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.

Tue 11th March 2014
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
New TLD heading notifications tip 20,000 - The Trademark Clearinghouse has sent over 20,000 notices to trademark holders based on domain registrations matching trademarks. The Trademark Clearinghouse has now issued 20,076 trademark notifications based on second level registrations in new TLDs. The notifications are sent to entities that have registered their marks with the Trademark Clearinghouse whenever someone registers an SLD that matches that mark. There are only 27,252 marks submitted to the Clearinghouse, ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Fiskars is Stoppable, domain name row rules - Company loses dispute for Unstoppable.com domain name. Fiskars, a company you most likely know for its scissors, has a trademark on “Unstoppable”. But a Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) panel has ruled that its rights to the term are stoppable. The company filed a cybersquatting complaint under UDRP against the owner of Unstoppable.com. Fiskars lost its case (pdf) despite the domain name owner not responding. The panel ruled that Fiskars did ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
New Top Level Domain Names still confronting harmony issues - Important software still not recognizing new domain names. Registrants of second level domain names under new TLDs such as .photography and .tattoo are learning firsthand about the issue of Universal Acceptance. The term refers to systems not recognizing new top level domain names for what they are, and thus not being compatible with domain names ending in new monikers such as .holdings. And while the issue is toughest on non-Latin top level domains, it still affects ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Companies are unprotected to .exposed tip turn domain name - Trademark counsel should pay attention to the latest TLD to enter sunrise. A lot of people have focused on .sucks as an example of a top level domain “shakedown” in which companies will feel compelled to register domains for protective purposes. There’s a similar domain name entering sunrise today that hasn’t received much attention: .exposed. It can be used in much the same way that .sucks and .gripe can be used, so it’s worth paying attention to if you’re ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Former Apple executive joins GoDaddy board - GoDaddy adds woman to board and her background might signal a coming IPO. GoDaddy has appointed Betsy Rafael to its board of directors. She is the former Chief Accounting Officer at Apple and Finance VP at Cisco Systems. Rafael also serves on the boards of Echelon and Autodesk. Rafael is the first woman on GoDaddy’s Board of Directors, although the company has a number of women in leadership roles including the CMO, CTO, Chief Communications Officer, and General ... read more ...
Mon 10th March 2014
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Survey: Domain Name Registrars in 2014 - What do customers look for in a domain name registrar? The 9th annual Domain Name Wire survey is open and awaiting your participation. As always, the survey asks some questions about domain name registrars and why people use the registrar they do. The survey asks participants to rank eight difference factors commonly considered by customers. There’s an additional one this year that wasn’t on the list last year: availability of the top level domain name options ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Photos: Domain.com SXSW Party & .CO HQ - Here are photos from Domain.com’s party in Austin Saturday night and the .CO HQ. Domain.com threw a party in conjunction with Public Interest Registry (PIR) Saturday night in Austin at the SXSW festival. A steady cold rain didn’t keep people away. In fact, it may have drawn them to the relative comfort and warmth of dancing in a tent. For the second year in a row the party featured 80s cover band The Spazmatics. Drinks included “The Domain Fire” and the “Refresh-ORG”. On ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN
Domain Name Wire incited 9 this weekend - Covering the domain name industry since 2005. Domain Name Wire celebrated its ninth anniversary over the weekend. I’d like to take this occasion to thank all of Domain Name Wire’s loyal readers. Publishing a blog is only fun when there’s an engaged audience. Many of you take the time to comment and interact with posts. Many others tell me personal stories about how DNW has helped them grow their business, sell a domain name or clarify their strategy. Whether ... read more ...
Fri 7th March 2014
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
23 some-more finish user domain name sales - I’d Laugh out Loud at being paid twenty grand for LaughOutLoud.com. Afternic and GoDaddy teamed up to sell just over $2 million worth of domain names last week. Here’s a list of some of the sales to end users. You can see previous end user sales lists here. LaughOutLoud.com $20,800 – a company called Codeblack Enterprises, LLC. Is it connected to this entertainment company? BoatTransport.com $16,000 – auto transport company Showroom Transport. HealthShield.com ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Warner Bros. gets Gauntlet.com domain name after filing UDRP - Entertainment company now controls Gauntlet.com domain name. Warner Bros. has filed a UDRP against the domain name Gauntlet.com, and it appears the domain name registrant handed the domain name over as a result. It’s not clear yet if a payment was involved, but I’ve reached out to the previous domain owner. Warner Bros. distributed the 1977 film The Gauntlet directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Eastwood and Sondra Locke. But its interest in the domain name ... read more ...
Thu 6th March 2014
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
15 finish user domain name sales during Sedo - A lawyer, shirt company and calendar program bought new domain names. Sedo sold 582 domain names for a total of $1.3 million last week. Here are 15 domain names that were sold to end users. You can see more end user sales lists here. TeamShirt.com $23,000 – Shirt seller Spreadshirt. They recently paid $89,000 for the plural version TeamShirts.com. LaptopScreen.co.uk $13,600 – Laptop Screen International Inc in Vancouver. Blue-Group.co.uk 840 GBP – Blue Machinery ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Why we haven’t purebred any new TLDs yet - Between reserved domains, name collisions, premium pricing and awkward domain name registrar interfaces, it’s just a pain in the ass. I’ve written before about how new TLDs are coming out with a whimper. They are severely handicapped coming out of the gate thanks to lack of registrar support, name collision uncertainty, poor registrar search experiences and a whole host of other reasons. Earlier this week I wrote about my experience trying to register 17 domain ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
.Photos is initial day leader in Donuts’ latest collection of new TLDs - .Photos easily outpaces three other domain names that reverted to regular pricing yesterday. Four more new top level domain names from Donuts launched with regular pricing yesterday: .Photos, .Careers, .Shoes, and .Recipes. .Photos led the others by a wide margin when it came to the initial hours of release. At the time the zone reports were published, .Photos had added 4,065 domain names to close at 4,509. Generally speaking, pre-registrations make up the bulk of ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN
Huh? DNS.com relocating to DNSbyComodo.com - Company appears to be ditching the DNS.com domain name. File this one in the strange moves category… Comodo acquired DNS.com – which was founded by people in the domain name business – back in 2011. They changed the overall branding to include the Comodo name but kept using the DNS.com domain name. Now they’re doing something that is rather odd: they seem to be ditching the DNS.com domain name altogether in favor of DNSbyComodo.com: Michele Neylon writes ... read more ...
