DOMAIN NAMES
SITES
DNS Index - Domain Name Resource
Articles about the domain name system, interviews with domain brokers, links to registrars, etc.
Domain Magistrate
A guide to domain name disputes - with information on complaints filed against cybersquatters, results of administrative hearings, etc.
Domain Name Supporting Organization of ICANN
Information on and communications from the Domain Name Supporting Organization (DNSO), an organization consisting of a Names Council and a General Assembly, which advises the ICANN board on policy issues.
DomainMagistrate
Network Solutions' "online center for domain name dispute assistance" - with information on ICANN's dispute resolution policy, and information on organizations that can help resolve disputes.
eToys-sucks.com
A grassroots site criticizing the manner in which eToys has sued, and shut down, etoy.com, an artist-run website.
Fight Back This Christmas
A grassroots site criticizing eToys' actions against etoy.
ICANNWatch
A site that links to articles, publishes essays, and reports news about ICANN, the organization that administratively manages the Domain Name System.
The Internet Democracy Project
"... to enhance the participation of Internet users worldwide in non-governmental bodies that are setting Internet policy and to advocate that these bodies adhere to principles of open participation, public accountability and human rights."
Multilingual Internet Names Consortium
A non-profit international consortium promoting the multilingualisation of Internet domain names and internationalization of Internet names standards.
Unclaimed Domains
A fee-based service that provides a weekly list of previously-taken domain names that become available due to non-payment.
Whois.net
Whois tools, for looking up the owners and availability of domain names. Includes an inaccurate list of domain names that have recently become available due to non-payment.
ARTICLES
'Be Grateful for Etoy'
John Perry Barlow, co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, has joined an etoy "Crisis Advisory Board" to protest eToys' actions against the online artist group. (12/17/1999 at Wired News)
'Dot-info' Web Addresses Become Active
Afilias, the company running the .info top-level domain, says about 52,000 trademark holders have registered domain names under .info; they expect to issue about 250,000 more by the end of the week. (9/24/2001 at USA Today)
'Hijacked' Domain Saga Continues
After PR company Portfolio Metrica's domain name, www.portfoliocomms.com, allegedly expired, Mark Duane of Wisconsin registered the domain and put it up for auction on eBay. (4/26/2001 at The Register)
the (Domain) Name Game
A short history of domain names, and a look at what you can do when your first-choice domain name isn't available. (10/15/2001 at WDVL)
.Info Racks Up a Half-Million Customers
According to Afilias, customers have registered half a million .info domain names; 50,000 during the "sunrise" period, the rest afterward. (10/24/2001 at InternetNews.com)
2 Groups Try to Involve Public in Internet Address Policy
ICANN has released a report suggesting that at-large members of the organization should pay a fee; the NAIS report, by the Center for Democracy and Technology and 10 other organizations, wants ICANN to have relaxed membership and voting rules. (8/31/2001 at The New York Times)
2 Outspoken Critics Elected to ICANN Board
Karl Auerbach (Cisco), elected as North American representative to ICANN, says ICANN is a group he "wouldn't trust for anything." Andy Mueller-Maguhn (Chaos Computer Club), representative for Europe, is expected to hold similar views. (10/11/2000 at The Industry Standard)
The 411 on Dot-Info Disputes
Many non-trademark-holders who registered generic words in the .info domain space are losing them to trademark and non-trademark holders. (12/14/2001 at Wired News)
7 Domains to Compete With .Com
ICANN has approved 7 new top-level domains: .info, .biz, .pro, .name, .museum, .aero, and .coop. Also, Esther Dyson stepped down as chairwoman, Vint Cerf stepped up as chairman, and the new board members joined. (11/17/2000 at The New York Times)
ACLU Fires Shot Across ICANN's Bow
The ACLU, supported by several privacy and free-speech organizations, has attacked ICANN's process of awarding new top-level domain names and called for Congressional hearings. (1/18/2001 at NewsBytes)
Afternic.com: Cybersquatter's Best Friend?
