Domain News

Domain News http://domaintimes.net/newseng.php http://domaintimes.net/newseng.php Domain News .ASIA TLD approved http://domaintimes.net/newseng.php?mhnews_id=306&mhnews_newsid=12926 ICANN said Wednesday that it had approved the .ASIA top-level domain, which will provide an additional suffix possibility for companies based in the Asia-Pacific region. Fri, 20 Oct 2006 11:59:42 +0300

<A href="http://www.icann.org/" target=_blank>ICANN</A> said Wednesday that it had approved the .ASIA top-level domain, which will provide an additional suffix possibility for companies based in the Asia-Pacific region. The new TLD would be controlled by the <A href="http://www.dotasia.org/" target=_blank>DotAsia Organization</A>, made up of groups running domain names for other Asian countries. Registration will not begin for another six to nine months, as the contract has not yet been finalized. Like previous new TLDs, the group will give trademark holders first rights to domain names, and it plans to restrict registrations to companies based within the region. Individuals and groups would also be able to register names as well. Pricing for .asia domain names would likely vary, DotAsia said.

Sex.com ends up with Playboy http://domaintimes.net/newseng.php?mhnews_id=306&mhnews_newsid=12745 The Internet's most valuable, and volatile, domain name has finally found a worthy partner. Sex.com is getting into bed with Playboy. Thu, 12 Oct 2006 12:07:56 +0300

The Internet's most valuable, and volatile, domain name has finally found a worthy partner. Sex.com is getting into bed with Playboy. The empire that Hugh Hefner built announced today that they will be running the sex.com Web site, featuring on-demand video and photo content, for the domain's owner, Escom, LLC. As the centerpiece of one of the Internet's longest and most interesting sagas, the sex.com domain has been registered, stolen, litigated, returned and now licensed to the biggest name in porn. It all started back in 1994 when a guy named Gary Kremen registered the name sex.com, hoping to make a killing in Internet porn. Before Kremen could really get going, though, another Net entrepreneur named Stephen M. Cohen managed to transfer the domain over his own name by tricking the registrars at a company called Network Solutions. From there, Cohen began running a lucrative porn Web site on the stolen real estate while Kremen embarked on a five-year legal battle to get his domain name back. Much fun and hijinks ensued, ending with Cohen running out on a multimillion dollar court-ordered payment and winding up getting arrested in Tijuana, Mexico. A good summary of the whole story can be found on Wikipedia. In the end, Kremen got somewhere in the neighborhood of $20 million from Verisign -- the company that bought Network Solutions -- in a legal settlement, regained control of sex.com and then sold sex.com to Delaware-based Escom for another $14 million. Goes to show the diligent bird gets the worm. Kremen is still doing business right here in San Francisco, working the fringes of the Internet through a company called Grant Media. Why's he still working? Don't ask us. As for sex.com, the site will now feature shows such as Playboy TV Jukebox, Club Jenna (yes, as in Jameson), Naughty Amateur Home Videos, and Spice VOD. The perfect end to the Internet's first epic saga.

.MOBI genTLD opened up to trademark holders http://domaintimes.net/newseng.php?mhnews_id=306&mhnews_newsid=11356 Owners of trademarks may begin applying for .MOBI premium names from 15 September, the company behind the first internet address created for mobile phones announced today. Tue, 15 Aug 2006 17:33:03 +0300

Owners of trademarks may begin applying for .MOBI premium names from 15 September, the company behind the first internet address created for mobile phones announced today. In order to apply, trademark holders have to meet clearly defined criteria set down in cooperation with the <A href="http://www.wipo.int/" target=_blank>World Intellectual Property Organisation</A> (WIPO). "The importance of setting rules for premium names reinforces our commitment to help well-established trademark holders build their brand," said Neil Edwards, chief executive at domain registrar Dotmobi.org. "The main objective of the premium names list is to ensure content-rich .MOBI websites with new features and services for the mobile community. "We also look forward to seeing entrepreneurs participate in the development of content related to the thousands of other premium names that will be made available to the general public." Premium names will be sold to the general public from 13 October after the conclusion of the four-week Wipo application process. Names will be distributed in batches through 2008 using auction and request-for-tender processes. From 26 September, the general public can register highly desirable .mobi domain names through a registrar at a slightly higher price during the .mobi 'landrush' period. From 11 October, .MOBI domain names can be registered through a registrar at standard prices, vnunet.com said.

