Domain Name News: May 13 Week in Review

DomainSherpaMay 13, 2011 | Updated: December 9, 2015 1

Domain Name Week in Review Every Friday, DomainSherpa.com provides you with a hand-selected, editorially based review of the week. In this summary, you will find the latest articles and videos produced by DomainSherpa staff and contributors. You will also find links to the best news articles in the domain name industry — so you don’t have to spend your time searching for news or reading something that was not worth your time.

This Week’s Articles in Review

Next Week’s Sneak Peek

This Week’s News in Review

ICANN Successfully Tiptoes Through Political Minefield with New TLD Applicant Guidebook by Krista Papac – 13-May-11
ICANN released its sixth version of the draft Applicant Guidebook for the new Top-Level Domain (TLD) program in April following three years of debate surrounding the rules and procedures that will outline how potential applicants will apply to own their own piece of Internet real estate. Overall, the response has been positive.
Russia May Join ICANN Board – 12-May-11
Russia could soon have a representative on the board of directors of ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), the US-based domain-name authority which manages the global Internet. Marina Nikerova, who chairs Russia‚Äôs national domain coordination centre, has applied to join ICANN‚Äôs board, has passed the firsthurdle and eexpects to be appointed in August 2011. a conference in Moscow was told this week.
DomainTools Showcases Brand Management & Trademark Protection Solutions at INTA Conference 2011 – 12-May-11
DomainTools, the recognized leader in domain name research and monitoring, today announced that it will be exhibiting at the International Trademark Association’s (INTA) 133rd Annual Meeting in San Francisco, May 14-18, 2011. DomainTools will be one of more than 90 exhibitors debuting new products and services at the meeting.
Is Your Domain Safe From Seizures for Copyright Infringement? – 12-May-11
A group questions the government’s process for shutdowns, but corporate sites are likely protected under safe-harbor provisions
Go Daddy Awards $100000 in College Scholarships – 12-May-11
Scottsdale-based domain name registrar and web services firm GoDaddy has awarded ten, $10,000 scholarships to college students, as part of a promotion of its .ME domain names. According to Go Daddy, the awa
German, UK Domain Names See Strong Sales Outside Home Markets – 12-May-11
Sedo report: Buying new domain names can be an economical alternative to search engine optimization
Demand Media Names Enom Head – 11-May-11
Santa Monica-based Demand Media has appointed a new head of its eNom domain name registration services group, the firm said today. Demand Media said it has promoted Taryn Naidu to EVP and General Manage
Sedo Analysis Shows Strong and Steady Growth in Internet Domain Sales – 11-May-11
Sedo, the leading online domain marketplace and monetization provider, today announced the results of its Q1 2011 Domain Market Study, which reveals domain industry trends based on transactions in its marketplace. During the first quarter of 2011, 10,608 domains changed hands via Sedo‚Äôs marketplace, accounting for $21 million in sales. Average sales prices across all Top Level Domains (TLDs) held strong in comparison to previous quarters and for the first time, the .co extension entered the leading sales list with 2 percent market share, showing its growing popularity as a unique alternative to .com.
Sedo Domain Market Study, 1st Quarter 2011 – 11-May-11
Sedo’s Q1 Domain Market Study is here. Which TLDs lead the rest? What were the big sales? Discover the answers & more with market share and sales breakdowns, and quarter-over-quarter comparisons. This is the essential guide to marketplace trends, so don’t miss out on your free copy.
Full Text of The Protect IP Act Released: The Good, The Bad and The Horribly Ugly – 11-May-11
Yesterday, we got our hands on a leaked copy of the “summary” document put together by those writing the new version of COICA, now renamed the much more media friendly PROTECT IP Act. It looked bad, but some people complained that we were jumping ahead without the actual text of the bill, even if the summary document was pretty straightforward and was put together by the same people creating the bill. Thankfully, the folks over at Don’t Censor the Internet have the full text of the PROTECT IP Act, which I’ve embedded below as well. Let’s break it down into the good, the bad and the horribly ugly.
Priority Sunrise Registration of Chinese, Japanese and Korean .Asia Domain Names Begins Worldwide – 10-May-11
DotAsia today launches Sunrise for Chinese, Japanese and Korean Internationalized Domain Name (IDN) registrations (http://www.idn.asia) and announces the opening of the IDN Pioneer Domains Program (http://www.think.asia). The Pioneer Domains Program is open for any interested applicants to build out the best domains (e.g. http://xn--tlq248c.asia (“trade.asia” in Chinese), http://xn--yckc3dwa.asia (“video.asia” in Japanese),http://xn--o79al52c.asia (“game.asia” in Korean), while Sunrise provides registered businesses, trademark holders and existing “.Asia” domain holders priority to protect their brands in the largest and fastest growing Asian Internet marketplace. Application is not on first-come-first-served basis. Applicants will not be rejected as long as they submit it before the July 20th deadline.
New URS Ploy From Overreaching TM Interests Aims to Make It Easier to Take Away Your Domains – 10-May-11
ICANN’s Commercial and Business Users Constituency is proposing that .net be required to adopt some ” rights protection” mechanisms from the new gTLD program (even though that program hasn’t even been implemented yet!), including the Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS) system that could prove to be enormously damaging to domain owners. If this plan, which would open the door for valuable domains to be suspended, and even transferred, based on a proceeding that costs only $300, slips through unchallenged, the untested URS could be available to complainants against .net domains as soon as July 1st. Even worse, you can then expect it to be imposed on .com next year when that contract comes up again.
Cleveland Browns Win Browns.com Domain Name – 10-May-11
NFL team gets rights to Browns.com domain name. The Cleveland Browns football team just scored a big win off the field. A World Intellectual Property Forum panel awarded the team the domain name Browns.com in arbitration. According to the football franchise, the owner of the domain name used the page as a parked domain name with pay-per-click links to football topics. When the team reached out to the owner of the domain name, the name of the owner in the whois database suddenly changed.
Companies Prepare to Bid for Branded Domain Names – 09-May-11
Marketers are gearing up to invest hundreds of thousands of pounds in buying their own brand as online domain names, amid fears that the new URLs will provoke confusion among consumers.
Next UK Second-level Domain Signed – 09-May-11
The next second-level domain name in the UK under DNSSEC has been signed, with .co.uk being added to .me.uk.
Insight into ICANN’s Affirmation of Commitments – 09-May-11
I recently had the opportunity to read A. Michael Froomkin’s research paper, “Almost Free: An Analysis of ICANN Affirmation of Commitments” (AOC), which examines both the legal and political effects of the AOC. In my opinion, Froomkin’s research is thorough and enlightening, explaining how and why the AOC came into being; what it changes and what it does not change; and what kind of impact it will have.