News
ARF is Now an IETF Standard
When a user of a large mail system such as AOL, Yahoo, or Hotmail reports a message as junk or spam, one of the things the system does is to look at the source of the message and see if the source is one that has a feedback loop (FBL) agreement with the mail system. If so, it sends a copy of the message back to the source, so they can take appropriate action, for some version of appropriate. For several years, ARF, Abuse Reporting Format, has been the de-facto standard form that large mail systems use to exchange FBL reports about user mail complaints.
Until now, the only documentation for ARF was a draft spec originally written Yakov Shafranovich (CircleID) in 2005, and occasionally updated originally by him and later by other people including myself. Earlier this year, the IETF chartered a working group called MARF which took that draft, brought the references up to date, stripped out a lot of options that seemed useful five years ago but in practice nobody ever used, and this week it was finally published as RFC 5965.
ARF (or now MARF) is quite simple, a version of the existing Multipart/Report message format that includes information about the report, such as the address of the recipient, descriptive text for a human reader, and a copy of the offending message. Having a standard format for reports, simple though it is, makes them much easier to process. For my tiny system, for example, nearly all of the trickle of reports are about mailing list messages. When a FBL report arrives, an automated script looks at the report and the message, and in the usual case that it's from a mailing list, it creates an unsubscribe request to remove the person from the list. Otherwise, it passes the message along to the human manager so I can decide what, if anything, to do about it. Larger mail systems also use them to collect statistics about their mail-sending customers.
The IETF process works particularly well when it standardizes existing practice, and ARF/MARF is an excellent example of that. The differences between the earlier drafts and the final version make it clearer and more precise, and it's now a proper standard we can cite:
Abuse Reporting Format! Ask for it by name: RFC 5965!
Written by John Levine, Author, Consultant & Speaker
Follow CircleID on Twitter
World Trademark Review Conducting Survey About New TLDs
Survey seeks opinions on new top level domain names.
World Trademark Review is currently running a survey to understand attitudes and plans around the launch of new top level domain names.
The survey is targeted to three groups: In-house trademark lawyers, private practice trademark lawyers, and marketing, web, and communications professionals. Each group receives slightly different questions on the survey.
For example, in-house trademark lawyers are asked about trademark protection and Uniform Rapid Suspension. Private practice lawyers are asked if new TLDs provide them with a good business opportunity for their practice. Marketing professionals are asked how their company might use a new TLD and which departments within the company have expressed an interest in them.
World Trademark Review claims the survey “will collect opinions from the widest respondent base ever consulted on gTLD strategy. Through canvassing the marketing community in addition to the legal profession, the study will ensure that the views of all interested parties are considered and therefore present a unique viewpoint on new gTLDs.”
© DomainNameWire.com 2010.
Get Certified Parking Stats at DNW Certified Stats.
Related posts:
DreamHost.co and AOLmail.co Among First .Co Domains Hit with UDRP
Trademark owners go after their names on .co.
A dozen companies have filed 13 .co domain name arbitration disputes since the relaunch of .co as a a generic domain name.
The most recent UDRP filing was for Dreamhost.co by the owner of the large web host DreamHost.com. This is a somewhat surprising case given that surely a web host was aware of the release of .co domains.
Other companies have also filed cases. AOL wants aolmail.co and L.A. Fitness is going after lafitness.co. Other companies filing complaints include:
Akbank Turk A.S.
Linode, LLC
Karl Storz GmbH & Co. KG
Barry’s Ticket Service, Inc.
Dormeuil Freres
Tilda Limited
Rautaruukki Oyj
Spa Esprit Group Franchise Pte Ltd
.Co domains are subject to a UDRP procedure similar to .com, except that only World Intellectual Property Organization currently hears the cases.
© DomainNameWire.com 2010.
Get Certified Parking Stats at DNW Certified Stats.
Related posts:
Cost-Per-Action Search Engine Patent Headed to Auction Block
Patent could potentially target Google and Microsoft.
A U.S. patent directed at cost-per-action advertising on search engines as well as cash-back search is headed to the auction block.
Sunnyvale, California based AnchorFree Inc. has enlisted ICAP Ocean Tomo to auction off U.S. patent number 7,647,305 (pdf) at its November 11 intellectual property auction in Napa, California.
The patent covers two main things. First, it covers charging search ad customers based on a CPA model rather than cost-per-click. Google has already toyed around with this sort of idea, charging customers based on an action (such as a sale or lead) rather than per click.
