WhizzBangsBlog Launches Online Domain Sales System

Over the past 18 months Whizzbangsblog.com has become a popular blog for critical analysis of news and views on the domain industry. I’ve now added a new feature to my blog which allows domain owners to buy and sell domains.

If you are viewing the main blog page then the column to your left is a new feature on whizzbangsblog that allows domain owners to view and list their own domains for sale. This is another avenue for you to sell your domain names and gain exposure to your market .

This is a free service so there is no cost to listing your own domains for sale. Within the last few days nearly 1,000 domains have been added by domain owners to the system and some of these domains include high quality co.uk, .de, com.au and com, domains. Prices vary but you can pick up many domains for less than $100 while the more premium domains are priced in the thousands.

ALAC Review: Translations of Final Report by Independent Evaluator Released

The final report of the Independent Review of the ALAC submitted by Westlake Consulting has been posted today in Arabic (http://www.icann.org/ar/reviews/alac/alac-independent-review-final-25jul08-ar.pdf) [PDF, 940K], Chinese (http://www.icann.org/zh/reviews/alac/alac-independent-review-final-25jul08-zh.pdf) [PDF, 881K], French (http://www.icann.org/fr/reviews/alac/alac-independent-review-final-25jul08-fr.pdf) [PDF, 629K], German (http://www.icann.org/de/reviews/alac/alac-independent-review-final-25jul08-de.pdf) [PDF, 611K] and Spanish (http://www.icann.org/es/reviews/alac/alac-independent-review-final-25jul08-es.pdf) [PDF, 629K]. (The English original (http://www.icann.org/reviews/alac/alac-independent-review-final-25jul08-en.pdf) [PDF, 561K] was posted on 25 July 2008 (http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-25jul08-en.htm) .) This final report has been published following consultation on the draft report at the Paris meeting.

Draft Terms of Reference for the Upcoming SSAC Review Posted for Public Comment

As part of ICANN’s commitment to its ongoing improvement, the Board approved a comprehensive plan for independent review of ICANN’s structures, as well as of the Board itself. The reviews are intended to ensure an independent examination of the role and operation of key elements of ICANN.

As part of this process, the draft Terms of Reference for the Review of the Security and Stability Advisory Committee (http://www.icann.org/en/reviews/ssac/wg-draft-tor-13aug08-en.htm) are being posted for public comment.

Sedo.com & GreatDomains Weekly Sales List – August 12th, 2008

The following domain names were sold last week via Sedo.com and GreatDomains:

.COMs

yougames.com 18,000 USD
livewater.com 17,500 EUR
modele-cv-lettre.com 15,000 USD Model letter in French
staffordshire.com 12,000 GBP
perfumeria.com 10,500 USD Perfume shop in Spanish
modele-lettre-type.com 10,000 USD Standard model letter
gameonly.com 8,000 USD
stepone.com 8,000 EUR

.eu Registrars are Generally Satisfied with EURid, but Give Some Suggestions for Improvements

Brussels, 12 August 2008 – More than 90 percent of EURid´s registrars who responded to a recent survey are satisfied or more than satisfied with the support they receive from EURid via email and telephone and rate EURid’s responsiveness as satisfactory or very satisfactory. Also the registration system functions well according to the survey, and the vast majority, 86 percent, see no need for improvement.

However, registrars also would like to see improvements in certain areas, like the procedures for trades and transfers of domain names and the tracking of the changes implemented via the system releases.

Limited support available on 15 August

Brussels, 12 August 2008 – On 15 August, EURid’s Belgian and Italian offices will be closed due to a public holiday. While our other offices will be open on that day, not all languages will be supported. Support in English will be available. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Source: Posted on EURid (http://www.eurid.eu/en/content/limited-support-available-15-august) — Reprinted with permission — August 12, 2008

The .org Advantage

By Chuck Kisselbur, Director of ICANNWiki.org

With the increased focus on the importance of corporate social responsibility and green issues, businesses are reaping the rewards of maintaining a separate .org website alongside their commercial .com.

What better way to clearly differentiate charitable and social initiatives from commercial initiatives than by operating a .org to highlight a corporate foundation’s mission?

Just look at these leading companies for examples of the trend to utilize their .org for corporate foundations:

Compete for Your International Domain

By Monica Ibrahim, Customer Relations and Support Specialist

With the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics on August 8th, all eyes have been on China this summer. Every two years, the world unites under the Olympics’ three pillars of sport, environment and culture with the greater world ideals of peace, unity and interconnectedness.

It shouldn’t just take the Olympics or a World Cup to feel integrated in our global community. The World Wide Web and the ever-expanding domainosphere , with 280 Top-Level Domains (TLDs) and over 103 million domains in existence, have helped make the world a smaller place. In fact, Google recently released that the number of sites on the internet has topped one trillion, a stark jump from a mere 26 million only 10 years ago.

Paradoy Website Deemed Non-Infringing

By Liz Oliveira, Legal Team

The plaintiff, Utah Lighthouse Ministry, is a non-profit organization that scrutinizes several religious institutions through its official website. The defendant, the Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, is a volunteer organization created with the purpose of defending criticism against a particular religious institution. The defendant, in an effort to attack the plaintiff’s criticism, registered several domain names containing the terms “Utah” and “Lighthouse” as used in the plaintiff’s name in addition to creating a parody website that mocked the plaintiff’s official webpage. The plaintiff, in discovering the parody site, sued the defendant for trademark infringement as well as cybersquatting.

A Case of Bad Faith Registration

By Frank Baird III, Legal Team

In the Telstra Corporation Limited v. E-Promote decision, an expert at the Domain Name Commission recently ordered that several disputed domain names (telstaclear.co.nz, telstarclear.co.nz, and telsraclear.co.nz) be transferred to TelstraClear Limited from San Francisco’s E-Promote.

Telstra Corporation Limited is a telecommunications and entertainment company based in Australia, and TelstraClear Limited is their New Zealand subsidiary. TelstraClear is the second largest telecommunication provider in New Zealand and has provided goods and services to the island nation since 1996. Telstra is the owner of several trademark registrations in New Zealand for TELSTRACLEAR, TELSTRA, and CLEAR. The company’s principal website is telstraclear.co.nz, and Telstra owns over two-hundred-fifty domain names incorporating ‘Telstra.’