Brands don’t like .sucks? Not our problem, FTC says - A lot of big brands are furious about the introduction of a new .sucks Internet domain but regulators at the Federal Trade Commission declined to come to their rescue.The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, which oversees the domain name system, last month asked the FTC to look into complaints about the rules for .sucks. In particular, brands had to pre-register for $2,000 or more a year to prevent others from acquiring a .sucks web address ... read more ...

FTC hits out at new gTLDs programme but swerves question over ‘.sucks’ pricing … - Trevor Little The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has responded to ICANN’s referral of concerns over the pricing policies implemented in the ‘.sucks’ new gTLD – albeit without actually answering the specific central question that was posed. On World Trademark Review, we previously reported on ICANN’s move to refer the Intellectual Property ... read more ...

Phishing in the New gTLDs - The new Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) Global Phishing Survey has just been released. Written by myself and Rod Rasmussen of IID, the report is the "who, what, where, when, and why" look at phishing, examining the second half of 2014. The report has many findings, but here I'll concentrate on the new gTLDs. The second half of 2014 was when an appreciable number of new gTLDs entered general availability and started to gain market share. Phishing in the new gTLDs started slowly and is rising. ... read more ...

Sale of ‘.hiv’ raises awkward questions as to success of new gTLD programme -

The initial auction of a live new gTLD took place in February. The gTLD, ‘.reise’ (which means ‘travel’ in German), had a smallest starting bid of $400,000. It was eventually purchased by Donuts, a association that operates a gTLD ‘.reisen’ (which also means ‘travel’ in German).

The auction of a live gTLD registry with active domain name…

Via: worldtrademarkreview.com

UPDATE – Minds + Machines gets into its stride as Krueger bows out - Fred Krueger, executive chairman of Minds + Machines (LON:MMX) is stepping down, having steered the company's evolution from an investment company to a fully-fledged operating entity. Krueger will be succeeded as chairman by Keith Teare, with the role now being a non-executive one. The company saw profit before tax surge in 2014 to US$22.06mln from US$1.14mln in 2013, largely as a result of receiving US$33.72mln (2013: US$6.44mln) for stepping aside in contested auctions for generic top level domains ... read more ...

Advantages of Crowdinvesting in Financing New gTLDs - The second-round new gTLD applicants have a tool they don't even know about: "crowdinvesting." That's when a venture sidesteps banks and venture capitalists and instead raises money by selling shares directly to the public. Usually this is done over the Internet, and often enough the investors can hope for a financial return that's far better than what banks and stocks offer. Since the end of 2013, crowdinvesting has raised more than $600 million from more than 5,000 offerings in the United ... read more ...

[Infographic] What is Going to be the Future of Domain Names? - Before starting a new website or even starting a new business itself, one of the most important decisions people have to make is choosing a domain name. A domain name is identification string that are used in various networking contexts, application specific naming, and addressing purposes. Source: WhoIsHostingThis.com Category   Internet ... read more ...

New ‘.sucks’ domain name gives rise to extortion claims, future online reputation … - A new way for disgruntled parties to gripe about businesses is on the horizon: the “.sucks” generic top-level domain, or gTLD. This new domain, intended to “help consumers find their voices and allow companies to find the value in criticism” – at least according to the website of owner Vox Populi Registry Ltd. – has created controversy well before its formal launch. ICANN and new gTLDs For background, four years ago, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) opted ... read more ...

Make sure your brand doesn’t .suck ! - The  .sucks domain name registry is preparing to launch, queuing up what promises to be an epic battle between those who build brands and those who condemn them. Touted as a platform "designed to help consumers find their voices and allow companies to find the value in criticism," .sucks is one of the latest - and most controversial -- generic Top-Level Domain ("gTLD") strings recently made available by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ("ICANN"). A gTLD is the term to the ... read more ...

ICA Sounds The Alarm: Tell ICANN No to URS at .Travel – Or It Will Travel to .Com - Phil Corwin of the Internet Commerce Association (the “ICA)  just published a post,  sounding a very loud alarm, to head off what would be the first step that would make all .Com domain name subject to the Uniform Rapid Suspension Policy (URS) which allows “trademark holders” to go after domain names. To remind everyone the URS which is only in effect for new gTLD’s is now being proposed in the new contract for the .Travel Registry which is not a new gTLD but an incumbent Top Level Domain ... read more ...

Turning a corner on the new gTLDs - Managing IP ManagingIP Join the conversation Popular Posts US patent litigation makes ... read more ...

2017, Year of Consolidation for Domain Name Market, AFNIC Study Suggests - AFNIC, the domain name registry for .fr (France), recently conducted a study of major trends for "Legacy gTLDs" or traditional TLDs such as .biz, .com, info, etc., as well as country code TLDs corresponding to territories such as .de (Germany), .fr (France), and .uk (United Kingdom). The new TLDs have not been included in this study since they are still something of a "new development", but will be included in the future, AFNIC says. From the report: As shown by AFNIC in the graph below, ... read more ...

