Domain Name News: November 25 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 Interview in Review

• VIDEO: Sedo: Building the World’s Largest Domain Marketplace – With Tim Schumacher

How do three college students go from developing a software game to creating the largest domain name marketplace in the world?

Find out in this interview as the CEO of Sedo, Tim Schumacher, describes how he and his co-founders assembled the world’s largest database of domain names for sale, with more than 15 million listings, and grew the company’s revenue to over $135 million.

This Week’s News in Review

Protrada Adds Dropping Domains and Cements Position as One Stop Shop – 24-Nov-11
The world’s first aggregator of major domain auction houses, Protrada today released an upgrade that includes the Dropping domains feature. Dropping, or expiring, domains have reached the end of their registration period. For various reasons the current registrant has decided not to or forgotten to re-register the domain. The dropping process begins when domain expires. The domain enters an Auto-renew Grace period for up to 45 days and then enters the Redemption Grace Period for 30 days.
Uk Court Systems Set to Adopt Judiciary.uk Domain Names – 23-Nov-11
England and Wales’s judicial systems are given permission to rebrand their websites as judiciary.uk. Scotland and Northern Ireland may follow.
SkullCandy, LA Clippers, Mckesson Buy Domain Names – 23-Nov-11
Wow! What a busy week for end users buying domain names. Here are some highlights (all sales via Afternic unless otherwise noted).
Porn Company Files Lawsuit Over .xxx Domain Names – 23-Nov-11
One of the biggest online pornography companies, Manwin Licensing International SARL, has filed a lawsuit against ICM Registry over the .xxx domain name. The firm says the domain names, at six times cost of ordinary domain names, are too expensive.
Protrada Announces New Pricing Plans – 22-Nov-11
The world’s first aggregator of major domain auction houses, Protrada today released new pricing packages, The Protrada Lite, Plus and Pro Plans aimed squarely at new domain name investors and professional domainers.
.XXX Launches National TV Campaign and www.Buy.xxx – 22-Nov-11
.XXX registry ICM Registry has launched a five week national TV ad campaign to promote the new domain name option. The ads will start running this week and feature Gavin and his assistants, who go on quests to find out who is buying .xxx domain names.
The ICANN Domain Revolt – 22-Nov-11
The flash mob dance by the world’s most powerful groups of agencies against ICANN’s new gTLD domain name program must not be taken lightly. After all, these global bodies represent the real manipulaters of emotions. They influence our taste, habits and behavior — like type of cereal, length of skirts and width of ties. Commercials and reality shows teach us how to role play in cubicles or dance at weddings.
Apple Gets Control Over Porn Domain Names – 22-Nov-11
Apple is now the proud owner of iphonesex4s.com and six other (mostly) explicit domain names. The company filed a complaint with World Intellectual Property Forum against the owner of the seven domain names last month. All of the domain names forwarded to a mobile porn site when visited on a mobile device.
Nobody Likes Porny .xxx Domain Names, Except Cybersquatters – 21-Nov-11
Businesses spend a surprising amount of time and effort protecting their brand and intellectual property from cybersquatters. It often takes the threat of litigation or creative domain name registry to prevent random people from registering websites like Pepsisux.com.
UK Government to Rationalise Public Sector Domains – 21-Nov-11
The government aims to cut the number of domains it uses, according to Cabinet Office executive director of digital Mike Bracken. The work to rationalise domains is a continuation of a Cabinet Office drive to cut the number of government websites, Bracken told ZDNet UK on Monday.
Domain Name for Sale: Tablets.com – 21-Nov-11
Aron Meystedt, founder of XF.com Investments, said he doesn’t have an asking price but he’s already turned down a couple $1 million offers for it.
Columbia State College Buys .xxx Websites – 21-Nov-11
It may seem counterintuitive, but Columbia State Community College has purchased several websites under the .xxx domain in order to protect its reputation.
Black Friday Now Also Domain Name Awareness Day – 20-Nov-11
Penguin Search Engine Services, Inc. (Penguin SES), announces the creation of “Domain Name Awareness Day,” which falls on Black Friday, in order to help raise awareness of the secondary domain name market and its value. This market involves domain names that are already registered.
Sedo Strikes Deal to Sell Bargain.com – 20-Nov-11
Sedo today announced that Bargain.com will be listed exclusively for sale at Sedo. With the popularity of online discount sites at an all time high, this rare and highly marketable domain name offers potential investors the opportunity to get a piece of the action and take advantage of its unprecedented branding and investment potential.
Police Take Down 2000 .co.uk Domains Selling Counterfeit Goods – 20-Nov-11
Police have suspended 2,000 .co.uk domains that were being used to rip off consumers with counterfeit goods.
OccupyTheInternet.com: The OWS Digital Land Grab – 18-Nov-11
While Occupy[fill-in-the-blank]ers are being rousted from camps in the U.S. and abroad, there’s a digital land grab underway. Godaddy.com has sold 5,200 domain names with “occupy” in them from September to early November, compared with 80 from January through August.
In gTLD Debate, More Big Brands Take Issue With Icann’s Dotbrand URLs – 18-Nov-11
The U.S.-based Coalition for Responsible Internet Domain Oversight (or CRIDO) led by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) has added six major marketers to their ranks, including the world’s largest retailer and second-largest food company. Walmart, Kraft Foods, adidas, Reebok, Toyota and the J.M. Smucker Company have joined CRIDO, bringing the total number of companies and industry groups to 93.
Porn Sites File Suit Against ICANN Over .XXX Domain – 17-Nov-11
It’s the Internet topic that many shy away from, but a lawsuit recently filed by a major online porn company against The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) may have far reaching implications for the entire Web.
Lawsuit Gives Domain Managers a XXX Headache – 17-Nov-11
The group that manages the Internet’s address system is facing a new headache over its efforts to expand the number of new domain names available to the public. The latest setback for the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers relates to the .xxx domain, the controversial address it approved in March for adult-oriented websites.
CADNA Supports the NTIA’s Open Bidding for IANA Contract – 17-Nov-11
The Coalition Against Domain Name Abuse (CADNA) applauds the decision by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) of the Department of Commerce to hold an open bid for the new Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) contract.
Oversee.net: We Don’t Owe Monte Cahn Anything for $13M Management Incentive Plan – 17-Nov-11
It’s been a busy week full of filings in the case of Monte Cahn v. Oversee.net. Monte is suing his former employer on a number of counts, including alleging that he’s owed money under a $13 million Management Incentive Plan (MIP). The most notable filing is Oversee.net’s request yesterday for summary judgment on Monte’s claim of breach of contract under the $13 million plan.
EU Adopts Resolution Against US Domain Seizures – 17-Nov-11
The European Parliament has adopted a resolution which criticizes domain name seizures of “infringing” websites by US authorities. According to the resolution these measures need to be countered as they endanger “the integrity of the global internet and freedom of communication.” With this stance the European Parliament joins an ever-growing list of opposition to the Stop Online Piracy Act.