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. Ron Wyden is very active on issues involving internet freedom and has been called a hero for introducing … [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. The letter signed off by four United States Representatives, all democrats, sending questions about the proposed .org registry sale. Among these questions, is what guarantee will … [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). Schilling's return to ICA is … [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 … [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...]
Domain Industry Takes Note of ICANN Update to Public Comment Guidelines
PALM BEACH, FL – On October 9, 2019, ICANN, The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, a nonprofit corporation that sets policy for the global Domain Name System (DNS), updated its “policy guidelines” for how it collects and takes into considering feedback from the ICANN community or the general public. The update was posted on the organizations website by David Olive, Senior Vice President of Policy Development Support. The ICANN site states the … [Read more...]
LGBT Domain Registration Service, PrideLife LLC, Announces Relationship With Afilias
PALM BEACH, FL - A new domain name registration service is hoping its partnership with Afilias and its "LGBT" theme will help spotlight its business, which caters to the LGBT community and offers domain name registrations such as the new ".lgbt" domain name. The service, PrideLife LLC (getpridelife.lgbt), also suggests other alternative Afilias sponsored gTLDs such as ".red", ".pink", ".black" and others. The .lgbt TLD was delegated by ICANN in 2014 and shows just under … [Read more...]
Surprise, Surprise: ICANN Renews “.Org” Registry Agreement, “Price Caps” Removed
PALM BEACH - On June 30, 2019, ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) announced that it had renewed its Registry Agreement with Public Interest Registry which operates the .org top-level domain. At major issue was whether the agreement would be renewed “as-is” with long-standing price caps removed. After public outcry a comment period was held with just six (“6”) [about 0.18%] out of 3,252 comments being in favor of removing the price caps; … [Read more...]
Forbes Cites Survey Saying 70.5% Don’t Trust Alternatives Domain Names
PALM BEACH – According to Forbes, 70.5% of consumers don’t trust newer alternative Internet domain names over legacy names. These figures, used in their recent article titled, “Strategies for Getting The Most Out Of Your New Domain Name” were cited from a survey of 1,000 people across the UK who represented a range of ages. Those surveyed were asked, “Do you trust companies with .co.uk and .com domains more than those with other newer domains like .eu, .biz, .net, .fashion, … [Read more...]
Seven Days Remain to State Your Case on Price Cap Removal for Legacy Domains
PALM BEACH – ICANN, The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, and PIR, Public Interest Registry, are considering the removal of current ‘price caps’ on legacy domain extensions such as “.org”, “.biz”, and “.info”; if you have an opinion on them doing so, you have limited time to make your comments and opinions heard as the window for public comment proceedings will close in seven days on April 29, 2019. The current Registry Agreements expire soon and they … [Read more...]
Not So Fast: Fierce Battle Over Use of .Amazon gTLD String Not Settled Yet…
NEW YORK, NY – Big news some thought when U.S. tech giant Amazon was given approval to operate the .amazon URL, even after Brazil, Peru, and other governments objected on the grounds that private use of the .amazon URL would violate public interest and damage the countries in the Amazon region. According to domain industry news site Domain Incite, the Amazon countries are continuing their fight against the decision by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers … [Read more...]
“Global Internet Crash” Diverted As ICANN Implements DNS Security Enhancements
NEW YORK, NY – Early last month, The Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which is responsible for maintaining the registry of domain names and IP addresses, was preparing to implement the very first change to the “cryptographic keys” which help protect the Domain Name System (DNS) - the Internet's address book. The change had been delayed for over a year as ICANN reviewed last-minute data about the change and accessed any potential risk to the … [Read more...]