Be Interviewed on DomainSherpa
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.
This Week’s DomainSherpa Interview
- VIDEO: Protecting Your Business Trademarks When New gTLDs Launch – With Jan Corstens
If you run a business and own trademarks for your brand, products or services, you are likely going to be affected by the hundreds of new top level domains that will be coming available over the next few years.For example, I’m concerned that I don’t have enough resources to register my trademark DomainSherpa in .app, .buy, .shop, .nyc, etc. Will others try to profit from the equity I’ve built in my company and brand by using confusingly similar domain names? What can you do to protect your trademarks and defend against potential cybersquatters?
Those are the questions we answer on today’s interview.
This Week’s News in Review
Wine Trade Groups Want .Wine, .Vin Domains Crushed – 12-Sep-13
Trade groups representing Napa Valley and European wine producers are pressing the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers to reject proposed .wine and .vin top-level domains (TLDs), at least until ICANN incorporates added safeguards for geographic and origin names at the second level.
String Confusion Objections Grind to a Halt – 12-Sep-13
No string confusion objection decisions have been published since August 28. Has the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR) ceased publishing results from string confusion objections in the wake of contradictory decisions? It sure seems that way. The group had been on a roll publishing decisions. It published a number of August 26. Two days […]
Architelos’ Patent Application for Domain Abuse Monitoring System Published – 12-Sep-13
Patent discloses system for monitoring and handling domain name abuse. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office today published a patent application (pdf) for Architelos‘ NameSentry domain abuse protection system. The patent application is officially titled “Managing Domain Name Abuse” and was filed in March 2012. Architelos’ NameSentry is a system that helps domain registries and […]
Epik Files Patent Covering Domain Leasing and Virtual Currencies for Domain Names – 12-Sep-13
Patent application describes a virtual currency that may offer tax benefits and ways to improve domain name leasing. Epik founder Rob Monster and SVP John Lawler have filed a patent application titled “System and Method for Domain Leasing, Acquisition and Development Incorporating a Virtual Currency Platform”. You may recall that Epik started a virtual currency […]
Indian Electronics Retailer Croma Guilty of Reverse Domain Name Hijacking – 12-Sep-13
Croma went after a domain registered a decade before its existence. Infiniti Retail Ltd., a TaTa company that runs the Indian electronics chain Croma, has been found guilty of reverse domain name hijacking. The company, which operates at CromaRetail.com, filed a UDRP to get the domain name Croma.com. It didn’t start using the Croma brand […]
Infiniti Retail Limited of Mumbai Guilty of RDNH On 17 Year Old Domain Croma.com – 12-Sep-13
Infiniti Retail Limited of Mumbai, India, represented by Anand & Anand, India was just found guilty of Reverse Domain Name Hijacking…
Four More New gTLDs, Including .sexy, Get Contracts – 12-Sep-13
ICANN signed four more new gTLD contracts with four different registries yesterday. The lucky recipients of Registry Agreements are: .uno (Dot Latin LLC) — a general-purpose, open gTLD aimed primarily at Spanish and Italian speakers. .menu (Wedding TLD2, LLC) — also open, though the registry plans to run second-level portals corresponding to types of food […]
Wine gTLDs Get a Pass As GAC Fails to Agree – 12-Sep-13
Applicants for wine-related gTLDs will no longer be opposed by the Governmental Advisory Committee, it has emerged. Writing to ICANN chair Steve Crocker this week, GAC chair Heather Dryden said that the GAC had failed to reach an agreement on whether to issue formal Advice against the applications. Three .wine applicants and one .vin applicant […]
Register.com Hit By Breach Notice Over 62,232 Domains – 12-Sep-13
