Tag Archives: legal

Mon 22nd December 2008
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
ICANN Releases Upgraded Invalid Whois Reporting System - New system improves submissions and tracks registrar compliance. ICANN has updated its Whois Data Problem Report System (WDPRS), which anyone can use to submit reports of inaccurate whois information on a domain name. According to ICANN, the new system offers many improvements: * More detailed information is captured from complainants to assist registrars in investigating Whois inaccuracies * Duplicate reports regarding the same domain name are not accepted by the ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
3/31/09: Death of Domain Tasting (Or is it?) - Domain tasting is down, and will take another hit in March. But that may not be the end of it… Domain tasting — the practice of registering a domain to test for traffic and deleting it for a refund within a specified grace period — is down 84% since ICANN inacted a budget measure to make the scheme more expensive. But that was just a temporary fix. By March 31, 2009, all registrars will face even harsher penalties for engaging in the practice. But as I detail ... read more ...
Fri 19th December 2008
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Today We Call Out Jimmy Choo For Attempted Reverse Domain Hijacking: Why Is There No Penalty For This? - Anyone who reads this blog knows we are squarely again blatant trademark infringing domains, the companies and platforms that sell them, and those who buy them. However, we are also strongly opposed to large companies trying to take advantage of their wealth, power and ability to pay large legal fees to basically steal domains they have no right to. He is a case of one such company, Jimmy Choo, the maker of fine footwear made even more famous by Sex in The City. So here’s the story. Jimmy Choo ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Demand Media Wants to Introduce New Domain Names - Demand Media wants to offer new top level domain names using its eNom registrar. The owner of the world’s second largest domain registrar, eNom, plans to apply to ICANN to offer new top level domains. That’s the only plausible assumption based on the company’s one-sided comments to ICANN about the proposed new gTLDs. The comments were filed a couple days late, but are very thorough and cover every module. The company was in favor of every provision that will ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Analysis: U.S. Government Has Domainers’ Backs - Documents from U.S. Government question ICANN’s actions. You’ve probably read a lot about ICANN’s introduction of new top level domains. Now, as reported over at DNJournal, the U.S. Government is weighing in. Domainers should be happy with its response. I just completed reading the U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Commerce responses to ICANN’s plans. These are perhaps the most knowledgeable and well crafted responses to the plan I’ve seen, ... read more ...
Thu 18th December 2008
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
CADNA Membership Increased 80% in 2008 - The Coalition Against Domain Name Abuse (CADNA) announced today that Goldman, Sachs Co. and New York Life Insurance Company are its newest members. CADNA also announced that their membership increased 80% in 2008. “”””This is clear evidence that more businesses recognize the need to speak out about domain name abuse, including cybersquatting, phishing, and domain name tasting. With the support of its member companies, CADNA is eager to address domain name abuses in 2009.””” “”””A ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
PokerHost.net Owner Wins Reverse Domain Hijacking Charge - Russ “Dutch” Boyd gets a royal flush. Dutch Boyd cleans up atthe tables and WIPO. Last month I wrote about arbitration proceedings for the domain PokerHost.net. The complainant — online poker company Poker Host Inc which operates PokerHost.com — seemed to be fudging dates in its filing. The arbitrator agreed, finding in favor of respondent Russ “Dutch” Boyd, and also found Poker Host Inc. guilty of reverse domain name hijacking because of its fuzzy use ... read more ...
Wed 17th December 2008
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Recognizing a Trademark Domain Name Scam - If you get an email like this, hit the delete button. Let’s take a quick look at a common domain name scam that is very effective. I know it’s effective because over the past year I’ve received e-mails from smart friends who are CEOs of companies here in Austin asking if these emails are legitimate. The scam is a trademark scam, where a company emails you saying someone is trying to register domains that include your trademark, and wants to offer you the ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Microsoft, Time Warner, Others Weigh In On New TLDs - A quick synopsis of public comments about new top level domains. The deadline to comment on the latest revisions of ICANN’s plan for introducing new top level domains was Monday. As is usually the case, the big companies waited until the last minute to file their comments. The general consensus is: 1. We don’t like the trademark implications 2. There’s no need to add more TLDs (save for IDNs) as they won’t actually create competition for .com 3. Don’t ... read more ...
Mon 15th December 2008
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
“Dear Press, we am a Cybersquatter” - Here’s one of the reasons the mainstream press doesn’t characterize legitimate domainers fairly. Last week there was quite a media frenzy about a company that sold GeorgeWBushLibrary.com back to the previous owner who let it expire. Michael Berkens pointed out that it’s stories like this that get people interested in cybersquatting* themselves. Berkins may be right. Did the recent media frenzy prompt another cybersquatter to announced a celebrity name s(he) ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Push Against “Variable Domain Pricing” Gets Media Attention - Network World picks up variable domain pricing story. Domain owners have been commenting on ICANN’s proposed new gTLD structure including the potential for “variable pricing”, and the technology media is starting to pick it up. Today Network World published a story titled “New top-level domain plan dangerous, too costly, critics tell ICANN” that summarizes criticism of the plan. Although most of it discusses trademark concerns, the story also mentions a ... read more ...
Sat 13th December 2008
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Kentucky Appeals Court Hears Arguments On Domain Seizure Case - However, the forfeiture hearing has been stayed, pending a ruling from the Court of Appeals. In oral arguments Friday, lawyers representing six domain names, two online gambling trade groups and The Poker Players Alliance said the Commonwealth’s action is legal and constitutional flawed. They focused on four arguments: ■ Wingate does not have jurisdiction to allow the state to seize domains registered in other countries where gambling is legal. ■ Domain names are not gambling devices. ■ ... read more ...
