Attack on Google Palestine Site, Risks of Foreign Domains

Have a foreign domain name?

Attack on Google's Palestine Site Shows Risks of Foreign Domains - Bloomberg: "...Google, which was infiltrated in 2009 by hackers from China, now has 300 information-security professionals focused on protecting data, a figure approaching bank-like proportions. Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, the largest U.S. bank by assets, said in April that his bank has more than 600 employees dedicated to security. Still, Google's security force couldn't stop hackers from breaking into a third-party service that manages Palestine's .ps domain, changing the IP address of google.ps and temporarily redirecting traffic to an anti-Israel page. Jay Nancarrow, a spokesman for Google, declined to comment on the company’s security. Google's Palestine site itself wasn’t hacked and the company is talking with the domain manager to resolve the issue, he said...." (read more at link above)

more news links below

Follow @expvccom

ICANNLabs

ICANNLabs: "ICANN has unveiled a new digital platform intended to foster collective experimentation and innovation in the hopes of increasing community-wide engagement.  The platform, called ICANNLabs can be accessed at http://labs.icann.org . . . Anyone can sign up to receive updates and provide feedback. The platform will create a truly transparent process, essential to ICANN and consistent with the organization’s multi-stakeholder model. “It’s all about increasing our reach and relevance to new digital audiences which are engaging us through the web,” said Fadi Chehadé, ICANN President and CEO. “We are searching for new ways to innovate and stay true to our principles of bottom-up, community driven policy formation. ICANNLabs is quite simply an open experiment aimed at creating new digital forms of communication."

To read and comment on the ICANNLabs blog, visit: http://www.icannlabs.tumblr.com
To follow ICANN labs on Twitter, please visit: https://twitter.com/ICANNLabs

more news links below

Follow @expvccom

Games and Domains

Hung Over From Grand Theft Auto? - mxdwn Games | mxdwn Games News: Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two Interactive has made claim on the domain name HungoverX.com. . . . With a name like “Hung Over” it’s a safe bet Rockstar would be attached to the project if it’s real. . . .

more news links below

Follow @expvccom

Heritage Auctions, Domain Names, IP Division

Domains Go Mainstream! One of the World's 3 Largest Auction Houses - Heritage Auctions - Opens New Domain Name & IP Division Headed by Aron Meystedt: "In a landmark leap into the mainstream auction world, domain names and other intellectual property will take their place alongside Heritage Auctions' vast offering of collectibles and investment quality items including fine art, sports memorabilia, rare coins, wine, movie posters and more. Meystedt told us, "Securing the involvement of a major auction house like HA.com is something I’ve wanted to accomplish for several years. This is going to help spread the reach for domain owners and brokers going forward.""

more news links below

Follow @expvccom

Some Domain Name Must-Reads

A VC: Finding And Buying A Domain Name

How To Blow $140,000 In Domain Registrations | TheDomains.com

WhatDomain.org - "Over the next two years more than 1,400 new top-level domains will come online, each a new neighborhood. Think you have places to go now? Wait until you see what’s coming."

Its Time To Name Names: We Call Out Dead Beat Buyers, Game Players, Liars | TheDomains.com

fab just fab | Search Results | Domain Name Wire: "Just Fabulous, the company behind online fashion site JustFab.com, has sued white-hot e-commerce site Fab.com. Just Fabulous claims that Fab.com is infringing its Just Fab marks.

more news links below

Follow @expvccom

Online presence, Domain names, Disputes

Protecting your online presence: Domain name disputes: ".com dispute resolution procedure
In addition to the .co.uk dispute process, all generic top level domains such as .com and .net have a Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) allowing the filing of a complaint against a domain name that has been registered AND is being used in bad faith. The hurdle is a little higher on a .com action in that you must prove the following three elements:
1. the domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which you have rights; and
2. the domain owner has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name; and
3. the domain name has been registered and is being used in bad faith." (read more at link above)

more news links below

Follow @expvccom

Trademarks, domain names, remedies

Trademarks, domain name wars, and the birth of cybersquatting remedies - Lexology: " . . . . Both the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA), passed by Congress in 1998, and the Uniform Dispute Resolution Procedure (UDRP), required as part of all domain name registration contracts since 1999, addressed cybersquatting, defined as the registration or use of a domain name in bad faith and for profit. Under the ACPA, you could sue in court to recover a domain name registered by a cybersquatter. Under the UDRP, you could invoke a special cybersquatting dispute resolution procedure, even against a cybersquatter halfway around the world, one who is not amenable to suit in the United States. Both were altogether new remedies, creating an altogether new twist on trademark law in that special place: cyberspace."

