Tag Archives: ICANN

Mon 10th August 2009
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Austin Venture Capitalist Loses Domain Registrar - Austin domain registrar among three losing accreditation. Barring a last minute reprieve, Austin venture capitalist Thomas Ball’s domain name registrar is one of three ICANN is giving the boot. ICANN sent letters to three accredited registrars informing them that their agreements would not be renewed upon expiration for various infractions. Lately, ICANN has used this tact to cut domain registrars that are nearing the end of their contracts as opposed to de-accrediting ... read more ...
Fri 7th August 2009
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
VeriSign Reports 7% Increase In Domain Registrations & $1.3 BILLION In Cash - VeriSign reported earnings today VeriSign reported revenue of $257 million from continuing operations for the 2nd quarter of 2009. Here are some interesting notes from the report: VeriSign ended the quarter with approximately 93.5 million active domain names in the adjusted zone for .com and .net representing a 7% increase year-over-year. VeriSign also reported, having on hand at the end of the second quarter cash,  and cash equivalents, of $1.3 Billion. Yes that is Billion with a “B”. Now ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Domain Registrar Fights ICANN Over De-Accreditation - Lead Networks files for arbitration. Domain name registrar Lead Networks Domains Pvt. Ltd. has filed for arbitration to challenge ICANN’s decision to not renew its accreditation. ICANN had sent a breach notice to the registrar for failing to comply with UDRP decisions. Instead of de-accrediting the registrar for the continued breach, ICANN decided to simply not renew its accreditation when it expired. A lawsuit filed earlier this year charges Lead Networks with ... read more ...
Wed 5th August 2009
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Congress: Create Permanent Tie to ICANN - It’s such positive, uplifting news to see justice and integrity restored. Andrew’s comment is also worded perfectly and is the essence of everything that ICANN seems to fail at … “ICANN has seemed to steamroll dissenters”. This is what I have observed over and over in my own assessment of ICANN as a policy making entity. That elitist “we are better than everyone” undercurrent. I wonder what it will take for some real leadership to step up within that organization and forge ... read more ...
Thu 30th July 2009
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Front Running On Proposed g’TLD’s: Companies Are Getting Trademarks On g’TLD’s - You need to check out a very interest article just published by Michael Palage, who is an adjunct Fellow with The Progress Freedom Foundation, entitled “New gTLDs: Let the Gaming Begin, Part I: TLD Front Running” The article talks about how certain companies, which are prospective g’TLD applicants,  have already  filed trademark applications associated with generic TLD strings such as .MUSIC, .MOVIE, and .BLOG. “This type of “front running” by prospective applicants trying to game ... read more ...
Mon 27th July 2009
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
WSJ: What’s Chinese for .limitedgovernment? - Editorial says internet governance should stay as it is. I’ve long argued that the current ICANN set-up — with some oversight from the United States government — is ideal. I have some grievances about how ICANN is unaccountable to anything except itself, but believe there shouldn’t be a “United Nations” governing it. Of course, many people and governments outside the United States think they should have a hand in how the internet’s naming system is ... read more ...
Sun 26th July 2009
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Rod Beckstrom’s ICANN Message: Our Take - The New CEO of ICANN Rod Beckstrom Posted a “Message From The CEO” on ICANN site a few days ago. We welcome Mr Beckstrom to his new position and agree with him when he says: “”In the end, every single name must be unique and only one party can own it.”” True. ICANN, WIPO, trademark holders disputes, UDRP’s, The IRT, the URS all summarized perfectly in one sentence by Mr. Beckstrom. Only one party can own it. Now as to the two points in this message that causes me some consternation: In ... read more ...
Mon 20th July 2009
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
UDRP Panel Is Barred From Deciding Credit Disputes Forever, Why Is it Still Honest Enough to Decide Domain Disputes? - Last week the Minnesota attorney general Lori Swanson,  filed a lawsuit against the National Arbitration Forum, the largest arbitration company in the country for consumer credit disputes, alleged that the agency deceived consumers into thinking it was a neutral arbitrator for debt collection matters, when in fact it was working FOR the creditors. Swanson said that credit card companies, banks, retail lenders, and cell phone companies increasingly place, in the fine print of their consumer agreements, ... read more ...
