Tag Archives: ICANN

Mon 8th December 2008
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Domainers Don’t Care if VeriSign Increases Prices - Do domain name owners care if VeriSign can drastically increase .com prices? Apparently not. ICANN has released new details about its proposed registry agreement and added a line-by-line comparison to previous registry agreements. These agreements dictate the terms that registries such as VeriSign (NASDAQ: VRSN) must follow as they run top level domains. You can see details of the new information on ICANN’s web site. As written before on Domain Name Wire along ... read more ...
Fri 21st November 2008
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
ResellerClub to Take Over EstDomains’ Domains - Directi company to take over domains previously registered at EstDomains. Although ICANN has not announced it yet, it appears that domain registrar ResellerClub is taking over domains managed at domain registrar EstDomains, which is losing its accreditation. ResellerClub has emailed customers of EstDomains to tell them that it will be taking over: As you might be aware, EstDomains Inc will soon be de-accredited by ICANN and is awaiting its termination in lieu with ... read more ...
Mon 17th November 2008
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
One and Two Character Domains Coming to .Mobi - ICANN approves short domains for .mobi. ICANN’s board has approved the release of one and two character second level domains on the .mobi top level domain. dotMobi announced the decision today and said it will release the domain names in a request for proposal process rather than an auction. This is a smart move — it’s imperative for the long term viability of .mobi that these domains are used as real web sites rather than just held for resale. For example, ... read more ...
Fri 14th November 2008
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Domain Name Tasting Down 84% - Domain tasting is down 84% since ICANN implemented its 20 cent fee. In June ICANN approved a budget measure designed to curtail domain name tasting (registering a domain, checking it for traffic, and then deleting it within the first 5 days for a full refund if traffic wasn’t high enough) and domain kiting (registering a domain and then serially deleting it and re-registering it every 5 days to avoid paying registration fees). The budget measure called for the 20 ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
ICANN Cuts EstDomains, Spam Down 75% - ICANN moves forward with de-accreditation of EstDomains, related spam host cut off. Internet Corporation For Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is moving forward with terminating EstDomains, a domain registrar managing about 280,000 domain names. EstDomains had come under fire for managing a high amount of domain names used for spam, spyware, and other nefarious activities. EstDomains was a reseller under Directi, parent company of domain parking provider Skenzo. ... read more ...
Thu 13th November 2008
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Will .Com Domain Name Fees Soar? - Hidden bomb in new gTLD agreement could introduce tiered pricing to .com domains. Upset about VeriSign (NASDAQ: VRSN) increasing your .com registration fees 7% a year? Imagine if they could raise them by whatever they want. There’s a little time bomb in the new draft gTLD registry agreement, part of the new top level domain rollout process, that could make this happen. Essentially, the new registry agreement wouldn’t place any pricing restrictions on registries ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
.Tel Has Benefits, But Many Challenges - In an interview with Telnic, I learned more about the top level domain and its benefits. The first time I wrote about .tel was back in 2006 when it was approved by ICANN. I wasn’t a big fan of it back then. I wrote about it again earlier this week, and said I still think this domain extension is a longshot. Earlier today I talked with Justin Hayward, communications director for .tel backer Telnic. My general opinion is the same, but there are some ways, if executed ... read more ...
Wed 12th November 2008
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
ICANN: The Importance of IDN Compliance - ICANN’s Director of IDN discusses the importance of technical compliance for international domain names. ICANN Director of the IDN Program Tina Dam wrote about the importance of compliance with IDN technical requirements on the ICANN blog today. It’s a must read for anyone who has invested in international domain names (domains that use non-roman/latin characters) or considering them as new IDN TLDs are introduced. Dam stresses that technical compliance is required ... read more ...
