Domain Names

Names, Numbers and Beyond…

Couple of weeks ago I started a new initiative called "Names, Numbers and Beyond". I started this as I genuinely think we are facing big issues due to the uncontrolled and non-standard growth of the IP and Name space used today and tomorrow. To keep in control and make everything manageable, parcelling out IP address space and the use of tight naming standards/policies is necessary to make networks work better and make them achievable. more

Challenging UDRP Awards in Federal Court: Recent Outcomes

Challenging UDRP awards in actions under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) is infrequent though steady. There are currently a number of court filings in U.S. district courts that are in the early stages, most notably the ADO.com case reported on in an earlier essay and several others have either been referred to mediation (the IMI.case) or settled or discontinued. more

Apple (Not Surprisingly) is Not a Cybersquatter

It's highly unusual for a well-known trademark owner to be accused of cybersquatting, but that's what happened when a Mexican milk producer filed a complaint against Apple Inc. under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) in an attempt to get the domain name lala.com. Not only did Apple win the case, but the panel issued a finding of "reverse domain name hijacking" (RDNH) against the company that filed the complaint. more

Neustar Launches KickStart America Campaign with .US Domain

Neustar, Inc. begins a "Kick-start America" campaign for the .US Top-Level Domain. Companies of all sizes -- locally-based or doing business in the United States -- are encouraged to demonstrate their local presence with "America's Address." more

Paul Mockapetris to Serve as Senior Security Advisor to ICANN’s Generic Domains Division

ICANN has announced that Paul Mockapetris, inventor of the Domain Name System (DNS), has agreed to serve as Senior Security Advisor to the Generic Domains Division and its President, Akram Atallah. more

Trademark Registrations on the ‘Supplemental Register’ Don’t Count (in Domain Name Disputes)

The Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) has never required that a complainant own any trademark registrations to succeed in a domain name dispute, given that common law trademark rights (if properly established) are sufficient. But, as a pair of recent UDRP decisions reminds us, even some registrations are inadequate. The issue relates to the first element of every UDRP complaint, which requires the party seeking relief to prove that the "domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark... more

Why Domain Security Is Your First Line of Defense to Mitigate Phishing Attacks

According to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), most cyberattacks, including ransomware and business email compromise, begin with phishing. Although losses due to ransomware now exceed billions annually, most ransomware protection and response measures don't protect against the most common phishing attacks. Established research shows that phishing attacks most commonly occur from a maliciously registered, confusingly similar domain name, a compromised or hijacked legitimate domain name, or via email header spoofing. more

How Should I Present .Brand Domains in Advertising? (Part 1)

Do consumers still get confused when they see a URL without a .com (or other traditional extension)? Probably -- but I don't think anyone really knows the answer to that from a global perspective. What I do know, however, is that it's important for those of us in the new TLD industry to help our brand customers ensure that we're providing audiences with the best possible chance to identify new domains as legitimate web addresses. more

One Step Closer to an Accountable ICANN

We believe that certain updates in the latest draft that limit the scope of ICANN's Mission, as specified in paragraph 188, could explicitly prevent ICANN from actively enforcing its contracts with Registries and Registrars or use contracts as a tool to implement consensus policies in the future. We suggest in our comments that revised bylaw text be added explicitly stating that the enforcement and creation of ICANN's contracts with Registries and Registrars... more

ISOC-NY Event: dot nyc - How Are We Doing? (Sat Apr 10)

Joly MacFie writes: Last October the NYC Department of Information Technology & Telecommunications (DoITT) issued a request for proposals for "services to obtain, manage, administer, maintain and market the geographic Top Domain name .nyc.". At ICANN's recent 37th meeting in Nairobi, consensus was reached on the "overarching" issue of intellectual property protection. This leaves only the issue of the final (4th) draft of the Applicants Guidebook, expected before the 38th meeting in Brussels in June 2010... more

A Report on DNS Operations, Analysis, and Research Center (DNS-OARC) 30th Meeting

DNS Operations, Analysis, and Research Center (DNS-OARC) held its 30th meeting in Bangkok on the 12th and 13th May. Here's what attracted my interest from two full days of DNS presentations and conversations, together with a summary of the other material that was presented at this workshop. Some Bad News for DANE (and DNSSEC): For many years the Domain Name X509 certification system, or WebPKI, has been the weak point of Internet security... more

Creating, Protecting and Defending Brand Equity - Part 2

In the second of three posts about how brand owners can protect their trademarks from misuse, I will focus on two concepts: the role of "use" and registration in protecting your brand, and domain names -- specifically acquisition and protection. Internet domain names have emerged as a major battleground for brand promotion and protection. While it is easier than ever to register and promote your name on the internet, it is also easier for others to trade on another brand's equity. more

How to Suspend a .US Domain Name

Although rarely used, the usTLD Rapid Suspension Dispute Policy (usRS) allows a trademark owner to seek the suspension of a domain name in the .us country-code top-level domain (ccTLD). The usRS has many things in common with the Uniform Rapid Suspension System (URS), which applies to domain names in the new generic top-level domains (gTLD). more

A Stronger PIR and .ORG: Standing Behind Our Commitments

We respect the right of all parties who wish to express a point of view on the Internet Society's sale of Public Interest Registry ("PIR") to Ethos Capital. However, it's important those views are based on facts -- which has not always been the case. Some have expressed concern that for-profit ownership of .ORG will automatically mean .ORG prices will rise dramatically, or that .ORG's principles will change. more

Q&A with Matt Serlin, ICANN’s Expedited Policy Development Process Team Member

Matt Serlin is the former Chair of the ICANN Registrar's Constituency and is currently a member of the Expedited Policy Development Process (EPDP) team on the Temporary Specification for gTLD Registration Data. For the past several months, Matt has met at least 2 times each week with members of EPDP team. As a reminder, the EPDP team is comprised of 31 individuals representing various groups within the ICANN community... more