Author name: fairwindsp

Josh Bourne ⬥ 30 November One of the most common practices in domain name speculation is for individuals to register domain names related to current events immediately after news of the incident breaks.  Particularly popular targets for this practice are celebrities – it seems that whenever a star is involved in an activity that attracts […]

Steve Levy ⬥ 23 December Since our report a week ago on the hostess.com decision, a claim under the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) has been filed in the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia by Goodwill Industries International, Inc. against Cyber2Media, Inc., the owner of the domain goodwill.com. As with the

Josh Bourne ⬥ 18 November I just returned from a trip to Romania to visit friends and hunt geese, pheasant and partridge. I really enjoyed my time in the countryside down the Danube River.  We also spent a day in Bucharest, a beautiful city with striking architecture and charming streets. It even has its own

Steve Levy ⬥ 13 November On October 9th, I posted an entry on Glenn Beck filing a UDRP complaint with WIPO over the domain name <glennbeckrapedandmurderedayounggirlin1990.com> On October 29th, a WIPO Panel issued its decision denying transfer of the domain.  The claim made by Glenn Beck and his media company was that the domain was

Steve Levy ⬥ 6 November Earlier this year the National Arbitration Forum, (“NAF”) rejected a UDRP complaint brought by the Automobile Association of America (“AAA”) against the owner of the domain <aaa.net> (the NAF decision can be found here.) The AAA then pursued the matter in Federal Court and gained control of the domain after

Josh Bourne ⬥ 30 October After reading a recent announcement that Verizon will be collaborating with Google to offer Android mobile phones of Verizon’s 3G service network, I checked out the domain verizonandroid.com. What I found when I visited verizonandroid.com was an example of what I have observed as a growing trend – a site

Josh Bourne ⬥ 27 October I was watching television the other night and a commercial came on about H1N1 flu vaccines.  H1N1, or Swine Flu as it is commonly referred to, has been a hot topic recently, especially as we move into flu season.  The advertisement mentioned the importance of good hygiene practices to prevent

Josh Bourne ⬥ 14 October According to a recent article in Web Host Industry Review, the Swedish Bankers’ Association lobbied the Swedish Post and Telecom Agency (Post och Televerksstyrelsen) to prevent Internet users from registering domain names containing the word “bank” in the .SE ccTLD.  The goal of the initiative was to allow only legitimate

Phil Lodico ⬥ 10 November Here’s a good article that provides another perspective on the potential popularity of IDN ccTLDs. IDG News Service reports that most Internet users in China are familiar with and used to Latin scripts—as a result, IDN ccTLDs may not have as much appeal as many may think.  Tags: China, IDG

Steve Levy ⬥ 9 October Playing off a joke made by Gilbert Gottfried during the comedic roast of Bob Saget that recently resurfaced in the Fark forums, Internet user Isaac Eiland-Hall registered the domain name glennbeckrapedandmurderedayounggirlin1990.com.  The Web site was set up as a parody meant to criticize television news host Glenn Beck’s interviewing and

Josh Bourne ⬥ 7 October I received an email reminding me that the domain name truecostofcybersquatting.org had expired, and offering me the chance to renew it through a body called “ISP Renewal.”  I found this odd, seeing as I had originally registered the domain with GoDaddy, and as far as I could tell, ISP Renewal

Phil Lodico ⬥ 28 September Several outlets, such as the Economist and the Sydney Morning Herald are running articles on the upcoming expiration of the Joint Project Agreement (JPA) between ICANN and the U.S. Department of Commerce.  While we have discussed this issue many times before, the articles mention a new development: an agreement between