more news links below

Follow @expvccom

Domain Name Battle for 35 Percent of the World (Video)

The Domain Name Battle for 35 Percent of the World: Video - Bloomberg: "(Bloomberg) -- GoDaddy.com Senior Director, Icann Policy & Planning James Bladel discusses Icann's domain expansion (new gTLDs) and overhaul plans. He speaks with Emily Chang on Bloomberg Television's "Bloomberg West." (Source: Bloomberg)"

more news links below

Follow @expvccom

Registrars, Domain Names, Service

WorkersCompensation.com CompNewsNetwork - @GoDaddy or No Daddy? (Or, Why Our Domain is Not for Sale): " . . . We specifically inquired if they still held the custom direction data we had programmed in the system. He assured us it would. It didn't. It contained default IP info resulting in the "parked free" page some of you saw. We realized this and remedied it as quickly as possible, but the damage was done. So that is how we came to be parked free with offered assistance to sell our domain name. GoDaddy over the years has brought innovative services to the industry and has been a key in lowering costs for the industry. I like innovators. I like disruptive forces within the economy. However, low cost does not always equate to value, particularly if that service does not work as designed. As pleasant as it may be for us to be greeted by Danica Patrick every time we visit their site, I would much prefer our sites work as intended. That can only happen when our registrar performs their role as required. This week we will start testing domains with a different registrar, and hope to resolve the overall name server issue. . . ."

more news links below

Follow @expvccom

Verisign UDRP, profits, growth

Verisign files first UDRP since 2007 | Domain Name Wire: "It looks like it goes through Google’s pay-per-click feed, so GoDaddy is paying for someone to click on an ad on its own lander. If Verisign chose to file an in rem lawsuit against a .com domain instead of a UDRP, the court could end up ordering Verisign to transfer the domain to itself…"

VeriSign 2nd-Quarter Profit Up 23% on Higher Revenue - WSJ.com: "VeriSign Inc.'s (VRSN) second-quarter profit jumped 23% as the Internet-domain-name company reported a double-digit increase in revenue and higher operating margins, lifting results above Wall Street's expectations. The company has posted double-digit revenue gains and higher income for nine consecutive quarters. VeriSign has spent the past few years shedding several Internet-related businesses, making it almost totally dependent on the mainstay Internet domain operation. VeriSign's domain-name business--which operates the registry for .com, .net and other domains--is based on a contract from the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, overseen by the U.S. Commerce Department. . . ."

Verisign does not forecast significant revenues from new gTLDs (if any) before 2014.--
Verisign Pre-Earnings: Expecting Modest Growth -- Trefis: "We expect the market share of .com and .net domain names in overall Internet domains to fall from 48.1% in 2012 to 46.6% in 2013. This is based on our forecast that the total number of registered .com/.net domains will increase to around 130 million by the end of 2013. At the same time, the total number of Internet domain names will increase to 280 million. We estimate slower growth in .com and .net domain names, as compared to the overall industry on account of competition from country code domain names and pending introduction of new gTLDs."

more news links below

Follow @expvccom

The Trademark Clearing House – why sign up?

The Trademark Clearing House – do you need to sign up? - International Law Office: "Brand owners will need to weigh up the benefits and limitations when considering whether it is worth registering with the TMCH. As a general rule, brand owners should consider protecting their trademarks at the TMCH, just as they should consider putting in place other protection measures in respect of their trademarks, such as watch notices. However, the TMCH regime is not for everyone and it is likely that bigger companies with a large portfolio of trademarks – and which have the resources to pursue infringers – will be more likely to put such protection measures in place. Certainly, the TMCH registration fees look like a good value against the cost of acquiring domains from third parties later down the line."

more news links below

Follow @expvccom

Google goes with Chromecast.tv, not ChromeCast.com

Google Announces ChromeCast Without Owning ChromeCast.com But Did Just Register Chromecast.Tv | TheDomains.com: "The domain name ChromeCast.Tv was just registered last week by the brand protection company Mark Monitor.com on July 18th although it is not yet resolving."

Registrant of Chromecast.com appears to be a Canadian company--site is "under development."

more news links below

Follow @expvccom