Jon Whelan and Chris Maroney, co-CEOs of afternic.com, have created a service for auctioning domain names. (11/17/1999 at The Industry Standard)
Agency to Vote on Web Domain Names
ICANN will soon vote on new top-level domains, implementing "the largest structural change to the Internet since the late 1980's." (11/16/2000 at The New York Times)
Appeals Judges Confirm That Courts Trump ICANN's UDRP
A U.S. court has ruled that domain-name registrants who lose their domains under ICANN's UDRP (Uniform Domain-Name Dispute Resolution Policy) can appeal such decisions in U.S. courts under the U.S. Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA). (12/6/2001 at NewsBytes)
Arbitration Firm Quits Domain-Dispute Business
EResolution is ending its domain-name dispute arbitration services, saying trademark holders choose other arbitrators that heavily favor business. EResolution has ruled for trademark owners in 63.4% of cases; other arbitrators, about 82% of the time. (12/3/2001 at NewsBytes)
Avoiding Legal Trouble When Registering Domain Names
An attorney clears up some misconceptions about the legality of registering domain names, especially for the purpose of reselling them. (9/28/2000 at WebReference.com)
Bringing Democracy to Net Naming
Several organizations aimed at furthering non-commercial interests on the Internet and keeping an eye on ICANN are popping up. (7/19/2000 at The Boston Globe)
Bulk Confusion at BulkRegister
BulkRegister takes responsibility for losing several of its customers' domain names, but says that fixing the problem could take months, and the outcome might not satisfy its customers. (1/19/2000 at Wired News)
BulkRegister Domain Glitch Costs Customers
BulkRegister.com, an ICANN-accredited domain name registrar, seems to have erroneously told its customers that they had successfully registered already-taken domain names. (1/19/2000 at ZDNet)
Bulkregister.com Sued Over Telemarketing
Domain name registrar Bulkregister.com, which phoned over 125,000 domain name holders to offer its domain name registration services, is being sued for possibly violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. (2/14/2000 at InternetNews.com)
Can Free Speech, the Internet Co-Exist?
Ralph Nader's Consumer Project on Technology is calling for the creation of seven new top-level domains that would be reserved for free speech purposes: ".union," ".sucks," ".complaints" and more. (3/1/2000 at ZDNet)
Candidate for the (Net) People
Computer scientist Barbara Simons decided to run for a seat on the board of ICANN due to the lack of women at that organization; but is now more concerned with ICANN's perceived pandering to corporate interests. (10/6/2000 at Salon.com)
Candidates Challenge ICANN Dominance
From October 1st to 11th, ICANN at-large members will vote candidates onto the ICANN board of directors; a number of candidates are running on anti-ICANN platforms, and complaining about lack of access to voter lists. (9/18/2000 at ZDNet)
Catchy Domain Names Lose Their Luster
Owners of supposedly valuable domain names - like jewelry.com and garden.com - are finding that their Internet addresses don't necessarily guarantee either funding or profits. (10/16/2000 at News.com)
Comedian Rita Rudner Wins Web Site
The WIPO has ruled hat Internetco Corp. of Pennsylvania must transfer a domain it registered, ritarudner.com, to the actress. (8/9/2000 at The Nando Times - Techserver)
Commerce Dept. Tells ICANN To Wait
The U.S. Commerce Department has told ICANN to hold off on its new deal with VeriSign, that would allow VeriSign subsidiary Network Solutions to retain control of the .com registry and continue its registrar business. (4/26/2001 at ZDNet)
Competition Is Heating Up for Control of .org Domain
Paul Vixie and Carl Malamud, both figures in the open-source software arena, are joining in the competition to take over the .org registry from Verisign. (6/15/2002 at The New York Times)
Congress Should Stay Out Of Cybersquatting - Patent Office
The US Patenet and Trademark Office says that Congress should hold off on passing any anti-cybersquatting laws, and the government should not take the responsibility of maintaining an online list of candidates and government officials. (1/19/2001 at NewsBytes)
Congress to ICANN: Do Your Thing
In the wake of a Congressional report stating that there was nothing wrong with giving control of the domain name system to ICANN, many media reports continue to focus on ICANN's foes' complaints. (7/10/2000 at The Industry Standard)
Congressional Committee Launches ICANN Inquiry
Republican congressman Billy Tauzin has informed ICANN that the U.S. Congress will hold a hearing reviewing the process by which ICANN granted seven applicants control of seven new top-level domains. (1/12/2001 at NewsBytes)
Connolly Wins Web Name Battle
Scottish comedian/actor Billy Connolly was awarded the domain name billyconnolly.com, which had supposedly been used to advertise the previous owner's dog's mating services. (2/21/2001 at BBC News)
Cybersquatting Among the Ruins