Register.com, a Web.com business that is one of the top ten registrars by domains under management, has been hit by an ICANN compliance notice covering 62,232 domain names. It’s a weird one. ICANN says that the company has failed to provide records documenting the ownership trail of the domains in question, which all currently belong […]
Trademark Owner Loses UDRP On Direct Match Domain Bongrille.com Used As a “Sucks” Site – 11-Sep-13
Deskan S/A of Nassau, the Bahamas, which owns a trademark to the term Bon Grille In Brazil lost a UDRP seeking 3 domain names including the direct match domain bongrille.com…
9 Year Old Telefire.com Saved in UDRP Despite Seller Asking $70k – 11-Sep-13
A Telefire Fire & Gas Detectors Ltd. of Petach Tikva, Israel just lost a one member panel UDRP decision on the domain name Telefire.com in what in my opinion was a unnecessarily long opinion…
Name.space Files Opening Brief in Appeal of New TLD Lawsuit – 11-Sep-13
Company claims new TLD program is a conspiracy to enrich a select few and that ICANN is violating antitrust laws. Name.space has filed its opening brief in an appeal of a lawsuit it brought against ICANN last year. Name.space operates an “alternative root” whereby certain internet users can access domain names such as .online and […]
Typosquatting Domain Recovery Firm Citizenhawk Acquired – 11-Sep-13
CitizenHawk acquired by legal and brand services firm. Wolters Kluwer Corporate Legal Services (CLS) has acquired CitizenHawk, Inc., a company that helps companies protect their brands in domain names. CitizenHawk is primarily a typosquatting recovery firm. It helps companies obtain typos of their domain names, often times ones that are held by cybersquatters. Although its […]
Generic Top Domain Name Approvals Take a Step Forward – 11-Sep-13
.com is so yesterday; why you should know about .bank Look at any internet address right now and you’ll find just a handful of categories into which t…
ICANN’s Amazon Problem – 11-Sep-13
The first gTLDs are likely to become operative in September 2013, and these will apparently be for names that are in non-Latin characters, for example Arabic and Chinese characters.
Marchex’s Archeo Puts Up Its Zip Code Portfolio for Sale After Selling 1 Domain in The $50k-$100k Range – 10-Sep-13
As I reported earlier today, Marchex’s (NASDAQ: MCHX) Archeo unit put up over 200,000 domains for sale on its new marketplace archeodomains.com. Yesterday in my chat with Rod Diefendorf the COO of Marchex I asked about Marchex project involving thousands of Zip Code .com domain names they company has acquired…
Donuts Signs Three More New gTLD Contracts – 10-Sep-13
Donuts today signed Registry Agreements covering the new gTLDs .land, .plumbing and .contractors, according to ICANN. The deals mean ICANN now has contracts covering 40 gTLDs, 22 of them as a result of the new gTLD program and 16 of which are to be managed by Donuts. Like all the gTLDs Donuts applied for, they’re […]
Key Takeaways From .architect Community Objection Decision – 10-Sep-13
The .Architect objection had some unique characteristics, but the panelist’s decision may concern other applicants. The International Chamber of Commerce today issued its decision (pdf) on an objection to Donuts’ application for the .architect top level domain name. The panelist found in favor of the objector, International Union of Architects (UIA), which is backing a […]
Nominet Opens Comment Period On Whether .UK Domains Should Contain “offensive Words” – 10-Sep-13
Nominet which runs the .Uk domain naming system, just opened up a comment period on whether .UK domain names should be allowed to contain “offensive words or phrases”. “Nominet is today launching a review of its registration policy for .uk domain names.”…
First Three Community Objections Decided: Dotgay and Google Win But Donuts Loses – 10-Sep-13
The International Chamber of Commerce has delivered the first three Community Objection decisions in the new gTLD program, killing off one application and saving two others. These are the results: .gay The objection filed by Metroplex Republicans of Dallas, a gay political organization, against DotGay LLC has failed. The panelist, Bernhard Schlink, decided that Metrolplex […]
First Community Objection Decisions: .architect Objection Prevails, .fly and .gay Fail – 10-Sep-13
