An anonymous donor auctioned the domain name LifeInsurancePolicies.com at the TRAFFIC auction, netting $15,000 for the Internet Commerce Association. I didn’t notice this auction benefitted the ICA until this morning, and I wanted to make sure others know about it. Among other things, the ICA is currently assisting domain owners in reversing the Kentucky gambling domain decision.
The domain name VYK.com, which sold for $8,000, was also a donation to the ICA.
LifeInsurancePolicies.com Nets $15k for ICA
Internet Commerce Association Publishes By-Laws
In a great step to bring added transparency to the organization, the Internet Commerce Association published their by-laws on their website today. Many people in the domain investment industry have expressed a desire to see the by-laws prior to joining, and this should help to alleviate some concerns. Knowing Michael Collins (ICA Executive Director), if you have any questions about the by-laws, send him an email and he will be happy to respond.
The by-laws can be seen on the ICA website.
Internet Commerce Association Membership
In an effort to promote transparency, the Internet Commerce Association has revealed its membership directory. The membership is beginning to take shape as a “Who’s Who” in the domain investment and developer community. As the Internet Commerce Association is able to continue to spread their message, I think the membership will continue to expand. I still believe the ICA is the only trade group that is looking after the rights of domain registrants.
Domain Industry Tsunami
In 2004, Thailand, Indonesia, and nine other countries suffered one of the deadliest natural disasters in history, when a tsunami killed well over 200,000 people. Thousands of tourists and other people in the area were killed when an unexpected giant wave quickly swept onto land and through their villages. There were just a few seconds available to decide whether to climb a tree, enter a building with a solid foundation, or run as fast as possible to beat the wave. Many who made the wrong decision died while trying to survive. It was a terrible tragedy, and the affected areas are still in the process of recovering three years later.
An interesting thing happened just moments before the tsunami reached land that saved countless lives. As the ocean began to recede, many natives who saw this began running in the opposite direction. They grabbed their children, warned their friends, and they booked it as fast as they could run, leaving most of their possessions behind. They knew that a receding ocean meant a tsunami was about to devastate their area, and they didn’t stick around to see what would happen. They grabbed what they could and took cover as far away as their legs could take them in the five minutes they had.
While changes to the domain industry certainly are not
Rick's Last Blog Post
Rick posted that yesterday’s blog post will be his last. While Rick offers some poignant thoughts, I think one of the comments on his blog post sums things up best:
“I hope you all realize what is going on here. The message should be loud and clear. Rick has been warning everybody all year to help him mount a defense against what is coming. Very few are paying attention, and very few are helping him build the fort to protect against the coming invaders. So, rather than waste is time blogging to people who don’t listen, he is leaving us to fend for ourselves and he will use his new found time to mount his own defense (probably by developing some of his domains and selling others). We have lost our visionary and a big industry voice.
WAKE UP PEOPLE! Rick stops blogging, Frank stops blogging, Yahoo kills arbitrage, Ask/Google, Snowe Bill.
The writing is on the wall.
Fast forward to 2010 and do a “Where are They Now” on the domainers of yesteryear. Some will have cashed out and be wealthy and happily retired. Some will have developed domains into businesses worth millions or maybe even billions. Most, however, will be EMPLOYEES working for a BOSS, wasting their hours thinking about the good old days and wondering what went wrong.” – Posted by: Robert Pearl
Everyone really needs to think about what is going on here. Our industry is changing. We had a much better chance a year ago when Rick first started discussing the problems that were on the horizon. They are no longer on the horizon – they are here. I hope it isn’t too late.
Join the ICA Already
Mike Berkens has a great post that I think everyone who has invested in domain names should read. Large corporations have been trying to take our generic domain names for us for some time via UDRP, and the Snowe legislation will make it much, much easier and even less expensive. Just to reiterate the most potentially damaging section of the Snowe legislation in case you might have missed it:
SEC. 3.(b)(1)(A)
“…such domain name is or contains the identical name or brand name of, or is confusingly similar to the name or brand name of a government office, nonprofit organization, business, or other entity;”
In short, this is considerably more broad than the Lanham Act, which targets cybersquatters from owning trademark-related domain names. The bill was presented as a “Anti-Phishing” bill, but you wouldn’t have to be involved in phishing or anything nefarious to have your domain name taken under this provision.
A company can claim that your generic domain name is confusingly similar to their name, and they can ask the Attorney General to go after the domain name owner. The owner can be liable for up to $6,000,000 (yes, SIX MILLION DOLLARS) in damages. The threat of a lawsuit like this will have a severe impact on domain values. Who would spend $10k on a domain name if a larger company can poach it?
As I see it, the Internet Commerce Association is the only group standing up for domain investors. Sure, other large domain companies have much to lose, but we can’t rely on them to lobby for us. Most will lobby for their own purposes. When a large company files a UDRP against a trademark domain name that is making good PPC revenue, do you see the parking company help the owner defend his name so they can continue monetizing it? NO. So why should you rely on large companies to foot the bill?
The funny thing is that domain owners are mostly entrepreneurs trying to start their own business online. They are real go-getters. From the looks of Mike’s post, it seems that most domain owners are sitting on their hands. Why? Please tell me why you aren’t joining the ICA.
This isn’t a fund to pay for Rick’s next floral shirt or another addition to Frank’s palace. THIS IS TO PREVENT THE SNOWE BILL FROM BEING PASSED TO SAVE THE DOMAIN INDUSTRY!
If you have no good reason not to do it, please join the ICA or make a donation – it’s 80% tax deductible. The industry needs everyone to help.
I will also match contributions – up to $1,000. In the comment box, mention Elliot’s Blog, and they will let me know how much I need to send.