In The News

Who is Watching you on the Web?

Siliconvalley.com, March 31, 2008: Legitimate websites are tracking and compiling files about their customer’s activities in an effort to better market to these customers.  In addition, the Federal Government is sifting through and analyzing Internet activity in the interest of eliminating terrorism.  In sum, it is not only hackers and cyber-criminals that are getting their information looked at, analyzed, and stored.  Privacy advocates see this as a huge and ever-growing problem.  "When people use a browser, think of it as a two-way street. They look at the world through it, and the world looks at them back," said Eben Moglen, who studies and teaches about online privacy as a professor of law at Columbia University in New York.  If this bothers you, there are a few things you can do to keep your Internet activities more private.  First, you can limit the type of information that your browser gives off about you by both using privacy websites, which analyzes the information that you give off while visiting websites and eliminating cookies which are used to track what websites are visited.  In addition, there are a number of different anonymous surfing software packages that can be bought, however a number of advocates believe that the ultimate answer to the privacy problem is having the Government enter the equation and protect privacy instead of invading it.  Link to Full Story

US oversight agreement with ICANN to expire in 200

Infoworld.com, March 7, 2008: Since 1998, ICANN has had a Joint Project Agreement (JPA) with the U.S. Department of Commerce.  The agreement was renewed in 2006 for an additional three years with it coming to an end in September of 2009.  Critics are concerned that if ICANN is no longer under the control of the United States Department of Commerce the lack of oversight will be harmful.  They believe that having no oversight may potentially be detrimental and have suggested the JPA should remain in place to provide accountability.  Other members of the worldwide community that ICANN works with believe that U.S. oversight of the non-profit organization is no longer necessary and that ICANN has met all of its security and stability mandates.  The future of ICANN is unclear at this time. Ultimately, the decision rests in the hands of ICANN shareholders, including new Australian President Paul Twomey. Link to Full Story

The Soviet Union May Be Dead, But Its Top-Level Domain Endures

SiliconValley.com, April 18, 2008: Due to an increasing popularity, lowered price, and owners reluctant to switch to another domain, the Soviet Union’s top-level domain “.su” continues to resist efforts to extinguish it.  Even though the Soviet Union hasn’t existed for well over a decade, a combination of bloggers, Internet entrepreneurs, and die-hard communists have kept the “.su” domain alive.  For most of the 1990’s, the domain name was not available to new registrants, but in 2001, it was made available again to everyone everywhere, albeit at the heightened price of $120 per year.  Then, in January 2008, the body authorized to register the domain name dropped its price to $25 per year in an attempt to boost the domain name’s popularity, which definitely worked: registrations have risen 45% in just the three months since the price was dropped.  Link to Full Story

Top Hollywood Movie and Music Production Houses Attack “The Pirate Bay” for File-Sharing

Radio Sweden, April 1, 2008:  A group of Hollywood film and music production houses have brought suit in Swedish District Court against the owners of “The Pirate Bay” website for being accessories to copyright infringement.  The plaintiffs in the case include Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., MGM Pictures Inc., Colombia Pictures Industries Inc., 20th Century Fox Films Co., Sony BMG, Universal and EMI.  The plaintiffs proposed damages total $2.56 million for defendant’s file-sharing promotion.  The defendants created  “The Pirate Bay” website in 2004. Since then, they have allowed 10 to 15 million users to share films, music, computer games and other copyright-protected material.  The have been charged with both accessory and conspiracy to break Swedish copyright law, and if convicted, they face a maximum of two years in prison. Link to Full Story

In Response to the Changing Face of the Internet, VeriSign Raises Domain Name Fees

Information Week, March 28, 2008: For the second time since the company took control of the top-level domains ending in “.com” and “.net” in 2006, VeriSign has raised the registration fee for the generic top-level domains. According to company spokespersons, the registration fee increases – to $6.86 from $6.42 for “.com,” and to $4.23 to $3.85 for “.net”  - are expected to take effect on October 1, 2009, and are in accordance with VeriSign's agreement with ICANN.  Verisign justified the fee increases by noting that traffic volume continues to rise with the popularity of wireless devices connected to the Internet, as well as newly developed Internet services and technology.  The company is also responding to increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks by deploying new proprietary security upgrades and monitoring tools to identify, track, and isolate malicious Internet traffic.  Link to Full Story

Russia Corners Spam Market

Techworld.com, February 11, 2008: Based on the 2007 spam report created by Sophos Q4, Russia's production of global spam has risen dramatically in the past year, putting it in a solid second place to the United States for overall production. By the fourth quarter of 2007, Russia was responsible for 8.3% of all spam sent, up from 3% in the first quarter. Sophos indicated that the numbers were not without flaws: Russia's spam production includes all the spam produced in the country, which may include compromised PC bots programmed from outside Russia. Spam is not the only cybercrime prevalent in Russia; other Internet crimes, including malware and exploits, are well-known as originating from the infamous Russian Business Network, which supposedly went out of business late last year. Over 21% of all spam in 2007 originated in the U.S., with China in third place behind Russia with 4.2%. However, statistics indicate that the U.S.'s spam production is declining, while that of other countries is rising at enormous rates. Link to Full Story

Network Solutions Involved in Lawsuit over Controversial Policy

DailyTech.com, February 27, 2008: A law firm representing search engine expert Chris McElroy, and others who hope to attain class action status, has named domain registrar Network Solutions, Inc. on a list of defendants in a lawsuit for its "domain locking" practices. When an Internet user searches for an available domain name with Network Solutions, that domain name is then locked for four days, ensuring that it can only be purchased through Network Solutions, which charges a higher registration fee than competing registrars. Network Solutions has come under fire for this practice in the recent past; it claims its practice is meant to prevent "domain tasting," in which a registrant can test a domain name to see if it is profitable, then return any "duds" for a full refund before the expiration of the grace period. McElroy contends Network Solution's policy of "domain locking" is fraudulent in that it creates a temporary monopoly in favor of itself. ICANN has also been included as a defendant in the suit for encouraging the practice by maintaining the grace period during which domains can be "tasted." Opponents of Network Solutions' practice claim that it hinders their ability to register a desired domain name with an alternative registrar, many of which charge a much lower premium. Link to Full Story

Typosquatting Affects E-mail Security

SecurityFocus.com, February 10, 2008: Once seen only as an annoying website issue, security experts are now warning that typosquatting, which involves registering common misspellings of domain names, could also lead to security issues with e-mail domains. Security firm Symantec informed those in attendance for this year's Black Hat DC 2008 conference about how typosquatting affects e-mail messages. Oliver Friedrichs, the director of emerging technologies at Symantec, told attendees: "If someone sends an e-mail to that company, and makes a typo, the owner of the (fraudulent) domain is going to get the information." Friedrichs conducted a study in which he registered 124 domain names consisting of common misspellings of the primary domains of current U.S. presidential candidates; he found that over 1,000 e-mails were sent to the misspelled domain names. Currently, the best advice for a large organization is to register as many common misspellings of its domain name as possible to prevent this form of cyber-crime.  Link to Full Story

MySpace Selects Harvard Scholars to Lead Task Force on Internet Safety 

Siliconvalley.com, February 28, 2008: A task force run by leading Internet scholars at Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet and Society will investigate how to protect young people from sexual predators, online bullying, and pornography on MySpace and other popular online social networking sites. The creation of the Internet Safety Technical Task Force is part of an agreement with MySpace and the attorneys generals of every state, save Texas, and will be comprised of leading Internet service companies such as Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and AOL, along with several child-safety nonprofit groups. Though the group was selected and created by MySpace, the task force will run independently of MySpace operations, and its nonbinding recommendations will be available industrywide. One of the task force's main goals is to analyze procedures for verifying users' ages for viewing online content. While the group will provide quarterly reports to the attorneys general, a full public report is expected in about a year. Link to Full Story

