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Watch Out for Conference “Freebies”

Elliot Silver
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10

For those of you that use the freebie USB memory sticks and other computer peripherals given away at conferences, you should read an interesting article in The Register yesterday. I write this as I look at a few used memory drives I have laying around, so I am in the same boat.

According to the article, a security company was hired to try and break into a client’s firewall without detection, but they weren’t allowed to use social engineering tactics (like a phone call with tech support or phishing) nor were they allowed to have physical contact with the client’s computer system to gain entry. They had to think up another way to break in without setting off alarms.

To get around these barriers, the company came up with an  ingenious  idea: a mouse laden with hidden tools that would allow the company to have access without the client knowing. The mouse’s internal system was reconfigured, and a hidden memory drive inside was designed to disable the security detection software in the computer and ensure that no notification was given to the user. They were able to get the user to install the mouse by sending it to an employee disguised as some type of special freebie promo.

Now, I obviously wouldn’t expect that any domain companies would be brazen enough to do something like this (or have any interest in doing something this malicious), but you should always watch what you put into your computer. Hackers may leave a flash drive laying around or may even manipulate one of the free drives given away at conferences. I am sure there are many ways this can be done effectively.

I’ve heard rumors of wifi snooping at conferences in the past, and I wouldn’t put it by someone to try something like this. You never know.

PPD.com UDRP – Owner Doesn’t Respond On Time and Loses Domain Name

Elliot Silver
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19

A couple of months ago, I wrote an article about the pending UDRP for PPD.com. Pharmaceutical Product Development, Inc. and  Pharmaco Investments, Inc. filed the UDRP for PPD.com in mid-April, and the decision was just posted online.

For some reason, the respondent did not respond*Update* The respondent responded late to the UDRP complaint, and the sole panelist found in favor of the complainant, so the domain name will be transferred to the company that filed the UDRP. In my opinion, this is at the very least a $30,000 domain name (likely worth more), and the complainant was able to get it for the $1,500 filing fee plus attorney fees (barring a lawsuit by the domain owner).

Despite another UDRP panel’s decision that took the doctrine of laches into account, this panelist did not agree. According to the decision,

“The Panel is aware of a decision under the Policy in  The New York Times Company v. Name Administration Inc. (BVI), NAF Claim No. FA1349045, where a Panel held that laches provided “a valid defense in any domain dispute where the facts so warrant”.

However desirable a limitation period may be – as other dispute resolution systems such as the Nominet Policy in force in the United Kingdom and New Zealand have recognised – under the Policy, laches can, in this Panel’s view, not be a defence. In this Panel’s view, laches is a purely equitable defence which can only be invoked in courts exercising an equitable jurisdiction. It can have no place in a system where the rules are set by the Policy which operates an administrative procedure.“

The panelist also cited a few other reasons for his decision, including the lack of a website in ten years of ownership, potential for confusion and brand tarnishment, as well as the “Respondent’s track record of bad faith findings in at least ten decisions under the Policy”  (which weren’t listed).

I disagree with this decision though. There are 71 valid acronyms for PPD, according to the Acronym Finder website, and I don’t see why this one complainant deserves to be able to take it from the owner. I don’t believe the domain name was being used in a way that could confuse consumers into thinking it was associated with the complainant. I also don’t really see non-usage (or less than optimal usage) as bad faith.

Domain owners should read the decision and learn from it.

** Update **
I didn’t see this when I read through the complaint, but the respondent did attempt to respond to the complaint:

“On June 2, 2011, the Center received an email alleging to have been sent by “James van Johns representing, Damian Macafee, on behalf of ppd.com”. It is to be noted that the Complainant asserted that “James M. van Johns” was a pseudonym for the present Respondent. A similar claim as to the name of the Respondent was made in Sony Kabushiki Kaisha v Damian Macafee/QTK Internet, WIPO Case No. D2009-1134.

The email was received after the Panel had been appointed. A Response had been due on May 4, 2011. The purported filing of a Response on June 2, 2011, was therefore some four weeks out of time.

The only excuse offered for this late filing was “due to serious family health issues”. No evidence in support of this assertion was offered, such as a medical certificate or any details explaining this bland statement.

