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“Pre-application” topic to be on agenda at December meeting.

The ICANN Board has instructed ICANN staff to prepare a report about accepting pre-applications or “expressions of interest” for new top level domain names. The board requested the staff to

…study the potential impact of a call for formal “expressions of interest,” and provide a plan for Board consideration at ICANN’s next Board meeting, in December 2009. The plan should include possible options and a risk analysis relating to the proposed action.

The idea was first publicly raised at the ICANN meeting in Seoul last month, and the board voted to approve a resolution for the staff to examine it.

The working group released some more information, and I like where this is headed:

1. Applicants will submit a fee with their “expression of interest”. Right now it’s penciled in at $100,000, but the idea is to make it enough that people won’t try to game the system.

2. Only people who make an expression of interest will be able to apply for a new TLD in the first round.

I think this is a good idea to get a handle on pontential applicant demand for new TLDs and to understand any unforseen issues that may come up regarding particular TLDs. But new TLD proponents are probably wary of the Board’s language, given the use of terms such as “study” and “risk analysis”. There will also be a 30 day comment period.

© DomainNameWire.com 2009.

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Related posts:

1. ICANN Advertises to the Mainstream, Update on New TLDs
2. ICANN Asks GNSO to Weigh-in on Domain Trademark Issues by December
3. ICANN Bonuses Tied to New Top Level Domain Rollout

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Popular newsletter to run online auction.

LuxuryNames.com will hold an online domain auction November 18-24 on the Snapnames platform.

LuxuryNames.com is known for its once-or-twice monthly newsletters with domain names for sale. The recently-launched newsletter has resulted in over $250,000 in sales over the past three months.

The auction will include about 200 domain names, and 80% of the reserves will be $1,500 or less. The catalog will include .com, .net, and .org domain names, with a focus on .com. Domains were selected based on SEO, age, quality, and price. The catalog is nearly finalized and will be released this Wednesday. Initial domains include refinancecalculator.com, autoloancalculator.com, debtcollection.net, drumsets.org.

It will be interesting to see the company move beyond its newsletters to an auction format. The company isn’t doing this for an immediate payoff; it is not charging a commission to sellers above the SnapNames commission.

Submissions are no longer being accepted for this month’s auction, but LuxuryNames will accept submissions for future auctions. If all goes well, and if the company can get enough quality domains, it hopes to hold an online auction quarterly.

© DomainNameWire.com 2009.

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Related posts:

1. SnapNames Opens Submissions for SnapNames Live Auction
2. Sedo to Hold Numeric Domain Name Auction
3. Name.com Launches Domain Name Sales Newsletter

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Leading this weeks Afternic DLS sales report would be GolfClubs.com GolfShop.com for six figures, if the exact amount would have been reported. Other highlights include SonographySchools.com for $12,0000,  SinglesPlace.com for $7,500 and Esmeralda for $7,370.00.

See the full reported sales after the jump.

.COM

Other TLDs

(c) 2009 DomainNameNews.com

Upcoming Domain Industry Events, Conferences & Auctions

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Janet Jackson wins domain name at arbitration.

You can excuse Janet Jackson for not registering the RhythmNation1814.com domain name when she originally released her hit album. After all, it was 1989 when Jackson released the album with #1 hits “Miss You Much” and “Escapade”. Domain names weren’t on top of most peoples’ minds back then.

Nonetheless, Jackson’s company probably should have thought to register the domain before the current registrant snapped it up in 2004. It would have saved her a little bit of money and time. Instead, Janet Jackson filed an arbitration case at National Arbitration Forum to get the domain name. Not surprisingly, Jackson won the case. The registrant of the domain didn’t even bother responding.

So on this, the twentieth anniversary of the record’s release, Janet Jackson finally has her domain. What will she do with it?

© DomainNameWire.com 2009.

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2. Ron Jackson Resigns from Bido.com
3. National Arbitration Forum Settles Suit with Attorney General

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Afilias release .info domain names.

.Info registry Afilias is letting go of a number of premium domains that were originally reserved under its sunrise period. People claimed bogus rights to domains such as mortgage.info, miami.info, and Jesus.info. Now these domain names can be yours — if you have a good plan to develop them.

Afilias is accepting applications for each of the domains, and will award domain names to applicants who have a solid plan to develop the domains. The idea is to boost the .info brand, much like what Neustar did with accepting RFPs for one and two character .biz domain names. That effort resulted in a major marketing push by Overstock.com, which has launched a site a O.biz.

This is a great opportunity for people looking to develop domains. Sure, you could pay $250 to apply and get rejected. But is that such a big risk for USA.info, Stocks.info, or Soccer.info?

© DomainNameWire.com 2009.

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Related posts:

1. Afilias Accidentally Deletes .Info Domains from RGP
2. .Info Hits 4 Million Registrations
3. Get ready for the great .info drop

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Online advertising company loses case and is reprimanded by arbitrator.

New York based online advertising company MediaWhiz has been found guilty of attempted reverse domain name hijacking of the MediaWiz.biz domain name.

MediaWhiz’s arbitration case was doomed from the start based on the date of its trademark and when the MediaWiz.biz domain was registered. The company was awarded a trademark in 2006, claiming first use in 2002. Not only was it for only a graphical mark, but the respondent’s domain name was registered in 2001. On that basis alone, MediaWhiz would have lost the case unless it proved that the Indian company behind MediaWiz.biz was psychic.

It didn’t help MediaWhiz’s case that the respondent’s domain name has been used for many years, and its web site clearly states the company has been around since 1995.