Second, the patent covers giving a portion of advertising fees back to the searcher. This is similar to Microsoft’s CashBack search, which rewarded searchers with a percentage of Microsoft’s affiliate fees when customers made a purchase. Microsoft has shut down the service, but many similar services exist.
Can’t wait for the auction? The patent has a buy-it-now price of $2 million.
© DomainNameWire.com 2010.
Get Certified Parking Stats at DNW Certified Stats.
Related posts:
CareerBuilder and Monster Want to Stop .Jobs Domain Expansion
Group forms to object to .jobs expansion.
A group calling itself The .JOBS Charter Compliance Coalition is asking ICANN’s board to reconsider its decision to open up the .jobs top level domain name to non-company name registrations. The coalition’s members include major employment web sites such as Monster and CareerBuilder, along with a number of associations.
In a letter (pdf) to the Committee of the Board on Reconsideration, the group argues that:
-The .jobs phased allocation program violates the .jobs charter
-The members of the coalition will be harmed by the by the expansion of the .JOBS space beyond employers without any of the customary and usual protections against abusive and infringing registrations
-Other people will also be harmed by the expansion
-The board’s decision should be stayed pending the outcome of reconsideration
-ICANN’s staff-prepared comment summary was flawed
A number of job boards have been vocal opponents of the plan. Much of the opposition suggests that the purpose and charter of .jobs (an sTLD) has been violated. But I suspect we’ll see more of this sort of backlash as new top level domains are introduced in the coming years.
© DomainNameWire.com 2010.
Get Certified Parking Stats at DNW Certified Stats.
Related posts:
DomainName.com Domain and Registrar Sells
DomainConsultant.com reports that domain sold during auction today.
DomainConsultant.com, which organized an auction today for DomainName.com, is reporting that the name has sold.
Due to non-disclosure requests on both sides, we unfortunately cannot publish buyer or final selling price. We can tell you that, as predicted, DomainName.com name, site and registrar were sold today in a private auction.
We can also tell you new owner will prosper and thrive, we have no doubt whatsoever.
It’s unfortunate that a non-disclosure will keep the price from being public, but if multiple parties participated in the auction then word might eventually leak out. The domain included an accredited domain name registrar and about 8,000 existing registrations. The reserve was originally listed at $1 million.
DomainConsultant.com says it will hold another sales event in a couple weeks and is seeking domain submissions.
© DomainNameWire.com 2010.
Get Certified Parking Stats at DNW Certified Stats.
Related posts:
NBC Tries to Wriggle Out Of $1 Million Women.com Sale
NBC wants lawsuit over domain name dismissed.
NBC Universal has filed a motion to dismiss (pdf) a lawsuit filed by DONE! Ventures over DONE!’s failed purchase of Women.com. DONE! claims it had an agreement to buy women.com and women.net from NBC, and that NBC later backed out of the deal that was brokered by Sedo.
NBC’s first line of defense is that it hadn’t reached an agreement with DONE! because communications only referred to Women.com, not .net — so key terms hadn’t been agreed to:
The Complaint makes clear on its face that no binding contract was formed because there was no meeting of the minds on a material term: the property for sale. Plaintiff alleges that it made a $1 million offer for two domain names: women.com and women.net. Yet, the correspondence from the NBC Defendants’ broker, which Plaintiff attaches to the Complaint and specifically incorporates by reference, states that the NBC Defendants would accept $1 million for women.com alone. Thus, the parties never agreed on what could be purchased for the $1 million price.
Its second line of defense is that Sedo told DONE! it would need to complete a bill of sale with NBC before completing the transaction. NBC argues that no bill of sale was completed, so there was no breach of contract:
Further, the parties’ correspondence states that the NBC Defendants required specified information about the Plaintiff and the completion of a bill of sale before a deal could be consummated. As Plaintiff admits in the Complaint, no bill of sale was ever drafted or signed. Therefore, even if the parties had reached a meeting of the minds about what property was for sale and at what price, which they did not, at most, there was an unenforceable agreement to agree. Plaintiffs breach of contract claim thus fails as a matter of law.
If the court doesn’t buy either of these arguments, NBC wants it to move the case from California to New York.
So here’s the (literally) million dollar question: if DONE! would accept just the .com domain for $1 million, would NBC go through with it?
© DomainNameWire.com 2010.
Get Certified Parking Stats at DNW Certified Stats.
Related posts:
Google Voice: Race to the Bottom for Telephony - or Something Else?
Just when you thought making phone calls couldn't get any cheaper, along comes last week's news from Google about their latest iteration of Google Voice. There have been several steps along the way for Google to get to this point, and there are a host of reasons why this news is of interest to service providers of all stripes. I often write about how certain technologies and disruptive forces change the business of being a service provider, and this is but the latest example.
