Domain Name News: July 6 Week in Review

Every Friday, DomainSherpa.com provides you with a hand-selected, editorially-based review of the weekly news. 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.

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This Week’s DomainSherpa Interview

• VIDEO: All The Secrets of Domain Name Registrars – With Michael Goldfarb

  In the normal domain name registration world of up-sell, cross-sell and too much selling, NameSilo distinguishes themselves from all other domain name registrars by NOT doing what everyone else does.

  Co-founder Michael Goldfarb discusses what “the catch” is and how NameSilo is able to offer every domain name add-on – such as privacy, protection and monetization – for free.

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This Week’s News in Review

Vanity.com files lawsuit to block transfer of domain name – 05-Jul-12
Last month a National Arbitration Forum panel handed down a shockingly bad decision over the domain name Vanity.com, ordering the domain transferred to Vanity Shop of Grand Forks, Inc. Now Vanity.com, Inc. has filed a federal lawsuit (pdf) to halt the transfer.
The Top Ten Panelists That Deny Complaints at WIPO – 03-Jul-12
Every 6 months, Howard Neu brings you up-to-date on the names of the Panelists who have Denied Complaints the most. Though the vast majority of the WIPO cases still result in the transfer of the “offending” domain name, there are Panelists out there who are willing to listen to valid Responsive Arguments.
Patent Granted for Automated Web Site Valuation Method – 03-Jul-12
Patent describes system for generating automated appraisals of web sites. There are a lot of automated web site valuation and appraisal tools out there. Now the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a patent covering a method of automatically valuing a web site. U.S. Patent 8,214,272 (pdf), issued today, covers “Web Site Valuation”.
Waiter.com Sues Gowaiter.com for Trademark Infringement – 03-Jul-12
Does GoWaiter.com infringe Waiter.com’s mark? Here’s an interesting lawsuit that shows the challenges of building a business on a a descriptive (aka ‘generic’) domain name. Waiter.com, a food delivery web site started in 1995, has sued GoWaiter.com, a similar service apparently started in 2010. Waiter.com has a trademark for “Waiter.com”, which it bases its complaint…
Entrepreneur Media Continues to Sue Entrepreneurs Who Use The Word Entrepreneur – 03-Jul-12
Got ‘entrepreneur’ in your name? If you publish information to help entrepreneurs, you might be sued. Entrepreneur Media (EMI), the company that publishes Entrepreneur magazine, continues to file lawsuits against people that use the term entrepreneur in their name or domain name. The latest lawsuit was filed July 2 against JMD Entertainment Group, a Maryland…
Facebook Says Real Estate Firm is Cybersquatting On 30 Domain Names – 02-Jul-12
30 domains include “facebook” in them. Facebook has filed a cybersquatting complaint against a San Diego area realty company, claiming that the company is cybersquatting on its famous mark. The complaint with National Arbitration Forum lists thirty total domain names that include the Facebook name andrew are registered to Pellegrino Realty in La Mesa, California.
Academy Sports Sues Blackwater Over Its New Name Academi – 02-Jul-12
Sports store not happy about private military company’s new name. Academy Ltd., which operates the Academy Sports + Outdoors retail chain, has sued Academi, formally known as Blackwater, for trademark infringement. Yes, that Blackwater. Academy is concerned that Academi’s negative image could tarnish its brand and that there could be consumer confusion.
One Domainer’s Fascinating 15 Year Income Statement – 01-Jul-12
The ups and downs of the domain name business. Domain investor and web site creator Eric Borgos just published a list of the domains he has sold in the first half of the year. It’s quite interesting and worth a read. But I want to draw domainers’ attention to another page on Borgos’ site…
Apple demands iPad3.com domain name – 29-Jun-12
The company doesn’t own the domain name iPad3.com, but that might change soon. The company has asked an arbitration panel to transfer the domain name to it.
ICANN On Excess Funds From Fees & Auctions: “We’re Not Going To Give You The Money Back” – 29-Jun-12
In the public forum at the ICANN Meeting, Chairman of ICANN Steve Crocker in a statement told the crowd that when it comes to excess funds coming either from application fees or auction proceeds they don’t know what they are going to do with the money only that It will not be coming back to the applicants “On the subject …
ICANN Board Announces Digital Archery Has Been Cancelled – 29-Jun-12
According to a reliable source attending the 45th ICANN Meeting in Prague, the ICANN Board announced today that the much maligned digital archery batching system for the new gTLDs has been cancelled. There will not be a replacement system announced in Prague. The Board stated that ICANN will need to review ideas recently discussed among various stakeholders and as is customary, ICANN will later request and consider public comments on the issue.
DomainTools’ New Mobile Whois Product – 29-Jun-12
DomainTools just launched a new mobile Whois product on their live DomainTools.com site! What this means: It’s a complete re-design and rebuild of the Whois Lookup product you’ve come to rely on. And, it’s specifically for mobile devices. Visit Whois.DomainTools.com to experience what’s new.
Wan.com Closes On GoDaddy for $670,005 – 29-Jun-12
Sale would be highest ever on Go Daddy’s auction platform. An auction on GoDaddy.com for the domain name WAN.com closed overnight for a whopping $670,005. Of course, one of the first questions asked after an auction like this is “will the sale go through”? The seller is definitely legitimate.
Some .mobi owners concerned about .mobile domain applications – 29-Jun-12
Indeed, the strings mobi and mobile are very similar. ICANN’s String Similarity Assessment Tool assigns a similarity score of 72, which is quite high.
Introducing API for Screenshots.com – 28-Jun-12
DomainTools.com now has an API for Screenshots.com, and at least for now, it’s completely free. We’re letting anyone in the world use it (within reason!), and we’re giving away both small and large screenshots plus the complete historical record for a domain.
Twitter Finally Gets Twiter.com Domain It Won in Dispute – 28-Jun-12
Over a half year later, Twitter finally gets high traffic typo. Last year Twitter filed a cybersquatting complaint against the owner of the Twiter.com domain name. Twitter was rightfully upset about the high traffic typo domain as it forward to a “survey” that mimicked the look and feel of Twitter’s own web site.