In finding reverse domain name hijacking against MediaWhiz Holdings, domain arbitrator Sebastian Hughes wrote:

Indeed, this is not a case where the Complainant simply failed to conduct reasonable investigations. The facts of this case suggest that it should have been apparent to the Complainant, on the basis of its own investigations, that it could not reasonably succeed in bringing a complaint under the Policy, particularly given the lack of distinctiveness of the words “Media Wiz” when used in respect of marketing services, and the likelihood that other traders in countries where English is commonly spoken and used in business, such as India, might choose to use such a name in respect of their legitimate business.

Faced with evidence immediately apparent on the home page of the Website that the Respondent, MediaWiz Services Private Limited, had been established under the name “MediaWiz” since 1995, and knowing that its rights in respect of the name “Media Whiz” went back to, at the earliest, 2002, the Complainant nonetheless chose to commence this proceeding in circumstances where its odds of success, should the Respondent choose to contest the proceeding, were miniscule (sic).

Domain attorney John Berryhill represented the respondent.

Another relevant question: How much traffic does MediaWhiz lose to MediaWiz.com, a home theater company?

© DomainNameWire.com 2009.

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Related posts:

1. Australian Company Wants .Com, Gets Nailed for Reverse Domain Hijacking
2. State Fund Insurance Nailed for Reverse Domain Name Hijacking
3. Casinos.org Prevails, But No Reverse Domain Name Hijacking?

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Sedo’s latest domain market study shows how the online property investment continues to outpace bricks and mortar market

 
Sedo today announces findings from its latest Quarterly Domain Market Study, highlighting the continued growth of the online property market.  The last quarter has witnessed a 5.5 per cent increase on the number of domains changing hands on the Sedo marketplace, compared to Q2 2009 with…

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Social gadget company upgrades its domain name.

Sedo has brokered the sale of Poken.com for $75,000 to a company that bills itself as a mobile social business card.

According to the web site, “poken is your ’social business card.’ it’s an easy way to share your contact details and online social networks in the real world. just hold two poken palms together – high4! – and you’re connected.”

The web site makes it look like a product primarily for teenagers. This domain is a big upgrade, as it appears the company has been using DoYouPoken.com as its web site.

Sedo had a number of impressive sales this week, including the first batch of two character .de domains to close. Here are other notable sales:

.COM
dmg.com 64,000 USD
clubbeats.com 25,000 USD
miel.com 15,000 USD Honey in Spanish
inkpixie.com 11,200 USD
winzer.com 10,000 EUR Grape picker in German
elda.com 9,990 USD
messaggiamo.com 8,000 EUR
teampoint.com 7,000 USD
debtplan.com 6,000 USD
galoshes.com 5,600 USD
argument.com 5,301 USD
pnz.com 5,300 USD
wowtoday.com 5,000 USD
iwinweekly.com 5,000 USD
zlf.com 4,999 USD
thermoman.com 4,500 EUR
buckup.com 4,500 USD
topstocks.com 4,300 USD

ccTLDs
it.de 36,100 EUR
onlinebingo.fr 36,000 EUR
d.de 35,000 EUR
acheter.fr 28,000 EUR To buy in French
vs.de 21,000 EUR
fc.de 11,000 EUR
cs.de 10,000 EUR
reg.de 8,100 EUR
chat.me 6,100 USD
businesssupport.co.uk 5,550 GBP
u2.de 5,352 EUR
no.de 5,200 EUR
ue.de 5,109 EUR
ii.de 5,100 EUR
ll.de 5,100 EUR
ol.de 5,100 EUR
rf.de 5,100 EUR
yo.de 5,100 EUR
ff.de 5,000 EUR
bingosites.co.uk 5,000 GBP
al.de 4,720 EUR
jp.de 4,700 EUR
24.tv 4,500 EUR
entradasbaratas.es 4,400 EUR
fl.de 4,211 EUR
allegro.bg 4,000 EUR Cheerful in Italian
android.de 4,000 EUR

Other
tchat.info 12,000 EUR
r.biz 8,855 USD
h.biz 8,177 USD
k.biz 6,900 USD
gynecology.net 5,000 USD
lawfirms.net 4,500 USD
herhealth.org 4,000 USD
bhg.net 4,000 USD

© DomainNameWire.com 2009.

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Related posts:

1. GoDaddy Looks to Social Networking for Growth
2. Private Jet Company Buys Jets.com

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We didn’t have to wait long for a class action to be filed. As we posted earlier it was just a matter of time before the sharks bit. The weekend gave Cueto Law Group and their lead plaintiff Carlos A. Cueto enough time to put together a filing against SnapNames.

Andrew at DNW and I were having a call when he ran across the press release marking this as the first class action against SnapNames.

(c) 2009 DomainNameNews.com

Upcoming Domain Industry Events, Conferences & Auctions

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Lawsuit filed over bidding scandal.

The first class auction against Snapnames over the bidding scandal has been filed.

The lawsuit was brought by the Cueto Law Group law firm, and filed in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court in Florida. The lead plaintiff is Carlos A. Cueto, while the law firm is led by Santiago A. Cueto. I’m checking on the connection between the two people.

According to a press release from the company:

The domain name industry is the wild west of intellectual property because it remains unregulated. The online community has been up in arms over what they feel has been an opaque system that just begs for transparency. It is impossible to know whether you are bidding against someone that isn’t working or affiliated with the company conducting the auction,” said attorney Santiago A. Cueto.

“Domain names are the last frontier for the average person to stake their claim on some very valuable property. The Defendants’ conduct has made it harder for people to do so and we intend to put a stop to this practice, which we perceive as being a major concern in the industry,” added attorney Santiago A. Cueto.

You can expect more lawsuits, if the money is there for the lawyers.

© DomainNameWire.com 2009.

Review and rate domain name parking companies at Parking Judge.

Related posts:

1. Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Network Solutions, ICANN
2. Ad.com Sale Falls Through, Lawsuit Filed
3. Network Solutions Settles Class Action from Frontrunning Practice

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