Ever since Vonage came to market, residential carriers have been faced with declining revenues for landline service, which itself is quickly losing ground to wireless substitution. Then Skype came along and brought desktop VoIP to a whole new level of adoption. Along with that came a new value proposition for voice. Whereas Vonage was offering a lower cost monthly plan, Skype was offering free or near free voice, driving the price down to levels that no conventional service provider could sustain.
Google has its own take on voice, which is why this story should be of interest to service providers. Vonage is marketed primarily as a replacement service for POTS, making it a direct competitor to telcos. Nothing complicated there—it's really just a price game, but telcos do have more options to bundle telephony with other things—and of course, even more so for cable operators.
Skype is primarily a Web-based IM/chat service, on top of which they do voice very well, and at low cost to subscribers. As popular as Skype is, their proprietary technology keeps them a bit inside their own sphere. They are still a major threat to telcos, but when positioned a bit differently, they can be a very good complement.
The latest news with Google, though, is something entirely different. Their calling service—Google Voice—is mainly an add-on to Gmail, and works a lot like Skype. As such, it's not a pure telephony service like Vonage, and it's not really built off IM/chat like Skype; it's built around email. Of course, Google has all these other tools, but email is ubiquitous, and Google has been successful building a strong user base here. Gmail binds the user more deeply than IM/chat, making it a great platform for both business and personal usage. I'm not alone in noticing these days that when you get a personal email address as a backup for someone you're working with, more often than not it's a Gmail address.
Google already has GTalk, which supports free online calls between Google users—and is comparable to the free calling Skype users have among themselves. Google Voice is much bolder and is their answer to Skype Out/In, and gives Gmail users a PSTN interface to make calls to the rest of the world. In the short term, this may take a bite out of Skype in that Google Voice calls within the U.S. and Canada will be free until year end (but maybe longer). Longer term - along with Skype - Google Voice is more of a threat to telcos as they accelerate the race to the bottom, bringing the value of a voice call pretty much down to where email is.
Why are they doing this?
In my view, it's not to put the telcos out of business. They're offering domestic PSTN calls for free, in the hopes of subsidizing them by charging two cents a minute for international calls. Fair enough, but I don't see that happening, and Google really doesn't need to make money with this service. Of course, free beats paid any day—so long as the quality is comparable—and I see them making the voice pie bigger, much the way Skype has. The key for me is more about how Google Voice interacts with Gmail. By escalating an email message to a free phone call, users will stay longer in the Google environment, and the ability to transcribe voicemail will certainly appeal to some.
However, I think there's more to the story. Am mentioned, Google is coming from a different place than Skype, who depends almost solely on those Skype In/Out minutes for revenues. VoIP service is not expensive to provide, and Google has spent relatively little to get in the game. I would contend that the vast majority of their Google Voice capability comes from three small acquisitions that cost them maybe $150 million. When you think about the annual Capex budget of any incumbent, this really is pocket change. Going back to 2007, they acquired GrandCentral; last year they acquired Gizmo5, and a few months ago, they added Global IP Solutions. Collectively these companies have given them the pieces to offer a very appealing VoIP-to-PSTN service globally, and if they never make a penny from it, so be it.
As mentioned, free beats paid, and there's no better incentive to get people to use your service. Look how long Vonage has been around, and they barely have two million subscribers. Unlike Skype, Google doesn't have to build its user base from scratch, and it won't take long for them to start logging millions of calls. Just consider what happens when school resumes next month, and students will be falling over each other to make free calls home from those super-retro red UK phone booths that will be popping up on college campuses (and solar powered to boot).
As such, Google Voice will be one more reason to cut the cord, and the race to zero just picked up some speed. Thanks to Gizmo5, Google Voice is SIP-based and works nicely on both softphones and hand-held endpoints. Short term, there will be some cannibalization with Android by competing with voice from data plans, but Google will figure out how to make all these pieces fit. This is actually where the GIPS acquisition comes in, with their ability to support both voice and video over mobile devices, which in turn can make Google Voice a great add-on for businesses.
While Google Voice is primarily an outbound telephony service, I think they'll be able to take free calling beyond the desktop, and that's really what service providers need to be thinking about. Free on the desktop is one thing, but when you push out to mobile devices, things get more complicated. If this isn't enough, I think there's a separate agenda at work here, and it's something I've commented about elsewhere for quite some time.
