Domain Names

Verisign Given Approval to Restrict .COM and .NET Domains In Various Countries

"Verisign has been given approval to start restricting who can and cannot register .com and .net domain names in various countries," Kevin Murphy reporting in Domain Incite. more

Announcing the 2024 ICANN Contracted Parties Summit Statement!

As Chairs of ICANN's Registries and Registrar Stakeholder Groups, we are proud to announce that we have initiated a new practice for the Contracted Parties Summits: the publication of our Contracted Parties Summit Statement. As you may (or may not) know, Contracted Parties get together periodically to interact and work together on issues that we care about, and which impact our businesses as registries and registrars. more

Overseas TLD Registries Licensed by Chinese Government

It was reported that .XYZ, .CLUB and .VIP have obtained official license from the Chinese government. The approval notices can be found on the website of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology ("MIIT"), the domain name regulator in China. It is the first batch of overseas top-level domains (TLD) being officially approved. Previously, only two legacy TLDs -- .COM and .NET -- have been issued such approval. The "green light" means that Chinese registrars are able to sell these domains legally in China. more

Internet Domain Shutdowns: Ineffective and Risky, Experts Warn

Efforts to curb illegal online content through domain shutdowns are proving ineffective and carry significant risks, according to a new report by eco and its topDNS initiative. more

Is the Lockdown Driving Domain Registrations?

Businesses across Europe face a new and challenging situation not seen in generations. A mass lockdown of society due to the coronavirus pandemic with thousands of businesses having been forced to send employees home. The societal impact is broad and deep; however, for ccTLD registries, beyond changes to how staff work, other business effects so far seem minimal. One aspect of registry business may, however, be changing. more

The Truth About Supplemental Filings in UDRP Cases

A typical proceeding under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) consists of a complaint and, sometimes, a response. UDRP Rule 12 makes clear that "further statements or documents from either of the Parties" are appropriate only if "the Panel... request[s], in its sole discretion." In practice, however, such supplemental or additional filings are not uncommon, with the leading UDRP service providers - WIPO and the Forum - issuing guidance about when they may be appropriate. more

Total Domains Registered Reach 183 Million World Wide, .COM, .CN, .DE Top the List

The total number of domain names have grown to 180 million world wide, according to the first quarter 2009 Domain Name Industry Brief published by VeriSign. The first quarter of 2009 reached a base of 183 million domain name registrations across all of the Top Level Domain Names (TLDs) -- a 3% increase over the fourth quarter of 2008 and a 12% increase over the same quarter from last year. Country Code TLDs (ccTLDs) rose to 74.1 million domain names during the first quarter, a four percent jump from the previous quarter and an 18 percent increase year over year. Gauged by total registrations, .com remains the most popular TLD category, followed by .cn (China), .de (Germany) and .net. This composition remains unchanged from Q4 2008. more

New Research Finds Over 80% of Domain Names Used by Phishers Are Legitimate Domains

New research from the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) has found that up to 81% of domain names used for phishing are legitimate domains that have been hacked. More specifically, out of the 30,454 phishing domains under observation, only 5,591 domain names (18.5%) were registered by phishers according to APWG. The remaining small percentage of the domains used in phishing belonged to subdomain resellers such as ISPs and other web-based services. more

Australians Prefer .au Domain Names, Usage on the Rise

AusRegistry today released survey results of more than 3,000 Australians confirming that .au domain name registrations are on the rise, with 76% of all domain name holders choosing .au, an increase of 2% from last year. The survey also found .au remains Australia's home on the Internet with more than double the level of trust over any other namespace. more

Benefits and Challenges of Multiple Domain Names in a Single UDRP Complaint

How many domain names can be included in a single complaint under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP)? Neither the UDRP policy nor its corresponding rules directly address this issue, although the rules state that a "complaint may relate to more than one domain name, provided that the domain names are registered by the same domain-name holder." more

SBI, One of India’s Largest Banks, Switching Its Domain to Branded TLD, bank.sbi

The State Bank of India (SBI) has announced it will be switching its domain name from "sbi.co.in” to the branded "bank.sbi", according to various news sources. more

Respondent Had Rights or Legitimate Interests in Domain Name by Using It to Promote Genuine Business

In the case of Avon Products, Inc. v. Jenika Mukoro, Heirs Holdings, a 3-member WIPO Panel denied the Complainant's efforts to have the domain name avonhealthcare.com transferred because the Complainant failed to sustain its burden of establishing that the Respondent had no rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name. The Panel found that the Complainant proved that its trademark AVON (which has been in use since 1929) is well-known in the field of cosmetics... more

Creating, Protecting and Defending Brand Equity - Part 3

In the final of my three-part post series about how to protect your trademark against misuse, I will focus on proactive searching and policing and the benefits these can provide to brand owners. ... Proactive searching and policing of your brand is a prudent step in making sure your name is protectable. This is an advisable first step in naming a product or service. more

The Ghosts of Deletions Future – December 2018 Versus December 2019

In the absence of data on renewals and deletions which are yet to happen, it can be enlightening to compare the domain names from the zone files of a year ago to the domain names in the current zones. The first group is the legacy gTLDs. The "Retained" domain names are those still in the December 2019 zone files. The "Deleted" domain names are those which are no longer in the current zones. Some of the retained domain names may have been reregistered, but these are not renewals charts. more

Community Support Required for Alternative Trademark Clearinghouse Solution

It's time for the community to demonstrate its resolve to see ICANN implement a successful and effective Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH). Let's be clear here. The current ICANN implementation model and approach is flawed and needs attention. Following more than three months of consultation and negotiation, today I'm pleased to be able to present the domain name and trademark protection industries with an alternative solution for the operation of ICANN's Trademark Clearinghouse for the new Top-Level Domain (TLD) program. more