Brandsight recently concluded their Second Annual Domain Management Survey. Respondents to the survey were corporate domain name professionals. Of those that responded, 35% had portfolios that were between 3,000-10,000 domains and another 30% had portfolios greater than 10,000 domains. Fifty-seven percent of respondents reported that they manage domains out of the legal department, with the remaining respondents' portfolios managed out of IT, marketing and other groups. more
The IDN ccTLD Fast Track program is moving along rapidly, with ICANN's announcement that both the Simplified and Traditional Chinese script versions of .china have passed the string evaluation phase of the IDN ccTLD Fast Track Program. Alongside this, ICANN have also announced the release of a proposed implementation plan for 'Synchronised IDN ccTLDs' that will create the rules by which these variant IDN ccTLDs will coexist. more
In the first article in this two-part series, we looked at the impact of brand abuse and infringements against intellectual property (IP) on an organization's brand value. In this second article, we delve into how action against enforceable infringements can deliver tangible return on investment (ROI) for a brand, and demonstrate the importance of a robust brand protection program. more
It seems that every day, a new artificial intelligence (AI) capability emerges, posing exciting possibilities for technological advancements -- but also great potential to equal or greater risks. Cybercriminals have taken notice of this rapid surge in the popularity of AI technologies and are attempting to take advantage. more
GenX-ers may remember spending a summer afternoon at the movie theater and seeing the somewhat corny but beloved antics of Marty McFly and Doc as they used a souped-up Delorean to travel the space-time continuum. In Back to the Future Part II, Doc and Marty travel into the future, where the bullying, boorish Biff causes a time-travel paradox when he steals the Delorean and takes a joyride into the past to give his younger self a sports almanac containing the final scores of decades worth of sporting events. more
In the last year, the company that runs the Turkish Domain Registry has made many changes to how the extension is run. First, it has a brand new portal for registrars to interact with, liberalizing the extension .COM.TR, so registrants are no longer required to meet local presence rules, and it has launched a new dispute process to help brand holders recover domain names. more
It's that special time again! Time to unwind, spend time with loved ones -- and to reflect on another 12 months of progress across the .brand movement. Over the last few years, we've used this end of year assessment and our efforts with MakeWay.World to show you how the industry is being embraced globally -- through a range of examples, statistics and predictions about how the year ahead will be our best ever. more
In the fall of 2022, around 9,000 numeric domain names such as 0146.se, 0148.se, 0149.se, and so on were registered in the .SE zone. These domains were registered with two registrars, Register.eu and 1API. They had the same kind of SSL certificate, and there were other similarities among them that strongly suggested they were connected. All these domains were registered after September 1, 2022, but not on the same date... more
I recently had the opportunity to speak on a podcast with Dave Bittner at CyberWire to discuss how .AI is giving cybercriminals a new avenue to take advantage of some of the largest companies in the world based on research findings from CSC's 2023 Domain Security Report. Below is a summary of the key points discussed during this podcast. more
Domain name monitoring - that is, the detection of domains with names containing a brand-term (or other string) of interest - is a very well-established element of brand protection services. Branded domain names are of key importance to brand owners (as the basis for business-critical infrastructure (i.e. 'core' domain names), and as part of a 'tactical' portfolio of strategic and defensive registrations), but also to infringers, who can utilise domains as a means of impersonation, passing off, claimed affiliation, or traffic direction and monetisation. more
In the midst of the coronavirus crisis and the partial or total quarantines happening around the world, more people are turning to eCommerce for their purchases. This, combined with the increased demand for healthcare and healthcare-related products, is causing surges of activity on online marketplaces. Perhaps least surprising is the growth in the number of listings for cleaning and hygiene products (e.g., hand sanitizer), as well as facemasks... more
As the first quarter of 2020 ended, the number of new generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD) domain registrations reached approximately 33.2 million. We expect to see additional growth through 2020 as TLDs such as .GAY will complete their launches before the end of the year. Meetings and conferences in the domain industry in 2020 are in flux but will go on in new formats, new timeframes and new locations. more