Tag Archives: legal

Sat 6th March 2010
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Yes, Multiple Top Level Domain Names Add to Confusion - Duh. More TLDs cause confusion. Perhaps it’s outweighed by the innovation? This morning I read Wired’s article on ICANN, which discusses new top level domain names. It quotes David Farber saying “I don’t think that [adding new TLDs] creates innovation. I think that creates rapid confusion.” Antony Van Couvering with new TLD service provider Minds + Machines, responded in the comments: There’s no evidence whatever that people will be confused by ... read more ...
Fri 5th March 2010
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
WIPO Takes 13 Year Old Domain Sporto.com: Saying “UDRP Does Not Operate On A Strict Doctrine of Precedent - In a WIPO decision a sole panelist took away a domain registered by the domain holder in 1997, that’s 13 years ago. The domain at issue is sporto.com Over the years, the domain has been used many different ways including as a developed site but also for a period of time as a parked page. This case again turned on the bad faith issue. The policy on bad faith is pretty clearly written: “””C. Registered and Used in Bad Faith “”Paragraph 4(a)(iii) of the Policy reads as follows: “You are ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
More Headaches for ICANN Meeting in Nariobi, Kenya - Heads of state from six African countries to hold meeting at same venue during ICANN meeting. As if security threats and big name companies backing out of next week’s ICANN meeting in Nairobi weren’t enough, attendees to the meeting are about to face another big headache. Nick Tomasso, General Manager, Meetings and Conferences for ICANN has just posted an update that the InterGovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) will be holding a meeting at the same venue ... read more ...
Thu 4th March 2010
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
WIPO Panel Allows FMA To Keep Domain Despite Trademark & Parking - Well in an interesting WIPO decision, a sole panelist rejected a trademark holders claim even though they found the domain at issue, finaza.com “was confusingly similar to a mark in which Complainants have rights” and even through the domain was parked for some time. “””The Panel is cognizant of other decisions (including those of this Panel) finding that “parking” a web site with a service that provides links to third party sites, including those that compete with complainants is not ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Lawyer: SnapNames Class Action Headed to State Court - Lawyers plan to take case to state court. The lawyers that filed a lawsuit in federal district court against SnapNames and Oversee.net over the ‘Halvarez’ scandal and later dismissed the case say it’s not over yet. “It was really just a procedural move,” said Michael Aschenbrener, lead attorney on the case for Edelson McGuire LLC, commenting on why the case was dismissed. Aschenbrener said they might have an easier time filing the case in state court. ... read more ...
Wed 3rd March 2010
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Edelman: Domainers Cause Harm, Add Little Value - Author of typosquatting report says domainers add little value, and questions the right to register large numbers of domain names. Cyber intelligence company Cyveillance has interviewed Benjamin Edelman, one of the authors of a recent report on typosquatting, and he has this to say about domainers: they cause harm and add little genuine value. It should be pointed out that Edelman is co-counsel in a lawsuit against Google and several other industry players over typosquatting. In ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Coming Mar 15: File a UDRP for 500 EUR - Domain name arbitration company offers lower fees for “simple” cases. Czech Arbitration Court, one of the providers of arbitration services under Uniform domain-name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), is slashing fees to 500 EUR per case effective March 15 for certain cases. The 500 EUR fee will apply only in cases where the respondent does not reply to the complaint, and in which “there is no need for Panellists to produce a detailed decision”. If the domain ... read more ...
Tue 2nd March 2010
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Are Defensive Domain Name Registrations a Myth? - Study sheds light on how many brand managers register domain names defensively. Minds + Machines, which offers services to new top level domain name applicants, has released a new study showing how brands register their domain names in newer top level domain names. The report’s authors certainly have a motivation to push new TLDs forward, but so far this is the most conclusive and detailed report I’ve seen on the subject of defensive registrations. I’d welcome ... read more ...
