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auDA Domain Name News - 9 February

09/Feb/2010

auDA Domain Name News is compiled by David Goldstein on auDA's behalf. The views expressed in the news items linked from auDA's website (Linked Documents), do not necessarily reflect the views of auDA. auDA does not warrant the accuracy or reliability of the information contained in the Linked Documents, and assumes no liability to any person for any reliance placed upon any information contained in the Linked Documents.

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GOVERNANCE
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More Thoughts from State of the Net 2010
One of the most highly anticipated panels at last week’s State of the Net Conference was the Judith Krug Memorial Intellectual Freedom Panel, entitled “Global Free Expression: Will the Internet Reign or Get Reined In?”. Held less than one week after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s widely-lauded speech on global Internet freedom and less than one month after Google announced that after suffering cyberattacks traced to the Chinese mainland it would no longer censor search results in China, the panel was a timely and fitting tribute to long-time free speech advocate Judith Krug.
www.cdt.org/blogs/erica-newland/more-thoughts-state-net-2010

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DOMAIN NAMES
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- ICANN
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IDN TLDs: pre-registrations, declined requests, and other misconceptions
Recent statements and speculations have been made concerning the IDN ccTLD Fast Track Process and related issues. People seem to be most concerned about:
blog.icann.org/2010/02/idn-tlds-pre-registrations-declined-requests-etc/

DNGLOBE LLC Loses ICANN Accreditation
ICANN terminated its accreditation agreement with registrar DNGLOBE LLC for failure to comply with the requirements of the Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA), the contract between ICANN and registrars that governs the registration of domain names under generic top-level domains such as dot-com and dot-org.
icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-3-05feb10-en.htm

Public Comment: Your Input Requested on Proposed GNSO Working Group Guidelines
As part of the GNSO Improvements Process, which has as its objective to improve the structure and operations of the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO), a Working Group (WG) Work Team was tasked with developing a Working Group Model. This Working Group Model should become the focal point for policy development and enhance the policy development process by making it more inclusive and representative, and – ultimately – more effective and efficient.
icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-05feb10-en.htm

Public Comment Title: Call for Community Comment on the Proposed Process for the 2010 Selection of an ICANN At-Large Board Member.
Explanation/Background: On 27 August 2009, the ICANN Board of Directors passed a resolution approving in principle the implementation of the Board Review WG recommendation “to add one voting director appointed from the At-Large Community to the ICANN Board of Directors, and removing the present ALAC Liaison to the Board (…).”
icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-2-05feb10-en.htm

Tips to Protect Your Brand in the New Domain Name Marketplace by Joshua Braunstein
Over time, people have grown accustomed to most Web site addresses ending in .com, .edu or .gov. Yet a proposed expansion of the gTLD space by ICANN will change the way we look at domain names forever.
www.circleid.com/posts/20100204_tips_to_protect_your_brand_in_the_new_domain_name_marketplace/

DNGlobe Loses ICANN Accreditation
ICANN has terminated DNGlobe LLC's ICANN accreditation effective February 22 2010.
www.isquattedyour.eu/2010/02/06/dnglobe-loses-icann-accreditation/

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- ccTLD & gTLD NEWS
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au: Web wars: Bolton's Bottle sued for $2.6m
Another year, another legal battle for Nicholas Bolton, although this time he seems to have been left holding the bag for a deal gone wrong. ... According to a writ filed with Victoria's Supreme Court, NEC is claiming $2,687,746.50 from Bolton and one of his companies, Bottle Infrastructure, for non-payment of services.
www.theage.com.au/business/web-wars-boltons-bottle-sued-for-26m-20100208-nnds.html
www.smh.com.au/business/web-wars-boltons-bottle-sued-for-26m-20100208-nnds.html

Has dictator “privatized” .by domain zone? важная новость? 22
By one decree Lukashenka has made so many problems and inconsistencies in ByNet, that the mess is to be cleaned up for many years.
www.charter97.org/en/news/2010/2/8/26148/

ch: Swiss internet now even more secure
Marc Furrer, President of the Federal Communications Commission, and Urs Eppenberger of SWITCH jointly launched the celebratory act in the KKL Luzern.
www.switch.ch/about/news/2010/domainpulse2010-dnssec.html

Colombian ccTLD Relaunch Now Underway
The relaunch of Colombia's ccTLD got underway within the last couple of hours and the new registry operator is already reporting several hundred domains registered. According to a "tweet" from their official account 322 domains were registered in the first few minutes.
www.isquattedyour.eu/2010/02/07/colombian-cctld-relaunch-now-underway/

Public discussion on Cyrillic ccTLD
The discussion about the introduction of the Cyrillic ccTLD was held at the Serbian Chamber of Commerce on 2 February 2010.
rnids.rs/en/node/67?lang=en

8,000 Active .GE Domains in Georgia
About 8,000 active domains are registered in Georgia, according to Caucasus Online , company controlling .GE domain index. According to statistics, in the year 2006 7,000 domains were registered in Georgia, in 3 years the number of domain names increased by a rate of 12.5%.
finchannel.com/Main_News/Tech/57743_8,000_Active_.GE_Domains_in_Georgia_/

RU-CENTER Introduces TRAVEL, AERO and Multi-language NAME TLDs
On February 10, 2010 RU-CENTER is launching registration and maintenance services of domain names in TRAVEL and AERO TLDs, as an official Registrar.
www.nic.ru/news/en/2010/10.02.regl-ch.html

Sweden's .SE Registry Claims Victory Over .Com as ccTLDs Enjoy Growth Spurt in Major Markets Around the Globe
One of the most interesting trends in 2009 was the growth spurt we witnessed in ccTLD sales despite a global economy going through one of the worst economic downturns in the past century.
www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2010/dailyposts/20100205.htm

