Demand Media wants to heading name for domain name heading insurance service -
New TLD applicant files trademark applications fro DPML.
Demand Media subsidiary United TLD has filed six trademark applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office related to its proposed Domain Protected Marks List (DPML).
Three of the applications are for the full term “Domain Protected Marks List ” and the other three are for “DPML”. The applications were filed on an intent-to-use basis on May 15.
The DPML is a service that would let trademark holders ... read more ...
Tag Archives: new tlds
Tue 28th May 2013
Sedo pulling new TLD services -
Company releases brochure and starts more heavily marketing its new TLD capabilities.
Sedo is starting to more aggressively promote services to new top level domain applicants, including adding a couple ad banners targeting them on its home page.
The company’s four page “Sedo New gTLD Services” brochure (pdf) highlights services the company provides prior to launch, during sunrise and landrush, and after a domain fully launches.
Ahead of launch, Sedo will help ... read more ...
Fri 24th May 2013
Demand Media commits 5 TLDs to private auctions, though 3 are passed on arrival -
Demand Media throws five domains into private auction ring, but three are against competitors who won’t participate.
Demand Media subsidiary United TLD has committed five of its applied-for top level domains to the first private domain auctions to be handled by Peter Cramton.
The five domains are .fishing, .green, .mom, .rip, and .wow.
Donuts recently committed 63 domains to the same auction.
In order for an auction to take place, all applicants for the string must ... read more ...
Thu 23rd May 2013
Applicants record 722 responses to GAC advice -
Applicants flood ICANN with responses to GAC advice on new top level domains.
ICANN has published applicant responses to the Governmental Advisory Committees “Advice” on new top level domains.
722 responses were filed in total.
Many applicants submitted the same comment on each TLD they believed was affected by the advice.
The overarching theme in responses was: we have what we believe are adequate protections for our strings, the GAC should not be concerned, ... read more ...
Fri 17th May 2013
Donuts offers to attend in private auction for 63 new TLDs -
Largest new TLD applicant commits to resolve up to 63 new TLD contention sets through first private auction.
Donuts, the company that applied for the most top level domain names, announced today that it will commit to private auctions for 63 of the 307 strings that it applied for in the first auction to be held by Applicant Auction.
Private auctions allow new TLD applicants to settle contention sets faster than waiting for ICANN’s “auction of last resort”. They ... read more ...
ICANN expects 646 new TLD applications to be withdrawn -
ICANN forecasts 646 applications will be withdrawn, mostly after the initial evaluation period.
66 applications for new top level domain names have been withdrawn as of today. For budgeting purposes, ICANN projects that number will explode to 646 before everything is said and done.
The number was disclosed in ICANN’s proposed operating plan and budget for the 2014 financial year, which begins in July 2013. The number is up from a previously budgeted 545 applications ... read more ...
Thu 16th May 2013
What they’re observant about a GAC’s guarantee advice -
Is the GAC right? It depends on who you ask.
The ICANN New gTLD Board Committee request for comment on the GAC’s safeguard advice has closed, and the reply period will open soon. Here are some select comments, along with links to the full comments.
“Instead of Guidebook advice, the GAC has offered public policy advice and expects the whole New gTLD program to be halted until such advice is considered and adopted.”
-Jonathon Nevett, Donuts Inc
“The GAC is proposing ... read more ...
Fri 10th May 2013
An reason of Demand Media’s understanding with Donuts -
SEC filing sheds (some) light on relationship for new top level domains.
A lot of fuss has been made about the connection between Demand Media and Donuts and the new TLD program.
What exactly is the relationship between the two companies? Demand Media’s latest 10-Q, filed today, explains the terms of the agreement:
As part of its initiative to pursue the acquisition of gTLD operator rights, the Company has entered into a gTLD acquisition agreement (“gTLD Agreement”) ... read more ...
Thu 9th May 2013
Domain name change leads to 20% dump during HomeAdvisor -
Switch from ServiceMagic.com to HomeAdvisor.com leads to organic search traffic drop.