Cyber-Security Plan Puts Privacy into Question

Washingtonpost.com, February 29, 2008: President Bush's effort to secure federal computer networks from hackers and foreign adversaries has raised concerns among house lawmakers. A portion of the project, named the "cyber initiative," is aimed at reducing the number of connections between the federal agency networks and the Internet, and monitoring closely any type of inappropriate activity on those active networks. The problem that lawmakers have with the project is that the Bush Administration has not said how far the monitoring and oversight of the networks would actually go, possibly interfering with the privacy of the general public. Department of Homeland Security Undersecretary Robert Jamison stated that real-time scrutiny of federal data flows is necessary because "our adversaries are very adept at hiding their attacks in normal everyday traffic." He added that they are developing privacy impact assessment on the new capabilities, which will be open for public viewing upon its completion. Link to Full Story

Land-rush for the .asia Domain Name Suffix Begins

BBCnews.com, February 21, 2008: DotAsia, the organization overseeing the registration of the new .asia domain name suffix, is expecting a huge demand for the first domain name extension for the Asia Pacific region. Although the new suffix increases opportunities for people in the region to have their own domain names, it has also created a whole new world for cybersquatters to try to profit. To help combat cybersquatting, DotAsia implemented a sunrise period where companies could reserve domain names to match their trademarks before the .asia domain names were available to the general public. The process has now been opened up for anyone to register, and the first .asia domain names will go into action in March. In addition to the sunrise period, DotAsia also set up certain rules to limit cybersquatting and arguments over domain names. These rules require that companies seeking .asia domain names be registered in the Asia/Pacific region; if there are any conflicts of interest over particular domain names, those domain names will be auctioned off to the highest bidder. While Internet users in the Asia Pacific region are excited about the opportunities associated with the new .asia domain, some in the industry are concerned about the problems associated with more domain suffixes, including cybersquatting and online speculating. Link to Full Story

ICANN Pleads for Freedom from Government Control

Domainnews.com, January 28, 2008: According to a report prepared by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ("ICANN"), the United States government has been asked by ICANN to free the organization from the government's control. The report was sent the Department of Commerce and outlined how ICANN had met the objectives placed down by the U.S. government, which ICANN had to meet in order to become independent. One of these objectives, which ICANN claims to have achieved, was to "put in place a means of being accountable to parties with an interest in the internet, including other governments." However, contradicting the report, Dr. Milton Mueller stated: "Compared with other international organizations ICANN is very transparent, but at times it still feels a bit more like a private club, with not enough checks and balances." Link to Full Story

Charging $ .20 to Stop Domain Tasters

Washingtonpost.com, January 30, 2008: ICANN is considering keeping the annual $ .20 fee it charges for a domain name, whether or not the registering party decides to keep the domain name after the 5-day trial period. The move is intended to stop "domain tasters" from purchasing a large number of domain names in order to see which ones incur the most amount of traffic. While the grace period was originally intended to give people a refund if they misspell their domain name, the problem of "domain tasting" has begun to reach dangerous levels. In an ICANN report, during January 2005, 1.7 million domain names were registered and 41% were deleted during the grace period. In January of 2007, 51 million domain names were registered and 94% were deleted. The fee proposal will be contained within ICANN's 2009 fiscal budget which will be discussed in Paris in June. In order to pass, the proposal must be approved by registrars that comprise two-thirds of the revenues received by ICANN. Link to Full Story

MySpace Wins Domain Name Fight 

Guardian.co.uk, January 31, 2008: British domain registry Nominet's dispute resolution service recently made a controversial decision. Independent arbitrator Antony Gold ruled that ownership of the <myspace.co.uk> domain name be transferred to MySpace, the popular social networking site. Many found the decision surprising, as the domain name was originally registered in 1997, six years before MySpace launched, by Total Web Solutions of Stockport. While the <myspace.co.uk> domain name was originally registered to offer e-mail services and mini-websites, Gold found that the site was now being used to display ads in competition with MySpace and thus exploited the popularity of MySpace. Total Web Solutions argued that it did not control the specific ads displayed on its website, as they were determined by algorithms based on search terms. However, Gold found this to be irrelevant, as a domain name owner is ultimately responsible for the content of his or her website. According to Jonathon Robinson, COO at the web services company NetNames: "It is amazing how, after so many years, domain disputes still cause such unpredictable outcomes and associated controversy. . . It also highlights how automated web content of any sort can get people into real difficulties." Link to Full Story

GoDaddy gives back after a successful year 

Hostingtech.com January 2, 2008: Web-hosting domain registrar GoDaddy had a very successful year, and it is sharing the wealth. The company, located in Scottsdale, Arizona, gave $1.4 million to a variety of causes and charities including juvenile diabetes, unwed mothers, blind children, and animal shelters. GoDaddy has been very generous in the past as well. Through its CEO and Founder Bob Parsons, GoDaddy made a $200,000 donation to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International last September. GoDaddy also rewarded its employees for the successful year. Over $1 million was spent on employees in the form of prizes and contest winnings. Mr. Parsons stated, ''We learned a long time ago, happy employees are productive employees. We hold fun contests all throughout the whole year.'' The successful year was concluded with an amazing company party featuring musical entertainment by the Gin Blossoms and gifts for all the employees. Link to Full Story

New Blockbuster Highlights Cybercrime

Network World, January 18 2008: WHOIS information and cybercrime could soon be common conversation topics for even those unfamiliar with the domain name industry. "Untraceable," a new cyber-thriller starring Diane Lane, is bringing these tools of the trade into the forefront of popular culture. Technology used by DNSstuff, an organization that works in WHOIS searches and other DNS tools, is featured in the film. DNSstuff helped the films' writers and producers with various tasks, such as which websites to visit when you want to run a WHOIS query or a traceroute, and how those websites would or should look on the big screen. DNSstuff took further advantage of this opportunity, creating a new product line to coincide with the film's release on January 25. The new product, Vector Trace, takes on the look and feel of the technology featured in the movie using DNS tools. "Untraceable" takes an extreme view of cybercrime by pursuing a cyber-killer. "DNS can be exploited in ways that make it difficult for people to detect. Most wouldn't notice if a DNS system has been diverted," says Paul Parisi, CTO of DNSstuff. "In most cases, DNS systems are distributed and weak. It's fairly easy to subvert different parts of it to direct people online away from where they thought they were going to another location and make them vulnerable." Link to Full Story

2007 Spam Update

Yahoo! Finance, December 12, 2007: The annual email and spam report recently released by Barracuda Networks, Inc. contains some bad news. The report found that about 90-95% of all email sent in 2007 was spam, a huge number compared to an estimated 5% in 2001. Researchers are surprised by the percentage, especially since the passage of the CAN-SPAM Act in 2004. This act set restrictions on sending junk mail, and at the time it was passed only 70% of all email was spam. The reason spam can be hard to stop is that spammers know how to hide their tracks. They often register new domain names or redirect mail through other blogs or free website providers to help hide their identities. Barracuda also tells Internet users to be aware of the latest in spam techniques, including the use of attachments, such as pictures, documents, or PDF files. In addition, spammers have begun to take advantage of national holidays by tailoring commercial e-mails to coincide with big shopping days, including "Black Friday" and "Cyber Monday," which occur around Thanksgiving. Link to Full Story

Domain Registration a Part of Campaign 2008

Wired.com, December 20, 2007: Domain names are now playing a part in the race for the White House. Three leading Democratic candidates, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, and Barack Obama, have all registered domain names intended for websites other than the candidates' traditional campaign sites. For example, Clinton recently registered two domain names presumably to attack Obama's history in the Illinois legislature, <votingpresent.com> and <votingpresent.org>, although currently there are no active websites that resolve from the domain names. These sites are most often registered and used for negative campaigning, or reporting on the negative campaigning of others. In the past, polls have shown voters do not respond well to negative campaigning from specific candidates. This method of registering domain names seemingly unconnected to a particular candidate allows that candidate to post negative information about an opponent without displaying it on their own campaign website. In addition to attacking rival campaigns, candidates have also used these domain names to demonstrate that rival candidates are engaging in negative campaigning. Link to Full Story