Mon 10th November 2008
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Telnic: A $35 Million Investment Gone Awry - Luck seems to be running out for investors in .tel registry. And it hasn’t even launched yet. A new top level domain, .tel, is getting ready to rollout in the first part of next year. The registry behind the domain — Telnic — has raised a stunning $35 million in outside capital before even launching the domain name. .Tel isn’t a traditional domain name where you register it and then put up a parking page or web site. Instead, your .tel domain name is sort ... read more ...
Fri 31st October 2008
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Forbes Covers New Top Level Domain Names - Forbes Magazine covers new TLD launch, but has a few inaccuracies. The maintstream media has paid cursory attention to ICANN’s opening of the top level domain name landscape. A new article in the November 17 issue of Forbes (available now online) covers the topic. A couple observations: First, the article has many inaccuracies. Second, there’s common ground between domainers and Coalition Against Domain Name Abuse. Inaccuracies I find many of the statements ... read more ...
Thu 30th October 2008
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
EstDomains Challenges ICANN De-Accreditation - Registrar says convicted president resigned in July. Domain registrar EstDomains might remain an accredited domain registrar after all. Yesterday Domain Name Wire reported that EstDomains received a notice of termination from Internet Corporation For Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). ICANN cited the conviction of EstDomains’ president Vladimir Tsastsin for credit card fraud, money laundering and document forgery in February as the reason for the termination. The ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Going Offshore? Watch Out for Australia, Too. - Moving domain names out of the United States may not be safer. Last week I wrote about a growing movement for transferring domain names away from United States registrars to other countries. I argued that: -Even if you move your domains to a non-U.S. registrar, U.S. courts could still claim jurisdiction through Verisign (NASDAQ: VRSN) or ICANN -Other countries also make silly decisions that could jeopardize your domains I gave the suggestion of an Australian court ... read more ...
Wed 29th October 2008
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Trademark Holders Shouldn’t Rush to Get New TLDs - .eBay probably not worth it. One of the examples the mass media has given for the potential of new TLDs is .ebay . “Imagine eBay (NADSAQ: EBAY) being able to create cars.ebay and electronics.ebay”, is the general line of thought. I’m imagining, and I’m not imagining much. Why not just ebay.com/cars? In general, I don’t think trademark holders should plop down the $185,000 to get their own top level domain. Combined with preparing the application and ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
EstDomains Loses Accreditation, 280k Domains adult for Grabs - Registrar loses ICANN accreditation. Domain registrar EstDomains, Inc has lost its ICANN accreditation. The registrar had been the subject of many negative stories, including allegations that it perpetuated malware and spyware sites as well as spam. EstDomains also resold Directi services including its whois privacy service. (Directi is parent company of domain parking service Skenzo). Directi pulled the plug on offering privacy protection to EstDomains, thus ... read more ...
Tue 28th October 2008
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
ICANN to Charge $185,000 for New TLD Applications - Fees estimated to cover actual costs of new TLD process. Want to offer .anything? Prepare to write a hefty check. Internet Corporation For Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) estimates that total application fees for entities wishing to offer new top level domain names, such as .nyc or .money, will be about $185,000. Despite the high price tag, ICANN expects 500 applications in the first round. The application fee is expected to cover the historical costs of implementing ... read more ...
Wed 22nd October 2008
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
ICANN Releases Four Updates for New gTLDs - ICANN releases draft “Explanatory Memoranda Papers” for review. Internet Corporation For Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) today published four draft papers about the introduction of new global top level domains (gTLD). (For a primer on these new TLDs, see New Top Level Domain Names: Challenges and Opportunities.) The papers cover: 1. Resolving “string contention” when more the one entity applies for similar TLDs 2. Proposed process for geographic TLD ... read more ...