In the absence of any compelling evidence such as might justify acceptance of a late Response, the Panel has decided not to accept it. “

Make Money With a Forum: Sell It

Elliot Silver
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6

From what I’ve heard, it’s often hard to make money from a forum.  Like other websites, the owner of a forum has two options to make money – find advertisers who want to reach out to the same group of people who visit the forum or sell the forum once it’s active and has a strong membership.

From my little experience running a niche forum on one of my sites and also from my participation in various forums, the owner needs to get people to contribute regularly, moderate inappropriate or threatening comments, stay on top of software updates, and prevent spammers from taking over.  It’s a lot of work to manage a forum, and it seems that only the biggest and most successful can really earn a living from advertising.

The second best option is the sale of a forum, but that means the owner needs to find someone just as passionate about the topic to evenhandedly moderate and communicate, while not alienating the members who participate regularly. This person not only has to be passionate, but also has to have the capital to make the acquisition and keep it running smoothly.

It seems to be quite a job to manage and monetize a forum, and my gut says many of the small to medium sized forums, despite being active, aren’t monetized very well.

I just read a MarketWatch press release today put out by a company called Crowd Gather to announce its acquistion of Writers.net, “an Internet directory of writers, editors, publishers and literary agents“, which was supposedly founded way back in 1994 (despite its 1995 Whois creation date). It’s a very good domain name and the acquisition shows there is a market for forums.

CrowdGather owns and operates a network of forums, which may be of interest to those of you managing a forum. According to the release, “CrowdGather has created a centralized network to benefit forum members, forum owners and forum advertisers. CrowdGather provides a highly interactive and informational social network for members, a management and revenue-sharing resource for third-party forum owners, and a largely untapped advertising network for marketers worldwide.”

If you happen to want to sell an active forum, you may wish to get in touch with CrowdGather.

2011 ccTLD UDRP Cases at WIPO

Elliot Silver
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12

With .CO domain names now available to register for almost a year, I did some research on the number of UDRP cases for ccTLD domain names filed at the World Intellectual Property Organization so far in 2011. These numbers don’t reflect the actual number of domain names, but just the number of cases filed (doesn’t differ by much but pointing it out).

On forums, my blog, and elsewhere, I read people’s comments about how .CO domain names would make for a field day for trademark and IP attorneys, and I did a brief analysis to see if this assumption is true to date, at least in terms of the number of UDRP filings so far in 2011 at WIPO.

Based only on assumptions, one would be likely to assume that there would be hundreds of UDRP filings because .CO is so close to .com. One might also assume that .CO would have far more UDRP filings than every other extension. While .CO did have more UDRP filings than almost all other ccTLDs that are listed at WIPO, I was personally surprised to see that .NL has the most UDRP filings in 2011. In my opinion, this assumption is proven to be wrong, at least so far.

One thing you’ll note is that not all ccTLDs are listed below. A number of popular ccTLD registries have their own dispute policies, such as .CA’s CDRP or Nominet’s DRS (.co.uk) as examples.

ccTLD UDRP filings in 2011 at WIPO:

  • .AE – 0
  • .AG – 0
  • .AM – 0
  • .AS – 0
  • .AU – 16
  • .BR – 1
  • .BZ – 0
  • .CC – 3
  • .CD – 0
  • .CH – 10
  • .CO – 37
  • .CV – 0
  • .CY – 0
  • .DO – 1
  • .EC – 0
  • .ES – 31
  • .FJ – 1
  • .FR – 17
  • .GT – 0
  • .IE – 2
  • .IR – 1
  • .KY – 1
  • .LA – 0
  • .LC – 0
  • .LI – 0
  • .MA – 0
  • .ME – 5
  • .MX – 19
  • .NL – 44
  • .NU – 1
  • .PA – o
  • .PE – 1
  • .PH – 3
  • .RO – 5
  • .SC – 1
  • .SO – 1
  • .TK – 0
  • .TM – o
  • .TV – 6
  • .VE – 1
  • .WS – 1

If Go Daddy Is Bought…

Elliot Silver
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27

Godaddy LogoThere have been reports that a team of private equity companies (led by Henry Kravis’ KKR) are in talks to acquire the world’s largest domain registrar, Go Daddy. I’ve been a customer of Go Daddy for about 8 years, and there are some things that I would hate to see changed should a deal be consummated.