Ex-Microsoft Employee Charged With Fraud for Manipulating Domain Name Registrations

PCWorld.com, December 8, 2007: A former employee of Microsoft was indicted for fraud on charges that she accrued over $1 million between 2000 and 2004 by falsifying expense reports she filed for domain name registration charges. Carolyn Gudmunson, previously a manager at Microsoft's MSN division, is being charged with using her position in order to run a number of different scams related to the falsely acquired fees for domain name registrations. If convicted, she faces up 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. In addition, Gudmunson was listed as the administrative contact responsible in December 1999 when Microsoft's Passport.com website crashed because someone forgot to renew the domain name registration, leaving 60 million Hotmail users without e-mail service. Link to Full Story

VeriSign Releases December Industry Brief

DomainNameNews.com, December 21, 2007: VeriSign, the worldwide registry operator for ".com" and ".net" top level domains (TLDs) released its December report. According to the report, the domain industry continues to grow; approximately 12 million new domain names were registered during the third quarter of 2007. The quarter saw 31% more domain names registered than the same period last year, bringing the total number of TLDs to 146 million. According to VeriSign, the growth can be attributed in part to "consumers publish[ing] their own podcasts, as well as, add[ing] custom calendars and personal portal pages." The report also emphasizes the growing problem of purchasing domains for the purpose of parking. According to the report, an estimated 20% of all registered TLDs are parked. VeriSign pointed out that it is becoming increasingly more difficult to distinguish between parked and active TLDs. Link to Full Story and Link to Report

New Phishing Scam Targets Facebook Users

Wired.com, January 3, 2008: Phishers have moved on from their traditional target of financial services websites to the popular social networking site Facebook. Some users found strange postings on their "walls" along with a link leading to a fake Facebook login page. The page is hosted on a Chinese ".cn" domain and, while it does actually log users into Facebook, it stores a copy of their user names and passwords. Hackers can then use this personal information for a number of uses, including attempting to logon to other sites and checking profiles for personal information that can then be used to install virus software. Although the offending phishing link looks like a typical Facebook link, copying the URL into a search engine will reveal its nature as a phishing site. Banks and other financial services websites, traditional targets of phishers, have stepped up security using a number of different techniques intended to thwart fraudulent conduct. For the Facebook scam, a user should change her password immediately, both on Facebook and other sites on which she uses the same password. Link to Full Story

WIPO's Director-General to Retire Early

International Herald Tribune, November 15, 2007: Kamil Idris, the Sudanese director-general of the U.N. patent agency WIPO says he will retire next year. This announcement is on the heels of a recent WIPO audit indicating that Idris changed his birth date last year to 1954 after previously claiming to have been born in 1945, allegedly in order to gain promotions and enhance retirement benefits. Idris was originally slated to hold the top WIPO position until 2009, but will now step down a year early. This move is likely based on opposition towards Idris from the United States and other Western countries after these accusations came to light. The United States and several other Western countries recently blocked passage of the WIPO budget based on Idris' charges. Idris has served as the Director-General of WIPO for the past 10 years. Link to Full Story

Britain Works to Unite Internet and Telephone Networks

BBC.com, November 26, 2007: Britain is trying to create a directory for Internet phone numbers through a new Telephone Number Mapping system ("Enum"). Nominet, the company that administers Britain's ".uk" top-level domain, will administer the system. The process is similar to what the Domain Name System (DNS), a huge directory of computers connected to the Internet used to find the location of a website, does for the Internet. Current plans are for the Enum directory to be filled with the phone numbers of people using voice over IP (voip) servers to make phone calls over the Internet. Voip is currently a popular choice for many businesses, but is mainly used for intra-office calling, rather than between businesses. This new system would allow voip users to find and access other users of other voip servers in the system more easily. Having an easy way for those networks to interconnect could create a huge jump in the use of the voip system. According to Jay Daley, the technology director at Nominet, the system is "comparable to . . . mobile phone operators let[ting] text messages travel between their networks." Britain is not alone in building this directory: Australia and Ireland have both started work on national Enum directories as well. Link to Full Story

Dell Sues Cybersquatters

Washington Post, November 30, 2007: Computer giant Dell Inc. has filed federal lawsuits against several domain name registrars and individuals for holding and profiting off of more than 1,000 domain names that are confusingly similar to those owned by Dell and its subsidiaries. In its complaint, Dell is accusing these registrars of "cybersquatting," which generally constitutes a common scheme to register or use a domain name that intentionally profits off a third party's trademark. Dell also alleges that the defendants are abusing "domain name tasting," a practice which allows registrants to test the popularity of a domain name for up to 5 days to see how successful it will be. If the registrant is unhappy with the results, he or she is under no obligation to pay the approximately $6 registration fee. Dell claims that the defendants, instead of dropping the domain after the 5-day test period, merely transfer them from one registrar to the next, thus profiting from the domain names without paying for them. Dell also included counterfeiting charges in its complaint, a claim that is thus far novel in domain registration cases. Link to Full Story

Al Gore and Other Luminaries Pay Tribute to Vint Cerf

ICANN, November 1, 2007: On October 30, 2007, ICANN saluted Vint Cerf as his reign as the organization's Board Chair drew to a close. For those who could not attend, ICANN has now posted the video tributes from the event. Video messages from Al Gore, former Vice President of the United States and 2007 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Dr. Tarek Camel, Minister of Communications and Information Technology for the Arab Republic of Egypt, Dr. Eric Schmidt, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Google, Commissioner Viviane Redding, Member of the European Commission (Information Society and Media), and Dr. Charles Elachi, Director of Jet Propulsion Laboratory, are included. Former Vice President Gore opened the tributes with a reflection on the impact that Cerf has had on billions of people's lives through his pivotal role in the Internet's creation, fostering competition and growth in the domain name industry, advocating for the coordination, not control, of the Internet, and making global networking a possibility. Link to Full Story and Video

Verisign to Scale Back and Focus on Internet Infrastructure

MercuryNews.com, November 14, 2007: Verisign, Inc., the Internet infrastructure giant, announced that it is making a major strategic shift in its business model. Verisign plans to scale back its portfolio in order to focus solely on the core of "managing the '.com' and '.net' domain name registry or on securing online financial transactions and verifying consumers' identities on the Internet." To facilitate the adjustment back to its core businesses, Verisign will eliminate several of the businesses in its current portfolio, including its communications, billing, and commerce divisions. Industry experts suggest that Verisign's strategy is a solid one that will "position it for future market success." Link to Full Story

Hackers Demonstrate They Can Still Use Domain Names to Unleash Vicious Attacks

InternetNews.com, November 19, 2007: Typosquatting, an old tactic employed by cyber criminals, has been around forever. Until now, organizations have been able to protect themselves through the use of server-based security products which could trace the IP address associated with a domain name to determine if it originated from a trustworthy source. Hackers recently found their way around this old security method by "hijacking" IP addresses. The hackers went straight for a big target — Yahoo. The hackers were able to locate an unused Yahoo IP address and used it to authenticate their fraudulent domain. The victims and security systems never knew they were working with a malicious site. Internet experts are still reeling and are currently trying to determine how the hackers were able to effectuate their plan. Yahoo quickly responded by shutting down its compromised IP address. Industry experts are concerned about Web 2.0's security holes, but still suggest that server-based security products are the best defense currently available against these malicious attacks. In addition, experts now recommend adding browser plug-ins to complete any comprehensive security plan. With this added level of security, even if hackers were able to exploit the IP address of a popular, trusted domain name owner like Yahoo and make it past any server-based security products, the plug-ins would provide protection because they read a website's content, detecting any malicious content and warning users about the suspicious content. Link to Full Story

