DNN.com: History Behind Domain Name News’ Fresh Domain
Domain Name News has scored the domain DNN.com. But there’s a story behind the domain.
The prior week domain news site Domain Name News disclosed that it had purchased the domain name DNN.com for use with its web site. This is a great domain and the team at DNN deserves a tip of the hat.
Earlier today I was reviewing UDRP decisions and came across a three character domain decision found in favor of the respondent. As I read the case, it hit me: this is the domain DNN.com, which Adam Strong and DNN now owns.
A bit of research shows that DNN.com was previously owned by media behemoth Knight Ridder. In early 2008, NameBubble, LLC bought the domain name for $14,000.
In April 2008, DotNetNuke Corporation filed a UDRP to try to get the domain name DNN.com. The firm claimed that NameBubble had offered to sell the domain to it; NameBubble states it contacted DotNetNuke only when a related firm offered to lease the domain and to ensure that it didn’t create a trademark conflict.
DotNetNuke’s first UDRP filing went nowhere since the panel determined it didn’t have a trademark for DNN. A firm related to DotNetNuke, Perpetual Motion Interactive Systems Inc, had filed a Canadian trademark, but Perpetual Motion Interactive Systems didn’t file the UDRP in its name.
In June 2008, Perpetual Motion Interactive Systems filed the same UDRP under its name but lost again. This time NameBubble hired domain name attorney John Berryhill to represent it. The panel determined that Perpetual Motion Interactive Systems did not show that NameBubble didn’t have rights or legitimate interests in the domain.
On the firm blog, DotNetNuke’s Shaun Walker wrote regarding the UDRP filing back in June:
Research revealed that the dnn.com domain name had somehow changed hands in January 2008, and was right now in the possession of a domain name squatter. The squatter requested an outrageous sum of money for the domain name, and I responded that DNN Corp did not have the financial resources to entertain such a demand. The squatter indicated that another party in our ecosystem had expressed interest in the domain name, and it soon became apparent that he was attempting to leverage one party against another in order to try and generate the maximum profit.
Of course, very few people think of DotNetNuke when they hear the term “DNN”. In fact, the first thing I think regarding is DomainNameNews.com. It’s great to know that a firm that understood the value of the “outrageous sum of money” it would cost to buy the domain ended up with it.