Google is really interested in the voice business, not to make life difficult to telcos, but as a source of raw material—snippets from voicemail and live calls, if you will—that can be harvested for search. I'm not sure about the regulatory issues around this—and apparently Google has been vague here—but certainly for voicemail, free calls will generate a huge cache of "content" that they can apply speech recognition algorithms to and build an archive of audio-based search prompts. Once those audio cues are transcribed into text, they can become hugely valuable for the next frontier—mobile search. This sounds a bit on the dark side ("do no evil" as we're told), but it's a far better way to monetize voice than charging a few cents a minute or a few dollars a month. When viewed from this lens, Google Voice is a very different business than Skype, Vonage, or any telco for that matter. Disruption comes in many forms, and we're seeing a new one with Google Voice. Don't let the race to zero fool you; I think it's just a side-show compared to what Google really has in mind.
This article of mine originally ran today on my Service Provider Views column on TMCnet.
Written by Jon Arnold, Principal, J Arnold & Associates
Follow CircleID on Twitter
More under: Email, Telecom, VoIP, Web
Sedo Retools Domain Searching
Domain marketplace release new search system.
Sedo has released new searching tools that make it much easier to sift through the site’s 7 million domain names for sale.
The new search allows you to add and change search criteria and get updated results on the fly. Limit the number of words in domains, price range, and even parking traffic (if the domain is parked at Sedo). You can also preview a listing by clicking on the domain rather than loading an entirely new page. DomainsBot technology is integrated to show synonyms and domains similar to the keywords you provide.
As you search you’re able to add domains to a watchlist for later review. You can also create RSS feeds for your saved searches.
The need for improved search features had developed as the number of domains at Sedo has grown. These new search features will hopefully boost sales as quality domains will be easier to find.
Given browser constraints and the speed of real time updates, you might have a better experience viewing the search tool in Google Chrome instead of Firefox or Internet Explorer.
© DomainNameWire.com 2010.
Get Certified Parking Stats at DNW Certified Stats.
Related posts:
Angels.com Sells for $200,000
Broker sells Angels.com domain name.
Sedo has sold the domain name Angels.com for $200,000 according to the company’s updated sales feed. The domain name is currently pending transfer.
Earlier this month I pointed out that the domain being listed for auction presented another chance for Major League Baseball to pick up the domain name. Major League Baseball tried to get the domain name through a UDRP filing earlier but failed. At the time the seller wanted $300,000 for the domain.
At $200,000, I’d be shocked if MLB didn’t buy this domain. Angels.com is one of just 7 team names that the league doesn’t own. It passed on a chance to buy Athletics.com at the DOMAINfest auction, but don’t be surprised if they come to a deal on that later. The league forwards the domains to its MLB.com web site.
© DomainNameWire.com 2010.
Get Certified Parking Stats at DNW Certified Stats.
Related posts:
Stopping the Flow of Online Illegal Pharmaceuticals
Reading through Brian Kreb's blog last week, he has an interesting post up on the White House's call upon the industry on how to formulate a plan to stem the flow of illegal pharmaceuticals:
The Obama administration is inviting leaders of the top Internet domain name registrars and registries to attend a three-hour meeting at the White House next month about voluntary ways to crack down on Web sites that are selling counterfeit prescription medications.
The invitation, sent via e-mail on Aug 13 by White House Senior Adviser for Intellectual Property Enforcement Andrew J. Klein, urges select recipients to attend a meeting on Sept. 29 with senior White House and cabinet officials, including Victoria Espinel, the Obama administration's intellectual property enforcement coordinator.
"The purpose of this meeting is to discuss illegal activity taking place over the internet generally, and more specifically, voluntary protocols to address the illegal sale of counterfeit non-controlled prescription medications on-line," the invitation states.
Klein did not return calls seeking more information. A spokeswoman for the White House Office of Management and Budget confirmed the event, but declined to offer further details. The meeting appears to be a continuation of the administration's Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectual Property Enforcement, an initiative unveiled in June that promised to "address unlawful activity on the internet, such as illegal downloading and illegal internet pharmacies."
According to the World Health Organization, approximately 8 percent of the bulk drugs imported into the United States are counterfeit, unapproved, or substandard, and 10 percent of global pharmaceutical commerce—or $21 billion—involves counterfeit drugs. LegitScript.com, a verification service for online pharmacies, is currently tracking more than 45,000 rogue Internet pharmacies.