ICANN Investigates “Domain Name Front Running”

NewsFactor.com, October 25, 2007: ICANN’s Security and Stability Advisory Committee is currently investigating reports of what it has termed “domain name front running.” The term was coined to refer to activity comparable to “a stock broker buying or selling shares ahead of a client's trade, in anticipation of a movement in price.” ICANN received reports that domain names were being snatched up after an initial search revealed their availability, but before prospective buyers could purchase them. This activity has led to suspicions that there is an insider with access to search requests, who is gauging interest in the domain names and then purchasing them before legitimate buyers have an opportunity to do so. Domain name front running exceeds the level of mere domain name speculation because interest is actually quantified and can then be used to generate profit with the sale of a domain name, which is known to be desired, to the original prospective buyer. ICANN hypothesizes that there are several ways in which the practice could be facilitated, including using software or viruses to collect data. ICANN is actively investigating the issue to determine if it is in fact occurring, and, if so, what measures need to be taken to address the activity. Although there is no evidence confirming the allegations, ICANN is most concerned that even the suspicion “portrays an unfavorable image of the parties associated with the domain name registration process in specific, and of the domain name community in general.” ICANN is working diligently to dispel this concern. Link to Full Story

Infamous Cybersquatter Fined $164,000

PCWorld, October 16, 2007: John Zuccarini, the infamous cybersquatter responsible for linking the children’s television show-related <bobthebiulder.com> and <teltubbies.com> domain names to adult content, has been fined again by the Federal Trade Commission, this time for $164,000. The FTC said that Zuccarini had registered hundreds of websites linking to domain names to legitimate advertising this time, instead of adult content. In 2002, Zuccarini pled guilty to typosquatting and child pornography charges and served a prison sentence until 2005. He was ordered to refrain from typosquatting, but the lucrative activity proved too much to resist for Zuccarini. Prior to his previous conviction, the U.S. Department of Justice estimated that Zuccarini was making about $1 million each year from typosquatting. Although Zuccarini agreed to a settlement in the most recent case, he has not admitted guilt with regard to the charges. Link to Full Story

Cheap Domain Names Fueling Cybersquatting in Asia

c|net News.com, October 16, 2007: Cybersquatting has caught on in Asia. The low price of domain names, often as little as $3 per year, is fueling the practice, according to industry experts. As in the rest of the world, generic top-level domains (“gTLDs”) are the most popular cybersquatting territory. In Asia the most popular gTLDs are China’s “.cn,” India’s “.in,” and Korea’s “.kr.” Janna Lam, managing director of Singapore’s IP Mirror, also noted “that cybersquatters have now earned a new moniker, ‘domainers.’” She goes on to explain that the domain name industry now supports a market for trading in domain names, but that Singapore strongly discourages the activity. Lam believes that domain name monitoring is the solution to the problem. In the U.S., corporations like Microsoft have resorted to taking legal action to deal with the problem. Recently, Microsoft has initiated 15 different legal actions targeting more that 1,500 infringing domain names, most in the last year alone, including three suits in federal court regarding infringing domain names according to Microsoft’s vice president and deputy counsel, Nancy Anderson. These actions have resulted in judgments of more then $5 million and settlements worth more than $1 million. Anderson said that consumer education and legal enforcement are necessary to solve the worldwide cybersquatting problem. Link to Full Story

No Big Changes Yet for WHOIS Database

computerworld.com, November 1, 2007: The Generic Names Supporting Organization, a committee of ICANN, recently voted 17-7 to continue studying the possibility of making changes to the WHOIS database. Currently, the WHOIS database is open to everyone, and contains the names and contact information of domain name owners. Those pushing for change of the current system argue that this information should be made private in order to protect individual registrants. However, many point to the benefits of the current open system in exposing those who use domain names for copyright infringement, scamming, and similar unsavory uses. This is not a new issue: the ICANN committee has been discussing changes to the WHOIS system for seven years. Link to Full Story

Ireland Embraces “.ie” Domain Names

Irish Times, October 31, 2007: In response to the growing worldwide popularity of blogs and social networking sites, Ireland now allows Internet users to register vanity websites using the “.ie” top-level domain. The “.ie” domain is reserved for Irish residents or people with links to Ireland. In fact, to register a domain name with the “.ie” top-level domain, one must provide an Irish utility bill, driver’s license, or other supporting documentation. The new domain is reserved for individuals, who must register full names as they appear on the documentation they have provided; nicknames or other variations are not allowed at this time. Chief executive of the IE Domain Registry, David Curtin, said: "As well as Bebo and Facebook users, we expect a keen interest from people who want to secure their name online or who want to secure a family name for generations to come." Link to Full Story

ICA Announces New 8-Point Code of Conduct for Members

Internet Commerce Association, September 13, 2007: The Internet Commerce Association (“ICA”) announced an eight-point code of conduct for its members in hopes of fostering and promoting “fair and ethical business practices in the domain industry.” The new guidelines specifically address intellectual property rights protection, Internet fraud laws, transparency of ownership, lawful content, tasting and kiting, as well as adhering to ICANN’s rules regarding registering and deleting domain names. Although the ICA believes that existing laws have successfully addressed consumer protection and protection of intellectual property rights in cases of fraud or illegal intent, the organization maintains that the domain name industry can manage the other issues that existing laws do not currently address. ICA urges that market-driven solutions, such as the eight-point code, are the first step in appropriately resolving current domain name industry problems such as tasting, cybersquatting and phishing. Link to Full Story

Domain Name Registration Constitutes 10% of the GDP of Tokelau

BBC News, September 14, 2007: The tiny South Pacific island of Tokelau may only have 1,500 inhabitants, but the island managed to add 10% to its GDP by selling its country code top-level domain (“ccTLD’) “.tk” to a Dutch investor. Juust Zuurbier, the Dutch investor, petitioned ICANN for four years to facilitate the sale. Apparently ICANN did not believe the island really existed and only agreed to the deal after a Board member admitted to having visited the country in 1978. Currently there are 1.6 million “.tk” domain name registrations with 10,000 more being added daily. The deal has added to Tokelau’s ability to communicate with the outside world through the use of voice-over-IP technology and satellite broadband services, encouraging an increase in the number of computers on the island from just twelve to two hundred. Emigration has also been a major problem on the island with over 8,000 islanders living abroad, mostly in New Zealand. However, following this deal, the island developed a website that allows those islanders living abroad to access local news and information about their native homeland. Link to Full Story

Russian Internet Users Fight to Save Old USSR’s “.su”

Reuters, September 19, 2007: ICANN is hoping to ditch the old ccTLD “.su” which was assigned to the former Soviet Union just before its collapse nearly 16 years ago. However, thousands of Internet users are fighting to save the nostalgic “.su” ccTLD. There are currently about 10,000 “.su” domain names registered with about 1,500 being added this year. Independent lobbyists are currently negotiating with ICANN to keep the outdated “.su” ccTLD operating even though it was removed from the ISO 3166-1 list in 1992. Lobbyists compare the “.su” ccTLD to Great Britain’s “.uk,” an example of a ccTLD remaining in operation despite being removed from the list. Lobbyists also stress that the issue will not rise to the level of an “Internet Cold War” as negotiations have remained friendly. Link to Full Story