IAC’s HomeAdvisor business saw a 20% drop in leads after switching domain names.IAC underestimated the challenge from switching its ServiceMagic business to a new domain name, the company disclosed with its first quarter results.
The company renamed the business HomeAdvisor, and switched from ServiceMagic.com to HomeAdvisor.com.
It was forewarned that the move would be difficult, ... read more ...
Stupid, incompetent, or both? -
A Generally Atrocious Communiqué.
I’ve learned a lot over the years while writing about the domain industry. In the past three years I’ve learned that if there’s a laborious article I need to research and write that has to do with new TLDs, I can just wait a little while and Kevin Murphy will do it instead.
That’s what he’s done with “This is how stupid the GAC’s new gTLDs advice is“.
The GAC’s “advice” about new top level domains coming out ... read more ...
Wed 8th May 2013
Frank Schilling: could be 20,000 or 30,000 TLDs in 20 years -
Says “these are not pie-in-the-sky” numbers and second level domains could be seen as “antiquated”.
Domain name investor Frank Schilling applied for 54 top level domains via his new TLD company Uniregistry.
I remember asking him before the new TLD reveal day about what his plans were, and he characterized them as “not big”.
54 doesn’t seem like a big number to me, but when you consider Schilling’s perspective on how the naming system will change in ... read more ...
Mon 6th May 2013
Donuts: Hurry up. Verisign: delayed down. -
Many new TLD applicants will take a less-than-ideal contract if it means a faster time to market.
When it comes to the new top level domain registry agreement, what you have to gain or lose from new TLDs being introduced will greatly shape your opion.
Verisign has submitted two separate comments on the agreement, both of which blast ICANN for dumping the bottom up process and adding a unilateral right to amend the contract.
From Verisign’s perspective, a delay in ... read more ...
Wed 1st May 2013
Verisign blasts ICANN over due registry agreement -
Verisign says unilateral right to amend is alive and well in proposed contract.
Verisign senior vice presidents Pat Kane and Richard Goshorn have sent a letter to ICANN blasting the inclusion of amendment right clauses in the proposed new registry agreement.
In the sometimes snarky letter, Verisign claims that ICANN’s unilateral right to amend the new gTLD agreement is alive and well, despite some changes to language in the latest version.
Verisign’s interests ... read more ...
Wed 24th April 2013
GAC Advice leads to TLDH withdrawing 4 new TLD applications -
Major new TLD applicant says it will withdraw four applications after discussions with governments.
Top Level Domain Holdings, a publicly traded pure play applicant for new top level domains (London: TLDH), plans to withdraw four of its top level domain applications after receiving government advice.
In a release issued today, the company writes:
The GAC strongly advised against four gTLDs, none of which TLDH applied for. Another 513 gTLDs were given some kind of ... read more ...
One “corporate identifier” TLD applicant bows out -
Applicant for six new TLD strings pulls applications.
An applicant for a number of corporate identifier top level domains (e.g. .llc, .inc) has withdrawn its applications.
Each of the top level domains was applied for by a separate company, but the CEO of all of the companies was listed as Bekim Veseli. Veseli runs an information technology company in Virginia.
The withdrawn top level domains include:
TLD / Applicant
.LLP PLL Registry, LLC
.LTD LTD Registry, LLC
.Corp ... read more ...
Mon 22nd April 2013
The new TLD Trademark Clearinghouse is about to get a lot of attention -
The TMCH phase of new TLDs is here. Which companies should participate, and how should they approach online brand protection in the coming years?
The Trademark Clearinghouse is now open for business and will soon get a lot of mainstream attention.Remember when .xxx came out and law firms across the country advised their clients to defensively register domains?
Law firms are now sending notices to their clients about signing up for the Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH), ... read more ...
Thu 18th April 2013
Name.space sends lawsuit opposite ICANN over new TLDs to Court of Appeals -
Company that offers domain names in alternative root pushes forward with legal challenge.