Thu 16th July 2009
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
ICANN CEO Rod Beckstrom Talks about Domainers - Beckstrom gives initial comments about domainers. In an article about new top level domains and trademarks in today’s Financial Times, ICANN CEO Rod Beckstrom is quoted saying: “You can look at domainers in many ways. Some see them as cybersquatters, some look at them as entrepreneurs. I think there is a rich and healthy debate to be had.” Most domainers will view this as a positive statement. I e-mailed Beckstrom to make sure he was quoted in context and get ... read more ...
Tue 14th July 2009
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
ICA Meets ICANN ON Broadway Over The URS - The following is the report on the ICANN forum on the new URS proposal which was held in New York Yesterday by Phil Corwin of the Internet Commerce Association, (the “ICA”)  that attended to represent domainers interests: Here are Mr. Corwin comments: “””” On Monday, July 13th, ICANN opened its global consultation summer road show on Broadway in the ornate Hudson Theatre in the Millennium Hotel. The show was very low in entertainment value and, while the orchestra seating was fairly ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
New York Times: Brokering Peace in a Domain Name World - New York Times article covers this week’s new TLD discussion in New York. I don’t typically write about mainstream news articles about domain names. When I do, it’s usually because the articles are inaccurate. But today on the New York Times’ Bits blog, author Saul Hansell wrote a well balanced description of the current battle between trademark holders and domainers titled “Brokering Peace Between Brand Owners and Domainers“. In the post, Hansell describes ... read more ...
Fri 10th July 2009
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
The Australian Government Says No To .XXX - The Australian government said today opposes an .XXX or any other gTLD that would establish a RedLight District on the Internet. According to a story appearing in the Australianit.news.com.au, the AusRegistry, which operates the domain registry for .au, said that it has been approached by several entities planning to apply to register adult-themed gTLDs including, .xxx and .sex, however, a spokeswoman for Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said the government was opposed to the creation of adult-themed ... read more ...
Thu 9th July 2009
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Lawyer Suggests Alternative to Rapid Domain Suspension Scheme - Paul Keating suggests fixing UDRP, not introducing an alternative domain dispute mechanism. There were a number of thoughtful comments submitted to ICANN regarding the Implementation Recommendation Team’s (IRT) final report. But attorney Paul Keating went a step further, suggesting a way to modify UDRP domain arbitration rather than introduce a dual solution. Keating submitted a 20 page response to IRT’s proposal. The first several pages point out the numerous ... read more ...
Wed 8th July 2009
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
TradeMark Holders Don’t Think The URS Is Tough Enough - As you know the comment period on the IRT committee recommendations to ICANN, which included the Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS)  ended yesterday and from the comments of trademark holders, they are not perfectly happy with the URS either. In reviewing the comments of many of the trade groups and trademark holders I saw a consistent message; the URS is not tough enough or cheap enough. You know our thoughts on the URS (our comment is posted here, if you haven’t read it, the ICA comment are posted ... read more ...
Mon 6th July 2009
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Our Comments To ICANN On The URS - Today is the last day to submit your comments to ICANN for the proposed Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS). Although the URS on its face only applies to the new gTLD’s, comments made by representatives of ICANN clearly indicate that they will in fact apply to all existing extensions (.com. .net. .org) meaning all the domains you own sooner than later. If you didn’t read our initial post on the proposal set forth by trademark holder groups, you should go read it now, since it is arguably the worst ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Feedback on Implementation Recommendation Team Final Report - Here’s the feedback I just submitted to ICANN regarding the IRT Final Report. The deadline to submit comments to ICANN for the Implementation Response Team’s recommendations, including introducing a new rapid suspension scheme for domain names, is today. To submit a comment, send an email to: irt-final-report@icann.org. You can see current feedback here. Below is an exact copy of what I submitted to ICANN… The Implementation Recommendation Team (IRT) has put ... read more ...
Sun 5th July 2009
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Domainers We Got A Problem: WAKE UP - I saw a very troubling stat on the blog last night. A post I did a month ago about a joke going around around the Internet about domain names, got 5 times the readership as the post I wrote on Friday about the comment period closing on the URS proposal, which would give trademark holders a fast track to take down any domain that had a trademark and was parked. Only 64 of you had the interest to read about something that would, not could, cause you to have domains taken away from you. I will be posting ... read more ...