.Name Registration Information is Available in Tiered Access, For a Fee

Wired, September 28, 2007: Global Name Registry (“GNR”), the company who controls the generic top-level domain (“gTLD”) “.name,” has begun charging for access to its domain name registration information. As a result, GNR’s policy is frustrating Internet policing efforts. Normally, registrars are required by ICANN to keep domain name registration information public. However, GNR is an exception and is permitted to offer “tiered levels of Whois access, where public searches show very little information beyond what registrar sold the name and what name servers the site uses.” GNR charges a $2.00 fee for passwords that allow 24-hour access to the registration information. Internet security experts argue this is too much to pay to verify domains suspected of illegal activity. Industry experts report that registrants are hiding behind “.name” domain names and spreading malware. GNR is allowed to keep its registration information private pursuant to its contract with ICANN so that it can comply with British privacy laws. Link to Full Story

Basketball Bobcats Bag Domain Name From Bobcat Breeder

ESPN.com September 18, 2007. The Charlotte Bobcats basketball team has finally obtained rights to the <bobcats.com> domain name after three years of negotiations with the owner of a bobcat breeding farm who initially registered the domain name. Bobcats’ President Fred Whitfield indicated that the purchase was part of a broader movement by the organization to improve its marketability. However, the team was forced to raise its offer to around $50,000 in order to obtain the rights to the <bobcats.com> domain name from the initial registrant. Link to Full Story

Nigerian Internet Domain Name Registrations Growing

allAfrica.com, September 21, 2007: The country-code top-level domain (“ccTLD”) “.ng” has seen over 3,000 registrations since its inception six months ago. Ndukwe Kalu, the chairperson of the Nigerian Internet Registration Association (“NiRA”), said that this figure is expected to reach 1 million in the next 24 months. Kalu also disclosed that the NiRA is collaborating with the directorate of Cyber Crime and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in order to curb the rise of Internet fraud emanating from the Nigerian-based Internet Protocol addresses. Link to Full Story

Fox News Reports on Record Domain Name Industry Growth

Fox News, July 24, 2007: According to a report by Fox News, the domain name industry is booming with a growth it has not experienced since 1999. The domain name industry is currently valued at $2 billion with 90,000 domain names being purchased per day. To date, there is one domain name registered to every two Americans. Growth is expected to continue as sales are projected to double in the next few years alone. The biggest “real estate” area is still in “.com” top-level domains, which include such groundbreaking sales as the $12 million <sex.com> domain name purchase and the $3 million purchase of the <creditcheck.com> domain name. Link to Full Fox News Video Report on YouTube

ICANN’s Challenge to Replace Vint Cerf

PC World, July 1, 2007: In October of this year, Vint Cerf, ICANN’s Chairman, steps down and the controversial organization will have the challenge of replacing their longtime board member. Cerf’s collaboration, patience, and political skill have made him instrumental to the organization’s success over his past eight years on the board. One of the greatest assets Cerf brought to ICANN was his reputation as that of an Internet legend. He has been credited as a founding father of the Internet, having created the basic architecture on which it is built. Cerf’s critics note his conservative approach and lack of corporate management skills as his biggest shortcomings. Further, Cerf’s successor will be left with the unresolved issues from his leadership, including ICANN’s long-anticipated, full independence from the U.S. government, as well as the ongoing technical and policy issues facing the organization. Along with the many skills Cerf’s successor will be required to possess, the successor must also be willing to work pro bono. Cerf also plans to distance himself from the organization for at least one year to allow his successor to develop their own leadership style without being encumbered by the shadow of the Internet luminary. This will also allow Cerf to focus on what he calls his “day job” as Google’s Chief Internet Evangelist. ICANN’s board now must face the unenviable challenge to find a leader that will take the organization into the future. Link to Full Story

CADNA Officially Launches Its Anti-Cybersquatting Campaign

CADNA.org, July 24, 2007: In response to the domain name sales boom and a reported 248% increase in cybersquatting over the past year, the Coalition Against Domain Name Abuse (CADNA) announced its official launch of a campaign to combat cybersquatting. Cybersquatters have found a new way around the 1999 Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) by employing “tasting” or “kiting” to test a domain name’s profitability before returning it to the registrar after a free five-day trial period. Further, according to industry reports, $600 billion was spent in online counterfeits last year and U.S. consumers lost more than $198.44 million to phishing schemes. CADNA plans to work with government agencies as well as ICANN and WIPO to “make these fraudulent practices difficult to establish and unprofitable to maintain.” Link to Full Story

GoDaddy.com, Inc. and Afilias USA, Inc. Join Forces to Try to Assume usTLD Registry

Domain Name Alliance Registry, July 31, 2007: GoDaddy.com, Inc. and Afilias USA, Inc. announced that they have joined forces to develop the Domain Name Alliance Registry (“DNAR”). This new venture will enable these companies to answer the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (“NTIA”) call for bids to assume the role as registry operator for the usTLD. DNAR contends that the usTLD has underperformed for the last six years, currently ranking 9th in the world’s country code domains. If selected, the DNAR intends to turn around the usTLD and get it on track with the massive growth in the industry. DNAR’s bid contains several key items for ensuring success, including reduced pricing, increased marketing to stimulate growth, and stronger stability and security. Further, if selected, GoDaddy.com and Afilias argue that their combined experience will facilitate a smooth transition when the current provider steps down in October. NTIA should appoint a new provider no later than September. Link to Full Story

International Companies Brace For October 9 “.asia” Deadline

Times Online, July 4, 2007: Businesses are being warned that cyber-speculators and counterfeiters are preparing to hijack domain names with the upcoming release of the “.asia” top-level domain. Hoping to avoid the “free-for-all” that developed after the release of the “.eu” top-level domain last year, the “.asia” top-level domain registrations will be issued in three stages. First, beginning on October 9, both companies with registered trademarks and governments will be able to register their domain names. Then, beginning on November 13, companies that have already registered their domain names will be given the opportunity to register more domains that relate “specifically to their line of business.” Companies with an established presence in Asia will also be able to register domain names during this second phase, even if the names are not trademarked. Finally, domain names with the “.asia” top-level domain will be open to the public for registration in the third stage scheduled for February of 2008. Link to Full Story

New Scam Uses WHOIS Database to Target Domain Name Holders

TechWorld, July 17, 2007: An organization calling itself “Domain Renewal” is representing itself as a third-party registration renewal service for domain name holders. However, under the current domain-name registry framework, third-party renewals are “impossible.” “Domain Renewal” targets its victims through direct e-mails sent to domain name holders. The company creates its list of contacts from the public information available for domain name holders via the WHOIS database. Internet users are able to pay for “Domain Renewal” services with a credit card on its professional looking website. As many domain holders register their domains with several different Registrars, it is often difficult for them to recognize fraudulent organizations. In the meantime, industry experts discourage following e-commerce links sent in e-mails as this is a common way to perpetrate financial fraud. Link to Full Story

Boston Entrepreneurs Turn Underappreciated Domain Names into Multi-Million Dollar Businesses

BusinessWeek, June 25, 2007: One man’s pocket change turned out to be a goldmine for two Boston entrepreneurs. Two years ago, a German man was using the <chocolate.com> domain name to operate a pay-per-click website with links to chocolate-related websites. Andrew Miller and Michael Zapolin saw an opportunity to create a chocolate business online and negotiated with the man and his lawyer to purchase the <chocolate.com> domain name registration for only $300,000. Today, the men have created a major chocolate website and have even recruited Chocolatier magazine to provide articles and recipes for the website. Miller and Zapolin expect to make over $2 million in revenue in 2007 from the website. The Boston men run a domain name acquisition company called Internet Real Estate Group, which buys underappreciated domain names and turns them into real businesses rather than park them as pay-per-click sites. The men bought the <beer.com> domain name in 1998 for $800,000 and later sold it for $7 million to a beer company. They also obtained the <creditcards.com> domain name for $100,000 in 2003 and turned it into a credit card comparison website before selling it to a private equity buyer for $2.8 million a year later. Currently, the men hold the registrations for 17 domain names, including <software.com> and <relationship.com>, and are actively seeking out offers for other generic domain names. Link to Full Story