Even before the second World Trade Center tower was hit on September 11th, 2001, Net users were registering domain names like "wtccrash.com". (10/1/2001 at Salon.com)
Debating the Internet's Domain
An account of the debate among six of the candidates for the North American seat on ICANN's board, held at MIT in October, 2000. (10/3/2000 at Wired News)
The Decline of the Roman Empire
Companies and consortiums are developing technology to allow non-Roman characters (Japanese, Arabic, etc.) in domain names. (9/4/2000 at The Industry Standard)
DNSO Names Council UDRP Questionnaire
ICANN is soliciting opinions on its Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP). (1/10/2002 at ICANN)
Dodi's Still His Father's Son
Under the new domain name arbitration rules, the WIPO ruled that an Ohio man must give up the domain dodialfayed.com to Dodi's father's company, Harrod's. (3/17/2000 at Wired News)
Domain Dispute Hits a Dot
Pitcairn Island, population 50, has finally been given control of the .pn top-level domain by ICANN. Two island residents had previously maintained control of the resource. (2/14/2000 at Wired News)
Domain Losers Take Fight to Congress
Due to lobbying by the losers in the competition to administer new top-level domain names, the U.S. Congress will review ICANN's decision to approve seven new domain-name suffixes. (1/12/2001 at The Washington Post)
Domain Name Causes Dust-Up Among Bakeries
Two bakeries in Racine, Wisconsin, are battling over the domain name racinekringle.com. (3/1/2001 at Star-Tribune)
Domain Name Real Estate Soars Higher Than Ever
The domain name "business.com" has sold for $7.5 million, but the owner of "america.com" has rejected an even loftier bid. Links to media coverage of the sale. (12/1/1999 at The Industry Standard)
Domain Name Ripoff Alert - EDNM
Examines a domain name "monitoring" service that is soliciting domain name owners, trying to convince them to "protect" their intellectual property against other domain name owners. (10/26/2000 at evolt.org)
Domain Winner Loses Big
In what should have been a simple transfer of domain names, Network Solutions screwed up, and an entrepreneur buying races.com from the previous owner lost the domain he paid for. Network Solution's response: "Oops." (12/11/1999 at Wired News)
Don't Take My Name In Vain
A look at the legal issues involved in attempts by famous people - including Julia Roberts (U.S. actress) and Jeanette Winterson (UK author) - to claim domain names bases on their own names which are already registered by others. (6/13/2000 at Domain Notes)
Dot-Info Challenges Name-Grabs
Afilias, which manages the dot-info top-level domain, plans to challenge 10,000 of the 50,000 .info domain name registrations which were made since it opened registration this summer. (12/5/2001 at Wired News)
Dot-PS: Domain Without a Country
Though ICANN delegated the .ps country code Top-Level Domain to the Occupied Palestinian Territories in March 2000, problems have kept any domains except gov.ps from being registered; that should soon change. (1/17/2001 at Wired News)
Dot.com Conflicts Scrutinised
The WIPO is calling a conference in the hopes of standardizing rules for granting domain names under country-code names (.uk, .ca, etc.). (2/21/2001 at BBC News)
DotTV Wants to Be Your Domain
The company selling domains under the .tv TLD (china.tv, free.tv, etc.) hope they'll do better than the folks selling under the .tm, .nu, .md, and .to domain names. (8/31/2000 at Wired News)
Dow Jones Bests Cybersquatter
A WIPO arbitrator has ruled that the domain name "dowjonesonline.com" be transferred from its current registrant to Dow Jones and Co. Inc., the New York-based publisher. (8/29/2000 at USA Today)
E-Toy Story
A look at eToys's trademark lawsuit against etoy, the European art collective; and a look at the chronology of the use of the respective names and domains. (12/1/1999 at The Village Voice)
Eminent Domain
When the maintainers of the country-code domains (.uk, .ca, etc.) threatened to secede from ICANN, ICANN started paying attention to their demands; perhaps maintainers of alternative registries can use similar tactics. (1/17/2001 at Feed)
Eminent Domain Name
The saga of sex.com - which was registered by Gary Kremen, then apparently stolen by Stephen Michael Cohen, who has turned it into a $400 million a year site - continues to wind its way through courts. (2/7/2000 at Forbes)
Etoy: 'The Fight Isn't Over'
Publicly, eToys says it isn't pursuing its domain-name suit against artist group etoy. But their offer to end litigation seems to have a price attached. (12/30/1999 at Wired News)
eToys Drops Lawsuit Against Artist Group
eToys has agreed to drop its lawsuit against etoy and reimburse the artist group for up to $40,000 in legal fees. Since the lawsuit began, eToys' stock price has dropped over 75% from its 52-week high; the company denies bad publicity was to blame. (1/25/2000 at The New York Times)
EU Closing NSI Investigation
