Author Archives: DomainNameWire

About DomainNameWire

Domain Name Wire is a blog that deals with the domain name sector. The blog covers a range of domain related topics ranging from issues concerning expiring domains, monetization, domain registries and registrars, ICANN, policy, law etc. The blog began in March, 2005, after Mr. Allemann had dropped out of meetings to become involved in domain portfolio company, iREIT. The project began as a hobby to keep him involved in the domaining business, and then became his full-time business.

Mon 1st April 2013
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Google says parked domains = spam - Google’s spam page claims parked domains are web spam. Here’s something interesting to start your week. Google has a page about “Fighting Spam” referring to pages designed to trick search engines such as cloaking and hidden text. Listed right there underneath “Types of Spam” is this: It’s completely understandable that Google doesn’t want to index parked domains. But to label them as spam? I take two issues with that. 1. In order to be web spam, the ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
It’s opening day and MLB is batting .867 with domains - Major League Baseball owns 26 of 30 team names in .com. Major League Baseball owns all but four team .com domain names.It’s a sure sign of spring as Major League Baseball opens up the 2013 season with 12 games today. MLB made a good acquisition over the summer, buying the domain name Rockies.com for an unspecified amount. With the Rockies.com domain, MLB now owns 26 of 30 team names in .com. MLB has upped its average from .767 in 2010 (23 names) to .867 (26 names) ... read more ...
 
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Video: How to contention an shabby WHOIS complaint - The whois complaint form is now part of ICANN’s web site. Long time readers know that I’m not a fan of videos when you can explain something with text. Yet I realize that how one person prefers to consume media isn’t necessarily the same as everyone. So today I’m posting my first DNW “How To” video. The video shows how to submit an invalid whois report on ICANN.org. ICANN recently added the whois complaint form directly to its web site, but the process ... read more ...
 
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Lawsuit: cybersquatters attempted to fool suppliers out of $60,000+ of merchandise - W. W. Williams says fraudsters uses domain name to try to trick suppliers to send merchandise. Usually when a cybersquatter grabs a domain similar to a company’s name, the cybersquatter just hopes to make a few bucks from a parked page. But sometimes the perpetrator has much more nefarious plans. W.W. Williams, which provides services and products to industrial companies, alleges that’s the case with the registrant of WWWilliamsInc.com. The company uses the domain ... read more ...
 
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Outrageous and foolish numbers about new tip turn domains - Michael spotted an article about new TLDs over at AdWeek today. The article is about how much it will cost brands to protect their brands when new TLDs come online. It liberally quotes Bob Liodice, president and CEO of the Association of National Advertisers, and that shows in the ridiculous numbers the article quotes. Take a look at the infographic and then come back here… OK, you’re back. Let’s blow this infographic apart. 1. The first assumption is how ... read more ...
 
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Twitter co-founder starting new association called Jelly during JellyHQ.com - As with Twitter, Stone isn’t buying the “best” domain yet. Twitter co-founder Biz Stone is working on a new company called Jelly. Although it’s very early stage, on March 22 he registered JellyHQ.com. So what about Jelly.com? It’s actually owned by a company in my backyard in Fredericksburg, Texas called Fischer Wieser. Believe it or not, Fischer Wieser sells…jelly. Whatever the new company is a bout, if Stone’s new venture takes off you can expect ... read more ...
Sun 31st March 2013
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“Domainer” and “Domain Parking” strike CNN.com home page - Article discusses cybersquatter who calls himself a domainer. One of the top stories on CNN.com today is about a self-proclaimed “domainer”. Unfortunately, that domainer is a cybersquatter, so the article doesn’t paint domainers in a positive light. The article is about Taikwok Yung. I’ve written about Yung before, when he registered domains related to Bank of America and Merrill Lynch when they planned their merger. Back then I took issue with him calling ... read more ...
Fri 29th March 2013
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Introducing RDNH.com: a database of retreat domain name hijacking cases - 129 reverse domain name hijacking cases and counting… Today I’d like to introduce you to RDNH.com, a site that provides a database of reverse domain name hijacking cases under UDRP. The site is a “collaboration” between myself, Nat Cohen, and David Lahoti. I say “collaboration” because Nat has been doing most (all) of the work and David’s UDRPSearch.com has been a key data source. As for me, my only collaboration on the project is lending the RDNH.com ... read more ...
 