Mon 1st March 2010
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
ICANN Bonuses Not Tied to Long Term Revenue, New TLDs - Bonuses mostly based on short term milestones. When ICANN released its compensation ideology and information about the top five salaries last month, I wasn’t all that taken aback by the salaries. What got me curious was the bonus structure. Bonuses drive behavior, and bonuses tied to poor goals drive poor behavior. I have a patent related to goal alignment, so it’s something I’m familiar with. During an exchange at ICANN’s Cairo meeting between Michael ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Goodwill.com Dispute Resolved Amicably - Goodwill gets Goodwill.com in “amicable” resolution to domain name dispute. In December, Domain Name Wire wrote about non-profit Goodwill Industries filing a complaint over the domain name Goodwill.com. The domain name was won on NameJet for $55,000 just days before the complaint was filed and then parked. The next month Goodwill ended up dropping the case against Cyber2Media, which had purchased the domain name in the expired domain name auction. Cyber2Media ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Baby Products Company Loses Battle Against Bisexual Web Site - Baby products company loses fight with bisexual dating site. UPDATED: Lamprecht AG, which owns the bibi brand of childrens products, has lost its attempt to get the domain name bibibaby.com. What makes this even more interesting is that the domain name was originally registered for a bisexual dating site. The owner of the domain name stated that she registered the domain name because “‘bibibaby is in fact a word play in English referring both to bisexuality ... read more ...
Sun 28th February 2010
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
ICANN Ombudsman Sticks it to “The Little Guy” - ICANN Ombudsman upset about service from “the little guy” at Air Canada. ICANN Ombudsman Frank Fowlie is giving a whole new meaning to “sticking it to the man”. The “little man”, that is. At the same time, he has learned what it’s like to be on the losing end of a complaint. Here’s the story. Fowlie was frustrated with the service he received from Air Canada after he did not get his meal choice in Executive Class last year on a flight from Paris ... read more ...
Sat 27th February 2010
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Microsoft Gets Hundreds Of Domains Shut Down By A Federal Court Without Notice To Holders - On Monday Microsoft got a federal court in Alexandria, Va. to grant an order to deactivate hundreds of domain names that the company said were linked to botnet named Waledac. The court order was issued under seal, that means not made public and without any notice to the domain holders before the order was granted or the shut down occurred. Microsoft says the defendants were linked to more than 270 Internet domain names involved with hacker network. The company said it is now seeking to contact the ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
.XXX Registry to ICANN: “We Must Protect Our Rights” - ICM Registry notifies ICANN of its hopes and intentions. Fresh off an independent review victory over ICANN, .XXX top level domain name applicant ICM Registry is asking ICANN to get the show on the road. In a letter (pdf) to ICANN chairman of the board Peter Dengate-Thrush, ICM chairman Stuart Lawley writes: “I am hopeful, as are others in the community, that ICANN will embrace the communications of the panel and use them to improve its processes and to restore ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
SnapNames Class Action Lawsuit Dismissed - Lawsuit over employee bidding scandal voluntarily dismissed by plaintiff. A lawsuit against SnapNames and parent company Oversee.net that was requesting class action status has been voluntarily dismissed. Steward Resmer, a SnapNames customer who lost $20 in an auction thanks to the “halvarez scandal”, filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court, Central District of California in November. Resmer was seeking class action status for the case on behalf of U.S. customers ... read more ...
Fri 26th February 2010
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
If You’re Stupid, Domain Hijacking Clause Doesn’t Apply to You - Apparently ignorant people can’t be found guilty of reverse domain name hijacking. One of the more controversial aspects of Uniform domain-name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) is Reverse Domain Name Hijacking (RNDH). A domain owner can ask the UDRP panel to find that the complainant filed a case in bad faith or harassing manner, and the panel can then find that the complainant was trying to reverse hijack the domain name. (Technically, the respondent doesn’t ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
VeriSign’s Plans for “.Com IDNs” Become Clearer - Registrants of existing .com domain names are well positioned for coming release of IDN TLDs. For years, domainers have been investing in Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) that use non-Latin characters. But these have all been IDN at the second level only, as there currently aren’t any top level domain names in non-Latin characters. So an internet user has to type the second level domain using one character set and then append “.com” to the end. But that’s ... read more ...
