Every Friday, DomainSherpa.com provides you with a hand-selected, editorially-based review of the weekly news. In this summary, you will find the latest articles and videos produced by DomainSherpa staff and contributors. You will also find links to the best news articles in the domain name industry – so you don’t have to spend your time searching for news or reading something that was not worth your time.
This Week’s Video Interview in Review
Some people complain that if you did not buy domains in the mid-1990s you missed the window of opportunity. But what if you could hand register 12,450 domain names today for $7.87 each and build a million-dollar business?
Adam Hawley, president of Zipsurance.com, did exactly that. By leasing insurance-related domain names and providing associated services, Hawley connects insurance agents to clients and is on track to bring in more than $1 million in sales in 2012.
This Week’s News in Review
The Circuit: New Domain Names, Microsoft’s Final CES, Facebook Privacy – 22-Dec-11
The House commerce committee has asked the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers to delay its plan to expand the number of top-level domains on the Internet. In a letter to ICANN, a bipartisan group of six committee members said that they share the concerns of some businesses that the expansion does not have adequate protections in place for copyright holders.
Internet Close to 220 Million Domain Names – 22-Dec-11
With nearly five million domain names added to the Internet in the third quarter, the total neared 220 million.
Two Firefox Add-ons Already Bypass SOPA’s Domain Censorship – 22-Dec-11
As resistance grows against the Stop Online Piracy Act, some activists are getting creative. If passed, the legislation would allow US Internet service providers to block access to offending domain names at the behest of Hollywood — that's the gist of it, anyway…
Dismantling of Righthaven Appears Under Way With Loss of Website – 22-Dec-11
The court-authorized dismantling of Las Vegas copyright company Righthaven LLC appeared to be under way Thursday, with the company losing control of its website to a receiver.
Brothel Owner Snaps Up University’s .xxx Domain Name – 22-Dec-11
Colorado.xxx has been purchased. Not by the university, but by a Las Vegas brothel owner. Can cyber-squatting pay off?
Institutions Buy .xxx Domain Names – 21-Dec-11
Saskatoon city hall, the University of Saskatchewan and others are buying newly created X-rated Internet.
Liberal PAC Needles Gingrich On NewtGingrich.com – 21-Dec-11
Newt Gingrich has a website problem. Web surfers who visit the domain name Newtgingrich.com are redirected to any one of several unflattering reminders of the GOP candidate’s controversies.
Lawmakers Press Commerce Over ICANN’s New Domain Name Plan – 20-Dec-11
Two senior lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee are urging the Commerce Department to try to delay the rollout of a program that could dramatically expand the number of Internet addresses.
United Domains Announces Temporary Price Cut for .xxx Domains – 20-Dec-11
With the price of .XXX domains running into the hundreds of dollars for some registrars, United Domains is offering its customers a reduced price for a one-year registration.
Hockey Hall-of-famer Doug Gilmour Gets DougFilmour.com – 20-Dec-11
NHL Hall of famer Doug Gilmour has been awarded DougGilmour.com domain name.
Important Changes to The Canadian Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy – 19-Dec-11
Certain disputes involving alleged bad faith registration of .ca domain names can be resolved by arbitration pursuant to the Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (known as the “CDRP”) mandated by the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (“CIRA”).
New Pussycat Dolls to Star in GoDaddy Super Bowl Commercial – 19-Dec-11
Super Bowl commercials to feature Pussycat Dolls and new .co girl. The latest incarnation of the Pussycat Dolls will star in one of GoDaddy.com’s Super Bowl commercials next year. The group will be featured in a commercial dubbed The Cloud that will feature many of Go Daddy’s products with a play on its cloud offerings.
The Priciest Domain Names of 2011 – 19-Dec-11
This year was a cheap one for buying domain names—relatively speaking. Sex.com sold for a wild $13 million last year, but 2011’s top honors went to a domain name that cost the lucky buyer… Luxury Living News Summaries. | Newser
Critics Stage Last-ditch Effort to Derail Domain Name Expansion Plan – 19-Dec-11
Debate around a controversial plan to add hundreds of new domain name extensions to the Internet infrastructure has reached a fever pitch in the nation’s capital, as critics engage in a last-ditch effort to scrap or delay the plan, which is scheduled to launch Jan. 12.
Vertical Axis Wins Two Udrp’s & Gets a Reverse Hijacking Finding On 1 – 19-Dec-11
Vertical Axis, Inc. represented by ESQwire.com, just won a Reverse Domain Hijacking UDRP against Planate Management Group LLC of Alexandria, Virginia, who bought a UDRP on the domain name Planate.com
Verisign Predicts 1,000-1,500 New TLD Applications and Up to 2/3 .brand – 19-Dec-11
Verisign thinks there could be 1,500 new top level domain (new TLD) applications and 2/3rds of them could be for .brand domain names.
KKR, Silver Lake & TCV Now Part Owners of Go Daddy – 16-Dec-11
Largest domain name registrar gets big financial backing. GoDaddy is now (partly) private-equity owned. The company finally closed on its investment from KKR, Silver Lake and Technology Crossover Ventures today.
Trademark Holders Deserve Better Protection in Internet Domain Expansion – 16-Dec-11
Plans to expand the Internet’s generic Top Level Domain space have stirred opposition from trademark owners who will have to defend their brands, possibly at great expense, across hundreds of new domains.
Manwin Reminds Affiliates Not to Register Its Trademarks in .xxx – 16-Dec-11
Manwin isn’t going to protect its trademarks in .xxx by paying anything to ICM Registry, so it’s asking its affiliates not to register them, either.
ICM Opens Can of Worms With .XXX Domain Seizures – 15-Dec-11
ICM took down 70 to 80 domains including washingtonpost.xxx, cnbc.xxx and verizonwireless.xxx because it decided that the domains infringed trademarks and were therefore abusive.
India Court Upholds Order Canceling The Registration of The Domain Internet.in – 15-Dec-11
The High Court Of Delhi At New Delhi has just upheld an arbitrators determination that the domain name Internet.in should be taken away from the domain holder, its registration cancelled and ordered the domain to be held at the registry level, based on an Indian trademark for the term “Internet”.
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