It is unclear to me whether or not the goal of this initiative is to stem the flow of online crime in general or to reduce the flow of illegal pharmaceuticals flowing into the United States (since presumably this cuts into the profits of large pharmaceutical companies… who would naturally want to see their profit margins increased in return for pledging their support for health care reform that was passed earlier this year). Assuming that the target of this are the online pharmaceuticals, there are a few things I can think of. Unfortunately, a three hour meeting really isn't enough to get this off the ground because it is a series of interconnected events that would need to take place. Anyhow, here's a list of things I'd do:
- Stopping illegal pharmaceuticals piggy-backs onto stopping illegal <anything> on the 'net. Spammers who advertise illegal software, or fake degrees, or fake enlargement pills, or fake mortgages are all basically doing the same thing. So, any strategy that is aimed at stopping those other things will extend to stopping fake pharmas as well. My point here is that concentrating only on fake pharmaceuticals may exclude strategies that scale to others.
- Registrars need to get their act in gear. When a website advertising cheap Viagra goes up, somebody somewhere needs to register that site. Whoever registers is needs to do a better job of verification of the identity who registered it. The problem here is that so many of these sites are registered by registrars in foreign countries which is outside the jurisdiction of the US. However, just like in the Wizard of Oz, there's no place like home and the government can pressure domestic ones to do better proactive abuse mitigation.
- WHOIS protected services are questionable. I don't deny the need for WHOIS-protected services in some cases. However, any time I am looking up a suspicious site and the WHOIS registration is protected, that's pretty much all I need to make the determination that the site is abusive. It doesn't cost much to shield your WHOIS information. If you want to do it, that's fine but there should probably be a stricter set of criteria who shielding your information like this requiring you to jump through a couple of more manual hoops.
- Crack downs on spammers will go a long ways. One of the chief mechanisms of advertising illegal pharmaceuticals is through the use of spam. We all get it in our inboxes. Of course, there are other avenues of advertisement such as black search engine optimization. However, because it is not particularly difficult to send out a lot of spam and make money off of it, and because there is little chance of repercussion, spammers continue to do it. If law enforcement had more resources dedicated to prosecuting spammers such that it became more de-incentivized, then the supply part of the equation would start to dry up. In other words, putting spammers in prison will help in this regards, and this requires a prioritization of law enforcement resources. Whether or not they are willing to divert resources from one area of law enforcement to another is an open question.
- Perhaps walled gardens are a good idea. In Australia, some ISPs kick infected computers off of their network if the ISP can detect that the machine connecting to it is infected with malware. Or, they redirect them to a sandbox and alert the user that they cannot continue until they clean their system. If more ISPs made this a policy, then maybe we'd have less malware abuse flowing back and forth in cyber space. I don't think I'd want government to enforce this, but perhaps ISPs might be willing to voluntarily comply with this.
This is a small list of things that could be done but by no means it is exhaustive. Running up-to-date software is a good idea, and so is running the latest patched version of one's software. What other ideas do you have to cut down on the flow of illegal online pharmaceuticals?
Written by Terry Zink, Program Manager
Follow CircleID on Twitter
More under: Cybercrime, Domain Names, Domain Registries, ICANN, Internet Governance, Spam, Whois
MyHealth.com Saved at National Arbitration Forum
Case over generic domain name denied.
A National Arbitration Forum panelist has rejected a company’s claim to the domain name MyHealth.com.
My Health, Inc registered its mark for “My Health” in 2009. But the registrant of the domain name acquired it prior to that (in 2007) for $150,000. Making matters worse, when My Health, Inc filed its complaint it thought that the respondent had owned the domain name since way back in 1995. Regardless of which date you choose, the complaint must fail because there was no way for the registrant to register it with the non-existent (at the time) trademark holder in mind.
Another interesting aspect to this case is that the panelist brings up the issue of reverse domain name hijacking even though the respondent didn’t request it — but then declines to find RDNH because it wasn’t requested:
It appears from the facts of this case that Complainant established its business and trademark rights while aware that the disputed domain name was already registered by another entity. Indeed, it appears that Complainant brought this arbitration proceeding only after negotiations to purchase or join with Respondent failed. Lastly, as noted above, Complainant has alleged bad-faith registration notwithstanding the fact that it did not even exist (or own any trademark rights) at the time of Respondent’s registration.
Paragraph 15(e) of the Rules provides inter alia that the Panel may find that the Complainant brought an arbitration proceeding “in an attempt at Reverse Domain Name Hijacking or . . . primarily to harass the domain-name holder.” … However, the Respondent has not alleged Reverse Domain Hijacking and the Panel declines to make this determination where the parties have not raised the issue or been given the opportunity to brief the Panel on their respective positions.
A panelist does not need a party to raise the issue of RDNH in order to rule on it. But the fact that he brings it up in his decision shows his opinion on the matter.
