Implementation Recommendation Team (IRT) has First Meeting
May 4, 2009
The Intellectual Property Constituency (IPC), at the direction of the ICANN Board, announced in March it had formed an Implementation Recommendation Team (IRT) to provide possible solutions for Trademark and other Intellectual Property concerns raised during the comment period for the new gTLD Guidebook.
The first face-to-face working meeting was April 1st. The IRT has recently published a website which outlines their focus and provides links to resources including a WIKI site. The WIKI site is intended for groups or individuals interested in providing comment or recommendations to the specific issues tasked by the IRT.
The four primary issues that the IRT will focus on are:
- Trademark Protection – High Priority Issues raised during the comment period for the new gTLD Guidebook, most notably IP Clearance, Dispute Resolutions mechanisms and WhoIs requirements for the new TLDs.
- Potential for Malicious Conduct – ICANN has raised the issue of studying the potential for criminal abuse in the new gTLDs and possible measures for mitigation.
- Root Zone Scaling – This study will look at the root impact of not only adding new gTLDs, but also IDNs, DNSSEC, and IPV6.
- TLD Demand and Economic Analysis – ICANN commissioned an independent third-party to produce reports that address consumer benefits and pricing issues. These reports were available for public comment through April 17th, and are located here.
Implementation Recommendation Team (IRT) Announced for New gTLDs
March 29, 2009
The Intellectual Property Constituency (IPC), at the direction of the ICANN Board, has announced it has formed an Implementation Recommendation Team (IRT) to provide possible solutions for Trademark and other Intellectual Property issues regarding the new gTLDs.
Among the team members are Russell Pangborn, Managing Attorney for Microsoft Corporation, J. Scott Evans, Senior Director-Legal for Yahoo! Inc., and Fabricio Vayra, Counsel, Intellectual Property for Time Warner Inc. See the full list here.
The first face-to-face working meeting is scheduled for April 1st. The team will issue its first draft report by April 24th, and a final report on May 24th which will be open for public comment.
The ICANN press release on the IRT can be found here.
Second Draft of New gTLD Applicant Guidebook Released by ICANN
March 25, 2009
ICANN’s second draft of the new generic Top-Level Domains Applicant Guidebook (gTLD) has been released. The public comment period for this new draft is open and ICANN will accept comments through April 13, 2009.
ICANN has clarified several issues, including proposed reduction in ongoing “Registry-Level Fees” from US$75,000 per year to US$25,000 per year.
The application fees are divided into the following:
- TAS User Registration Fee: US$100 – This fee enables the user to enter the online application system.
- gTLD Evaluation Fee: US$185,000 – This fee is set to recover costs associated with the new gTLD program and ensure that the program is fully funded, and doesn’t take resources from other ICANN funding sources.
An interesting note on the gTLD Evaluation Fee is that Participants in ICANN’s proof-of-concept application process in 2000 may be eligible for a credit toward the evaluation fee. The credit is in the amount of US$86,000 and is subject to meeting additional criteria.
If an extended review of an application is required, an additional Registry Services Review Fee of US$50,000 may be required.
Unfortunately it appears that concerns and objections raised in the first comment period, such as protection for Trademark holders and economic viability analysis, are still not addressed.
Follow all the news on ICANN’s New gTLD Program here.
ICANN President and CEO to Leave Office
March 3, 2009
ICANN President and CEO Paul Twomey announced at the 34th International meetings in Mexico City that he would be stepping down at the end of 2009.
“Last year, I told the Board that I did not want to renew my contract as President and CEO for another 3 year term,” said Twomey. “While I am deeply and personally committed to ICANN and its success, I think this is the right time for me to move on to another leadership position in the private or international sectors.”
Twomey has served as the President and CEO of ICANN since 2003. Prior to that, Twomey served as Chairman of ICANN’s Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC).
During Twomey’s tenure with ICANN the organization witnessed tremendous growth and has initiated many new measures to further expansion (new gTLDs and Internationalized TLDs).