74.000 .EU domain names locked http://domaintimes.net/newseng.php?mhnews_id=306&mhnews_newsid=10778 The European internet domain name authority, EURid, has suspended 74,000 .EU domain names and taken legal action against 400 registrars for abusing the service. Tue, 25 Jul 2006 11:58:19 +0300

The European internet domain name authority, EURid, has suspended 74,000 .EU domain names and taken legal action against 400 registrars for abusing the service. The move comes after a syndicate of registrars systematically acquired domain names with the intent of reselling them at a higher price – an act called warehousing. "Since registrars should only register domain names for existing customers and not 'warehouse' the names in order to resell them at a higher price, this is clearly in breach of the registrar contract," said Herman Sobrie from Belgium-based EURid in a statement. The legal action came after a review of the system for .eu domains revealed a small number of companies had registered several hundred phantom companies in order to manipulate the system and allow them additional opportunities to grab names. The non-profit EURid company feared that an abuse of the .eu name might lower the value of the European domain. "When the system is abused there is a risk that the perceived value of .eu will decrease, not only for the almost 2 million legitimate holders of .eu domain names but also for all honest registrars," EURid said in a statement. Court proceedings are set to begin at a Brussels court in October. The 74,000 names have been put on hold and EURid hopes to make them available for registration again by the end of the year. Addresses include "hallo.eu" and "rap.eu", according to German daily Die Welt. EURid pointed out it will continue to investigate reports of fraudulent registrars. It has already suspended a handful of other domains because the owner was unable to prove they lived within the EU.

.AE ccTLD: registration for 50 years http://domaintimes.net/newseng.php?mhnews_id=306&mhnews_newsid=10530 UAEnic (United Arab Emirates Network Information Centre ) announced the launch of registration of 50 years for Domain name under .ae. Thu, 13 Jul 2006 19:21:24 +0300

UAEnic (United Arab Emirates Network Information Centre) recently announced the launch of a very long term registration of 50 years for Domain name under .AE. The launch of the 50 year domain name registration is the latest in a series of initiative taken by UAEnic to encourage companies and individuals in the UAE to register their domain names. The associated problems of losing the website and mails not being delivered is a frequent outcome resulting from an expired domain name. Paying a one time fee for a longer registration period will solve all such issues. Both local as well as multinational companies can now register their domain name through UAEnic. The registration policy which has been put in place is backed by a strong legal framework to protect the rights of customers .UAEnic has also put in place a strong dispute resolution policy endorsed by WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organisation) with regard to any potential issues. The number of domain names registered locally in the UAE has also seen a steep increase indicating the awareness of local community in the UAE towards the benefits of registering their domain names. The number of domain names has registered an increase of 166 % in 2005 compared to the same period in 2002. The increase also reflects the rapid development of the UAE which has been a strong advocate of the Internet as part of its national strategy. According to Abdulla Hashim, Manager, UAEnic, "It is very important to protect client intellectual property rights in terms of their digital identity. With the help of the 50 year domain name registration period, customers will be able to prevent the domain name from expiring in addition to getting a highly discounted rate." UAEnic also offers long registration periods of 3 and 10 years for other categories such as .GOV.AE, .MIL.AE, SCH.AE, SC.AE and ORG.AE so that organizations who have these domain names can keep their domain names for a longer period.

.EU TLD: 2 million registrations http://domaintimes.net/newseng.php?mhnews_id=306&mhnews_newsid=10304 More than two million .eu web addresses have been registered since the domain name was launched in December, making it the third most popular domain in Europe. Tue, 04 Jul 2006 17:34:19 +0300

More than two million .eu web addresses have been registered since the domain name was launched in December, making it the third most popular domain in Europe. Eurid, the organisation that manages the .eu domain, launched a sunrise registration period in December 2005, open to trademark holders wanting to register their brands and company names. The landrush .eu registration period, open to all, kicked off in April this year. Since the launch, more than two million .eu domains have been snapped up, according to Eurid. They have proved most popular in Germany, where 631,000 .eu addresses have been registered, followed by Britain with 374,000.