© DomainNameWire.com 2010.
Get Certified Parking Stats at DNW Certified Stats.
Related posts:
A Look at Go Daddy’s Growth (in Numbers)
An official look at Go Daddy’s revenue numbers.
I still remember a conversation just before the Super Bowl in 2005. I was eating lunch with a bunch of techies and the topic of Super Bowl commercials came up. Someone asked “who is this Go Daddy company, anyway?”
Flash forward to 2010. If you ask someone on the street where they would go to register a domain name, they’ll likely say “Go Daddy”. About half of all newly-registered domains are registered at the company.
Go Daddy continues to grow like gangbusters. I’ve reported some of the company’s numbers on Domain Name Wire before, but yesterday I had a chance to get an official historical look at the company’s growth from Ryan Corder, Senior Director of Finance for the company.
Sources: The Go Daddy Group, SEC Filings
The company’s growth since the opening up of registrar accreditation has been staggering. In 2001 the company grossed $4.3 million in GAAP revenue; last year it hit $610 million. I had previously reported revenue of $750 million for 2009, but this was actually sales. (As a growing company, GAAP revenue lags sales because sales are recognized over a period of time.) For 2010 the company forecasts between $940-$950 million in sales.
Perhaps more important as a privately-held company is Go Daddy’s cash flow. The company forecasts an operating cash flow of $140-$150 million for 2010.
Go Daddy’s employee base has grown with the revenue, bringing much needed jobs to Arizona and Iowa. In 2003 the company employed 323 people; it now keeps 2,700 (and growing) on the payroll.
No wonder Bob Parsons is always smiling.
© DomainNameWire.com 2010.
Get Certified Parking Stats at DNW Certified Stats.
Related posts:
Michael Phelps Foundation Sues Over Domain Name
Swimmer’s foundation goes after domain name owner.
The non-profit Michael Phelps Foundation, established by the Olympic swimmer, has sued to get the domain name MichaelPhelpsFoundation.com.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Maine, names Domains by Proxy, Inc., a domain whois proxy service, and Does 1-10 as defendants. It is typical for a proxy service to be named in a lawsuit and it is typically dropped once the proxy service transfers the domain back to its real owner.
The domain name was registered in 2008, just two days after Phelps won his record setting eighth gold medal in a single Olympics. Phelps had not yet started his foundation.
The domain was originally registered by a Minnesota man before the whois proxy service was used. The author of the web site at MichaelPhelpsFoundation.com claims that he had good intentions in registering the domain name:
To be quite clear, MPF was created as a “foundation” or a home “base” where fans, like yourself, can come to share, chat, research, debate, contribute, and connect with one another on the past, present and future surrounding, who some are considering to be the greatest hero in history, Michael Phelps.
It wasn’t until after MPF was created that we heard that Michael Phelps was, in fact, going to establish a new swimming foundation.
A blog on the web site has two entries from 2008.
© DomainNameWire.com 2010.
Get Certified Parking Stats at DNW Certified Stats.
Related posts:
Lawsuit Against Original CamRoulette.com Owner Settled
Case dropped pending settlement.
A lawsuit filed against the original registrant of CamRoulette.com has been settled.
Craig Snyder (not related to the Oversee.net employee) originally registered CamRoulette.com and sold it for $1,200. But another person, Fraser Brown, said he had already agreed to purchase the domain name from Snyder for $700 before Snyder sold it to the other party for $1,200.
It likely wouldn’t have bothered anyone if it weren’t for the domain quickly being resold for $151,000 shortly thereafter. Brown sued, claiming damages for the difference between his $700 offer and the $151,000 sales price.
The terms of the settlement weren’t disclosed, and the case may be reopened within 30 days should the settlement fall through.
It’s not surprising to see an agreement reached. It appeared that Brown had identified another (wealthier) Craig Snyder as the culprit instead of the actual Snyder (who says he’s broke). There probably wasn’t much to gain by moving forward with the suit.
© DomainNameWire.com 2010.
Get Certified Parking Stats at DNW Certified Stats.
Related posts:
Court Wants Explanation for Conflict of Interest over TRAFFIC Auction
Court asks for explanation, but it’s probably a moot point anyway.
United States District Judge Susan Illston has asked DS Holdings and The United States to file a response to accusations that auctioning off domains previously held by John Zuccarini at a TRAFFIC auction would be a conflict of interest. Zuccarini complained to the court that this would be a conflict of interest since TRAFFIC co-organizer Howard Neu once represented him in the cybersquatting lawsuit that led to the judgment for which the domains would be auctioned.
