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Register for Domain Roundtable

Elliot Silver
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With Domain Roundtable just over a month away, now is the time to make travel plans and register to attend the conference. Organized by Name Intelligence, parent of DomainTools, and sponsored by the biggest companies in the domain space, the conference will be held in San Francisco, the first time it’s being held outside of Seattle. There is an open door policy at the conference, and anyone and everyone is invited to attend. The idea behind this is to facilitate discussion and debate among people of various backgrounds.
Why should you attend Domain Roundtable? According to Jay Westerdal, President of Name Intelligence,

“Domain Roundtable is geared towards serious domainers that want an advantage. The contracts and ideas that people take away from the Roundtable every year is extraordinary. Several times after a show I hear first hand from people that meet someone randomly at the show and now are entering into a very profitable agreement because of it.”

Unfortunately, I will be with my family in New Hampshire celebrating a Jewish holiday, otherwise I would be attending the conference. From my experience, each domain conference has a unique feel, and they all present great opportunities to meet other people within the industry. I have had the opportunity to meet many industry leaders and learn about various companies within the space at similar conferences. This is a super opportunity to learn and network.

Moniker Auction to Benefit Internet Commerce Association

Elliot Silver
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 Moniker  recently announced that they will auction domain names at no cost to benefit the  Internet Commerce Association  at the TRAFFIC East conference in Orlando. This is a great opportunity to help the Internet Commerce Association while earning a tax deduction (for contributors) or enhancing your portfolio (for buyers). Moniker plans to auction the best 5 names in their live auction format, and the remaining names that were selected will be auctioned in the silent auction.Thank you to Moniker and TRAFFIC for supporting the rights of domain registrants by supporting the Internet Commerce Association. Please submit donated names to  Michael Collins  and he will forward them to Moniker.  

Jay: Part of Snowe Bill "Overreaching in its Authority"

Elliot Silver
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When I first read Jay’s analysis of the Snowe legislation, I was surprised that he wasn’t as concerned with it as many others in the industry. While I am no legal scholar, I’ve been doing my research on the Snowe Anti-Phishing Consumer Protection Act (S. 2661), and there are sections of the proposal that could really hurt small businesses with domain names, like my own. Michael Collins from the Internet Commerce Association and Michael Berkens from Most Wanted Domains both posted their viewpoints on Jay’s Domaintools blog, to which Jay asked follow-up questions.
Later yesterday afternoon, Michael Collins followed up his post and pointed out where the most concerning language lay within the proposed bill. Within hours, Jay responded in the comment section:

“UPDATE BY JAY: Michael, You are quoting Section 3.(b)(1)(A) on page 7. You are right about that section. I think it is overreaching in its authority however Section 3.(a)(1)(A) is much better worded. Thankfully this is a draft bill and I will lobby to fix that wording in that section!“

It is important that our industry leaders understand how this proposed bill could impact every small company with a domain name. The way it is written could give large companies the tool they need to take away our domain names if they think a name is confusing to their own name. The proposed legislation is dangerous to all domain owners, and it is nice that we will have Jay lobbying on behalf of domain owners.

Safe Domain Name Transactions

Elliot Silver
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After reading an excruciatingly long thread on DNForum that deals with allegations of scamming, stolen domain names, missing funds…etc, I wanted to share some general advice when buying and selling domain names. The advice I give is only based on how I personally do business, and I recommend using an attorney if that makes you more comfortable.
Before I purchase a domain name, I always check the Whois history to make sure the name looks like it is free and clear of problems. Frequent changes in ownership, different/inconsistent email addresses or phone numbers, and incorrect-sounding information always ring bells in my head and requires further checking. I also like to search using Google and the domain forums to see if the name has ever been in a dispute or had “issues.” Because I mostly

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NY Times: Direct Navigation Traffic is Best

Elliot Silver
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An article in the New York Times confirms what most domain investors have said for years – direct navigation type-in traffic yields the most valuable website visitors. Based on a study performed by Internet marketing company Engine Ready, the article compares direct navigation traffic to search engine traffic, both paid and organic. While comparing the value between organic search versus paid search, the article mentions that neither is has the edge when it comes to valuing traffic:

“That honor goes to the people who arrive at a site by typing its Web address directly into their browsers or clicking on a bookmark. Such visitors, who tend to be repeat customers, linger the longest, spend the most money, and are the most likely to “convert” to buyers, doing so on 3.3 percent of their visits. “

Read the rest of the article on the New York Times website.