10 millionth .DE domain name http://domaintimes.net/newseng.php?mhnews_id=306&mhnews_newsid=10159 Germany has registered its 10 millionth domain name, making the .DE TLD the second largest in the world following dotcom. Thu, 29 Jun 2006 12:48:07 +0300

Germany has registered its 10 millionth domain name, making the <A href="http://domaintimes.net/cctld/de.php">.DE</A> TLD the second largest in the world following dotcom. The lucky registrant was huettenberger-case-fabrik.de - unwittingly demonstrating the scarsity of .de domain names - and was taken by a transport case maker from Linden, just outside Frankfurt, the company that runs the German registry, Denic, announced. "The registration of the ten millionth .de domain represents a major success for Denic," said Sabine Dolderer, a member of Denic's executive board who is in Marrakech this week at the ICANN conference. "It also shows that the organisation of .de as a self-regulated initiative has worked out well. Thanks to Denic's open structure in which restrictions have been kept down to the strictly necessary minimum, a highly diverse provider market has been able to develop." The news comes just a month after the UK's own Nominet announced it had hit the five million domain milestone, making it the fourth largest registry in the world, below .net. It is also expecially relevant at the moment thanks to the Internet community's increasingly impatience with US dominance of the Internet infrastructure. A battle over what information on domain name owners should be made public has become a battle between competing US interests that has dragged in the rest of the world. A fight is also going on between governments over what input they are allowed into the ICANN process - something currently dominated by a behind-the-scenes US Department of Commerce. And a large number of organisations across the world are complaining about what they see as unnecessary delays by ICANN - a US private company - in putting non-Western alphabet domain names into the Internet root. With five of the top ten Internet sites in the world written in either Japanese or Chinese, and with the German registry second only to dotcom, the international flavour of the Internet has never been greater, <A href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/" target=_blank>The Register</A> said.

Tucows to buy NetIdentity http://domaintimes.net/newseng.php?mhnews_id=306&mhnews_newsid=9884 Tucows will pay $18M for NetIdentity. Mon, 19 Jun 2006 14:51:15 +0300

World well known domain wholesaler <A href="http://www.tucows.com/" target=_blank>Tucows</A> announced on Friday it has entered into an agreement to acquire Mailbank, aka <A href="http://www.netidentity.com/" target=_blank>NetIdentity</A> - a privately held company that operates a large porfolio of domain names. Tucows will pay approximately $18 million in cash, promissory notes and the issue of approximately 3,603,000 shares of common stock to the stockholders of NetIdentity. Tucows expects this acquisition to add between $3 and $4 million in cash flow in 2007. It now expects cash flow from operations to be in the range of $7 million to $8 million for 2006 and $10 million to $12 million for 2007. The acquisition will enable Tucows to offer personalized Internet services through its channel of over 6,000 resellers. The portfolio includes thousands of the most common surnames and will be used to enhance Tucows' email, Web publishing and domain services.

Jolie and Pitt grab domains for newborn daughter http://domaintimes.net/newseng.php?mhnews_id=306&mhnews_newsid=9481 Actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt has reserved 24 domain names featuring various versions of their newborn daughter Shiloh Nouvel's name. Mon, 05 Jun 2006 13:13:42 +0300

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt has reserved 24 domain names featuring various versions of their newborn daughter Shiloh Nouvel's name. Internet registration files show the Web addresses shilohjolie, shilohpitt, shilohjoliepitt, shilohnouveljolie, shilohnouvelpitt and shilohnouveljoliepitt -- with the extensions .com, .org, .net and .info -- were reserved on May 27, the baby's birthday.   Jolie has control of the Uniform Resource Locators (URLs), the web addresses, for one year. Her Los Angeles-based lawyer, Evan Spiegel, did not immediately return calls for comment.   Jolie and Shiloh's father, actor Brad Pitt, appeared to have learned from the misfortunes of fellow stars Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise, whose daughter's name, Suri, was co-opted by someone else who registered the URL suricruise.com       The site, part of which was inaccessible on Friday, features a countdown to Suri's 18th birthday -- when she will "become of age" - and asks surfers to share drawings of what they think she will look like.