ICC issues first three community objection decisions. More controversy about new top level domain names is coming as the first community objection decisions have been released by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). The International Union of Architects was successful in its objection to Donuts’ application for .architect. The group is backing a community application […]
Archeo Formally Launches Domain Name Marketplace – 10-Sep-13
Marchex spin-off is open for business. Archeo, which is being spun off from Marchex, formally launched its domain name marketplace to the public today. The site went live last month. The marketplace at ArcheoDomains.com features over 200,000 domain names, many of which were part of the $164 million acquisition of Yun Ye’s portfolio in 2005. […]
Domain.com Owner Files for $400m Ipo, to Spend $110m Buying Directi – 10-Sep-13
Endurance International, owner of Domain.com and HostGator, plans to raise up to $400 million in a Nasdaq IPO, and said it will spend up to $110 million of that buying Directi, India’s largest domain registrar. As part of the proposed acquisition, Endurance has also agreed to bankroll Directi’s new gTLD auctions to the tune of […]
Trademark+50 Coming in October – 10-Sep-13
The controversial “Trademark+50″ anti-cybersquatting service for new gTLDs is set to go live October 11 or thereabouts, ICANN announced last night. Trademark+50 is the name given to a function of the Trademark Clearinghouse that enables trademark owners to obtain protection for strings that they’ve previously won at UDRP proceedings. The service will be limited to […]
UK Gov’t Wants to Ban Dirty Words in UK Domain Names; Tell Them to #£@* Off – 10-Sep-13
The UK Department for Culture, Media & Sport is supporting a review of the .uk domain name registration process, suggesting that restricting offensive words in .uk domain names will help to prevent abusive behaviour on the internet. Nominet has already done a great job of debunking why this is not an effective solution and is now seeking comments from the public.
Government Forces Nominet Into Ludicrous Porn Review – 09-Sep-13
Should Nominet ban dirty words from the .uk namespace? Obviously not, but that’s nevertheless the subject of a formal policy review announced by Nominet today, forced by pressure from the British government and the Murdoch press. Nominet said it has hired Ken MacDonald, former director of public prosecutions, to carry out the review. He’s tasked […]
Government Forces Nominet Into Ludicrous Porn Review – 09-Sep-13
Should Nominet ban dirty words from the .uk namespace? Obviously not, but that’s nevertheless the subject of a formal policy review announced by Nominet today, forced by pressure from the British government and the Murdoch press. Nominet said it has hired Ken MacDonald, former director of public prosecutions, to carry out the review. He’s tasked […]
Merck KGaA sues Merk & Co. over .merck top level domain name – 09-Sep-13
Company files two lawsuits in .merck dispute. Merck KGaA, one of the applicants for the .merck top level domain names, has filed two lawsuits against competing applicant Merck & Co. According to a reconsideration request (pdf) Merck KGaA filed with ICANN, it has filed suit in District Court in Hamburg, Germany as well as in […]
Amazon.com appeals silly IDN string confusion objection – 09-Sep-13
Amazon asks ICANN to ignore bad string confusion objection decision. Amazon.com has appealed to ICANN’s board to overrule a decision in a string confusion objection that placed its new TLD application for .通販 in a contention set with .shop. Panelist Robert Nau ruled that .通販, which loosely translates to “online shopping”, would cause confusion amongst […]
Angry Birds backing two Chinese-language gTLDs – 09-Sep-13
The Finnish/Irish new gTLD applicant TLD Registry Ltd has signed two ICANN Registry Agreements, covering the Chinese strings .在线 (.online) and .中文网 (a phrase meaning “Chinese language website”). The deals were signed yesterday, but the news is set to be formally announced in Beijing on Tuesday by the Finnish prime minister, Jyrki Katainen, who’s on […]
Is the next Microsoft Surface the Remix? Domain names might indicate so… – 09-Sep-13
