LOS ANGELES, CA – On Thursday, April 30, ICANN, The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, based in Los Angeles, CA, made a tough decision to protect the global non-profit community, by rejecting a controversial deal announced in November 2019, that PIR, Public Interest Registry, a non-profit company which owns and manages the rights to the registry for ‘.org’ domain names, would be sold and ultimately converted to a for-profit entity owned by Ethos Capital. … [Read more...]
ICANN, PIR, Ethos Capital “Circus” Continues with Yet Another Letter from California AG
PALM BEACH, FL – The trio making a mockery of the definition of “public good” are probably hoping for another worldwide catastrophe to deflect the unwanted attention off their sour deal of transferring the .org registry from a non-profit (PIR) “Public Interest Registry” to a for-profit entity called “Ethos Capital” because the current one just isn’t enough. In a letter dated April 15, 2020, the attorney general of California, Xavier Becerra, has written yet another … [Read more...]
ICANN Moves Forward With 20 Million Deal While World Preoccupied with Epidemic
PALM BEACH, FL – Rahm Emanuel once said, “You never let a serious crisis go to waste.” I’d bet that’s been on the mind of ICANN, The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, these last couple weeks, as President and CEO, Göran Marby, announced the organization has decided to move forward with its controversial twenty-million-dollar deal, many feel is nothing short of a bribe, with its latest renewal of the .com Registry Agreement with Verisign. The … [Read more...]
Will Coronavirus Create Pandemic Volatility and Effect The Domain Name Industry?
PALM BEACH, FL - According to the CDC, the corona virus, now known as COVID-19, is expected to create a pandemic in the United States very soon. There are already cases in the Boston area which are being closely monitored with some people in quarantine. California has also seen its first case at the LAX airport. It's not so much a question of if this will happen anymore but rather more a question of exactly when this will happen and how many people in this country will … [Read more...]
Nonprofit “ICANN” Exists to Serve the Public Good, Or Does It? What Say You?
PALM BEACH, FL – An important awareness message came out of The Internet Commerce Association (ICA) today, and it should make, even the least interested shopper, question whether or not price increases to consumers are justified when an item or service is purchased from a company with specific oversight from an authoritative body. Whether it is over domain names, or anything else, the question should be, when does a company - any company, which is permitted to … [Read more...]
Bad News for ICANN: Pressure Intensifies for Decision Behind .Org Price Cap Removals
PALM BEACH, FL – Sometimes they say “where there is smoke, there is fire,” and the room keeps getting hotter for ICANN, The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, for its poor, super-controversial and extremely suspect decision to allow the Registry Agreement with Public Interest Registry to renew without price-caps in place. The whole situation is turning into a hot potato / can of worm’s scenario where -if- any backroom deals or funny business exists; … [Read more...]
NamesCon Global 2020 Domain Auction to Include Two “Good Cause” Domain Sales
PALM BEACH, FL – If you will be participating in the live domain auction which will take place Thursday, January 30 at the Omni Hotel (Downtown) in Austin Texas, you’ll have the chance to not only scoop up what will likely be some great domain deals, but you’ll also be able to help contribute with two sales having a portion of their proceeds benefiting domainers directions.com and toolchest.com. When the action begins at 4:30 pm Central Standard Time, you’ll want to pay … [Read more...]
Wyden: “I Will Explore Every Avenue To Ensure Users, Nonprofits Are Protected”
PALM BEACH, FL - In the ongoing debacle which has highlighted ICANN's unusual position on the .org registry sale which resulted in the billion-dollar sale of .org to a private equity company, US Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) told The Register that the response from Ethos Capital to his and several of his colleges concerns regarding the sale .org - just isn't good enough. ....nothing in this response addresses my concerns that selling .org to a private equity firm would be a … [Read more...]
Laundry List of Questions on .ORG Sale Delivered by Congress to Ethos, IS, PIR
PALM BEACH, FL – A letter signed off by four U.S representatives, one of which is presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren, was delivered to Ethos Capital, Internet Society and Public Interest Registry posing a long list of questions regarding the future operation of the .org domain registry. Among these questions, is what guarantee will be provided that the registry will not be relocated outside of the United States, which could put the domain name, widely used for U.S. … [Read more...]
ROOTS: Frank Schilling, Uniregistry, Join ICA; Group Sees Busy Year With Slew of Issues
PALM BEACH, FL – According to an internal membership notification, this past week, Frank Schilling, known for amassing one of the world's most valuable domain name portfolios as well as building one of the most robust domain name platforms in the industry, “Uniregistry,” has returned to the Internet Commerce Association as a “Gold” member; there are currently five (5) membership levels (Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Individual). The ICA has been especially busy this … [Read more...]
Blowback: All Eyes on ICANN Over Poor Decision to Allow Price Cap Removal
PALM BEACH, NY – Unanswered questions and lots [and lots] of suspicion swirls around ICANN, The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, and its own transparency – all due to its super-controversial decision to allow the Registry Agreement with Public Interest Registry to renew without price-caps in place. It’s a decision that keeps coming back to haunt them, likely until this “.org” fiasco deal finally dies. If the organization (ICANN), which is supposed be … [Read more...]
Profiteering? ICANN’s “Terrible Blunder” Expected to Cost Non-Profits Dearly
PALM BEACH, FL – On November 13, 2019, news began circling that Public Interest Registry (PIR), the Reston, Virginia-based not-for-profit created to manage the “.org” top-level domain name had been acquired by a private equity management firm called Ethos Capital. Since then, the ICA, Internet Commerce Association, a non-profit organization representing domain owners, delivered a letter to ICANN, The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, calling on the … [Read more...]
With Price Caps Removed, Dot Org Domain Name Registry Acquired by Ethos Capital
PALM BEACH, FL – In a move that surprises few industry experts, Public Interest Registry (PIR), the Reston, Virginia-based not-for-profit created by the Internet Society in 2002 to manage the “.org” top-level domain name has been acquired by private equity management firm Ethos Capital. The acquisition comes shortly after ICANN, The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, permitted the removal of price caps on “.org” domain name registrations on June 30, … [Read more...]
CVS Pharmacy Files WIPO Against “CVS.inc” Domain; Reg Fees Headed Towards Earth
PALM BEACH, FL – It looks like CVS Pharmacy, Inc. isn’t too thrilled with the recent registration of the nGTLD domain name “CVS.inc” which looks to have been registered in May, 2019. The pharmacy company has filed a WIPO dispute (WIPO D2019-2615) which will likely result in a TRANSFER as the majority of their complaints follow that trend. The “CVS.inc” domain name is listed on the get.inc website under “Who's Buying” in the ”recent registrations section” for companies … [Read more...]
Lawyer Says Domain Name Investors Are “Hijacking and Ransoming Domains”
PALM BEACH, FL – This is an interesting topic by itself, although I covered something very much like it just the other day in "Panels Consistently Find That 'Domain Investing' Is Legitimate Bona Fide Offering". A lawyer named Tamara Kurtzman wrote an article that appeared on the website of the American Bar Association which details her opinion that “Domain Name Investing” should really be considered “Domain Name Hoarding” and labeled as “Anticipatory … [Read more...]