Tue 21st October 2008
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
New Top Level Domain Names: Challenges and Opportunities - A look at the coming launch of new top level domain names and what it means for trademark holders, domainers, and the internet community. The overview of the new TLD (top level domain) process below is based on my research and a discussion last week with ICANN’s gTLD Program Director Karla Valente. Opinions are my own and not those of Valente or ICANN. Why new TLDs? There are already many top level domain names — from .com to .org to .info to .mobi. Many of ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Fleeing U.S. Registrars? Not so Fast. - Kentucky ruling brings up old debate about switching to offshore registrars. A blog post over at Wall Street Journal today titled “Online Businesses Subject to Local Laws…Everywhere” discusses the Kentucky gambling domain seizure. It mentions that the businesses who have had domains seized don’t have any presence in Kentucky. One commentor wrote “…just time to quit using US-based Registrars” I don’t think this is the solution. It may cause more ... read more ...
Mon 20th October 2008
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Risks Remain for IDN Investors - New IDN TLDs may pose problems for second level IDN holders. For years, domain names were only available in roman characters. Domain names in these characters don’t make a lot of sense to web users who’s primary languages don’t use these characters. But then so-called International Domain Names (IDNs) using non-roman characters became available. Domainers jumped on board and invested heavily. Many of these domains get solid type-in traffic or have been turned ... read more ...
Wed 15th October 2008
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
The Los Angeles Domain World, Day 1 - A summary of my first day in L.A. I arrived in Los Angeles yesterday morning around 9am. After getting my rental car and checking into the hotel, it was off to ICANN. I didn’t know what to expect of ICANN. For some reason I had a vision of this grand building under maximum security. But when you consider much of ICANN’s role is to develop and manage policies that vision quickly fades. Indeed, ICANN’s offices are in a non-descript building overlooking the ... read more ...
Thu 9th October 2008
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
ICANN Sends Breach Notice to Joker.com - ICANN says Joker.com and DNS.com.cn aren’t enforcing whois accuracy. Internet Corporation For Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has sent breach notices to two large domain name registrars warning them they may lose their accreditation. In May Joker.com and Beijing Innovative Linkage Technology Ltd, doing business as DNS.com.cn, received “notices of concern” from ICANN that they were not properly taking action when they received inaccurate whois notices. ... read more ...
Mon 6th October 2008
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Threat Watch: “Bank Run” on a Domain Registrar? - Threat of a “run on the bank” scenario at domain registrar exists. In November 2007 I wrote an article “A Run on the (Domain Name) Bank“. I discussed the potential for rumors about a domain registrar’s demise to cause a panic. Domain registrants would transfer their domains out in droves, further deteriorating the registrar’s business and pushing it under. Earlier this year I wrote an article “The Danger of a Domain Registrar “Run on the Bank”“, ... read more ...
Wed 1st October 2008
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Dotster Picks Up Domain Names from BestRegistrar.com - Deal provides new home for 5,400 domain names. Internet Corporation For Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has selected Dotster to receive of bulk transfer of domain names from de-accreditated domain registrar BestRegistrar.com. BesRegistrar.com had about 5,400 gTLD domain names that will be transferred to Dotster. The transfers do not include any extension to expiration term, so BestRegistrar clients should renew domains at Dotster. If a domain expires within ... read more ...
Thu 11th September 2008
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Moniker Drops .Com to $7.29 Ahead of Registry Fee Hikes - Moniker joins other registrars in “renew before the increase” promotions. Domain registrar Moniker has just cut the new registration and renewal price on .com domain names to $7.29 until the end of the month. Moniker joins other registrars in offering promotions prior to a wholesale price increase that goes into effect October 1. The current wholesale price of .com domains, including the ICANN fee, is $6.62. The price jumps to $7.06 on October 1. eNom is ... read more ...
Thu 4th September 2008
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
GoDaddy’s 60 Day Transfer Lock Closer to Termination - GNSO Council approves changes to domain transfer blocks. One of GoDaddy’s most complained about policies is that it blocks transfers of domain names that have had certain changes to their whois information within the past 60 days. In September 2007 ICANN began working on an advisory that targeted transfer blocks like this. After ICANN finalized its advisory this past April I was happy to report that GoDaddy appeared to be allowing transfers even if changes were ... read more ...