Alternative root company name.space isn’t letting its beef with ICANN die just yet.
The company has filed an appeal (pdf) with the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit after its suit against ICANN was tossed out by a lower court last month.
Name.space offers domain names in an alternate root, and applied to ICANN in 2000 to add 118 of its domains to the “real” ... read more ...
Tue 16th April 2013
1&1 ditches .mail, keeps .gmx (for now) -
One of seven applicants for .mail top level domain withdraws its application.
11 Mail Media GmbH has withdrawn its application for the top level domain .mail in the wake of receiving two formal objections against its application.
It’s not clear if the objections were part of the company’s rationale for dropping its application. There seven applicants for .mail, including heavyweight Google.
Both the United States Postal Service and Universal Postal Union objected ... read more ...
Fri 12th April 2013
Demand Media passes a new TLD Initial Evaluation -
Company passes initial evaluation despite rule about UDRP losses.
Demand Media’s new top level domain company, United TLD Holdco, has passed the initial evaluation stage on one of its TLD applications.
The company passed the initial evaluation for Fish.com .fishing today.
Demand Media was the biggest question mark amongst big-name TLD applicants with regards to if it would pass initial evaluation.
Part of the initial evaluation is the background check, and passing ... read more ...
ICANN announces 263 new TLD objections on final list -
263 total objections filed against new top level domain applications.
As per the requirements of the applicant guidebook, ICANN has published a list of all new top level domain objections accepted for consideration.
Below is a summary. You can learn more about how these objections will proceed here.
String Confusion
67 objections based on string confusion were filed.
The top objector was Commercial Connect LLC, which has applied for .shop. It has objected to 9 IDNs ... read more ...
Tue 9th April 2013
New TLD field wish we to know they have lots of money for auctions… -
But just how much? They don’t want you to know.
Donuts new funding round “doubles its capacity to compete” in new TLD auctions. What does that mean?Last night when I received Donuts’ press release about a follow on investment I had to re-read it a few times.
While the press release didn’t divulge exactly how much the company raised, it did say that the new funds “nearly doubles our capacity to compete” in new TLD auctions.
The company previously announced ... read more ...
Thu 4th April 2013
Google objects to 9 plural tip turn domain applications -
Google and Verisign file most objections (so far) against TLDs on string similarity grounds.
The International Centre for Dispute Resolution has published 33 of the string confusion objections it has received, representing about half of the total.
One of the biggest filers so far is Google, which has objected to at least 9 applications. All of the objections are against applications for the plural version of domains it has applied for.
ICANN’s String Similarity ... read more ...
Right of a Dot posts response to private TLD auction antitrust claims -
Company says private auctions do not automatically violate U.S. antitrust law.
Last month new TLD applicant Uniregistry published a press release that announced it would not participate in private auctions for new TLDs due to anti-trust concerns. It based its decision on a verbal conversation with the Department of Justice.
The press release also suggested that “paying off” other new TLD applicants might run afoul of the law.
The release generated an immediate ... read more ...
.WTF: .Lotto, .Weather, .Game, .Retirement strike with objections -
Seriously, WTF?
International Chamber of Commerce has posted more community and limited public interest objections on its web site.
On the surface, these look to be quite misdirected.
Afilias’ application for .lotto has been hit with a community objection filed by European State Lotteries and Toto Association. That’s a group that represents lotteries and gambling companies in Europe that benefit the state.
Then there’s Accuweather’s community objection to ... read more ...
Wed 3rd April 2013
The Verisign raise on effect -
Last week Verisign dropped a bomb on ICANN by releasing a report that said that ICANN was not yet ready for the rollout of new top level domains.
Critics have suggested that Verisign has financial motives for slowing out the rollout of new TLDs, and they’re likely correct.
Regardless of what Verisign’s motives are, and even regardless of the merit of its concerns, the report causes significant damage to ICANN.
Call it the “pile on” effect. Because Verisign ... read more ...