ICM Registry sues against U.S. govs for .XXX rejection http://domaintimes.net/newseng.php?mhnews_id=306&mhnews_newsid=9102 The recent rejection of a dedicated .XXX domain for porn sites has prompted the company behind the plan, ICM Registry, to launch a legal attack against the US Department of Commerce. Mon, 22 May 2006 19:09:43 +0300

The recent rejection of a dedicated .XXX domain for porn sites has prompted the company behind the plan, <A href="http://www.icmregistry.com/" target=_blank>ICM Registry</A>, to launch a legal attack against the <A href="http://www.commerce.gov/" target=_blank>US Department of Commerce</A> (DoC), <A href="http://www.vnunet.com/">vnunet.com</A> sais. ICM claims that the DoC intervened in ICANN's consideration of the .XXX domain proposal and exerted political influence to have the plan rejected. The lawsuit has been filed under a Freedom of Information Act request in order to gain access to information being withheld by the DoC. It is well known that conservative groups in the US lobbied hard for the DoC to block the new domain. But the argument has now blown up into more than a fight for a porn domain, and into an investigation into how much power the US government exerts over control of the internet. ICM claims that the <A href="http://www.ntia.doc.gov/" target=_blank>National Telecommunications and Information Administration</A> has provided no explanation of the statutory basis and reasons for redacting and withholding documents relating to the consideration of the proposal. Furthermore, the company asserts that records show that, while the DoC lacked any official role in approving new domain names, it nevertheless decided to intervene in the Icann process. "Despite this contractual relationship between the DoC and Icann, the DoC does not have regulatory authority over Icann," said ICM. "ICANN was conceived as an independent organisation that is not under control of the US government nor any national government. It is intended to be free of administrative control and political influence."

Adult industry welcomes .XXX domain rejection http://domaintimes.net/newseng.php?mhnews_id=306&mhnews_newsid=8927 Adult companies have joined conservative groups in celebrating an Internet regulator's decision to reject the creation of a domain for adult Web sites. Mon, 15 May 2006 17:03:37 +0300

On Wednesday, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) voted against the proposal, which would have led to the creation of an .xxx domain suffix for pornography sites. Conservative groups in the U.S., such as the Family Research Council, have welcomed the decision, CNET News.com sais. "This would have been a landgrab for pornographers, and ICANN did absolutely the right thing," Charmaine Yoest, a vice president of the Family Research Council, told Bloomberg. Some in the adult industry are equally happy about the decision. Adult-industry observer Scott McGowan, in an article on the EyeOnAdult Web site, said he "just couldn't be happier." He claimed that ICM Registry, which proposed the new top-level domain, was driven purely by the desire to make money. "When conservatives and the porn industry actually agree on something, it kind of says something, even if their motivations come from different places," said McGowan. "It's my belief that everyone saw this for exactly what it was, a get-rich-quick scheme. ICM wanted to play God, re-create the online adult industry in their own image and reap the benefits," he said. Clinton Alexander, a U.S.-based Web designer who's worked for a number of adult sites, claimed adult companies had little to gain from switching to the .xxx domain. "Out of all the parties involved with the decision, only one of them actually wanted the .xxx suffix: the ICM Registry. The only real reason they wanted it is they see it as a possible gold mine," he said. "Adult companies do not want an .xxx domain because there is no additional profit in it (in fact, there is additional cost) and exposes them to possible future regulation. What's the point of moving an extremely popular and profitable Web site from a .com to an .xxx domain?" Alexander added that adult companies actually want to make content more mainstream and claimed the majority were therefore opposed to the .xxx domain. "The idea in the adult entertainment industry is to mainstream adult content to the point where it is not different from selling any other commodity, such as groceries," Alexander said. "The more publicly mainstream porn becomes, the more money the adult entertainment companies make...Creating an 'Internet red light district' goes against mainstreaming adult content, so most of the producers I know were against the .xxx suffix from the beginning of the debate." Stuart Lawley, the chairman and president of ICM Registry, disagreed on Friday with the comments made by McGowan and Alexander. Many of the world's biggest adult providers had agreed to participate in the .xxx plan voluntarily, as did adult companies from more than 70 countries, according to Lawley, although he was unable to provide the names of the companies as they are "confidential." Lawley said it was in the interest of adult companies to participate because they could "clearly label themselves" and avoid being confused with the illegal child pornography industry. "In layman terms, the porn and child porn industry get intermingled. Legitimate adult industry companies do not deal with child pornography," Lawley said. "This scheme would allow adult companies to step forward and clearly identify themselves as a legitimate adult entertainment site." Lawley also disagreed that the .xxx domain was purely a "get-rich-quick scheme," pointing out that ICM Registry had offered to donate $10 annually per domain to charities that fight child pornography. "This could have been $5 (million) or $10 million dollars per year, which is a pretty good effort," he said. "Other (domain owners) give only $1 per domain per year."