Mr. Plastic Dispute Resolved in South Africa

DomainNews.com, June 15, 2007: The battle over the registration of the <mrplastic.co.za> domain name has reached a conclusion. The complainant, Mr. Plastic, had been using the MR. PLASTIC mark and logo for 27 years, while the respondent, Mr. Plastic Mining & Promotional Goods, had been using the same mark for 18 years. The respondent, however, was first to register the disputed domain name. The complainant instituted a proceeding under the new arbitration procedures set up by South Africa’s Domain Name Authority in November 2006 to resolve domain name disputes. The panel in the case found that both companies sufficiently established rights in the mark, but the complainant failed to show distinctiveness in the mark. The panel also concluded that the use of the domain name by the complainant’s rival was not unfairly detrimental to the complainant’s rights. The complainant has since added the letter “s” and registered the <mrplastics.co.za> domain name, while the respondent maintains the <mrplastic.co.za> domain name. The president of the South African Institute of Intellectual Property Law, Mariëtte Viljoen, said that this case shows that the new South African regulations governing domain name disputes result in the quick and effective resolution of domain name disputes and are proving their worth. Link to Full Story

Apple’s iPhone Release Sparks Registration of Related Domain Names

The Mercury News, June 28, 2007: According to Jay Westerdal, president of Name Intelligence Inc., IPHONE-related domain name registrations skyrocketed to over 4,000 in anticipation of Apple’s iPhone release. Name Intelligence Inc. analyzes domain name patterns and expects twice the current registrations of IPHONE-related domain names by the end of the year. Apple has experienced many challenges with the IPHONE name. The domain name <iphone.com> was originally registered back in 1995 and, until very recently, did not belong to Apple (see follow-up story below). Even the rights in the IPHONE mark did not belong to Apple until recently, when it reached an undisclosed settlement with Cisco Systems Inc. Cisco initiated a suit against Apple in relation to an Internet calling product Cisco operated under the IPHONE mark. The race to register IPHONE domain names started after January 9, 2007, when Apple’s Steve Jobs announced the launch of its iPhone gadget, a smart device integrating Apple’s iPod media player product along with Internet access. However, IPHONE-related domain name registration gained momentum as Apple’s iPhone launch date grew closer. Name Intelligence reports that over 350 IPHONE-related domain names were registered in one day in the week leading up to the launch. Link to Full Story

Michael Kovatch Hits the Big Time with <iPhone.com>

AppleInsider.com, July 2, 2007: Jay Westerdal, President of Name Intelligence Inc., confirmed that Apple acquired the <iphone.com> domain name registration from Michael Kovatch in an undisclosed seven-figure sale, making it one of the largest sales of its kind. Although Kovatch registered the domain name back in 1995 and was building a company off of the name, Apple made an offer that was too good to pass up. Traffic on Kovatch’s website at the <iphone.com> domain name, which featured an online cell phone store, picked up over the six months following Apple’s announcement that it would be launching its iPhone product. According to Westerdal’s blog, “That domain was so valuable that Apple just had to own it.” Although details of the sale and transfer have not been released, the <iphone.com> domain name WHOIS information confirms that the domain name was transferred to Apple on June 29, 2007. Link to Full Story

ICANN Approves Launch of <.asia> Top-Level Domain Registration for October

Forbes.com, June 28, 2007: ICANN approved the October launch of the regional <.asia> top-level domain (“TLD”) for government and trademark owners. General registration will begin in 2008. DotAsia Organization Ltd., the organization responsible for operating the <.asia> TLD, will limit registration to members located within the region. The first round of registration will close on October 30 and will include governments looking for geographic-specific domains, such as <china.asia>, and trademark owners who registered their trademarks prior to March 16, 2004. After that, application for the “sunrise” period will be accepted until January 15, 2008, followed by general registration. Link to Full Story

Registerfly.com Fallout Prompts ICANN to Seek Changes to RAA

PC World, June 26, 2007: Following the Registerfly.com debacle this past spring, which led ICANN to strip the registrar of its accreditation, ICANN led a workshop at its 29th International Public Meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to discuss ideas for changing its current Registrar Accreditation Agreement (“RAA”). ICANN hopes to better protect the individuals and organizations doing business with registrars operating under the ICANN RAA, specifically in hopes of preventing another Registerfly.com disaster. One item that garnered some debate was the institution of a data escrow provision which would allow ICANN to easily facilitate a registrar transfer in a Registerfly.com scenario. “This is important to registrants. We want to be able to reconstitute a registrar if it fails so that registrants can continue to have access to their domains and be able to work with them,” said Susan Crawford, an ICANN board member and discussion moderator. Details for the data escrow provision will need to be worked out, including what registrant information is to be provided and how to protect registrants’ private data. Another issue brought up by Beau Brendler, director of Consumer Report Webwatch, is having ICANN provide more information about registrars to consumers. In response to Brendler’s suggestion, Stacy Burnette, ICANN’s director of contractual compliance, plans to release a bi-annual report based on registrar audits and will also seek registrar compliance based on the results of the audits. Burnette’s group is currently conducting various audits and has several future audits in the works as well. According to Burnette, ICANN wants to “encourage compliance to enhance ICANN’s liability to preserve and enhance the operational stability, reliability, security and global interoperability of the Internet.” Link to Full Story

GoDaddy Takes Over RegisterFly Domain Names

Geek.com, May 30, 2007: GoDaddy.com has come to the rescue of the hundreds of thousands of domain name registrants who held their registrations with RegisterFly, which recently lost its accreditation. ICANN had been searching for a registrar to take over the registrations since April, when a court allowed ICANN to strip RegisterFly of its accreditation as a domain name registrar due to numerous complaints from customers about RegisterFly's business practices. GoDaddy.com will now manage over 850,000 domain names that were previously registered with RegisterFly. To facilitate the transfer of these domain name registrations, GoDaddy.com has set up a dedicated hotline and website for questions from former RegisterFly customers. Link to Full Story

Porn.com Domain Name Sells for $9.5 Million

Los Angeles Times, May 16, 2007: MXN Ltd. has paid $9.5 million for the rights to the <porn.com> domain name, rivaling the record-setting $12 million spent by Boston-based Escom for <sex.com> in 2006. Moniker, a domain name broker and manager, helped facilitate the sale of the domain name, which reportedly sold for a comparatively meager $47,000 in 1997. MXN Ltd. has not yet announced its intentions for the <porn.com> domain name, but several commentators from the domain name industry are not surprised by the domain name selling for such a high price. There has been a renewed interest in domain names containing simple, common terms in recent years because of the value of advertising on these websites, as well as the curiosity of Internet users looking to see what is posted at these domain names. Moniker also helped sell the <cameras.com> domain name for $1.5 million and the <scores.com> domain name for $1.2 million in recent years. Link to Full Story

Over 10,000 Misspelled Domain Names Target Top Ten U.S. Banks

PRWeb, May 21, 2007: As the financial industry continues to struggle with online phishing schemes, Citizenhawk, a digital brand management solutions company, reports that over 10,000 domain names that potentially infringe upon the trademarks of the top ten banks in the United States are registered to third parties. Many of these domain names are misspelled variations of registered trademarks, indicating that typosquatting should be a primary concern of financial companies looking to cut down on phishing. Topping the list was CapitalOne, with approximately 2,519 cybersquatted domain names. Rounding out the top five were Wachovia (2,318), Bank of America (1,595), Wells Fargo (1,557), and Citibank (1,082). Citizenhawk suggests that these banks continually monitor domain name registrations by third parties to see if they infringe on their trademarks, for this could help prevent some of these individuals and entities from setting up fraudulent websites and phishing for customers' financial information. Link to Full Story