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Company buys dual domains from Frank Schilling for $80,000 - SearchCore discloses purchases in SEC filing. Companies buy domains from Frank Schilling’s Name Administration all the time, but here’s an example that’s in an SEC filing. It also shows that Schilling is willing to sell domains on a payment plan. The buyer is SearchCore, which I wrote about earlier this year. The company has some high profile sales, including Makeup.com for $2 million, and some high profile purchases, such as Rodeo.com and Karate.com. It has ... read more ...
 
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Online video association paid over $100,000 for uLive domains - Real Gravity is mystery buyer of uLive.com and uLive.tv. Last week Afternic reported that it sold uLive.tv for $27,000. I was correct that the uLive.tv buyer is the same company that paid $75,000 for uLive.com last month. But my guess as to who that buyer is missed the mark. It wasn’t CBS, which runs a college network by the uLive name. The whois records for the domains changed yesterday, and the buyer was revealed as Los Angeles online video company Real Gravity. ... read more ...
 
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ICC publishes initial list of new TLD Community Objections - Group posts first 28 objections. International Chamber of Commerce, which is handling new TLD objections for community objections and limited public interest objections, has published a list of pending cases. The list so far includes 28 objections. All of the published limited public interest pbjections were already known as they were filed by the independent objector. But the community objections include some new ones. Community Objections include: The International ... read more ...
Thu 28th March 2013
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
.Online is only a commencement of new TLD partnership announcements - Partnerships are a key way contention sets will be resolved. Get ready for a number of new TLD partnerships. Yesterday Tucows, NameCheap, and Directi (see disclosure) announced a partnership for the .online top level domain name. The three companies were part of a crowded field of six applicants vying for the domain name. By combining forces, they’ll have more money to get the top level domain (which will likely be awarded in an auction). If they succeed, they’ll ... read more ...
 
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Nordstrom fails to get rough claim opposite NoMoreRack.com - Judge hands victory to online retailer NoMoreRack.com. Here’s an update on a lawsuit I wrote about in October. Upscale retailer Nordstrom, which also operates outlet stores under “The Rack” name, sued online flash sales and discount site NoMoreRack.com. It claimed NoMoreRack.com’s brand and domain name infringed its trademarks. This week the judge on the case denied Nordstrom’s motion for a preliminary injunction against NoMoreRack. Had Nordstrom succeeded, ... read more ...
 
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A confused accountant in 2015 - Accountant (answering phone): Smith CPA, may I help you? Salesperson: Hi Mr. Smith. Did you know that you can now get a web address that ends in .accountant, rather than your existing .com domain? Accountant: I didn’t. Why would I do that? Salesperson: It will help you get more business online. Visitors will instantly recognize that you’re an accountant. And it’s only $25 a year. Accountant: Interesting. OK, I’ll take smith.accountant. Salesperson: Great! One ... read more ...
 
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MLM association denied Zija.com domain in dispute - Company was founded two years after domain registered. Zija International, a multi-level marketing company that sells nutritional and dietary supplements, has failed to get the domain name Zija.com through a UDRP. The registrant of the domain name registered it in 2002, two years before Zija even existed. He then used the domain name to forward to one of his web sites until 2006, which Zija threatened legal action against him. At that time, the respondent stopped ... read more ...
 
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California male guilty of retreat domain name hijacking - Sorry, you can’t just take a domain because you have a business plan for it. A California man starting a business called Joopa has been found guilty of attempted reverse domain name hijacking. Edward Smith attempted to purchase the domain name Joopa.com for a new business (which is currently online at Joopa.tv). He first offered $500, and then upped his offer to $2,600. The domain owner wanted much more. According to the domain owner, it was after Smith was originally ... read more ...
 