The European Commission's fears of monopoly behavior by NSI have been assuaged by the recent agreement between NSI, ICANN, and the U.S.; but the Commission may want more changes at the end of 2000. (12/22/1999 at The Industry Standard)
Failure to Act Fast Takes People out of Their Domain
According to one source, an average of 19,260 names in the .com, .org, and .net TLDs expired every day for the past month; domain-name speculators are standing by, eager to grab the good ones. (6/4/2001 at USA Today)
First Internet Domain Name Dispute Filed at WIPO
A day after the WIPO implemented rules regarding cyber-squatting, the first case covered by the rules was referred to the organization for arbitration. (12/3/1999 at BusinessToday.com)
First Ruling on Anticybersquatting Law
A U.S. Court has ruled against a Christmas tree company's ownership of a domain name, in the first appellate ruling based on the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act. (2/3/2000 at New York Law Journal)
Fjkheudhxekjdia.com: Get It While You Can
Jared Kendall thinks that the interests of Internet heavyweights (like Amazon.com) outweigh the trademark interests of local businesses (like local bookstores named "Amazon"). (11/15/1999 at CANOE)
France's Le Monde Wins Rights to Internet Address
In WIPO arbitration proceedings, French newspaper Le Monde has won the right to www.le-monde.com from the previous registrant; and Pfizer Inc. has won the domain pfizerindia.com. (9/5/2000 at The New York Times)
Freaked Geeks
A look at the flawed process under which Netizens around the world signed up to vote in ICANN's elections, and the nationalist fervor that spurred many of the registrations. (9/26/2000 at The New Republic Online)
Fury at ICANN/ VeriSign Over .org Domains
A number of .org-owners are pissed off at ICANN's stated plan to require that the TLD be open only to official non-profit organizations. (3/2/2001 at The Register)
Geographic Domains on Shaky Ground
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has ruled that the owners of barcelona.com must hand the domain over to the city of Barcelona, Spain; the owners plan to appeal to a U.S. court for protection. (8/11/2000 at The Industry Standard)
Getting to the Root of All E-Mail
In the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks, U.S. government officials have begun taking more interest in the A root server, the Verisign-hosted computer which generates crucial files for the DNS system twice daily. (3/29/2002 at The Washington Post)
Goo Goos Go Gaga Over Online Handle
The music industry is watching as the Goo Goo Dolls fight with their record label, Warner Brothers, for control of the band's online presence. (12/20/1999 at Cal Law)
Govt. Mulls Ways to Market 'dot-us' Domains
The U.S. government is seeking suggestions on making ".us" domain names more desirable, and increasing their use. (8/28/2000 at USA Today)
Has VeriSign Hoodwinked Competitors?
Some domain name registrars are unhappy with the deal brokered between VeriSign and ICANN, under which VeriSign will maintain possession of the .com registry. (3/2/2001 at Internet World)
High Court Backs Network Solutions
The Supreme Court declined to review a lawsuit which nine individuals and corporations had filed against NSI, alleging that part of the domain name registration fee was an unauthorized tax; validating the fees' validity. (1/18/2000 at The Industry Standard)
Hospital, Madonna Seek Domain Name
The current "owner" of madonna.com wants to give it to Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital, rather than let pop star Madonna have it. (9/13/2000 at Las Vegas Sun)
ICANN Board Ends Meeting Without Deciding Fate of .com Database
Because of complaints from both the public and board members, ICANN is holding off on finalizing its deal with VeriSign to allow the company to continue operating as both a registry and registrar of .com domains. (3/13/2001 at Mercury Center)
ICANN Board Squeezes Squatters
The ICANN board has voted to stop the registering of country names under the .info TLD (e.g., angola.info), and have such country names handed over to the countries themselves. (9/10/2001 at Wired News)
ICANN Closes At-Large Member Sign-Up
ICANN closed applications for at-large membership on July 31, 2000, after 158,000 applications had come in; China and Japan each had more than 30,000 applicants. The U.S. had less than 20,000. (8/1/2000 at Computer World)
ICANN Creates At Large Election and Nominating Committees
ICANN has created two key committees which will help in the selection of five At-Large members for ICANN's Board of Directors. (5/9/2000 at ICANN)
ICANN Elections Under Way
Voting for at-large members of ICANN's board of directors has started; only 76,000 of the 158,000 people who initially signed up to vote activated their accounts, and will be eligible to vote. (10/2/2000 at Wired News)
ICANN Enacts Arbitration Process
ICANN has chosen The National Arbitration Forum as the second group (after the WIPO) that can rule on disputes regarding domain name holders. (12/21/1999 at InternetNews.com)
ICANN Eyes New Vote Plan