South Dakota Politicians Already Registering Domain Names for 2010 Election

Rapid City Journal, May 20, 2007: Even though the election for governor is still over three years away, two South Dakota politicians have already registered domain names as part of their election strategies. On advice from their children, Lieutenant Governor Dennis Daugaard and state Senate Majority Leader Dave Knudson, both Republicans, registered the <daugaardforgovernor.com> and <knudsonforgovernor.com> domain names, respectively. These early registrations highlight a recent trend among political candidates to register domain names containing their names before their opponents or cybersquatters can get their hands on them. However, a potential opponent for both men, Republication Matt Michels, does not see the need to register a domain name this early in the campaign, and states that he would not even be willing to pay for it later on if somebody else ends up registering his name as a domain name. Conversely, an unsuccessful Democratic candidate in the 2006 election for governor does see the need for any person with political ambitions to register domain names containing their name in combination with the offices for which they might potentially run. Link to Full Story

Master of His 300,000 Domain Names: Kevin Ham

CNN Money, May 22, 2007: While there are numerous individuals and entities in cyberspace that maintain large portfolios of domain names, a former medical doctor has amassed a collection of over 300,000 domain names worth an estimated $300 million, including <god.com>, <satan.com>, <christianrock.com>, and <weddingcatering.com>. Kevin Ham earns an estimated $70 million in revenue off of these domain names, as well as his other Internet business ventures. One of Ham's most successful, although controversial, ventures has been the diversion of numerous ".cm" domain names. The ".cm" top-level domain ("TLD") is the country code for the African country of Cameroon, but it is also one letter off from ".com," and many Internet users mistakenly omit the "o" and type in ".cm" domain names instead. Ham then earns revenue from people who click on the advertising at his websites. Ham would like to also divert domain names with the ".co" (Colombia) and ".om" (Oman) TLDs, which are also typos of the generic TLD ".com." Other country code TLDs of interest are ".ne" (Niger), and ".et" (Ethiopia) - misspellings of the ".net" TLD. So far, Kevin Ham has  flown under the radar, as most experts in the domain name industry were unaware of his existence before the publication of the linked article; his name does not appear in the WHOIS information for any of his domain name registrations. While not everyone agrees with the strategies and tactics Ham has used to amass his domain name fortune, Ham manages to stay ahead of the game and continues to register between 30 to 100 names per day. A devout Christian, he is currently developing a website for <religion.com> which he hopes will be the premier Internet source of information on religion. Link to Full Story

Major Spammer Arrested By United States Federal Government

Yahoo!News, May 31, 2007: Internet users will likely see a decrease in the amount of unwanted e-mails they receive, now that a major spammer has been arrested. Robert Alan Soloway, who one lawyer labeled as one of the top ten spammers in the world, was indicted by a United States federal grand jury on 35 counts, including mail fraud, wire fraud, e-mail fraud, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering. Federal prosecutors are also seeking to have him forfeit some of the money he has made from his e-mail marketing business. Since 2003, Soloway has allegedly used "zombie" computers to send millions of e-mails to Internet users on a daily basis. Soloway has been subject to two previous civil judgments against him - a $7 million lawsuit by Microsoft in 2005 and a $10 million lawsuit by a small Internet service provider in Oklahoma. This is the first time the United States federal government has used identity theft statutes to prosecute a spammer. Soloway could face several decades in prison for his actions. Link to Full Story

Operator of “.biz” Top-Level Domain Raises Fees

Canada.com, April 28, 2007: Neustar, Inc., the operator of the “.biz” generic top-level domain (“gTLD”), has announced that, starting October 19, 2007, it will charge $6.42 in registration fees for each “.biz” domain name, a 7% increase. According to representatives from Neustar, Inc., the price increase will keep “.biz” registration fees in line with the fees of other gTLD operators. ICANN allows price increases of up to 10% per year if the operator of the gTLD gives six months notice. The “.biz” gTLD is currently the tenth most popular top-level domain, with approximately 1.7 million domain names registered. In 2000, ICANN approved “.biz” as one of seven new top-level domains to provide greater consumer choice in domain name registration. Link to Full Story

RegisterFly Flies The Coop

The Register, April 28, 2007: A United States federal district court granted ICANN a preliminary injunction on April 26, 2007, allowing ICANN immediately to terminate the accreditation of RegisterFly, a Miami-based domain name registrar, and to begin to transfer registered domain names from the company to another registrar. The action follows RegisterFly’s failure to follow a temporary restraining order, issued April 16, 2007, requiring it to turn over all current information pertaining to its domain names and their registrants. Citing the importance of the transfer to registrants, ICANN has announced that it is beginning the search for an accredited transfer provider effective immediately. Link To Full Story

WHOIS Records Get Spring Cleaning

Domain Name Wire, April 30, 2007: Following a recently released report on the accuracy of the WHOIS database, ICANN has announced new initiatives to improve the accuracy of domain name registration records. Internic’s WHOIS Data Problem Report System (“WDPRS”) apparently received 50,189 reports of inaccurate WHOIS information during the 12 months prior to February 28, 2007. With respect to specific gTLDs, the WHOIS data for the “.info” gTLD had the highest percentage of inaccuracies, followed by “.net” and “.com.” Specific initiatives ICANN hopes to undertake include sampling domain names from each accredited registrar, reporting inaccurate information to the WDPRS, and verifying the accuracy of the domain name registration records ICANN submits through the WDPRS. Link To Full Story

Profiting from Tragedy

Wired, April 18, 2007: Mere hours after 33 people were killed in the shooting at Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007, domain names referencing the shooting were registered in droves. Examples included <vatechbloodbath.com>, <virginiatechmurders.com> and <blacksburgmassacre.com>. One domain name, <vtechkillings.com>, was registered and then put up for auction on eBay, along with an image of an assault rifle. The registrant described it as the “perfect domain name for any memorandum or other site dedicated to the recent mass killings at Virginia Tech.” Another set of five domain names, described as “great domain names for a memorial fund development,” were offered for $100,000. Matt Owens, who opened the eBay bidding for his <virginia-tech-rampage.com> domain name at $1,000, expressed surprise that people were offended by his choice of a domain name, saying “I was just thinking about the money first.” eBay eventually removed most of the potentially offensive listings, and it is likely that at least a few registrants will use their new domain names for online memorials. Link to Full Story

Politics as Usual

The Morning Call Online, April 17, 2007: The most recent occurrence of a politician registering domain names incorporating the name of his opponent is currently playing out in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. Jason C. Gherghel, the Republican candidate for Schuylkill County controller, registered numerous domain names containing the name of his Democratic opponent, Melinda G. Kantner. The Democratic candidate argues that Gherghel’s actions violate state election laws and has filed a complaint with the county Election Board. The Election Board will hire a local attorney to act as special counsel to the Board in deciding how best to proceed. Link to Full Story

Starbucks Founder: Cybersquatter of Cyberprotector?

Red Herring, May 2, 2007: Using his new venture capital firm, Maveron, Starbucks founder, Howard Schultz, has invested in two very different companies. The first, Houston-based iREIT, has been accused of typosquatting by Verizon and other large companies. iREIT owns over 300,000 domain names, and describes its mission as purchasing and monetizing generic domain names. Schultz’s second investment is in California-based CitizenHawk, a company that makes anti-typosquatting software intended to identify typosquatters in order to take legal action. At first glance, it seems that iREIT and CitizenHawk are in direct opposition to each other; however, CitizenHawk has apparently worked with iREIT to help remove potentially problematic domain names that resemble brand names from its portfolio. Ultimately, Schultz’s investments appear to capitalize on the big business of domain name registration from both sides of the issue. Link to Full Story

Three Strikes and “.xxx” Is Out?