.tel Names Hit Main Street
Telnic, the organization behind the award-winning .tel names, and Webnames.ca, Canada's original domain registrar, today announced that they have collaborated on the first-ever retail cards for .tel names to be sold in shops and stores.
telnic.com/downloads/RetailCardsPR.pdf

UK government says Nominet EGM changes enough to get it off company’s back
A quick update to my earlier post about voting to ensure that the .uk registry isn’t regulated by the government.
kierenmccarthy.com/2010/02/05/uk-government-says-nominet-egm-changes-enough-to-get-it-off-companys-back/

Vote now to stop government regulation of .uk
Nominet is canvassing support for a crucial Net governance vote that it says will help prevent government regulation of Britain’s dot-uk registry.
kierenmccarthy.com/2010/02/02/vote-now-to-stop-government-regulation-of-uk/

Nominet calls on members to shape the future of .uk
Nominet, the national registry for .uk domain names, will hold an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM), on 24th February 2010 in London that will be a defining moment for the UK domain market and the UK Internet landscape.
www.nominet.org.uk/news/releases/?contentId=7091

Notice of EGM - help shape the future of .uk now
We are pleased to announce that papers for our Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) have been posted or emailed to members to enable you to vote on a number of measures that we believe will strengthen .uk and the domain name industry.
www.nominet.org.uk/news/latest/?contentId=7083

uk: BIS response to EGM proposals
Recently, Nominet's Chairman, Bob Gilbert, wrote to the Department for Business (BIS) to seek their comments on the proposed changes to strengthen .uk and the domain name industry that Nominet is putting to our upcoming Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM).
www.nominet.org.uk/news/latest/?contentId=7101

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- DOMAIN DISPUTES
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Verizon Settles Trademark Domain Name Case
Verizon has reached a tentative settlement with 2Cool Guys, LLC, Warren Weitzman, and Arnold Trebach over alleged trademark infringement from domain name typos.
domainnamewire.com/2010/02/08/verizon-settles-trademark-domain-name-case/

WIPO wraps up first paperless domain dispute
The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) has resolved its first domain infringement dispute in a fully digital format, just a few weeks after the greener and more efficient system was launched. Phased in as one of several changes to WIPO's Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), the paperless method will be the sole route for filing complaints from 1 March 2010.
www.cpaglobal.com/ip-review-online/4281/wipo_wraps_first_paperless_dom

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- IPv4/IPv6
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Down-to-earth benefits promised by infinite internet
What does the problem of dairy farm effluent have in common with IPv6, the new internet addressing scheme? The answer: the latter could assist in disposing of the former, by helping gauge when conditions are right for spreading it over the land.
www.nzherald.co.nz/technology/news/article.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10624312

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- MISCELLANEOUS
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ARIN XXV Registration Now Open
Registration is now open for the ARIN XXV Public Policy and Members Meeting, 18-21 April 2010 in Toronto, Ontario.
https://www.arin.net/announcements/2010/20100201.html

AfriNIC embraces Internet challenges in Africa
For the past five years, Africa Network Information Center resisted taking on assignments outside its scope. As one of the few functioning Internet-related organizations on the continent, AfriNIC now realizes that nothing much is getting done and has decided to widen its scope, but still stay grounded in its original mission.
computerworld.co.ke/articles/2010/02/05/afrinic-embraces-internet-challenges-africa
news.idg.no/cw/art.cfm?id=9F731CE0-1A64-67EA-E4917BC660028BD2
www.thestandard.com/news/2010/02/05/afrinic-embraces-internet-challenges-africa

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- DOMAINING & AFTERMARKET
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Domain auction house wrestles with alleged shill
Oversee.net CEO Jeff Kupietzky has revealed that the company is in active but pending legal action against the former executive who allegedly fixed tens of thousands of its domain-name auctions under the pseudonym “halvarez."
www.theregister.co.uk/2010/02/04/snapnames_scandal_revisited/

My first story in three years – Oversee’s auction scandal
So I’ve written my first news story is what I think is three years. It’s on The Register and is about Oversee’s auction scandal following a discussion with CEO Jeff Kupietzky at Domainfest last week.
kierenmccarthy.com/2010/02/04/my-first-story-in-three-years-oversees-auction-scandal/

Party Time! Trio of Six-Figure Transactions Led By PartySupplies.com at $360,000 Top This Week's Domain Sales Chart
A pair of six-figure transactions at Moniker.com, plus another sale at that level from Sedo.com set the pace in the domain aftermarket this past week. PartySupplies.com leads the parade at $360,000, followed by Sedo's sale of Free-SMS.de at €115,000 ($162,150). HomeRun.com completed the power trio after going for $131,299 at Moniker.
dnjournal.com/archive/domainsales/2010/20100127.htm

With the ccTLD Market Booming Drop.com.au Joins the Growing Competition for Expiring Australian Domains
Two weeks ago at this time I was sitting on the opening panel discussion at the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Las Vegas conference talking about the growing aftermarket for ccTLD domains (some hard data from that talk is included in our latest monthly newsletter). At that show and again at the DOMAINfest Global conference that ran last week in Santa Monica, California, I ran into Fabulous.com's long-time Business Development Director Mike Robertson, who is taking advantage of the ccTLD boom with Fab's new drop-catching service at Drop.com.au.
www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2010/dailyposts/20100204.htm

Google's Display-Ad Sales Should Top $1 Billion
Google CEO Eric Schmidt hinted in July that display advertising would probably be the next of his company's businesses to generate $1 billion in sales. Analysts say 2010 is the year he'll deliver on that prediction.
www.businessweek.com/technology/content/feb2010/tc2010027_356976.htm