The order states:
DS Holdings and the United States have moved to authorize auction of the domain names and distribution of the auction proceeds. In opposing the motion, Zuccarini asserts that the proposed auction site, the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Domain Conference & Expo, raises a conflict of interest because Howard Neu, an attorney who represented Zuccarini in the underlying action filed by Office Depot, is a co-owner and organizer of T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Moving parties DS Holdings and the Unites States do not address this assertion in their reply. DS Holdings and the United States are therefore directed, within ten days of the date of this order, to file a response to Zuccarini’s contentions regarding conflict of interest.
Of course this is probably all a moot point anyway. The TRAFFIC show organizers have gone on record saying they want nothing to do with auctioning off Zuccarini’s domain names. Given that TRAFFIC auctions are actually run by Latona’s, and merely use TRAFFIC as a venue, it’s likely that Neu didn’t even know about the plans to auction off the domains at TRAFFIC before he was dragged into it thanks to the court filings.
Elsewhere in the Zuccarini saga, Zuccarini has filed a response (pdf) to Network Solutions’ motion to dismiss his lawsuit over the sale of expired domain names he owned that were later handed to a receiver.
© DomainNameWire.com 2010.
Get Certified Parking Stats at DNW Certified Stats.
Related posts:
German Domain Conference Kicks Off Thursday
German domain conference and auction takes place this week.
Germany’s only dedicated domain name conference, DomainvermarkterForum, will take place this Thursday and Friday in Munich. The event is at the five-star Hotel Sofitel Bayerpost. Gold sponsors for the event include PartnerGate and, as you might guess given its German headquarters, Sedo.
Sessions include: advantages of your own DENIC membership, speed networking, info on VeriSign Internet Profile Service, and a presentation on The Water School.
There will also be an auction Friday afternoon conducted with Moniker and Snapnames. Here are some of the domains in the auction along with their English translation, according to the show organizers:
Kameras.de Cameras
LeihWagen.de Rental Car
Militär.de Military
Lüfter.com Fan
DebitKarten.com Debit Card
Speisen.de Food
Information about the auction is available here.
© DomainNameWire.com 2010.
Get Certified Parking Stats at DNW Certified Stats.
Related posts:
Muscovitch: Canadian ccTLD Registry Rules in Need of an Overhaul
by Zak Muscovitch
[In this guest article, Zak Muscovitch argues that the .ca domain name needs to be liberalized. Muscovitch is a domain attorney who is running for a seat on CIRA's 2010 Board of Directors. -Andrew]
While many countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, and India, have opened up their ccTLD registries to foreigners, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (“CIRA”) has been stuck with the same closed-door policy since it enacted its “Canadian Presence Requirements” in 2003.
CIRA’s Canadian Presence Requirements (“CPR”) make it exceedingly difficult for those residing outside of Canada to register a .ca domain name. According (pdf) to CIRA’s CPR, “CIRA is committed to reviewing these Canadian Presence Requirements from time to time in order to ensure they remain in the best interests of Canadians and the .ca registry”. An election is now underway for the Board of Directors of CIRA, and a re-examination of CIRA’s “Canadian Presence Requirements” should be a primary topic of debate throughout the election, with a view to finally making some substantial policy changes afterwards.
In a new study (.doc) of 12 ccTLD’s by DNattorney.com, we have concluded that Canada has one of the most restrictive presence requirements of any registry. It requires, inter alia, a prospective registrant to have a registered Canadian trademark or Canadian/provincial corporation, thereby closing the market to those who wish to easily expand their business into Canada or invest there.
The only country of the 12 reviewed, which appears to have more onerous restrictions on registration requirements, is China. China excludes all overseas registrations of their .cn domain name. By excluding all overseas registrations, they have severely restricted their market. This is evident, according to the Domain Name Industry Report 2009 (pdf) conducted by Nominet, which takes note that subsequent to the .cn registry restricted foreign registrations, the “growth in Chinese domain name has not continued, resulting in ccTLD growth rates falling”
While countries such as the United States and Australia permit registration by organizations, individuals and trademark holders who reside outside of the country but engage in activities within the country (such as trade, the buying and selling of goods or providing services to customers), Canada’s policy falls far short in comparison. It requires a Canadian corporation or Canadian trademark registered in Canada, even if the foreigner does business in Canada.