USA Today, Mar. 30, 2007: Nearly seven years after the idea of a “.xxx” top-level domain was first proposed, ICANN’s board has for the third time decided against setting up a red light district on the Internet. ICANN’s board expressed concerns that the “.xxx” top-level domain would put ICANN in the uncomfortable position of regulating content. The adult-entertainment industry and religious groups made strange bedfellows in their opposition to the plan. While the adult-entertainment industry was divided on the issue, those in opposition to “.xxx” worried that the top-level domain would allow governments to require all adult-oriented content providers to use it over other top-level domains, eventually creating an online ghetto. In contrast, religious groups expressed concern that the adoption of “.xxx” would further legitimize adult content websites. Link to Full Story

Neiman Marcus Takes Aggressive Action

The Register, Mar. 30, 2007: Neiman Marcus Group Inc. has filed a complaint against two domain name companies in a United States District Court in Denver, seeking injunctions and significant damages. The co-defendants are Name.com LLC and Spot Domains LLC, both based in Denver. Neiman Marcus alleges that the domain name registrars are complicit in the practice of domain tasting, which allows domain name registrants to exploit domain names, including those containing Neiman Marcus’ registered trademarks, for profits during a five-day refund period. A few weeks earlier, Neiman Marcus settled a similar lawsuit against domain name registrar Dotster, in which Dotster agreed to refrain from allowing the registration of domain names with similarities to the marks used by Neiman Marcus and its sister store, Bergdorf Goodman. Link to Full Story

“.Travel” Takes Off

ArabianBusiness.com, Apr. 1, 2007: With the addition of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (“UNWTO”) and the World Travel and Tourism Council (“WTTC”), the “.travel” top-level domain is gaining significant momentum. UNWTO is launching its emergency response website at the <sos.travel> domain name. The website is devoted to providing travel advice and warnings to international travelers, as well as a notification system. WTTC is changing its home page from <wttc.org> to <wttc.travel> to take advantage of the “.travel” option. Trialliance Corporation, which manages the “.travel” registry, is also fostering alliances with countries, including Greece, France, Hungary, Romania, Austria and Portugal, for local tourism experts to provide tourism services through “.travel” partners. Link to Full Story

The Evolution of Cybersquatting

New York Times, Mar. 31, 2007: While trademark holders have so far had success preventing others from registering domain names, including their registered trademarks, today’s cybersquatters are much more creative. Microsoft and other companies are beginning to file lawsuits against organizations and individuals engaged in “domain tasting” or “domain swiping.” In the past, businesses like Microsoft needed to worry about the registration of domain names including misspellings of their trademarks. Now, domain names are purchased in bulk and only the ones that attract the most traffic are kept after the five-day trial period. In this way, cybersquatters are turning domain tasting into big business and, in the words of one official, turning domain names into “mere commodities for speculative gain.” Link to Full Story

High Demand for “.mobi” Domain Names

WebHostDirectory.com Mar. 8, 2007: dotMobi, the company responsible for overseeing the registration of domain names under the new top-level domain “.mobi,” has announced that over 400,000 domain names with the “.mobi” domain designation have been registered by individuals and entities in over 104 countries since October 2006. When compared to the growth of “.com,” which had just over 100,000 domain name registrations for the first ten years of its existence, the growth of “.mobi” is quite extraordinary. The CEO of dotMobi believes that the overwhelming number of “.mobi” registrations is due, at least in part, to the realization among domain name registrants that the future of Internet content is on mobile devices. To support such rapid growth, dotMobi has started several initiatives to help consumers build and develop their websites at “.mobi” domain names. Link to Full Story

China Lowers Price of “.cn” Registrations

Shanghai Daily News Mar. 8, 2007: Partially in response to the Taiwanese earthquakes in December 2006 that resulted in the loss of Internet service to millions of Chinese Internet users, China Internet Network Information Center (“CNNIC”), a group backed by the Chinese government, has announced that it is lowering the price of domain names with the “.cn” top-level domain. A spokesperson for CNNIC said that the move is designed to bolster national security, because “.com” designations are registered overseas, and also to increase Internet use among the Chinese population. CNNIC’s price cutting promotion will allow English names ending with the “.cn” country-code top-level domain designation to be sold for 13 cents per registration, a vast savings over comparable “.com” registrations costing several hundred times that amount. Link to Full Story

Unilever Hires Domain Guards

HostSearch.com, Jan. 27, 2007: Unilever, a large corporation that manages and owns brands such as Dove soap, Surf detergent, and Vaseline lotion, among many others, has hired NetNames to help protect its brands online. After hiring law firm Baker & McKenzie to manage its global trademarks, Baker & McKenzie turned to NetNames to manage Unilever’s domain names. Unilever currently holds the registrations for 6,300 domain names, which NetNames will consolidate and manage. Unilever hopes that by consolidating its domain names in one place, it will increase security and have greater flexibility in its online branding strategies. Link to Full Story

Google's German Domain Name Hijacked

PC World, Jan. 31, 2007: Visitors to the <google.de> domain name, the German website of Google, were briefly surprised to find that the familiar Google logo had been replaced by the name of a local Internet service provider, Goneo Internet, along with a message stating that no content was available. Google had its website restored within approximately two hours. It now appears that Goneo Internet had acquired the <google.de> domain name in a surprising domain name grab. At least two key security measures failed—neither Google’s existing Internet service provider, nor the service provider that took over the website, conducted the checks required for a change in domain name registration. eBay had a similar experience with the <ebay.de> domain name in 2004.
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Say Goodbye to “.Um”…

FoxNews.com, Jan. 24, 2007: ICANN has decided to eliminate the “.um” country-code top-level domain (“ccTLD”). “.Um” was the ccTLD for United States minor outlying islands and was run by the University of Southern California’s Information Sciences Institute. In 1997, when the Institute’s staff was in charge of the Domain Name System, they also had control of the “.um” ccTLD and retained management of it even after control of the Domain Name System shifted to ICANN. Use of the “.um” ccTLD was rare, and the decision to strike it from the list of ccTLDs was driven by the Institute’s desire to get rid of it, not by ICANN’s call for comments on how to begin to deal with outdated suffixes. The larger U.S. territories still have their own separate ccTLDs, including “.gu” for Guam and “.vi” for the U.S. Virgin Islands. Link to Full Story

…And Hello to “.Tel”

WebHosting.info, Jan. 30, 2007: Telnic Limited, the UK-based operator of the “.tel” top-level domain, has selected NeuStar, Inc. to operate the domain name registry for “.tel.” The “.tel” top-level domain enables businesses and individuals to publish and manage contact information in a directory located directly in the domain name system. A “.tel” domain name can be used to initiate telephone conversations, Voice over Internet Protocol (“VoIP”), instant messaging, email, SMS, and other forms of Internet communication. Link to Full Story

Soccer Phenom Beckham Spurs Domain Name Registrations

Vnunet.com, January 12, 2007: Cybersquatters rushed to register domain names following the announcement that soccer star David Beckham was leaving the Real Madrid soccer team to play for the Los Angeles Galaxy. Within one hour of the announcement, Milton Keynes had registered three domain names featuring the term “lagalaxy” in an apparent attempt to capitalize on the buzz surrounding the famous soccer player’s decision to play soccer in the United States. Jonathan Robinson, chief operating officer at NetNames, a leading domain name provider, states, “This is some of the fastest cyber-squatting I have ever seen.” Most cybersquatters are expected to redirect their newly registered domain names to pay-per-click websites with sponsored advertisements provided by companies such as Google. Link to Full Story

Dell Sues Family of Typo-Squatters

Vnunet.com, January 12, 2007: Computer manufacturer Dell has sued Alf, Lars, and Kim Temme for registering a series of domain names that Dell claims are infringements of its registered DELL trademark. The domain names at issue are: <d3ell.com>, <de3ll.com>, <d4ell.com>, <de4ll.com>, <dedll.com>, <derll.com>, and <dxell.com>. The suit, brought in a Texas federal district court, seeks to strip the Temmes of the disputed domain names as well as recover legal fees and damages. Link to Full Story