million, the company announced moments ago. .CO Internet, which commercialized the .Co domain name starting in 2010, exited last year with an annual revenue run rate of $21 million. [See more: Why Neustar paid $109 million for .CO Internet.] The registry has over 1.6 million domain names currently registered. ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Amazon.com registers .domains domain names for any of the due TLDs - Amazon.com grabs .domains domains corresponding to its new top level domain applications. Amazon.com has registered corresponding .domains domain names for each of the 65 Latin script top level domain names it has applied for. All of the registrations follow the format dotTLD.domains, e.g. dotAmazon.domains, dotCloud.domains, and dotDeal.domains. This is an interesting move that adds to the complicated question of what Amazon.com plans to do with its domain names. ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
UDRP row gets AustinPain.com preference wrong - Panel awards generic domain name to company with questionable trademark rights. A National Arbitration Forum panel has ordered the transfer of the domain name AustinPain.com, and I believe it got the decision wrong. The case was filed by Austin Pain Associates* against HugeDomains. The three person panel had to twist and rationalize UDRP rules in order to find against HugeDomains in each aspect of the UDRP. Reading the case, it’s apparent that Austin Pain Associates ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN
Exposed: A GoDaddy impersonator, lies, and an lapsed domain name scheme - This month I received a call from someone impersonating GoDaddy. Last year someone called impersonating ICANN. Here’s what they were up to. In August 2013 I received a phone call from someone who claimed to be working for ICANN. He said he needed to verify the contact information on a couple of my domain names. The domain names were actually expired. The caller was trying to figure out if I still wanted the domain names. If I did, I’d get a call back later with ... read more ...
Wed 19th March 2014
Written by DomainHack.er in EN and tagged
Frank Schilling’s Reigstrar Is Live; The Good & The Bad - Frank Schilling just rolled out Version 1 of his long anticipated registrar under Uniregistry as it went live today. Uniregistrar.com is the name of the registrar but its located at Uniregisty.com. The registrar which was obviously built for the new gTLD’s, or as Frank like to call them the new G’,  is a bare bone’s registrar. Its not glamorous in design and doesn’t offer a lot (or any) up-sells at the moment by design. We got any early preview of the registrar and had a chance to chat ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN
Frank Schilling’s Registrar Is Live; The Good & The Bad - Frank Schilling just rolled out Version 1 of his long anticipated registrar under Uniregistry as it went live today. Uniregistrar.com is the name of the registrar but its located at Uniregisty.com. The registrar which was obviously built for the new gTLD’s, or as Frank like to call them the new G’,  is a bare bone’s registrar. Its not glamorous in design and doesn’t offer a lot (or any) up-sells at the moment by design. We got any early preview of the registrar and had a chance to chat with ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
15 Year Old Quebec.com Owned By Anything.com Saved In UDRP - The government of Quebec just lost its bid to grab the domain name Quebec.com, but the domain owner failed to get a Reverse Domain Name Hijacking Ruling. If you’re in to extremely long proper names,  the complainant in the UDRP is “Ministre des Relations internationales, de la Francophonie et du Commerce extérieur (Minister of International Relations, La Francophonie and External Trade), acting in this proceeding for and on behalf of the Government of Québec, Québec, Canada” The domain ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
ICANN Last Resort Contention Auctions Look Like a Go With 1st Planned For Jun 4th - ICANN just published a schedule of contention resolution Last Resort Auction and they start on June 4th with a goal of having 20 a month and resolving all of them in 1o months. This should push many applicants to go into a private auction where the funds go to the other applicants or in the RightoftheDot.com model even to Charities and other non-profits. There is a schudule of auctions and 10 pages of very firm rules on how the Last Resort Auctions will be conducted. One of the advantages of private ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
One of The Worlds Best Domain; Chat.com Is Sold By CBS Interactive - One of the great domain names in the world, Chat.com was just sold. The domain name was owned by CBS Interactive, Inc. which acquired the domain  it when it purchased Cnet in June 2008. We reported last year that the company sold another killer domain it acquired in the  Cnet.com deal, Events.com The deal was co-brokered by the Domain Hall of Fame Nominee Larry Fischer of GetYourDomain.com and digital DNA. The domain now under under privacy and the sale is under NDA. The buyer of the domain which ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Record Number of Companies Sponsor DomainFest2014 - The organizers of Domain Fest which is being held from March 31 to April 2, 2014 at the Loews Hollywood Hotel in Hollywood, California. just put out a press release a few moments ago that they “have a record number of sponsors this year for the event”. “We are thrilled by the depth of support from our sponsors this year,” said Dwayne Walker, Senior Vice President of Oversee.net.  “With a nine-year track record, our DomainFest sponsors understand the value of connecting with this extraordinary ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainHack.er in EN and tagged
A Step Closer – Impact Of New Generic Top-Level Domains On Brand Owner … - Several generic top-level domains ("gTLDs") recently completed their Sunrise Periods, taking a step closer to realizing the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers' ("ICANN's") gTLD expansion project from the existing 22 gTLDs (e.g. .com, .net, .org, .biz, etc.) to potentially 1,300 new gTLDs (i.e. arbitrary top-level domains). Brand owners now face an uphill battle in the enforcement of trade-mark rights on the Internet. But what are the mechanisms available? ICANN Mandated Protections The ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainHack.er in EN and tagged
Afilias Welcomes "Dot Chinese Online" and "Dot Chinese Website" Top-Level … - "We've been especially pleased that we've been able to launch these domains so quickly because of the skill and historical knowledge that Afilias brought to the project."—Arto Isokoski, CEO Co-Founder Global registry services provider Afilias today announced the completion of technical preparations for the Landrush launch of the new Dot Chinese Online (.在线) and Dot Chinese Website (.中文网) top-level domains (TLD). These two new TLDs represent the next generation of domains, ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Strickling Refines Last Weeks Announcement On ICANN: No Government-Led Solution Will Be Accepted - Lawrence E. Strickling the Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information and NTIA Administrator seems to have backed off the statement he made last Friday, that the US was ready to let ICANN go out of United States control. In an announcement he made today Stickling said: Our announcement has led to some misunderstanding about our plan with some individuals raising concern that the U.S. government is abandoning the Internet. Nothing could be further from the truth. This announcement in no ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainHack.er in EN and tagged
Easyspace offers new Domain Names for Business – .COMPANY - These new domain extensions give businesses greater flexibility. (PRWEB UK) 19 March 2014 Glasgow, UK: UK domain name provider Easyspace has issued a further set of generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs) to help businesses and individuals identify themselves online. One of these is .Company - this will provide a recognisable worldwide business domain name. This can be ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainHack.er in DE and tagged
Berlin erste Hauptstadt mit TLD – .berlin ab sofort verfügbar - Anfang 2012 öffnete die ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Numbers and Names) die Bewerbung für neue Top-Level-Domains (TLD). Der schlichte Grund: Immer schneller wurden im vergangenen Jahrzehnt immer mehr Domains registriert, was allmählich dazu führte, dass kaum noch sinnvolle Domain-Namen verfügbar waren. Lange hatte sich die US-Organisation dagegen gesträubt, mehr Domain-Endungen zuzulassen, weil damit auch mehr Verwaltungs- und Überwachungsaufwand einhergeht. Nicht nur für die ... read more ...