Domain Names

ICANN Documentary Information Disclosure Policy Request

Listed below is correspondence that I have submitted to ICANN's general counsel in connection with the organization's stated documentary information disclosure policy. more

It’s Official: 2016 Was a Record Year for Domain Name Disputes

As I predicted more than three months ago, 2016 turned out to be a record year for domain name disputes, including under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP). That's according to statistics from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the only UDRP service provider that publishes real-time data on domain name disputes. WIPO's statistics show 3,022 cases in 2016 -- an increase of almost 10 percent from 2015. The previous most-active year for domain name disputes was 2012... more

Report and Analysis of Public Comments Submitted to ICANN on the .COM Pricing Provisions (Part II)

Mr. Arif Ali, a lawyer with Dechert who is very familiar with ICANN governance and has represented numerous parties in ICANN related matters, wrote an extraordinarily detailed and comprehensive critique of the LOI and of Amendment 3. Mr. Ali noted that two of ICANN's most important obligations are to operate for the benefit of the Internet community as a whole and to enable competition and open entry in Internet-related markets, and that the proposed price hikes do not support these obligations... more

Risk of Portfolio Approach to Cybersquatting

A secret weapon is falling into dangerous hands. Organized cybercriminals are building up portfolios of cybersquatting domain names. A smart operator with such a portfolio can go beyond simple stealing and competing full out for traffic and revenues. Rightful brand owners, feeling the squeeze, will find out too late that the bandits have the money to fight legal action. The time to act is now, before pieces of the playing field have been bought up by the enemy. more

ICANN Releases gTLD Applicant Guidebook

Per their timeline, ICANN released the gTLD Applicant Guidebook on May 30th. This version contains revisions based upon both community feedback, as well as recent consultations with the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC). more

The .BEST New gTLD: Second Interview

This is a one hour podcast giving all details about what the .BEST social network is going to be and how users will be able to generate an income from it... Cyril Fremont gives lots of details on how his social network, focusing on reviews, is going to be different from Google Reviews, Facebook, Yelp and TripAdvisors. If one would be tempted to think that ... well, "that's just going to be another social network", then, I strongly suggest to listen carefully the part of the interview on the decentralization of this network. more

Post-UDRP, ACPA Actions Challenging Awards

The Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) is not an exclusive remedy for cybersquatting, but it is by far the preferred forum. Direct actions in courts of competent jurisdiction, the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) in the U.S. are minimal in comparison, and it is rare for respondents to remove disputes to a court of competent jurisdiction before a UDRP decision (paragraph 4(k) of the Policy). Less rare (but not copious) are post-UDRP challenges under the ACPA. more

.WTF Domain Being Used In Privacy Campaign

ICANN comment periods on policy proposals don't normally garner much attention. In the case of the current comment period on proxy/privacy services, however, things are very different. To date several thousand comments have been filed, while the topic of the policy proposals has received media attention across hundreds of outlets. more

Afilias’ Rule Violations Continue to Delay .WEB

As I noted on May 26, the final decision issued on May 20 in the Independent Review Process (IRP) brought by Afilias against the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) rejected Afilias’ petition to nullify the results of the public auction for .WEB, and it further rejected Afilias’ demand to have it be awarded .WEB (at a price substantially lower than the winning bid). Instead, as we urged, the IRP Panel determined that the ICANN Board should move forward with reviewing the objections made about .WEB, and to make a decision on delegation thereafter. more

Your Comments Front and Center in ICANN New gTLD Process

ICANN published the second version of its Application Guidebook for new generic top-level domains earlier today (late evening Los Angeles time). Alongside version two of the Guidebook – published by module and in a red-line version – are explanatory memoranda, the opening of a second public comment period (closing 13 April) and an extensive summary and analysis of the public comments made to the process so far. more

dot DO or dot DIE?

ICANN has started dot name evaluations and charging ahead at their full speed. Mathematically it can be proven that any reasonable success of the current 1500 proposed dot names will result in tens of thousands of additional applications in the subsequent rounds. It is estimated that by the year 2020 there will be 10,000 dot names in operation and by 2025 the number would easily double. Such forecasts are not based on technological advances more

Secondary DNS Service for ccTLDs

One of the hot topics at this year's Internet Governance Forum was the continuing development of the infrastructure of the Internet in emerging markets. For example, in a workshop entitled "Strengthening ccTLDs in Africa", attendees debated the drive for technical excellence, better policy structures and enhanced quality of service for the continent's ccTLDs. ... To support this development, we provide a secondary DNS service to not-yet-established ccTLDs, free of charge. more

Are You Prepared for a New Turkish Delight? .TR Domain Name to Be Released

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

ICANN Openness and Transparency: Actions Speak Louder than Words

ICANN has announced that they will be having a Special Meeting of the ICANN Board on 19 February 2010 (3:00 UCT) to discuss the "upcoming ICANN International meeting." It is reasonable to assume that the 17 February 2010 security update will be a topic of discussion... I trust that the ICANN Board will make the right decision balancing the obligations that ICANN has to the global Internet community, with the safety and security of those ICANN stakeholders that participate in person at these ICANN events. However, the ICANN Board needs to gain the trust of the global community in connection with this and other important decisions that it will be making. more

DOTCOM Act Passes House as Rubio Leads Senate Call for IANA Oversight Hearings

The Shimkus Amendment to the $601 billion National Defense Authorization Act (HR 4435) passed the House of Representatives on May 22nd by a mostly partisan vote of 245–177. While all 228 Republicans present and voting supported the amendment only 17 Democrats voted "aye", with 177 in opposition. Final passage on the entire bill was a bipartisan vote of 325–98. The Senate has not yet passed its version of a FY 2015 Pentagon funding bill, and once it does all the differences between the two versions must be reconciled before it can be sent to President Obama for his signature. more