Domain Names

Over 750 Domain Name Registrars Expected to Shut Down in the Next 12 Months, ICANN Predicts

ICANN estimates over 750 accredited domain name registrars are likely to close within the next 12 months as a result of the over-saturated drop-catching market.

Domain Registrations in New TLDs Overwhelmingly for Defensive Purposes, INTA Study

During the ICANN meeting in South Africa last week, the impact of new gTLD rights protection mechanisms (RPMS) was the subject of key discussions, and some concerns were voiced regarding trademark owners themselves registering domain names excessively and technically abusing the sunrise period.

Cycling Legend Greg LeMond Sues Cybersquatters Upward of $6.6 Million

A federal restraining order has been issued against a father and son accused of registering several domain names based on cycling legend Greg LeMond's name and his company.

Bloomberg: Pricing of New TLDs Seem “Kind of Random”, Sector in “Flux”

Bloomberg's Economic Editor, Peter Coy, suggests that the Top-Level Domain pricing seen in the market today appears to represent a big pricing experiment in a sector of the economy "that's in flux".

Overview of the Global Domain Market, Afnic Study

Afnic, the French Network Information Centre and manager of the .fr TLD, today published its report on the global domain market in 2016.

Donuts, Rightside Group Merge in a $213M Acquisition Deal

Donuts Inc., a leading domain name registry for new top-level domains and Rightside Group today announced a merger agreement; Donuts has agreed to acquire Rightside for $10.60 per share in an all-cash tender offer, for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $213MM.

Emoji in Domain Names Bad Idea Warns ICANN Security Advisory Group

Coca-Cola received a fair amount of press for using a number of emoji domains for its 2015 marketing campaign in Puerto Rico. And other companies including Budweiser, Honda and Ray-Ban followed suit, registering various emoji domains to tap into the youth market. However, the increasing interest in their use has raised some questions and concerns.

ICANN to Release Hundreds of Domain Names Matching Country Names

Hundreds of country and territory domain names are likely to be finally released this year based on the new resolution that calls for ICANN to take "all steps necessary" to do so.

Pirate Bay Founder and Other Internet Activists Launch Domain Privacy Service

A team of Internet activists including co-founder and ex-spokesperson of the Pirate Bay, Peter Sunde, today announced the launch of a unique domain name service, called Njalla, designed to act as a "privacy shield" for registrants.

New In-depth Analysis Finds Thousands of Domains Used in Technical Support Scams

A study conducted by PhD candidates at the Stony Brook University resulted in identifying malvertising as a major culprit for exposing users to technical support scams which allowed them to build an automated system capable of discovering, on a weekly basis, hundreds of phone numbers and domains operated by scammers.

U.S. Expresses Concerns Over China’s Internet Regulatory Regime, In New Report

The Trump administration has criticized China on a number of trade issues in its Foreign Trade Barriers report including cloud computing restrictions, Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) and Domain Name Rules.

Owner of .Feedback in Breach of Registry Agreement, Rules ICANN

"The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has ruled that .feedback owner Top Level Spectrum (TLS) is in breach of its registry agreement," Barney Dixon reporting in IPPro The Internet.

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.

ICANN Drifting Toward Online Content Regulation, Says Law Professor

In a paper for the Washington & Lee Law Review, University of Idaho College of Law Professor Annemarie Bridy, depicts ICANN's ambivalent drift into online content regulation through its contractual facilitation of a "trusted notifier" copyright enforcement program between the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and two registry operators for new gTLDs, Seattle-based Donuts and Abu Dhabi-based Radix.

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.