Letter to My Senators

Elliot Silver
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One of the best things about living in this country is that we have the ability to appeal to our elected officials in the hopes of having a proposed bill revised before it is written into law. The proposed Snowe Bill (S. 2661) has the potential to severely damage web-based small businesses (and any company that owns a website/domain name), and I am not going to stand idly. The Internet Commerce Association has information on contacting your local elected officials to express your concern about the bill, and I strongly recommend you do so if the bill will impact you. In addition to financially supporting the ICA, I have also emailed my senators, and I am going to send a letter via USPS as well.
Below is a copy of the letter I sent to my senator in New Hampshire, US Senator John E. Sununu. I fondly remember being introduced to his father (former New Hampshire Governor John Sununu), who was very concerned about small business growth in the state of New Hampshire.   Like his father, Senator Sununu is also a proponent of small businesses in New Hampshire, and I hope the Senator will read up on my concerns and take action to alleviate them. This bill will impact anyone who owns a domain name or website if a larger company wants to take it from them. We need to make sure the bill does not pass in its current form.
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Dear Senator Sununu,
I was born and raised in Nashua, New Hampshire, but currently reside in New York City.   In 2006, I created a small business buying, developing and selling domain names, and my company (Top Notch Domains, LLC) is currently registered and located in New Hampshire. I do all of my banking in New Hampshire, and I hope to move back to the Nashua area once my fiancee finishes her graduate degree in New York.   In November 2007, I was able to leave my job at American International Group (AIG) as a Senior Marketing Manager, to focus completely on my domain development and investment business.   I am really living the American Dream.
Aside from always voting in local and national elections, I am relatively uninvolved in politics.   However, I am writing to you today because a bill was recently proposed that in all likelihood will have dire consequences on the domain investment industry and my business, if it passes with the current language.   Senator Snowe recently introduced a bill called the Anti-Phishing Consumer Protection Act (S. 2661) .   While the name of the bill certainly sounds consumer friendly, the law itself opens the gateway for large corporations and/or various government agencies to seize control of domain names currently owned by small business owners like myself, which have absolutely nothing to do with phishing or other deceptive or fraudulent practices.
The two major targets of the bill, phishing and cybersquatting, are both already illegal in the US or against ICANN/WIPO policy.   Over 85% of WIPO cases are won by the complainant, and 99% of all Lanham Act cases are won by the plaintiff, evidence that the systems in place are working. Additionally, most people who are committing these fraudulent acts live in Europe, Asia, and Africa, beyond the reach of the US justice system. I am very much in favor of eliminating phishing and cybersquatting, but I don’t think this bill will have any impact on these illegal practices.
The main concern I have is that the proposed S. 2661 bill would also make it unlawful for any person to use a domain name in connection with the display of a webpage or an advertisement on a webpage, if the domain name is identical or confusingly similar to the name or brand name of a government office, nonprofit organization, business or other entity.   As the owner of the domain names Lowell.com and Salinas.com (among other generic domain names), I am very concerned that this could present the opportunity for potential litigation against these city domain names, even though owning them now is perfectly legal.
On my websites, I make it very clear that each is completely unconnected to the city government to ensure that consumers are aware that my websites are commercial ventures.   My websites are informational guides to the cities, and I am very concerned that both of these cities could conceivably try to seize them, even though both city governments own their respective .gov extension. The language in this bill could put all my hard work and business plans in jeopardy.   I have spent a considerable amount of time and money purchasing and developing these domain names into sustainable businesses, and I believe the language of the bill will enable others to put me out of business as the risk of owning these domain names would be too great.
Senator Sununu, I am asking you not to cosponsor S. 2661 or to vote in favor of it in its current form.   I am asking that you oppose this legislation until its redundant, unbalanced, and unnecessary trademark-like provisions have been removed.   The Internet Commerce Association, has put out a well-written paper on how this bill will impact my entire industry, and they are willing to work with you and Senator Snowe to revisit the language.   I would sincerely appreciate your review of the ICA website and your efforts to improve the language of the pending Snowe bill.   If the bill passes as is, I am afraid that I will lose my business.   Please help.
ICA Position Paper:   http://www.internetcommerce.org/Snowe_Bill_Threatens_Domain_Name_Registrants
Best Regards,
Elliot J. Silver
Top Notch Domains, LLC

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