Twomey will continue to be involved with ICANN even after relinquishing his position.
“The Board has asked me to stay on after it appoints a successor to have a period of handover with the new appointee. During this transition period I shall be appointed to the new position of Senior President,” said Twomey.
ICANN’s Press Release regarding Paul Twomey’s announcement can be found here.
Paul Twomey’s biography can be found here.
Alias Encore, Inc. Announces New Standard Pricing
February 2, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Aliso Viejo, CA (February 2, 2009) – Alias Encore, Inc. announced today that it has published uniform pricing terms for its industry-leading typo domain recovery service.
“By putting our pricing right on our web site, you know we’re offering you the same terms we offer everyone,” said Graham MacRobie, Alias Encore’s President and CEO. “I encourage our primary competitor, CitizenHawk™, to do likewise.”
Pricing terms are detailed at http://aliasencore.com/services/cpa-domain-recovery and are effective immediately.
About Alias Encore, Inc.
Alias Encore is squarely focused on helping companies increase highly qualified traffic to their websites through the strategic acquisition of misspelled domain names. It is no longer sufficient for a company to own only the domain name that exactly matches their trademark. This is because significant revenues are being surreptitiously diverted to competitors through literally millions of “typosquatting” sites that seek to improperly capitalize on the accidental keystrokes of unsuspecting Internet users. Alias Encore puts a stop to this domain name fraud, dramatically increasing revenues as a direct result.
Alias Encore was founded in 2008 and is privately held. The company’s headquarters are in Aliso Viejo, California. For more information, please visit http://www.aliasencore.com.
CONTACT:
Media Relations
Alias Encore, Inc.
(866) 608-8202 phone
(866) 810-7656 fax
media@aliasencore.com
http://www.aliasencore.com
Ask Sponsored Listings Announces Acquisition Of Sendori
January 23, 2009
Oakland, CA – January 22nd, 2009
Ask Sponsored Listings, a division of IAC (NASDAQ: IACI), today announced the acquisition of Sendori – the next generation exchange for direct navigation search.
Sendori sends qualified visitors from undeveloped web domains directly to advertiser websites. The acquisition provides Ask Sponsored Listings with expanded access to millions of unique users who arrive at websites by typing domains into their web browser. Sendori will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of IAC. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Founded in 2006, Sendori developed the patent pending technology PureLeads™ to enable search advertisers and domain owners to mutually benefit from typed-in domain traffic. The Sendori model dramatically improves the direct navigation user experience delivering content pages from national and local advertisers instead of generic pages populated with sponsored links.
The Sendori exchange has grown quickly as domain parking companies diversify their monetization strategies to better serve their clients and performance advertising networks seek additional quality distribution. The exchange provides more than 130,000 advertisers with access to 33 million unique visitors each month. Sendori’s PureLeads™ technology is instrumental in every brokered transaction, ensuring the highest degree of integrity for visitors delivered to an advertiser’s website.
“This acquisition comes as interest in targeted performance advertising vehicles has increased,” said James Speer, President of Advertising Networks. “Our goal is to deliver the strongest ROI to advertisers by controlling the sourcing and qualification of their leads, and Sendori’s PureLeads™ technology strengthens the overall value we provide to advertisers.”
About Ask Sponsored Listings:
Ask Sponsored Listings (ASL) provides keyword targeted advertising. ASL operates a distribution network of 100 premium online properties and services, including Ask.com, and reaches over 73 million unique users (comScore, December 2008). ASL is an operating business of IAC (NASDAQ: IACI). Please visit: http://sponsoredlistings.ask.com
About IAC:
IAC operates more than 35 leading and diversified Internet businesses across 40 countries … our mission is to harness the power of interactivity to make daily life easier and more productive for people all over the world. To view a full list of the companies of IAC please visit our website at: http://www.iac.com
About Sendori:
Sendori is the next generation exchange for direct navigation search. The company sends qualified visitors from undeveloped web domains to advertiser websites. Sendori’s patent pending PureLeads™ technology ensures the highest degree of integrity for visitors delivered to advertiser websites. The Sendori exchange provides more than 130 thousand advertisers with access to 33 million unique visitors each month. Sendori is based in California. Please visit: http://www.sendori.com
Alias Encore, Inc. Unveils New Service Offerings
January 21, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Aliso Viejo, CA (January 21, 2009) – Alias Encore, Inc. announced today that it has launched two new service offerings, both intended to enhance and complement the company’s industry leading typosquatting domain name recovery service.