Afilias takes .BZ ccTLD from VeriSign http://domaintimes.net/newseng.php?mhnews_id=306&mhnews_newsid=8678 Afilias Limited announced that it has expanded its existing agreement with University Management Ltd.(UML) to provide a full suite of advanced registry services to support the .BZ ccTLD. Tue, 02 May 2006 13:16:50 +0300

<A href="http://www.afilias.info/">Afilias Limited</A> announced that it has expanded its existing agreement with University Management Ltd.(UML) to provide a full suite of advanced registry services to support the <A href="http://domaintimes.net/cctld/bz.php">.BZ</A> ccTLD.  Previously, Afilias provided Internationalized Domain Name (IDN) resolution services for .BZ. Afilias successfully completed the transition of registry services from .BZ’s previous provider – VeriSign Global Registry Services on 26 April 2006. “We are pleased to expand our relationship with Afilias to now include an entire suite of reliable and secure registry services for the operation of the .BZ domain,” said Juan Carlos Namis, General Manager of University Management Ltd. “Afilias has been an excellent partner and we believe they will bring excellent registry services to the .BZ domain.  Further, Afilias has strong relationships with global registrars, and can help them fully capitalize on BZ’s potential as a home for businesses on the Web.” Afilias successfully completed the transition of more than 35,000 .BZ domains from UML’s existing provider on 26 April 2006 and has assumed responsibilities for all back-office registry services. This includes providing a shared registration system enabling registrars to submit real-time registration requests, a public WHOIS service, and DNS resolution. Afilias will also help .BZ expand its presence in the global domain market, enabling all ICANN-accredited and Afilias-authorized registrars to offer a variety of ccTLD’s through a common EPP interface.

Bob Parsons: .EU TLD hijacked http://domaintimes.net/newseng.php?mhnews_id=306&mhnews_newsid=8225 In a scathing blog entry posted on Sunday, GoDaddy.com CEO Bob Parsons attacked European registry EURid for "grand manipulation and lax administration" regarding the recent opening of the .EU TLD. Parsons said the process turned into a large scam involving hundreds of fake registrars. Tue, 11 Apr 2006 17:10:53 +0300

In a scathing blog entry posted on Sunday, GoDaddy.com CEO Bob Parsons <A href="http://www.bobparsons.com/EULandrushFiasco.html">attacked</A> European registry EURid for "grand manipulation and lax administration" regarding the recent opening of the .EU top-level domain. Parsons said the process turned into a large scam involving hundreds of fake registrars. The .EU domain opened on Friday for what was called the "landrush" registration phase. During this period, accredited registrars such as GoDaddy could register domains for their customers using a process similar to standing in line. A registrar could request one domain at a time and then would be shuffled to the end of the line until the other registrars had a turn. Europeans rushed to snatch up domains, registering over a million names in the first 12 hours alone. EURid highlighted the success, touting .EU as a real alternative to .com and the disparate country-level domains used across Europe. However, while the landrush approach seemed fair on the surface, GoDaddy's Parsons said there was a giant loophole that enabled companies to create hundreds of fake registrars. He claims that one company -- backed by mega-millionaires in the United States - was able to game the system and essentially have hundreds of positions in line. "Two weeks before the landrush period began there were 800 — many real, many not — accredited .EU registrars. Then just before the landrush period began, Voila! Hundreds more registrars appeared. According to the EURid website – at least 300 more registrars appeared," explained Parsons. Parsons says if there were about 1,100 registrars signed up with EURid, about 600 were "phantoms." The reason to take advantage of this loophole involves the auctioning of valuable names. "Many of these names will be auctioned off for thousands of dollars. And of course, the likelihood that Company “X” will get these names is good because they were responsible for many of the “phantom” registrars created and allowed by the registry," he said. "Companies who have successfully gamed the system should make a fortune on the .EU landrush – all at the expense of the Europeans." GoDaddy claims it tried to warn EURid of the potential for abuse, but its cries "fell on deaf ears." Parsons added that so many complaints have been filed EURid has simply stopped responding to them. But he has proposed a solution, involving EURid freezing all registrations and making sure they are genuine. Those that are not from valid registrars should be deleted, Parsons says, and a second landrush period should be held for those domains. "The problem with the above fix is that it would take huevos to step up and implement. This is something that we’ve seen little of from the people at the EURid registry," he chided. "So we can be sure unless some authority in the European community steps up and forces them to do it, they will do nothing."

