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 3rd March 2014
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Donuts pitches photography associated domain names during tradeshow - Company markets six of its domain names to photography industry. New top level domain registry Donuts is exhibiting at the The Photography Show 2014 in Birmingham, England. The show began Saturday and runs through tomorrow. The company is pitching a number of domain names that have a relationship to photography including .camera, .equipment, .gallery, .photos, .lighting, and of course .photography. This is exactly the type of end-user marketing that new domain name ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN
Top 5 Domain Name Wire stories from Feb 2014 - New domain names and the Super Bowl headlined last month on Domain Name Wire. February was a high traffic month on Domain Name Wire thanks to some momentum from the first batch of English language top level domain names. Oh, and the Super Bowl stole a couple headlines, too. Here’s a look at the top five articles on Domain Name Wire last month: 1. .Guru rockets to over 10,000 domain names – .Guru is the runaway winner thus far amongst new top level domain name ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
NameJet to keep Web.com lapsed domain register notwithstanding SnapNames acquisition - Valuable expired domain names will continue to be auctioned off through NameJet. News broke over the weekend that Web.com had acquired expired domain name service and domain marketplace SnapNames from KeyDrive. The first question to pop in to mind for many people is what this means for competing service NameJet. NameJet is a partnership between Web.com and Demand Media. Web.com also sends its expired domain name inventory from Network Solutions and Register.com to ... read more ...
Sat 1st March 2014
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Web.com acquires SnapNames - Part-owner of NameJet acquires competing service SnapNames. Web.com (NASDAQ: WWWW) has acquired expired domain name service and domain marketplace SnapNames from KeyDrive. The deal will formally be announced on Monday after the closing bell, Domain Name Wire has learned. Web.com employees tweeted about the acquisition yesterday afternoon. Web.com marks the third corporate parent of SnapNames since 2007. In 2007 Oversee.net acquired the company. It then sold it to ... read more ...
Fri 28th February 2014
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
17 finish user domain name sales including “DNW” and 3D Printing - A California organ donor group bought DNW.org and a 3D printing company buys a shorter domain name. GoDaddy/Afternic sold $1.8 million worth of aftermarket domain names last week. Here are 17 that were purchased by end users, including the .org version of this blog’s DNW.com shortcut domain. You can view previous end user sales reports here. DNW.org $7,000 – This one obviously caught my eye given that I use the .com version. The buyer is California Transplant ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
ICANN to Registrars: We’re operative on authorised issues with 2013 RAA - But not fast enough for some registrars that fear losing their accreditation. ICANN Vice President of Domain Name Services Cyrus Namazi has sent a letter (pdf) to domain name registrars regarding their concerns over legal implications of the 2013 Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA). In a nutshell, the letter says ICANN is still exploring resolution to conflicts with local laws. In the meantime, some accredited registrars’ ability to sell new top level domain ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Qwalify.com owners files UDRP opposite Qualify.com - Canadian company tries using UDRP to get “correct” spelling of its name. Qualify.com was registered more than 10 years before the company was founded. Qwalify, Inc., a company that services the job recruiter industry, has filed a UDRP (pdf) against the domain name Qualify.com. And yes, this case is as bad as it sounds. It’s rather comical, really. Qwalify claims to have started using its brand around 2010. To make the case that the domain name was registered ... read more ...
Thu 27th February 2014
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Whisky.com domain name sells for $3.1 million - Michael Castello gives details behind blockbuster $3.1 million domain name sale. Michael Castello (with his brother David known as “The Castello Brothers”) has sold the domain name Whisky.com for $3.1 million, DNJournal reported today. This is a phenomenal sale. Michael Castello did a great job explaining how the sale came to be. Here are some of the highlights from my perspective: * The buyer owns Whisky.de. ccTLD owners still want the .com version of their domain ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
4 some-more Donuts domain names entered GA yesterday. Here are a numbers. - Donuts’ domain names continue to spill onto the domain name market. Yesterday four new Donuts domain names came off of “Early Access Pricing” and became available for standard registration prices. .Tips I could tell this one was getting traction because Network Solutions was promoting it much like it did .guru. It’s a fairly solid generic. Pricing is in Donuts’ lowest pricing tier, so .tips domains will typically run you about $20-$25. NameCheap, which ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
.CO creates a “Pop-up HQ” for SXSW 2014 - .CO creates its own home on the road for SXSW Interactive. .CO went small the first time it came to SXSW Interactive in Austin. It was more of a scouting trip than a marketing one. I remember catching up with the company at the W Hotel that year. .CO Internet CEO Juan Diego Calle said “Wow, this is big”. .CO has had a major presence at SXSW ever since then. It’s the perfect event for a company that targets startups. This year it’s going bigger and better ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Richard Branson turns to new collection to fight cybersquatting - Billionaire fights back after finding his name cybersquatted in new domain names. Billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson has turned to two new tools to combat cybersquatting in new top level domain names: The new Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS) policy and Donuts’ “Domain Protected Marks List”. Branson filed a URS case with the National Arbitration Forum in an effort to get the registrations for RichardBranson.holdings and RichardBranson.ventures suspended. ... read more ...