Microsoft registers Surface Remix domain names. I have to admit I haven’t paid much attention to Microsoft’s tablets. I always see the name Microsoft Surface RT and think “ReTweet”. But Microsoft registered a few domain names last week that might tip off the name of its next Surface tablet – or at least something related […]
TechRadar Confuses A Pre-Reservation With An Actual Registration; Telling People new gTLD’s Can Be Registered Today – 09-Sep-13
TechRadar.com covered the new gTLD program telling people that new gTLD are available to be registered now…
Famous Four Says That Demand Media’s .cam Should Be Rejected – 06-Sep-13
Demand Media’s application for .cam should be rejected because it lost a String Confusion Objection filed by .com registry Verisign, according to rival applicant Famous Four Media. “The process in the applicant guidebook is now clear: AC Webconnecting and dot Agency Limited proceed to resolve the contention set, and United TLD’s application cannot proceed,” chief […]
Five gTLDs Fail The Geo Test, But .banque Passes IE – 06-Sep-13
Five new gTLD applications failed their Initial Evaluation this week after being ruled “geographic”, according to results just published by ICANN. The big name failure is Tata Group, the $100 billion-a-year Indian conglomerate, which had its bid for .tata put on hold because (presumably) its name matches the name of a tiny Moroccan province. TUI […]
Jim Grace Joins Team Internet – 06-Sep-13
Domain monetization company hires Jim Grace as Director of Business Development. Team Internet AG, the company behind domain parking service ParkingCrew and zero click solution DNTX, has hired Jim Grace as Director of Business Development. Grace was most recently Director of Monetization for Domain Holdings. Prior to that he spent seven years at Oversee.net, parent […]
No, ICANN Isn’t Moving to Switzerland – 06-Sep-13
There’s a rumor going around this morning that ICANN is planning to up sticks from its US base in California and become subject to Swiss jurisdiction instead. While this would be a huge change for ICANN, which has been tethered to the US government since its formation in 1998, it’s almost certainly not what’s happening. […]
GoDaddy says It’s Go Time: New Marketing, Improved Site – 05-Sep-13
GoDaddy rolled out a new marketing program and site enhancements today that are a big step forward from its old marketing approach.
.eu Issues 2nd Quarter Report & Ends Quarter With 3.7 Million Registered Domain Names – 05-Sep-13
Eurid,the company behind .EU extension,released its Q2 2013 progress report tonight. The report shows that .EU registrations increased in 13 of the 28 EU Member States to reach 3.70 million domain names…
Teething Troubles for TMCH Testing – 05-Sep-13
With the first new gTLD delegation likely just a matter of weeks away, registries and registrars are reporting problems getting access to the Trademark Clearinghouse for testing purposes. ICANN launched an OT&E (operational test and evaluation environment) for companies to test their systems against the IBM-run TMCH back-end last week, but few have so far […]
Teething Troubles for TMCH Testing – 05-Sep-13
With the first new gTLD delegation likely just a matter of weeks away, registries and registrars are reporting problems getting access to the Trademark Clearinghouse for testing purposes. ICANN launched an OT&E (operational test and evaluation environment) for companies to test their systems against the IBM-run TMCH back-end last week, but few have so far […]
Islamic Republic of Iran Wants .islam and .halal Managed and Operated By The Muslim Community – 05-Sep-13
The Islamic Republic of Iran in a letter to ICANN said that the new gTLD applications of .ISLAM and .HALAL “should be managed and operated by the Muslim community through a neutral body that represents the different sections and segments of the Muslim community including Governments, NGOs and IGOs, Private Sector, Academia, as different stakeholders of internet in the this community.”…
.xxx Sales Spike 1,000% During Discount – 05-Sep-13
ICM Registry saw an over 1,000% spike in .xxx domain name registrations in May, during which it offered new registrations at a steep discount over its regular price. The numbers were still relatively small. The registry saw 13,136 adds during the period, compared to 1,131 in April and 1,836 in May 2012, according to ICANN […]
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