ICANN concludes 25th international meeting in Wellington http://domaintimes.net/newseng.php?mhnews_id=306&mhnews_newsid=8190 During the week long meeting, several key issues relating to the internet's growth, security and stability were discussed at length and the ICANN Board voted to approve the 2006-2009 strategic plan, providing the organization with a clear future direction. In addition, ICANN's Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) issued a communiqué identifying public policy issues relating to the ICM Registry's application to operate the proposed .XXX sponsored Top Level Domain (sTLD), paving the way for further consideration of the application by the Board. Wed, 05 Apr 2006 12:32:24 +0300

Over 700 delegates from 82 countries gathered in Wellington, New Zealand for ICANN's 25th International Meeting. These meetings, open to anyone interested in participating, constitute an essential part of ICANN's global Internet community consensus-development and outreach efforts. During the week long meeting, several key issues relating to the internet's growth, security and stability were discussed at length and the ICANN Board voted to approve the 2006-2009 strategic plan, providing the organization with a clear future direction. In addition, ICANN's Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) issued a communiqué identifying public policy issues relating to the ICM Registry's application to operate the proposed .XXX sponsored Top Level Domain (sTLD), paving the way for further consideration of the application by the Board. Having received feedback from the GAC on the ICM Registry sTLD application, the Board resolved that ICANN's President and General Counsel should analyze all publicly received inputs and continue negotiations with ICM Registry and to return to the Board with any recommendations regarding amendments to the proposed agreement. A key aim will be to ensure that the ICM Registry has in place adequate mechanisms to address any potential registrant violations of the sponsor's policies. Upon the completion of this process, the ICANN Board will vote to resolve the status of the application. Commenting on the GAC communiqu? and subsequent Board resolution, Dr Paul Twomey, President and CEO of ICANN said: "This is a great example of the success of the public policy advice process at work, which demonstrates that ICANN takes governmental input seriously. The ICANN Board is committed to continuing to enhance the integration of the GAC's public policy role to ICANN's decision processes". The Wellington meeting also saw developments in relation to Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs). Strong community feedback was received throughout the week that backed ICANN's progress towards the implementation of non Latin character sets into the Root, following a period of thorough testing to ensure that stability of the DNS is maintained. A collective desire was expressed by the community that ICANN should invest substantial resources to ensure that the IDN process is completed in the shortest possible timeframe. ICANN has already made clear its intention to commit substantial resources in this area. Another key outcome of the meeting was the release of two reports by ICANN's Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC). The first report examined amplified DNS Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, while the second report looked at alternate Roots and IDNs. The reports appeal to the Internet Community to take these issues seriously. The DDoS report identifies short and long-term measures to reduce the opportunities for and minimize the effects of DDoS attacks, while the report into alternate Roots and IDNs examines and identifies the motives that cause "breakaway" activities, and explains the issues and conditions that can accelerate fragmentation of the root name service. It also examines the consequences that such activities may have on Internet users and service providers. Commenting on the Wellington meeting, Dr Twomey applauded its outcomes stating that it had been productive and had addressed some of the key issues facing the Domain Name System.

DNS hackers target domain registrars http://domaintimes.net/newseng.php?mhnews_id=306&mhnews_newsid=8072 Hackers have launched distributed denial of service attacks against the Domain Name System (DNS) servers of a brace of domain name registrars VeriSign and Joker.com over recent days. The motive for the separate attacks remains unclear. Wed, 29 Mar 2006 16:23:21 +0300

Hackers have launched distributed denial of service attacks against the Domain Name System (DNS) servers of a brace of domain name registrars VeriSign and Joker.com over recent days. The motive for the separate attacks remains unclear. VerSign said the attack on its name servers caused a "brief degradation" in the quality of its service to customers for around 25 minutes on Tuesday afternoon. Domain registrar Joker.com is recovering from an attack on its name servers last week that lasted for six days up until last Sunday. Joker.com, which is based in Germany, handles the registration of approximately 550,000 domains. Some of these domains, as well as Joker's own website, were blighted by the attack. In a <A href="https://joker.com/index.joker?mode=news&id=110" target=_blank>statement</A>, Joker.com explained that around 15 per cent of its domains were affected by reduced name server performance and availability during the attack. Joker.com fought the DDoS attack by adding more name servers. The firm has apologised for the inconvenience to some of its customers caused by the attack which it described as the fiercest assault it has ever faced, <A href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/" target=_blank>The Register</A> reports.