Name.com: 50% Off Premium Priced Domains On 4 New gTLD’s Extension For 2 … - The domain name registrar, Name.com is offering 50% of of premium registrations (first year only) for the following new gTLD  extensions today only for 2 hours: .CONSULTING .SOFTWARE .MARKET .REVIEWS. The Domain Happy Hour is from 3–5 p.m. MST today. “That includes some pretty great available premiums, like Colorado.market, StockMarket.consulting, Action.software, and Gaming.reviews.” The promo code will be revealed on the Happy Hour page at 3 p.m. Thursday. “The Promotion does not apply ... read more ...

Supermarket giant shuts Walmart.horse website after joke has bolted - The greatest horse-based web domain in history is no more: Walmart.horse has disappeared from the internet following a complaint from the American megastore chain. Registered in late February by Massachusetts-based cartoonist Jeph Jacques, author of webcomic Questionable Content, Walmart.horse was a simple website containing nothing but a picture of a horse superimposed on top of a Walmart store. In early March, Walmart sent Jacques a cease-and-desist letter, arguing that he was infringing on the ... read more ...

US House of Representatives Holds Hearing on the .SUCKS New gTLD and … - On May 13, 2015, the US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet held a hearing on "Stakeholder Perspectives on ICANN: The .SUCKS Domain and Essential Steps to Guarantee Trust and Accountability in the Internet's Operation." During the hearing, testimony was presented by Mei-lan Stark, Immediate Past President of the International Trademark Association (INTA); Paul Misener, Vice President of Global Public Policy for ... read more ...

CNBC.com: Covers New gTLD’s: 1and1 says New gTLD Account For 15% of … - CNBC.com just covered the new gTLD roll out once again in a story entitled “Dot-com to .pizza: Welcome to the Web domain Rush” with a subtitle of  “The Internet’s long-restricted virtual real estate market is open for business.” The most interest part of the story comes from 1and1.com which says “new gTLDs already account for about 15% of 1and1’s new business”  “It’s lucrative, too, with the new TLDs selling for about $40 a year on average, more than double ... read more ...

New gTLDs Update – Does ".Sucks" Suck?! - 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 ...

.bank your assets - The protection of brands is a key issue for many businesses, particularly for those brands which are consumer facing. One aspect of brand protection is the protection of brands in domain names. Until fairly recently, the number of generic top level domains (gTLDs) had been restricted to a limited number, including .com, .org and .info. However, a large number of new gTLDs are to be rolled out with names such as .academy, .clothing and .financial having recently been released. The ‘Sunrise Period’ ... read more ...

New gTLDs update – does “.sucks” suck?! - Following our previous articles concerning the new gTLD releases, it is clear that the Internet is changing.  Hundreds of new domain name extensions, or generic top-level domains (gTLDs), are starting to appear online and it is important that brand owners are ready for these changes. One of the more problematic new gTLDs is ‘.sucks’.  Whilst in general terms, dealing with domains that include the term sucks (or other pejorative terms) is not new (Airfrance won a sucks case back in 2005 http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/06/08/air_france_wins_sucks_domain_name/), ... read more ...

According to SecureList.com New gTLDs are a hit with Spammers and … - According to SecureList.com there is one group that is taking to the new gtlds, that group is spammers. Stating that spammers and cybercriminals have found the new strings to be an excellent tool to promote illegal campaigns. It is a pretty extensive article that is filled with examples, I am sure this will rally the anti new gtld participants to say, “We told you so” I am sure the pro new g crowd will see it as propaganda or a paid piece. SecureList is published by Kaspersky Lab. From the article: Spammers ... read more ...

ICANN sees privatization of Internet management soon - ICANN. A screen shows a rolling feed of new 'Generic Top-Level Domain Names (gTLDs) which have been applied for during a press conference hosted by ICANN in central London, on June 13, 2012. Andrew Cowie/AFP SAN FRANCISCO, USA – The head of the nonprofit group that oversees the world's Internet addresses expressed confidence Thursday, May 14, that it would be privatized and out of US government control by year's end. Fadi Chehade's comments came despite criticism in the US Congress, where some ... read more ...

.Sucks registry unconcerned with criticisms - 14 May 2015   |   Peter Leung, Washington DC Vox Populi, the company behind the .sucks gTLD, told Managing IP that they wanted to start a conversation and indeed they’ve done that, this time at the United States Congress ... read more ...

The .BANK top level domain will soon be launched – financial institutions should … - ICANN’s program to expand the available generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs) is well underway. The well-known .com, .gov, and .org strings have been and continue to be supplemented with hundreds of new strings, and likely hundreds more are on the way. Many of these strings are probably innocuous to most businesses, such as .bike and .camera. But one string on the horizon will be of particular interest to financial institutions: the top level domain ".BANK" will soon be available. Financial institutions ... read more ...