Wed 5th March 2014
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
At slightest 10 domain name companies streamer to SXSW in Austin this week - Domain companies setting up shop in Austin later this week. SXSW Interactive kicks off in Austin on Friday. Among the 30,000+ attendees will be at least 9 10 domain name companies. Here’s what I know so far about domain name companies in attendance. Drop me a line if you’re a domain name company missing from the list. Feel free to post a comment if you’re making the trek to Austin. Domain.com: Domain.com is holding a party in Brush Square Park Saturday night ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN
Yahoo Ad: We’ve helped 1,000s of domain squatters - Ad claims Yahoo! helps “domain squatters” build websites. Nat Cohen sent me some screenshots of an ad Yahoo! is running to promote its webhosting services. I think domainers will get a rise out of the message. Slide 1: Although Nat wasn’t able to capture the first slide, it says something to the effect of “Jerry registered a domain in 2006″. Slide 2: Slide 3: Slide 4: So there you have it. Yahoo! has helped thousands of “squatters” create their ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Google Capital invests $50 million in Auction.com - Company that invested $1.7 million in great domain name in 2009 gets $50 million infusion from Google Capital. Google Capital has invested $50 million in real estate auction company Auction.com. I don’t usually write about fundraising by companies with great domain names. It takes a lot more than a great domain name to build a good business. In fact, what is now Auction.com was already a fast growing business before it had the domain name. Still, Real Estate Disposition ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
“Income Acceleration Mentor” files UDRP opposite JustBelieve.com - Company filed and dismissed two lawsuits against domain name before filing UDRP. Life is Now, Inc. has filed a UDRP against the domain name JustBelieve.com. The company promotes coaching by David Neagle, whose website describes him as “Master Income Acceleration Mentor for Entrepreneurs Corporate Professionals”. It has a registered trademark for “Just Believe” and claims first use in commerce of 2003. The domain name is owned by Greg Ricks, who has owned ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
DomainFest is reduction than a month away. Here’s because I’m going. - DomainSponsor’s annual domain name conference is just a few weeks away. This year’s date-shifted DomainFest conference is less than a month away, kicking off on March 31. I just booked my travel for the event, which is one of many domain conferences I plan to go to this year. With a very busy conference circuit, I’m being selective about which events I attend. Ultimately I included DomainFest as one of them for five reasons: 1. The show has a long history of ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
.Tips domain name sells for $8,200 - Domain name investor pays top dollar for a .tips domain name. A .tips domain names has sold for $8,200 at GoDaddy. HorseRacing.tips was purchased by London-based Domain Invest Ltd. [Apparently I looked up the whois record of HorseRacingTips.com, not HorseRacing.tips. The latter is under whois privacy. Sorry about that.] Domain Invest Ltd appears to own a lot of gambling related domain names. This is the highest price I’ve seen so far for a GoDaddy auction to resolve ... read more ...
Tue 4th March 2014
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
New TLD registries need to forget about morning revenue - New top level domain registries need to scratch the sunrise line item off their PLs. I think many observers are surprised by the low number of trademark sunrise registrations in new top level domain names so far. Calzone, a calendar for new TLD rollouts, has put together some numbers and analysis on sunrise periods so far. The net-net is that sunrises so far have averaged between 100-200 registrations. That’s about 1% of how many sunrise registrations .co received ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Tim Switzer joins .Build - Tim Switzer has been hire by the .Build top level domain name registry. A familiar face in the domain name registry business is joining the .Build team. Tim Switzer, most recently with DotGreen, will manage the company’s operations and registrar relations activities. Switzer was with Neustar prior to joining DotGreen. DotGreen’s bid for .green failed after the company determined it couldn’t compete in an auction for the domain name. Afilias ended up winning ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
New domain .domains comes out tomorrow - New TLD .domains launches tomorrow. Starting tomorrow you’ll be able to register .domains domains. Seriously: anything.domains will be up for grabs. The Early Access Program phase for Donuts’ top level domain .domains starts on March 5. A week later, on March 12, .domains domains will be available at standard pricing of around $30-$40. I’m curious what types of domains will be registered in this namespace. I’m sure some registrars will participate. As for ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
See how John Berryhill schools a UDRP complainant - Berryhill brings it home in ican.com case. John Berryhill has successfully defended Digimedia’s domain name ican.com in a UDRP brought by Galaxy Rainbow Limited in Hong Kong. Berryhill pokes a number of holes in Galaxy Rainbow’s case, but really brings it home in the “registered in bad faith” section. For your reading enjoyment: …the Respondent registered the domain name in 1998 – ten years prior to the earliest evidence of a trademark registration presented ... read more ...
Mon 3rd March 2014
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
I only went 0-for-17 induction new domain names - Between name collisions, registry reserved domains, and premium pricing, the best new TLD opportunities are difficult to find. I think there are some opportunities for domainers to make money with new top level domain names, but they are limited. My thinking is that some domain names that can be obtained for under $100 with low renewal fees can be sold within 1-5 years for low $1,000s to the right buyer. It’s very risky, and with typical sell through rates I’ll ... read more ...