ICANN is considering a new voting plan in which anyone who owns a domain would be able to vote for board members, rather than anyone over 16 with an email address. (11/5/2001 at Wired News)
ICANN Faces Enforcement Challenge
A U.S. judge has ordered web-hosting company Verio not to use Register.com's WHOIS database data for marketing purposes; now, Verio insists that ICANN revoke Register.com's accreditation for putting conditions on access to the data. (1/7/2001 at ZDNet Developer)
ICANN Gets Five New Members
A list of the five new members of ICANN's board, and short backgrounds on each. (10/11/2000 at Wired News)
ICANN Inches Toward New Domains
An ICANN committee has suggested to the domain-name-system organization that a policy be put in place for the creation of new generic top-level domain names. Also, Network Solutions proposed the creation of ".shop" and ".banc" GTLDs. (4/19/2000 at Wired News)
ICANN Launches Site for New Membership
ICANN has launched a website at which anyone with an email address and a postal address can sign up to become a member of the organization's at-large membership, despite suggestions from some groups that they delay until membership rules are set. (2/28/2000 at The New York Times)
ICANN Membership Impl. Task Force: Call for Expressions of Interest
ICANN (the organization tasked with oversight of the domain name system) is looking for individuals interested in developing the system by which ordinary Internet users will have a say in DNS matters. (12/1/1999 at ICANN)
ICANN Sneaks in Reserved Names for Existing TLDs
Slashdot discussion of ICANN's apparent exclusion of certain domain names from those that can be registered. (4/29/2001 at Slashdot.org)
ICANN Tables Current Agenda
ICANN has decided, for the near future, to concentrate on the stability of the Internet, rather than on domain name policy. (9/27/2001 at InternetNews.com)
ICANN Taps Nominees
ICANN has picked (and announced the names of) 18 candidates to fill five at-large director positions in the organization; over 200 people were nominated or self-nominated. (8/8/2000 at internet.com)
ICANN Under Siege At Conference
Panelists at the Computers, Freedom, and Privacy 2000 conference had nothing but harsh words for ICANN, the organization now in charge of the domain name system. (4/5/2000 at ZDNet Developer)
ICANN: Net Not Ready for 'Foreign' Languages
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is saying that registries should stop offering internationalized domain names until the board's IDN Internal Working Group meets; but says they're powerless to stop them. (6/5/2001 at The New York Times)
ICANN: New Domains Click Closer To Readiness
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has completed a "base agreement" for operators of the .biz, .info, .pro, and .name top-level domains, and expects the domains to be available soon; .coop, .aero, and .museum will take longer. (3/12/2001 at NewsBytes)
If ICANN Can't, Who Should?
ICANN's president M. Stuart Lynn has come under fire for suggesting that the organization embrace more governmental and corporate control, in an attempt to garner more of the revenue it needs. (2/26/2002 at Wired News)
In New Forum for Domain Name Disputes, Trademark Holders Dominate
74% of the cases handled under ICANN's Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy, a policy meant to discourage cybersuatting, are resolved in favor of trademark owners. (5/19/2000 at The New York Times)
In Search Of: 'Cybersquatter' John Zuccarini
John Zuccarini, who has registered hundreds of domain names that are slight misspellings (e.g. Bitannica.com and Dillbert.com) of other domain names, takes great pains to avoid appearing in court (or for arbitration) when sued. (3/1/2001 at NewsBytes)
Internet Battle Lines Drawn At Extraordinary Geneva Meeting
A recap of the recent "Workshop on Member States' Experiences with ccTLDs" meeting, at which ICANN came under fire for its attempts to gain more control over worldwide Internet governance and policy. (3/6/2003 at The Register)
Internet Labels Lose Meaning in Rush for Popular Addresses
Network Solutions, Inc. stopped examining applicants' requests for domain names for appropriateness in 1995; now the lines between .com, .org, and .net have irretrievably blurred. (11/29/1999 at The New York Times)
Internet Land Rush at TM Office
The US Patent and Trademark office is taking applications for trademarks that include not-yet-created top-level domains like .web, .firm, and .sex; whoever gets the trademark for sex.web, for example, may already be buying the legal rights to the domain. (9/18/2000 at Wired News)
Internet Registrar Under Attack
Network Solutions, Inc.'s (NSI's) decision to resell expired domain names, rather than return them to the pool of available names, is drawing fire. (8/16/2000 at Las Vegas Sun)
Internet Society wins control of ".org" domain
ICANN has selected the Internet Society (ISOC) to take over management of the .org registry. (10/14/2002 at CNN)
The Internet's .1 and Only?