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Verisign to ICANN: not prepared for new TLDs - Verisign claims insufficient preparation (mostly technical) for new top level domains. Verisign has sent a report to ICANN (and filed it with the Securities and Exchange Commission) that basically says that the internet isn’t prepared new top level domains yet. The report outlines multiple issues, ranging from automated TLD additions to the root (of which Verisign plays a role), lack of emergency backend providers, and lack of final plans for zone file and escrow. From ... read more ...
Wed 27th March 2013
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United States Postal Services only squandered your income objecting to .mail tip turn domain - USPS should stick to delivering mail. This morning World Intellectual Property Organization posted that the United States Postal Service has objected to the seven applications to run a .mail top level domain. Really, USPS? First of all, the type of objection filed (legal rights objection) is designed as a vehicle for trademark holders. Last time I checked the USPS didn’t have a trademark on “mail”. Here are the criteria for a legal rights objection: (i) takes ... read more ...
 
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15 finish user sales during Sedo - Sedo’s biggest reported sale last week was to an end user. A candy company made the biggest reported purchase on Sedo this past week. Here’s a look at 15 end users who bought domains from the marketplace last week. Candy company Windel in Germany bought MyChoco.com for 23,000 EUR. 2KDirect, Inc., which runs the online advertising company iPromote.com, bought iPromote.co.uk for $1,250. Strategy consulting company Qantrex bought StrategicTransformation.com for $1,095. The ... read more ...
 
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21 some-more finish user domain sales led by a $27,000 .tv purchase - .TV leads the way in latest Afternic sales report. An Australian company just sold uLive.tv with the help of Afternic. It’s one of 21 end user sales I was able to identify in Afternic’s weekly sales report. Country Home Elevators and Stairlifts, LLC in Missouri bought ElevatorParts.com for $1,500. The Cartoon Museum in London bought CartoonMuseum.com for $2,000. Made in Granite, a company that creates tombstones and other memorials, bought TheMemorialShop.com ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Never let an worker register your association domain name in their possess name - Make sure your company is the named registrant of your company’s domain names. This is just a friendly public service announcement to all small business owners out there. I just finished reading a domain dispute regarding the domain name TexasCash.com. The complainant, TCR Business Systems, alleged that the respondent registered the domain on its behalf when he was employed by TCR. The respondent disagrees with TCR’s allegations. Regardless of who’s telling ... read more ...
Tue 26th March 2013
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
The entrance change in domain name search - Registrars are preparing domain search for new top level domain names. Sometime this year a key element of the domain search box at GoDaddy.com will disappear: the drop down box containing top level domains such as .com. It may seem like a subtle change, but it’s indicative of a big shift coming in domain search and discovery necessitated by the launch of hundreds of new top level domains. Domain registrars must figure out how to present the most relevant domain ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
.Co domain tops 1.5 million domains - .Co now has over 1.5 million domains registered. The .co domain namespace has hit a new milestone: 1.5 million domain names. The .co domain name ticker rolled over a big digit overnight: This is a pretty huge number of domain names within 3 years of launch, especially with .co’s premium pricing. Interesting times are ahead as new top level domains roll out. I suspect a lot of new top level domain backers hope to achieve just 100,000 or so registrations at some ... read more ...
 
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Interesting: Regional relapse of .de domain registrations - .De data is a good PR and marketing tool. I must admit that I don’t follow the .de domain market much. I should, since Germany’s ccTLD is the largest country code domain name in existence with over 15 million domain registrations. There are a lot of reasons for .de’s success, and it’s clear that one of its success factors is marketing. Today .de registry DENIC sent a release to me about its latest data on regional registrations. Since 2004 the company has ... read more ...
Mon 25th March 2013
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Pinterest files the initial UDRP - Company targets Pinterest.info, and I bet it will be filing a lot more domain disputes soon. [Update: the domain owner gave the domain to Pinterest.] Image-based social networking service Pinterest has filed its first domain name dispute under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP). The case was filed against the domain Pinterest.info, which was registered in May 2011 by someone in Los Angeles. As of right now the domain resolves to a Go Daddy holding ... read more ...