Competitive Pricing – Go Daddy has always offered some of the most competitive pricing when it comes to domain registrations. If pricing goes up at GoDaddy, I wouldn’t be surprised to see other companies follow suit. I hope GoDaddy continues to be a price leader.

Executive Accounts – Hands down, GoDaddy has one of the best VIP customer support centers in the business. Their executive accounts group helps clients with a variety of issues, and I know that when I need something from GoDaddy, I can contact my account rep (Brad Larson) and he will get it done.

American Call Centers – With all due respect to my friends in other countries, I like being able to call GoDaddy at off-hours and speak with someone in an English speaking call center. I am sure that you would prefer to speak with someone who speaks the same language as you, and I can almost guarantee that I will speak with a knowledgeable person when I call Godaddy, no matter what time it is.

Racy Advertising – For better or worse, the commercials are one of the reasons Go Daddy has become a household name for many and given an introduction to domain name purchasing. Some think they’re distasteful and others think they’re edgy. Whatever your position on them is, they get people talking and when someone needs a domain name, they are likely to visit GoDaddy.

Event Sponsorships – Similar to the comment above, GoDaddy sponsors things like a NASCAR team to a poker tournament. These events bring domain names to the forefront.

Bob Parsons – He may be a polarizing figure, especially in light of his elephant hunting trip, but Parsons is the heart and soul of the company. He throws big parties every year and does things throughout the year to keep his employees happy. Parsons supports many non-profit organizations and he’s the number 1 vocal promoter of Go Daddy.

Cost for Back End gTLD Services

Elliot Silver
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20

It’s a fact that applying for a gTLD is going to be expensive. We know that the cost for a gTLD application is a non-refundable $185,000 payment to ICANN, and the cost will be considerably more if there are other companies that wish to operate the same gTLD.

In addition to the fixed costs of applying, there will likely be additional legal costs associated with the application as well as consulting costs for companies that want to work with experience professionals like Right of the Dot and Minds + Machines.

These front end costs aside, the actual cost of maintaining the gTLD registry has been an unknown to people without the experience of running a domain registry. Minds + Machines, a company operated by Antony Van Couvering,  just put out a press release announcing a simplified pricing plan for back end gTLD services.

According to the release, “for a flat fee of $100,000 a year, the company will provide unlimited registrations for new TLDs using the Espresso platform, with no per-name fee for most new TLDs.”

The company is also willing to offer a discount to “disadvantaged or needy applicants providing services to underserved communities.”

Press Release:

Singapore, June 24 2011 – Minds + Machines, a wholly owned subsidiary of Top Level Domain Holdings (London AIM, TLDH.L) today announced new pricing for back end registry services for top-level domains. For a flat fee of $100,000 a year, the company will provide unlimited registrations for new TLDs using the Espresso platform, with no per-name fee for most new TLDs.

“We’ve simplified the model,” said Antony Van Couvering, CEO of Minds + Machines. “For a simple, low, flat fee, any prospective applicant can be in the TLD business. Until now, pricing for registry services has been shrouded in secrecy, and potential applicants have had to try to decipher convoluted pricing tiers. The new gTLD program, approved on Monday by ICANN, was meant to usher in a new era of choice and innovation. Minds + Machines is proud to kick that off with our offering.”

“ICANN has opened the Internet’s addressing system to the limitless possibilities of the human imagination,” said Rod Beckstrom, CEO of ICANN. “We have provided a platform for creativity and inspiration, and for the next big dot-thing,” said Peter Dengate Thrush, Chairman of the Board of ICANN.

“The Minds + Machines flat-rate formula is predictable, simple, and attractive,” said George T. Bundy, president of BRS Media, operators of .FM and applicant for .RADIO. “We have been using their Espresso platform for .FM, and it is reliable, flexible, and easy to use. Combined with this pricing it’s very attractive.”

The new Minds + Machines offering excludes certain high-volume super-generic terms such as .music, and geographic terms such as .nyc. The new pricing will be extended to existing clients.

In addition, for disadvantaged or needy applicants providing services to underserved communities, Minds + Machines will offer the service for a 50% discount.

“Our goal is to increase the number of new gTLDs, and the new pricing will be a great help. The fact is that many applicants don’t know how many registrations they will achieve,” said Van Couvering. “The better you can predict your costs, the less risk there is to applying for a new gTLD. An all-inclusive flat fee will give applicants predictable budgets and great savings if they hit their numbers.”

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