Group One Registry (London) wants to control a ".1" TLD, which will only allow domain names with numerals, which will be associated with cell phones, PDAs, and other "smart" devices; .Kids Domains Inc. wants to be the registrar for ".kids". (10/3/2000 at ZDNet)
Jury Sides With Simon in Lawsuit
An Indianapolis jury has recommended that comparison-shopping site MySimon.com be forced to pay $26.8 million to Simon Property Group, a shopping mall developer, for trademark infringement. (9/2/2000 at The Indianapolis Star)
Karl Auerbach: ICANN "Out of Control"
Karl Auerbach, a publicly-elected member of ICANN's board, talks about what he sees as the organizations' problems. (12/5/2002 at 15 Seconds)
A Leader in Cyberspace, It Seems, Is No Politician
Esther Dyson, chairwoman of ICANN, has come under fire for a lack of diplomacy in dealing with those interested in shaping domain-name policy. But her integrity generally remains unquestioned. (4/10/2000 at The New York Times)
The Lemonade Stand Circa 2000: A Boy, a Site, a $10 Million Lawsuit
Aaron Doades, who registered rapcity.com in 1998, is suing Black Entertainment Television (BET) and Network Solutions Incorporated (NSI) after NSI shut down his domain for interfering with BET's "Rap City" trademark. (1/6/2000 at Business Week)
Making a Name for Oneself
A look at some of the TLDs potential registrars applied for with ICANN. WorldNames want ".nyc" for New York City. (10/6/2000 at ABCNEWS.com)
Making Bad Names for Themselves
Companies like Verizon and Wal-Mart are registering dozens (and sometimes hundreds) of domain names which could be used to criticize them, verizonsucks.com and ihateups.com. (9/8/2000 at The Washington Post)
Malawi Internet Name Row
A foreigner who used to live in Malawi has taken control of the country's top-level domain name (.mw) and so far refused to cede it to the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra); Macra is taking its case to Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (8/2/2000 at BBC News)
Material Girl Wants Her Good Name
Pop star Madonna is trying to get the domain name madonna.com from its current owner, Dan Parisi, the man who registered "whitehouse.com" and turned it into a porn site. (8/22/2000 at Wired News)
MicroStrategy Lawsuit Labels Motorola A 'Cybersquatter'
Data-mining company MicroStrategy Inc. is suing mobile-phone-maker Motorola for trademark infringement and for the domain name Motorola recently registered, "intelligenceeverywhere.com". (2/26/2001 at NewsBytes)
Name Registry Contests ICANN's Right To Suffix
The Atlantic Root Network Inc., which has been allowing customers to "reserve" .biz domain names since May, 2000, is protesting ICANN's award of the TLD to JVTeam. (12/22/2000 at TechWeb)
Net Body Faces Conflicting Power Plays
Two conflicting plans regarding composition of ICANN's board have been presented at the organization's Uruguay meeting: one would reduce at-large board membership to six seats; another would provide country-code administrators with representation. (9/10/2001 at CNN)
Net Colonies Challenge ICANN's Domain
Alternative domain-names registries, which have been registering domain names without ICANN's blessing, challenge ICANN's creation of new top-level domain names, and may contribute to namespace problems on the Net. (1/13/2001 at Mercury Center)
Net Directory Raises Privacy Concerns
The WHOIS database, which lists the owners of Internet domains and their contact information, has traditionally been publicly available; some are calling for the information to be removed from the public eye. (11/15/2000 at USA Today)
Network Solutions: Monopoly Without Risk?
With control of the domain name database for the next 4 years, NSI still has a monopoly, and is looking very attractive to investors with the threat of government interference diminished. (12/1/1999 at The Industry Standard)
New Domain Arbitration Rules Get Results
The first case filed under ICANN's new arbitration procedures has been completed, resulting in the transfer of the domain musicweb.com. (3/14/2000 at New York Law Journal)
New Domain May Unite Europe
The European Union is proposing the creating of a dot-eu (".eu") top-level domain, since the nominally international business TLD, .com, is often perceived as a US-based domain name. (12/20/1999 at Wired News)
The New Masters of Domains
Some feel that the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), in its role as a domain name dispute arbitrator, is trampling on the rights of small businesses, individuals, and cybersquatters. (8/28/2000 at The Industry Standard)
New TLD Application Process Overview
An overview of the process for suggesting new top-level domain names and applying to manage such TLDs. Prepared by ICANN's staff. (8/3/2000 at ICANN)
New TLD Applications
ICANN has posted the application form for those hoping to sponsor or operate new top-level domains (TLDs). (8/15/2000 at ICANN)
New Weapon Against Reverse Domain Name Hijacking
Domain-name holders going before the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) for arbitration of domain-name disputes may have better luck in keeping their domains if they choose someone like Professor Michael Froomkin to decide the case. (3/8/2001 at InternetNews.com)
New Zealanders To Vote Online To Decide New Domain
