Apple.news or News.apple?

In a development that few people will notice but is interesting to us domain geeks, Apple is in the process of retiring its news.apple.com domain in favor of apple.news. Apple is not going to shed light on why it is making this migration. I suspect that anything to take traffic off the .com domain is never a bad idea. Perhaps Apple has a long-term vision for making its News app web-accessible (instead of locked within an app). more

Italy’s Earthquake Rescuers Ask Locals to Unlock Their Wi-fi to Assit in Search and Rescue

The Italian Red Cross says residents' home networks can assist with communications during the search for survivors following Wednesday's 6.2 magnitude earthquake which struck central Italy killing over 240 people. more

The .Corp, .Home & .Mail Quandary

On 24 August, fifteen applicants for the .corp, .home, or .mail (CHM) new gTLDs sent a letter to the ICANN Board asking for action on the stalled process of the their applications. This points to the answer for the question I asked in march of this year: Whatever happened with namespace collision issues and the gTLD Round of 2012. As the letter from the applicants indicates, ICANN has done little to deal with issues concerned with namespace collisions in the last 2 years. Is it now time for action? more

Trademark Overreaching and Faux Cybersquatting Claims

Trademarks can be strong in two ways: either inherently distinctive (arbitrary or fanciful marks), or composed of common elements that have acquired distinctiveness (descriptive or suggestive marks). Trademarks can also be weak in two ways: either composed of common elements, or lacking significant marketplace presence other than in their home territories. Panelists have seen them all, even by respondents alleging trademark rights registered later in time to complainant's. more

ICANN the Machine…

ICANN's new gTLD expansion is really quite an ingenious ploy to grow the once small California non-profit into an unstoppable machine, worth hundreds of millions of dollars, which soon plans to finally be free from any external oversight. I have no doubt that ICANN pats itself on the back for pulling the wool over so many eyes, including stakeholders, new gTLD applicants, politicians, and the global general public. more

The Impact of Reverse Domain Name Hijacking on Supplemental Filings in UDRP Cases

In another blog post, I wrote about the sometimes confusing circumstances in which domain name dispute panelists will consider supplemental, or additional, filings from the parties (in addition to a complaint and response) in cases under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP). I quoted the WIPO Overview, which states, in part, that supplemental filings may be appropriate where a party can "show its relevance to the case and why it was unable to provide that information in the complaint or response." 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

A Journey Into the Surreal: The GOP Protecting “Internet Freedom” With 25 Friends

Few people would suggest that much of the life in the U.S. national political scene these days has any nexus to the real world. At national election time, the disconnect and hyperbole in Washington get worse. "Unhinged" seems to be a common term. The recently released GOP platform on "protecting internet freedom" followed up by the "twenty-five advocacy groups" letter to Congressional leaders is definitely an unhinged a journey into the land of the clueless. more

The Digital Divide Has Persisted over the Life of the Internet

People have been trying to measure the global diffusion of the Internet and the digital divide between rich and poor nation for twenty five years. The first to do so was Larry Landweber, who noted whether or not a nation had an Internet (or other) connection. It was a binary metric -- yes or no -- and it was suitable to its time because there were only a handful of users who were restricted to teaching and research, using a few applications like email, file transfer, news groups and remote login. more

IoT Developments: NIST Issues Tech Guidance while NTIA Seeks Broad Input, Global Efforts Percolate

As the federal government grapples with Internet-connected devices and applications that make up the Internet of Things (IoT), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is forging ahead to provide "technical leadership" for "the operation, trustworthiness, and lifecycle of IoT". Such efforts complement - and contrast - recent policy efforts at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and elsewhere to promote IoT innovation while addressing security, privacy, and interoperability.  more

Protecting the Health of Internet Users: Q&A with .pharmacy

Sue Schuster from Neustar Registry Services sits down with Carmen A. Catizone, MS, RPh, DPh Executive Director of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) for online pharmacies and prescription-only medications to chat about the benefits this exciting new partnership and what it means for members and consumers. more

Writing the Next Chapter for the Historic One-Time Pad

The OTP, or One-Time Pad, also known as the Vernam cipher, is, according to the NSA, "perhaps one of the most important in the history of cryptography." If executed correctly, it provides uncrackable encryption. It has an interesting and storied history, dating back to the 1880s, when Frank Miller, a Yale graduate, invented the idea of the OTP. Communication was expensive and difficult in the age of telegrams, and few messages were easily encrypted. more

How the Clinton “Village” Transformed Internet Paradigms: Together Making a Difference

U.S. Presidential elections and the resulting Administrations can make an enormous difference on many levels and become profound points of inflection. This reality is certainly starkly visible today. Perhaps for the Internet community as well as the general public, some of the largely unknown events and actions surrounding the Internet and the Clinton team from 25 years ago can provide a basis for engagement over the coming months. more

NTP is Still a Security Risk

The Network Time Protocol (NTP) has been in the news a number of times over the past couple of years because of attacks on the protocol, vulnerabilities in the daemon, and the use of NTP in DDoS attacks. In each case, the developers of NTP have responded quickly with fixes or recommendations for remediating these attacks. Additionally, the development team has continued to look ahead and has worked to enhance the security of NTP. Unfortunately, that has not translated to an improved security picture for NTP. more

Why Registry Service Providers Should be Accredited by ICANN

The merits of a Registry Service Provider accreditation programs have been debated across the Domain Industry since the most recent round of Domain Name Registries were introduced starting in 2012. This post discusses the early reasoning in support of an accreditation program; changes in the policy considerations between 2012 and now; the effects of competition on the landscape; a suggestion for how such a program might be implemented; and why such a program should be introduced now. more