auDA to modify .AU TLD rules http://domaintimes.net/newseng.php?mhnews_id=306&mhnews_newsid=7934 Australia's domain name administrator called for public comment on the practice of registering large numbers of domain names for the purpose of selling click-through advertising. Fri, 24 Mar 2006 15:40:21 +0300

Australia's domain name administrator called for public comment on the practice of registering large numbers of domain names for the purpose of selling click-through advertising. .UA Domain Administration (<A href="http://www.auda.org.au/" target=_blank>auDA</A>) is considering whether this practice - also known as "domain monetisation" should be considered legitimate for the purposes of registering Australian domain names. In a statement, auDA chief executive Chris Disspain said his body was "not opposed to domain monetisation per se", but would like to know "whether the Internet-using public would like this practice to take place under the .au domain name system. Disspain said domain monetisation was widespread overseas. "The practice is becoming particularly common amongst registrants of .com and .net domain names," he said. "This is because unlike .au domain names there are no policy rules limiting the number and type of .com and .net domain names a single registrant can register. In Australia, organisations must have a "close and substantial" connection with a domain name before they can register it for use - for example a registered business name or trademark. The regulator has issued a <A href="http://www.auda.org.au/reviews/monetisation-2006" target=_blank>discussion paper on the subject</A>. Public comment must be received no later than April 21.

GoDaddy.com tries to return VeriSign case to ICANN http://domaintimes.net/newseng.php?mhnews_id=306&mhnews_newsid=7933 GoDaddy.com, the largest Internet domain registrar and hosting company, and numerous other registrars are reportedly petitioning the U.S. Department of Commerce to deny final approval of the controversial .com registry agreement with VeriSign. Fri, 24 Mar 2006 15:37:09 +0300

GoDaddy.com, the largest Internet <a href="http://www.imena.ua/site/en/">domain registrar and hosting</a> company, and numerous other registrars are reportedly petitioning the U.S. Department of Commerce to deny final approval of the controversial .com registry agreement with VeriSign. The controversial agreement, which was approved by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), would give VeriSign control of the <a href="http://testcms.imena.com.ua/site/domains/registration">.com top-level domain</a> until 2012. Go Daddy and the other registrars want the deal sent back to ICANN to be reworked in a way that is “fair and equitable.” “We will not sit back without a fight,” GoDaddy.com CEO and founder Bob Parsons said in a published report. “This deal is outrageous. It’s monopolistic because it locks in price hikes and eliminates good old-fashion competition. It's a mistake (DoC) Secretary (Carlos) Gutierrez can stop.” ICANN, the body responsible for the internet’s domain naming system, and VeriSign, recently settled pending legal action, which led to a renewal of VeriSign’s contract to run the .com registry. The new deal permits VeriSign to increase the price of domain name registrations by 7 per cent in four of the next six years. In the two remaining years, VeriSign will only be able to raise prices if it can show the rises are necessary for security reasons. It also gives VeriSign a “presumptive right” to renewal of the .com registry, providing it complies with certain aspects of the agreement. Last month, ICANN's board voted 9 to 5 in support of the agreement, with one director abstaining. Now it is facing calls to reconsider. The 19 firms petitioning ICANN claim the deal will have adverse consequences that are "far-reaching and permanent.” They say ICANN has failed to implement appropriate controls on .com registry pricing – and has also failed to provide adequate regulatory oversight. They are asking ICANN to reconsider as a result of new information coming out of a recent investigation by the Department of Justice into the registry market. “The failure to consider material information concerning the potential adverse effects that the settlement would have on competition is contrary to ICANN’s core values and would be harmful to consumers,” the joint filing says. ICANN has been working to settle the lawsuit with VeriSign since 2004. In his blog on the GoDaddy website, Parsons expresses extreme dissatisfaction with the agreement, as drafted, and also criticizes Vinton Cerf, one of the Internet’s creators and a top executive at Google (News - Alert), for being among the nine ICANN board members who voted in favor of it. “To my extreme disappointment, Vinton Cerf, who is the Chairman of ICANN and also now an employee of Google, voted in favor of the give away,” Parson’s wrote. “Mr. Cerf's vote seems, on the surface, to be a very ‘un-Google like’ thing to do.” “The fact that this deal was approved is a loud signal that major changes are needed at ICANN,” Parsons said. “If we don’t take this opportunity and step up and replace the incredibly inept leadership at ICANN, it will go a long way in providing the United Nations with the ammunition it needs to begin taking control of the Internet. The United Nations must never gain control of the Internet.” Parsons is asking for support in the effort to get the agreement back before ICANN. Not only does he ask registrars and anyone who cares to write their Congressman about the matter, he even provides a standard form letter which can be used. The form letter reads as follows: Dear _________: I am outraged about the recently approved .COM registry agreement and settlement between ICANN and VeriSign. This agreement is anti-competitive and bad for consumers and the Internet community as a whole. The agreement provides VeriSign with the ability to increase prices by 7% annually in four of the next six years without cost justification. Furthermore, under the agreement, VeriSign's monopoly would run in perpetuity as the agreement would automatically renew without the opportunity for competitive bidding. VeriSign and ICANN should not be allowed to establish a perpetual monopoly without Congressional oversight and the opportunity for input from the Internet community. As your constituent, I want to make you aware that the ICANN Board has approved this anti-competitive agreement on February 28th, 2006. The next step is for the NTIA to approve the deal. I urge you to bring our concerns to the attention of the NTIA. Sincerely,