Fri 3rd July 2009
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Comment Period For The Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS) Closes On Monday: - We have talked about it since it came out, and now the time to put your comments on record at ICANN for the proposed Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS). The comment period closes on Monday July 6th. Although the URS on its face only applies to the new gTLD’s, comments made by representatives of ICANN clearly indicate that they will in fact apply to all existing extensions (.com. .net. .org) meaning all the domains you own sooner than later. If you didn’t read our initial post on the proposal set ... read more ...
Mon 29th June 2009
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
IRT: Classic Case Study of How Not to Sell a Plan - The ICANN IRT needs a lesson in getting buy-in. Implementation Recommendation Team (IRT) was set up by trademark interests to come up with a way to protect trademark owners during the launch of new top level domain names. The process by which it was set up and operated could be a case study in how not to get buy-in for a new idea. I’ve worked with a lot of teams over the past dozen years and have had to sell ideas many times. I’ve managed groups of union workers, ... read more ...
Fri 26th June 2009
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Beckstrom is ICANN New CEO - ICANN made is official today  named former U.S. National Cybersecurity Centre (NCSC) director Rod Beckstrom as its new CEO, replace the retiring Paul Twomey. In March Beckstrom resigned as US cybersecurity chief in what appears to be a turf war with the National Security Agency (NSA). ICANN’s Board Chairman Peter Dengate Thrush, said in a statement: “Rod Beckstrom has exactly the sort of strong personal and technical background that ICANN needs, as we enter a period of unprecedented growth and ... read more ...
Thu 25th June 2009
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
It’s Official: ICANN Wants The Proposed Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS) Rules To Apply To .Com’s - Back on June 1 we told you about a new proposal by the IRT a group of trademark holders who have committee status with ICANN and their proposal for a Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS) for all new gTLD’s.  In that post we told you that this was going to be a problem for all domains holders, including existing extensions like .com, .net and .org. Today, in a very negative article on domaining,  entitled “Domain Name Wars:Rise of the Cybersqatters,  VP of ICANN Paul Levins made it clear that trademark ... read more ...
Wed 24th June 2009
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Group Of Registries Want ICANN Privatized & Out Of US Control - The world’s regional Internet registries (RIRs) have annoucend they support the  European Union’s demand, proposed by European Commissioner Viviane Reding last month, for ending of the collaboration agreement between ICANN and the US Department of Commerce. The RIRs, responsible for IP address allocation within geographic regions, have put out a joint statement saying that it was time for the US government to pull out of control of the Internet: The agreement between ICANN and the US Department ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Domain Name News Worth Reading - Two articles you should take the time to read. Over the past 24 hours I’ve read two great domain name articles I want to pass along. The first is an editorial by Jeremy Rabkin, Professor of Law at George Mason University. Rabkin discusses what ICANN independence from U.S. oversight would actually mean. He points out that independence may be a bad thing, even for countries that disdain U.S. control: Down the road, one can imagine demands from Brussels that ICANN ... read more ...
Sun 21st June 2009
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Wolfgang Puck Is Going After Some Tasty Names: .Food, .Wine, .Restaurant - According to a report, celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck is heading to the ICANN meeting in Sydney to support his efforts to launch new gTLD’s and has several new extensions on his menu. According to the report, he is a definite go with .Food and looking at .Wine and .Restaurant. Having someone of Mr. Pucks statue and reputation behind any of these brand couldn’t hurt, but you have to wonder if the Food Network is going to let him take over the .food extension without a fight. Likewise I would expect ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
It Pays To Work For ICANN, Especially In a Recession: Hey Wait, That’s My Money - George Kirikos posted tonight about the Executive Compensation being paid to some of the higher ups in ICANN and not only does he point out that some people are making big bucks working for ICANN, but actually they got some nice raises in this horrible economy. I kind of got a kick out of  it for a few seconds; the only one’s making more money this year than last are people working for non-profits, until I remembered, I was helping pay their salaries to the turn of $15k Per year. Here are the ... read more ...