Thu 25th February 2010
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Italy Finds 3 Google Execs Guilty Criminally For Online Videos Posted On Google Video - In what could be a legal decision having wide implications around the world, an Italian judge on Wednesday held three Google executives criminally responsible for an online video of an autistic teenager being bullied. The charges stemmed from a 2006 video posted on Google Video, thevideo-sharing service Google ran before acquiring YouTube. The footage showed an autistic student being pushed, pummeled with objects, including a pack of tissues, and insulted by classmates, who called him a “mongoloid.” The ... read more ...
Wed 24th February 2010
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
WIPO: You Need To Know The Trademarks Of Mexico Too - In a case involving the domain name, Bachoco.com,  a one person WIPO panel held in favor of the trademark holder. The term Bachoco is the subject of a trademark registered in Mexico in 1989 and a US trademark registered in July 2003. The domain name was created in 2002. The panel found that although Bachoco is a mountain region in Mexico that the Mexico trademark coupled with the use of the domain going to a parking page was enough to give the doman to the trademark holder. “””There is no ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
China’s .Cn to Quickly Lose Status as Top Country Code Domain Name - From “anything goes” to “nothing goes”, changes to .Cn registration enforcement will reduce the number of .cn domain names. China’s domain name strategy has always perplexed me. For a country known for censoring just about everything, I found it odd that the country was essentially giving away .Cn domain names for about 14 cents. The low cost catapulted China above Germany for the most registered country code top level domain name, a status that China ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Survey: ICANN Policy Biggest Issue for Domain Industry - Survey finds number of fears about domain market in 2010. ICANN policy decisions are the biggest issue facing the domain name market in 2010, according to a survey of more than 500 people in the 5th Annual Domain Name Wire Survey. 28% of those survey said that ICANN policy decisions, such as those with new top level domain names, is the biggest issue facing domain investors in 2010. The majority of respondents self-identified as domain name investors, although ... read more ...
Mon 22nd February 2010
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
ICANN Approval Rating Hits 5-year Low - Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) gets low marks. The percentage of people rating ICANN’s performance as “Good” has hit its lowest point since Domain Name Wire started its annual survey five years ago. In the fifth survey, including responses from over 500 people in the domain name industry, only 12% rated their satisfaction with ICANN as “good”. That’s down from 33% in 2006. 40% of respondents rated ICANN “poor”, up ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Support for New TLDs Still Limited Amongst Domain Industry - Survey finds little support among domain community. Support for ICANNs “current plan” of introducing new top level domain names is still limited — although the ice may be thawing. In the 5th Annual Domain Name Wire Survey, 26% of respondents said they were in favor of ICANN’s current plan to introduce new top level domain names. This is up from 20% last year. An additional 22% are in favor of the plan, but only with regards to IDN top level domains. Although ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
ICM Registry Hopes to Offer .XXX Domains This Year - Registry wants to offer name.xxx later this year. After winning an independent review against ICANN for denying ICM Registry’s application for a .xxx top level domain name, the registry says it hopes to begin offering .xxx domain names later this year. It has already opened up a process on its web site to pre-reserve names. Whether or not this time line is feasible depends in part on how ICANN’s board acts upon the independent review. In a strange version of ... read more ...
Sat 20th February 2010
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Report Finds Against ICANN In Denying The .XXX Extension & Charges Them The $475K Cost - Yesterday an independent panel, the International Centre For Dispute Resolution (pdf) found in a 80 page decision, in favor of the ICM Registry against ICANN for its decision to eventually reject the .xxx extension and ruled that ICANN had to pick up all the costs of the independent panel to the tune of $475K and reimburse ICM the fees it paid for the application to the tune of another $241K. (ICM is stuck for its own attorney fees). However the ruling by its nature is advisory only and has no biding ... read more ...