The citizens of New Zealand will vote (online) to determine whether or not the Internet Society of New Zealand (ISOCNZ) should create a new restricted domain - .bank.nz. (3/6/2001 at NewsBytes)
New.net Defies Domain System
Bill Gross' Idealab has launched a new spinoff: New.net, which plans to allow registration in 20 unsanctioned top-level domains: .shop, .kids, and more; they hope to partner with ISPs and provide a web browser plug-in to encourage use. (3/5/2001 at Wired News)
Prepare Now for ".biz" Cybersquatters
An explanation of some of the legal issues involved in pre-registering or registering for a .biz domain name, and advice on how to proceed. (6/4/2001 at Business 2.0)
Real Cybersquatting Really Sucks
Verizon Wireless is unhappy that hacker magazine 2600 has registered - and intends to use - the domain name verizonreallysucks.com. (5/9/2000 at Wired News)
Regulators Shut Down Pornographic 'Cybertraps'
The FTC is suing John Zuccarini, owner of more than 5,500 domain names that are misspellings of famous names, for trapping users' browsers and forcing them to navigate through pop-up ads for gambling and pornography sites. (10/1/2001 at USA Today)
Russia May Say 'See Ya' to Dot-Su
With the Soviet Union's dissolution, the fate of the .su top-level domain is in question; ICANN spokesman Herbert Vitzthum recently said it would be revoked, but Mary Hewitt, ICANN's director of communications, says it's "still under consideration." (10/19/2002 at Wired News)
Selection of Net Suffixes Defended
In testimony before a U.S. Congressional panel, Dr. Vinton Cerf, new chairman of ICANN, defended the organization's "experiment" in choosing new top-level domain names, while acknowledging that the process was flawed. (2/9/2001 at The New York Times)
Sex.com Finally Heads to Trial
Stephen Michael Cohen, who "stole" the site sex.com from Gary Kremen in 1995, will most likely be ordered to pay millions of dollars to the site's rightful owner. (3/6/2001 at Wired News)
Sex.com Ruling: It Wasn't Stolen
A U.S. District Court judge has ruled that the alleged hijacker of the sex.com domain name did not steal the domain name, because domain names aren't property, but rather designations for a service - like a phone number. (8/25/2000 at Wired News)
Sign on the dot.name Line
Global Name Registry (GNR) has been granted the right to operated the .name TLD by ICANN; they plan on reserving domain names such as smith.name, requiring registration of first/last name combinations like bob.smith.name instead. (8/7/2001 at BBC News)
Squabbling Over Cybersquatters
Any actions from ICANN on creating more generic top-level domain names beyond the big three (.com, .org, and .net) will probably come in the year 2001. (1/28/2000 at The Nando Times - Techserver)
Still More Domain Tips and Tricks
Advice on choosing and purchasing domain names: buy in new TLDs? Domains that will do well in search engine searches. Buying secondary domains. (8/28/2000 at Domain Notes)
Sting Loses Cybersquatting Suit
Famous singer Sting (born Gordon Sumner) has lost his attempt to take control of the domain sting.com from a UK-based gamer who goes by the handle "Sting." (7/31/2000 at NewsBytes)
Strike One Against Cybersquatting
Two test cases for the recent federal Trademark Cyberpiracy Prevention Act are in the works. The defendants are the owners of newyorkyankees.com and harvardlawschool.com. (1/5/2000 at Wired News)
The Advantages of Licensing (Not Selling) Domain Names
Domain-name owners may be better-served by licensing the name, rather than selling it, so that they can reclaim the name if the licensee goes bankrupt or out of business. (12/1/2000 at GigaLaw.com)
Time Warner Wins Potter Domains
Time Warner has been granted "ownership" of 107 domain names related to the words "Harry Potter," most of which had been registered by HarperStephens, apparently a cybersquatter. (12/21/2000 at Wired News)
TLD Applications Lodged (2 October 2000)
A list of some of the top-level domain (TLD) strings proposed to ICANN by potential registrars. (10/2/2000 at ICANN)
Toy Story
EToys, the online toy seller, is suing Etoy, a German prankster collective that predates the corporate giant. David vs. Goliath. (11/30/1999 at Wired News)
Trademarks Winning Domain Fights
Later this year, ICANN will review the arbitration process being used by numerous trademark holders to obtain control of already-registered domain names. (9/4/2000 at The New York Times)
UN Group Evicts Cybersquatters
In recent decisions, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has ruled that cybersquatters must turn over domains to Reuters, Chanel, and author Helen Fielding (creator of Bridget Jones). (10/3/2000 at ZDNet)
VeriSign Critics Press For Investigation
Domain-name registrars are banding together to object to the proposed agreement between VeriSign, ICANN, and the U.S. Department of Commerce that would let VeriSign maintain both its registry and registrar businesses. (3/12/2001 at ZDNet)
VeriSign Expands Domain Names to More Than 350 Languages
VeriSign has announced support for domain names in 180 additional languages, bringing the total to over 350; but warns that some domains being registered may be invalidated when the program is finalized. (4/20/2001 at InfoWorld)
VeriSign Plans Domain Wait List
Domain name registrar plans to create a waiting list for domain names; people on the waiting list will get first shot at expiring domains. (1/4/2002 at Wired News)