Wed 26th February 2014
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
.Mail combined to new TLD deathwatch, new offer for doing Name Collisions - .Mail may be shelved and group suggests new way to handle name collisions for new top level domain names. JAS Global Advisors has released a new report about name collisions for new top level domain names and has made a new set of recommendations. The report is available for comments. One of the key changes from the existing name collision plan: permanent reservation of the .mail top level domain name. JAS found that use of .mail in systems is prevalent and that it ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Frank Schilling’s .Sexy tighten to 2,000 domains, .Tattoo 700 - Due in part to poor distribution, initial launches fail to garner same traction as other launched TLDs. Frank Schilling’s Uniregistry released its first two top level domain names in general availability yesterday. According to the latest zone files, there are around 2,000 registered .sexy domain names and almost 700 .tattoo. Although zone files don’t include all registered domain names, these numbers seem to jive with initial tallies Frank Schilling provided ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Heritage Auctions domain name auction list released - List includes a dozen three letter .com domain names. A Domain Name Wire reader spotted that the lineup for April’s Heritage Auctions domain name auction has been posted. Although this list may be preliminary, it shows 103 domain names in the auction. It’s loaded with valuable domain names such as Tablets.com, Future.com, March.com, Digital.com, CorpusChristi.com, etc. There are also a dozen three letter .com domain names. The list includes HP’s DEC.com, which ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
15 domain names sell in .Club auction - Auction at Sedo closes with 15 domain names meeting their reserve. The .Club Winter Olympics-themed auction on Sedo has closed with 15 domain names selling. Most of the domain names had reserves near the low end of their reserve ranges, putting them within reach of bidders. The top sale was IceHockey.club for $2,000. The two domains with reserves $5,000 and up didn’t get close to their reserves. Snowboarding.club closed at $1,000, below its $5k-$10k range. Skiing.club ... read more ...
Tue 25th February 2014
Written by DomainNameWire in EN
It’s time! Take a 2014 Domain Name Wire Survey - Please take the ninth annual survey from Domain Name Wire. The 9th annual Domain Name Wire survey officially launches today, and this year’s looks very different from the past. You may recall that last year someone tried to game the survey by spamming it with votes for themselves and their companies. Although there are some practical ways to deal with this, I decided to take a fresh look at the survey and consider what its value is. I asked myself what the real ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
.Green and .Wedding row sets staid in multi-million dollar auctions - Two three-applicant contention sets are resolved. The .green and .wedding new top level domain name contention sets have been resolved in private auctions. It’s unclear which company won the .green auction as applications have not yet been withdrawn. However, Top Level Domain Holdings (Minds + Machines) announced today it was on the losing end of that auction. It used the proceeds from losing .green to spend millions on .wedding. After accounting for the proceeds ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN
ParkRoyal.com: UDRP and panelist selection - Complainant argues that two panelists are biased and should not hear the case. The panel disagrees. Last week a World Intellectual Property Organization panel handed down a decision in a UDRP brought against ParkRoyal.com. The panel found in favor of of respondent Vertical Axis, which was represented by ESQwire. But the decision itself was only a sideshow to a battle over panelists. In a three person panel, both the complainant and respondent get to suggest three ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Domain hunt progressing, though still not prepared for new tip turn domain names - Registrars are slowly improving their search results to show new top level domain name options, but the experience is far from ideal. Earlier this month I wrote about how domain name search at major registrars wasn’t ready for new top level domain names. I admitted it was early, as Donuts’ domain names had just come on to the market. It represented the first batch of English-language domains to become available. Now a few weeks later and over 100,000 new TLD registrations ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
.Club domain name auction ends tomorrow. 0 domains have strike their reserve. - Auction has bidders but no domains have hit their reserve yet. The Olympic-themed .Club domain name auction going on at Sedo ends on Wednesday. So far no domain names have hit their reserve price. I think there are three reasons that no domains have hit their reserves so far. 1. If you’re going to bid to win, you wait until the last minute. You wouldn’t bid up the price a day in advance. 2. The auction has special requirements. Because the .Club sunrise period ... read more ...
Mon 24th February 2014
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
One.com wins .one row set in RightOfTheDot auction - Two competing applicants settle contention set; first auction facilitated by new TLD consulting firm RightOfTheDot. Webhosting company one.com has settled its contention set with Radix for .one through a “single sealed bid second price” auction orchestrated by RightOfTheDot. In this type of auction, typically each participant will send in a sealed bid. The bids are opened under video surveillance and the highest bidder pays the second highest price. For example, ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Frank Schilling’s initial dual tip turn domain names accessible tomorrow - .Tattoo and .sexy enter general availability tomorrow, although relatively few registrars are offering the domain names. Frank Schilling’s first two top level domain names, .tattoo and .sexy, enter general availability tomorrow at 11 am EST. Judging from registrar support so far, Uniregistry’s first two domains are going to be a bit hampered. That may be good news for you, as it will give you a better opportunity to get domain names if you’re interested in these ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Watch Name.com and .xyz conflict in bobsled competition - Jared Ewy and Daniel Negari fly around the track in friendly wager. I see a lot of marketing gimmicks for domain names, but rarely write about them. This bobsledding competition (and sponsorship) involving .xyz is entertaining enough to pass along. Here’s the background: In addition to being CEO of .Kiwi, Tim Johnson is also the manager of the New Zealand bobsled team. Name.com pulled together .xyz, .Buzz, .Ninja and .club to help sponsor the New Zealand bobsled ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Facepets.com asks justice to get Facebook off the back - If I were them, I’d find another domain name and focus on the business rather than waste time with a lawsuit. Facepets.com, LLC, a company that wants to start a social network for pet owners, has filed a federal lawsuit (pdf) against Facebook in Nashville. The company is asking for Declaratory Judgment that its name doesn’t infringe on Facebook’s trademarks. This all started when Facepets.com filed a trademark application for its name, which caught the attention ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Which registrars have a lowest prices on new TLDs? Here’s a cost comparison. - NameCheap appears to have the cheapest overall pricing on new TLDs among the largest domain name registrars. If you’re actively investing in new top level domain names, price is certainly a key factor for selecting a domain name registrar. So far, these new TLDs aren’t cheap. You can register 2-4 .com domains for the same price as one new TLD in most cases. That adds up in a hurry. I did a quick price comparison this morning on three of Donuts’ available domain ... read more ...