Fri 12th December 2008
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Outing Buyers Of Trademarked Domains - Last week we wrote about two domains that were at auction at TDNAM. Both of which were obvious trademark infringing domains, and both of which had high reserve prices, due to the fact that they had a lot of traffic, and were generating substantial PPC earnings. Last week we attacked GoDaddy.com for this practice, bascially selling trademarked domains for their anticiated earnings and then sticking the money in its pocket. Now its time to out the buyers of those 2 domains. EdHardyClothing.com (bought ... read more ...
Thu 11th December 2008
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
This is Why People Squat On Domains: GeorgeWBushLibrary.com Sold Back For $35K - Yuma Solutions, the developer of the site GeorgeWBushLibrary.com, let the domain registration lapse and a a company in Raleigh NC, Illuminati Karate, picked up the domain off a drop list, registered it for $10 and sold to back to the developers for $35,000. George Huger, lead Web developer for Illuminati Karate is quoted as saying: “It worked out very well” Mark Mills, owner of Yuma Solutions, could not be reached for comment. The Tallahassee, Fla.-based Yuma Solutions has a history with the ... read more ...
Wed 10th December 2008
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
MTV: Don’t Be a Jackass - MTV wants Jackass.com. It better prepare for an uphill battle. Who are you calling a Jackass? MTV’s parent company Viacom (NYSE: VIA.b) filed for arbitration to get the domain name Jackass.com, a case that commenced at WIPO on December 5. There are two problems for Viacom: it’s a generic term and it’s owned by Future Media Architects. Jackass started as a TV show on MTV featuring people doing stunts and pranks. After running on MTV from 2000-2002 two Jackass ... read more ...
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 5th December 2008
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
How GoDaddy Is Making Big Money Off Of Trademaked Domains and Putting a Domain Industry Right in a Hands Of CADNA - I’m sure you have all read the fine journalistic piece written by Andrew Allemann over at DomainNameWire.com, if not stop go read it and come back. I have a slightly different take on this ramifications and effect of what Godaddy.com is doing. Yes they are warehousing domains, in a tricky fashion, which Andrew’s outstanding research discovered. But there activity much more serious in nature, than simply taking domains for their own benefit. Godaddy.com action may wind up negatively effecting ... read more ...
Fri 21st November 2008
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Is PokerHost.com Fudging Dates? - Online casino files UDRP, but when was it actually founded? PokerHost.com has filed a UDRP complaint with WIPO to get the domain name PokerHost.NET. If you’re not familiar with the online poker industry, many poker sites use the .net version of their name for advertising. The .net site actually doesn’t allow real money betting and is either a free version or tutorial site, so it can be advertised on TV. Of course the short term goal is for people to type in ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
UDRP Watch: Ping.me, GoldenGlobes.com, and NameJet Typo - A review of recently filed domain name arbitration cases. Here’s a quick look at recently filed arbitration cases at WIPO and National Arbitration Forum. Check back for updates as the cases are decided. Ping.me: Although the domain owner won’t talk, my guess is Ping Golf filed this case. They’ve been aggressive in the past trying to get Ping.net and other domains. GoldenGlobe(s).com: Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which runs the Golden Globe Awards, ... read more ...
Thu 20th November 2008
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Frank Schilling Loses His First UDRP - Schilling’s company comes down on wrong end of ChilliBeans.com decision. Frank Schilling’s Name Administration has lost its first UDRP decision, spoiling a perfect record of success (according to searches at National Arbitration Forum and WIPO). Schilling, teamed up with attorney John Berryhill as usual, failed to convince a three person WIPO panel that its use of the domain name ChilliBeans.com was generic. The complainant is a company selling sunglasses under ... read more ...
Wed 19th November 2008
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Big Companies Get Benefit of Doubt in UDRP Decisions - A recent UDRP decision begs the question, do big companies get the benefit of doubt in UDRP? Most UDRP arbitration filings are against small time domain owners. So a recent case caught my eye because the respondent was a major media company, Scripps Networks. Scripps networks owns HGTV, Food Network, and DIY network among others. The case was brought by Automotive Networks Corporation over the domain names WheelsTV.com and MyWheelsTV.com. Scripps won because the ... read more ...
Tue 18th November 2008
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Global Warming May Be Hazardous to Your Domain Names - Country code domain names carry risks. Here are a couple examples. Sure is pretty. Until the water rises. This headline isn’t a joke. Here’s how global warming and subsequent rising ocean waters could doom a domain name extension. Last night I read an article in The Economist about the Maldives, an island nation planning for the day it will be below sea level. The article also mentioned Tuvalu, an even smaller island nation of just over 10,000 inhabitants. ... read more ...
Mon 17th November 2008
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Common Sense Comes to Kentucky - Finally, someone with common sense lays the hammer on Kentucky’s Governor. A Kentucky appeals court has granted a motion to stay the forfeiture hearing for 141 gambling related domain names until it can hear arguments. Of course the appeals court could still make a blunder, but this is further proof that U.S. courts eventually get most things right and prevent injustice. Although painful and expensive for domain owners, the fact that U.S. courts have a good appeals ... read more ...
Fri 14th November 2008
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
BMEzine Files Response to BME.com Lawsuit - An update to the ongoing saga over BME.com. BMEzine.com’s home page. BMEzine has filed a response to Gregory Ricks’ lawsuit over the domain name BME.com. Here’s a quick history: -In August, Gregory Ricks lost the domain name BME.com in a WIPO decision under UDRP. Although it is a generic three character domain name, he had a picture and ads related to tattoos and body modification. There is a popular web site called BMEzine.com about tattoos, body modification, ... read more ...
 
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 ...