.KR domain names to be forced to 2-nd level http://domaintimes.net/newseng.php?mhnews_id=306&mhnews_newsid=7867 Starting September, all Korean 2LD, such as .CO.KR, .OR.KR, .GO.KR and others will be covered by .KR names. Thu, 16 Mar 2006 14:07:45 +0300

Starting September, all Korean 2LD, such as .CO.KR, .OR.KR, .GO.KR and others will be covered by .KR names. The National Internet Development Agency of Korea (KIDA) announced on March 15 that the Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) is expected to adopt the second-level .KR domains in September as it has recently approved “the amendment of bylaws for domain names.” In the second-level .KR domains, the previous third-level ones such as .CO.KR and .OR.KR omit the CO. or OR. portion. The KIDA expects that because there is no distinction between CO, OR, and RE for different registrars, it will be more feasible for business marketing usage. The KIDA decided to set “the early registration period” to reduce disputes on ownership possibly resulting from the adoption of the second-level .KR domains and to stably manage the systems. Government agencies and previous domain registrars with .KR will have the opportunity to register first. During the early period, when same domain names are registered simultaneously, those with trademarks will receive the name first. If there is nobody with trademarks, those who registered for the third-level .KR domains the earliest will have the right to it first.

CNNIC: China will not break away from global internet http://domaintimes.net/newseng.php?mhnews_id=306&mhnews_newsid=7798 In response to media reports that China might create its own TLDs to create its own intranet, a spokesperson from CNNIC clarifies that China will not create its own root servers. Mon, 06 Mar 2006 12:13:50 +0300

In response to media reports that China might create its own TLDs to create its own intranet, a spokesperson from CNNIC clarifies that China will not create its own root servers. The representative says the misunderstanding was caused by the ambiguous English in local English media which seems to tell readers that China will use the .CN domain extension to replace .COM and .NET. According to ICANN and CNNIC, though China has its own Chinese domain name system, the only change that China has made in the past four years was to add a Chinese language .MIL domain name, but even that was done under .CN, ChinaTechNews.com sais.

China creates own DNS http://domaintimes.net/newseng.php?mhnews_id=306&mhnews_newsid=7709 On March 1 China will create and three temporary TLDs .China, .Company and .Network, that will be available only in China. Also will be added 44 new 2LDomains. Tue, 28 Feb 2006 12:05:57 +0300

On March 1, 2006 China is launching new domain name system. Within the new DNS will be created three temporary TLDs .China, .Company and .Network, that will be available only in Chinese networks. The new Chinese top level domains will be routed directly through the Chinese domestic analysis server instead of the ones used by ICANN. In effect, these three create an intranet within China. Also will be added new 2-nd level <a href="http://www.imena.ua/" class=nounder target=_blank>domains</a>: .AC.CN, .GOV.CN, .MIL.CN (to represent respectively academics, government, and military), 7 category domains and 34 administrative region domain names which represent provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities and special administrative zones in China, ChinaTechNews.com said.