VeriSign to Surrender Control Over 'Org,' 'Net' Web-Address Suffixes, Keeping 'Com'
In a somewhat complicated deal, VeriSign Inc. has agreed to eventually give up control of the .org and .net registries, while retaining control of the .com registry; under the agreement with ICANN, VeriSign could also continue its registrar business. (3/1/2001 at The Wall Street Journal)
VeriSign, U.S. Reach Accord
VeriSign Inc. has reached a preliminary agreement with federal regulators which would allow it to continue maintaining the .com registry indefinitely and also continue to sell .com domain names as a registrar. (3/1/2001 at CNNfn)
Want a Top-Level Domain? Be Patient
At its Cairo meeting, ICANN decided to delay creating more top-level domains; but all involved agreed that more should be issued soon. (3/9/2000 at ZDNet)
Warning Issued on International Domains
Internationalization of domain names is an important, but hard-to-solve, problem. The IETF has proposed Nameprep as a short-term solution; others suggest using a directory layer between applications and DNS, or Unicode, or localisation. (3/12/2001 at ZDNet)
Web Addresses Get New Lives
Companies which buy the domain names and assets of dead dot-coms sometimes run into trouble with the liabilities of the old owners - when Allwall.com bought Art.com, for example, they had to deal with an expensive coupon campaign which was ongoing. (10/9/2001 at MSNBC)
Web Addresses Go Multilingual
i-DNS.net International has developed a system that will allow the DNS system to recognize non-ASCII characters, paving the way for allowing non-Roman characters in domain names; NSI and the ICANN-accredited registrars plan to test the system. (8/22/2000 at InfoWorld)
A Web of Babel
An interview with Esther Dyson, former chairwoman of ICANN, regarding New.net, an Idealab-funded company that is trying to establish itself as registrar of 20 new top-level domain names. (3/14/2001 at Salon.com)
Webmaster Granted Benefit Of The Doubt In Domain Dispute
A WIPO arbitrator has ruled against complainants EasyJet Airline Co. of the UK in their attempt to take the domain easy-jet.com from the webmaster who registered it. (8/29/2000 at NewsBytes)
Websense: Mainstream Websites Are Porn Again
Over the past six months, 1500 mainstream websites have become porn sites, and 3000 porn sites have turned mainstream. (11/4/2002 at NUA Internet Surveys)
What's Wrong with ICANN -- and How to Fix It
According to the authors, ICANN has overstepped its bounds by becoming more than just a consensus-building organization, and its structure is fatally flawed. (9/30/2000 at Domain Notes)
Who?.com
A couple of safe bets: the prices of .com domains will keep going up, even as alternative means of locating companies' content, beyond DNS, emerge. (12/16/1999 at ClickZ Network)
Whois in Dot-Info? Everyone
Afilias, which is accepting applications from trademark owners for .info domain names, is apparently letting non-trademark holders register domain names. (8/8/2001 at Wired News)
Why Editors Love Etoy vs. eToys
Everybody loves the Etoy vs. eToys domain-name battle. Editors, cause it's David-vs-Goliath. Reporters, cause they identify with oppressed artists. Readers, cause they can feel good about boycotting a profitless mega-corp. Read all the coverage. (12/20/1999 at The Industry Standard)
Will New Faces Mean Changes At ICANN?
Karl Auerbach, one of five new regional board members for ICANN, wants to get rid of president and chief executive Mike Roberts; and, like the European representative, wants to increase the organization's transparency. (10/13/2000 at ZDNet)
Will U.S. Release Grip on ICANN?
Several ICANN board members doubt that the U.S. government will be willing to give up oversight of ICANN's decisions regarding root domains and servers; chairman Vint Cerf, though, says transfer of authority will occur eventually. (1/19/2002 at Wired News)
WIPO Says: Keep Whois Open (And Keep It Accurate)
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) says Whois data should remain publicly available, to allow identification of people using domains for criminal or otherrwise unwanted activity, among other things. (4/20/2001 at NewsBytes)
WIPO Sends Message to AOL in ICQ Domain-Name Dispute
Peter Rindforth, a WIPO arbitrator, has ruled against America Online in its attempt to wrest icqplus.org from Russian programmer Vadim Eremeev. (3/1/2001 at Computer User)
Would I Join This Club If It Would Have Me as a Member?
An examination of ICANN's General Assembly - the general-membership constituency for the organization. The conclusion: the Assembly holds little power, and may not be worth joining, even for those who want to influence ICANN. (2/18/2000 at Web Review)
WWF's Biggest Battle May Not Be in the Ring
The World Wrestling Federation, which has sued many people who'd bought domain names they claimed diluted their trademark, may lose their own main domain, wwf.com, to the World Wildlife Fund. (9/5/2000 at Webdeveloper.com)
`Google Effect' Reduces Need for Many Domains
With good search engines quickly and accurately getting web users to the websites they want, domain-name speculation and registering multiple domains for different projects becomes less useful. (1/12/2002 at Siliconvalley.com)
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