By requiring a registered trademark or corporation within the country before .ca domain name registration is permitted, CIRA limits its market and potential for investment in Canada. According to a study (pdf) conducted by EURid, the registry for the European Union, registration of ccTLD’s significantly increased with the liberalization of domain name policies. According to the EURid study, after Spain “liberalized [its ccTLD policy] in June 2005, its registry grew from 85 000 registrations in 2004 to 1.2 million in 2009”. Countries that employ a more progressive and liberalized approach to domain name registration appear to have higher domain name growth rates.
Overall, India and the Netherlands hold the most progressive approaches by providing very little restriction on domain name registration and permitting any party worldwide to register the .in and .nl ccTLD’s, respectively. According to the SIDN, which is the Netherlands’ registry, this progressive approach appears to be beneficial; .nl has become the fourth largest country code top level domain name in the world, with 4 million domain names registered, only appearing behind domain name giants such as Germany, the United Kingdom and China. It is predicted by SIDN, that at this rate of growth “we should see the five- millionth .nl domain name within the next few years.” This massive growth rate is not by coincidence; it is directly attributable to liberalized registry policies.
Many countries within Europe such as Germany and the United Kingdom, who have engaged in more progressive approaches towards foreign domain name registrants, have seen vast growth in registration. In Germany for instance, all that is required for registration is a VAT number, an administrative contact and postal address. According to Nominet (pdf), with these few restrictions, Germany’s ccTLD has “continued to see [a] steady growth and regained its position as the largest ccTLD by volume” surpassing that of even China (which has actually decreased).
The approach of Germany, India and the Netherlands to ccTLD registration appears to be a model that CIRA should at least consider. By looking at the vast growth rates of registration amongst these countries, in such short periods of time, and their position in the global market, it appears that Canada and CIRA are currently at a disadvantage. Patrick Pichette, the CFO of Google said it best; “Every company now is global… Canadian companies [shouldn’t] miss the boat because we’re not set up [globally].” Mr. Pichette’s words about Canada lagging behind in the digital economy apply equally to Canada lagging behind in the registration of domain names. According to the Domain Name Industry Brief by VeriSign, Canada fails to even make it within the top 10 ccTLD’s by number of registrations. It lags behind Brazil, Italy and Poland. Clearly it has work to do. Although .ca registrations appear to be on an admirable “upward trajectory” according to CIRA CEO, Byron Holland, who has led this charge, when compared to other ccTLD’s, Canada clearly has an opportunity to greatly expand its registry. This will come, largely through liberalization of the registry together with greater promotion of the ccTLD.
Muscovitch’s campaign web site is zak-for-cira.ca. He prepared this article with the assistance and research of Natalie Ledra of DNattorney.com. You can download the ccTLD Foreign Registration Comparison Study here (.doc).
© DomainNameWire.com 2010.
Get Certified Parking Stats at DNW Certified Stats.
Related posts:
DNCruise Giving Away Free Pass and Airfare
Cruise for domain industry sets sail in 6 weeks.
The inaugural DNCruise sets sail October 11, and show organizer Chef Patrick is offering a free pass plus airfare to one lucky guest.
In a post on his blog today, Patrick explains what you have to do to win the free pass. You’ll have to state your case on why you should get the free trip. Other than that the requirements are fairly minimal: you have to own 10 or more domains and have an interest in domaining.
The cruise leaves Miami on October 11 and returns October 15 with stops in Key West, Florida and Cozumel, Mexico. Passes and rooms start at $399. Patrick says 70 guests have already registered and speakers will include Michael Castello, Ron Jackson, Karen Bernstein, Gregg McNair, Donny Simonton, and Ron Sheridan. This should be a good event for the domain name industry.
© DomainNameWire.com 2010.
Get Certified Parking Stats at DNW Certified Stats.
Related posts:
DomainName.com To Be Auctioned Tuesday
Generic domain name for domain industry goes on the block Tuesday.
DomainConsultant.com’s auction of DomainName.com is taking place on Tuesday, August 31.
This isn’t just an auction for the domain name — it includes an ICANN accredited registrar with an active customer base and about 8,000 domain registrations. That’s not a huge number, but if you take a look at what has been done with DomainName.com to date, it appears there’s a lot of upside.
The package will only sell to someone with deep pockets, as the starting bid and reserve is $1 million. But financing is available with 20% down. According to DomainConsultant.com, the site gets 2,000-3,000 unique visitors a day.
A prospectus including current revenue, maintenance requirements, support, etc. is available for qualified bidders by emailing mike (at) domainconsultant.com.
© DomainNameWire.com 2010.
Get Certified Parking Stats at DNW Certified Stats.
Related posts:
Recent comments
2 years 2 weeks ago
2 years 3 weeks ago
2 years 4 weeks ago
3 years 11 weeks ago