First, the company has released its “Defensive Registration” service which applies sophisticated statistical models to help predict the valuable domain names that companies should preemptively purchase to help avoid typosquatters later. The result of significant research and development, this service promises to quickly become a valuable part of industry best practices for brand holders and agencies alike.
Second, Alias Encore has made available a suite of services for legal professionals. These include forensic screenshots of web sites, factual research for domain name fraud, and expert evidence and testimony for domain name legal cases. The suite is expected to help intellectual property attorneys expand their practice into increasingly complex domain name matters, allowing them to help their clients realize the full potential of their web traffic.
“Alias Encore differentiates itself on the depth of our experience and technical capability, and these new services build on that tradition,” said Graham MacRobie, the company’s President and CEO. “I’m thrilled that our partners in the legal community will be able to leverage our expertise, working side-by-side with us to clean up domain name fraud on the Internet.”
The new additions are generally available immediately, and further details are available on the company’s website. Pricing details were not disclosed but are also available directly from the firm.
About Alias Encore, Inc.
Alias Encore is squarely focused on helping companies increase highly qualified traffic to their websites through the strategic acquisition of misspelled domain names. It is no longer sufficient for a company to own only the domain name that exactly matches their trademark. This is because significant revenues are being surreptitiously diverted to competitors through literally millions of “typosquatting” sites that seek to improperly capitalize on the accidental keystrokes of unsuspecting Internet users. Alias Encore puts a stop to this domain name fraud, dramatically increasing revenues as a direct result.
Alias Encore was founded in 2008 and is privately held. The company’s headquarters are in Aliso Viejo, California. For more information, please visit http://www.aliasencore.com.
CONTACT:
Media Relations
Alias Encore, Inc.
(866) 608-8202 phone
(866) 810-7656 fax
media@aliasencore.com
http://www.aliasencore.com
World’s Second Richest Man Ousts Cybersquatter
January 15, 2009
Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim Helu has won a legal dispute with a cybersquatter who held his name for ransom on the web.
The UN intellectual property agency says current owner Ahmad Rusli of Indonesia was wrong to register the web address http://www.carlosslimhelu.com and demand up to $US55 million to hand it over.
Don’t miss the photo of the guy they’re calling “Slim”.
GoDaddy’s TDNAM.com Now Called GoDaddy Auctions
January 14, 2009
by Ron Jackson
GoDaddy’s TDNAM.com aftermarket auction site has undergone a name change. The domain sales platform is now called GoDaddy Auctions. Those who type in the old address, TDNAM.com, or the new name, GoDaddyAuctions.com, will be redirected to a redesigned site operating from a subdomain at Auctions.GoDaddy.com. The move makes a lot of sense. Everyone knows the GoDaddy name, but TDNAM draws blank stares when you mention the name to anyone outside the industry.
Ex-eBay Head Whitman Aims To Claim Domain Names
January 9, 2009
By W. David Gardner
InformationWeek
Ex-eBay CEO Meg Whitman, a Republican, hasn’t officially thrown her hat in the ring for the California governor’s race and she’s already embroiled in a nasty fight with a Democrat over Internet domain names.
Tom Hall, a Santa Monica man who says he collects domain names as a hobby, has registered several domain names based on Whitman’s name. Whitman, who has been preparing for a run for the governor’s seat, has detailed attorneys to fight the latest batch of domain names in a lawsuit filed recently in Federal District Court in San Jose.