Patent for Domain Name Reseller and Affiliate Program — GoDaddy Gets
Domain name registrar picks up patent for domain name reseller programs.
The USPTO has granted The Go Daddy Group, Inc, parent firm of GoDaddy, a patent for “Turnkey reseller program for registering domain names”. The patent describes a system for both turnkey and API-based domain name reseller programs:
A reseller program may be used to increase the number of Client desired domain names that are registered by a Registrar. There are two main embodiments of this reseller program. In the first embodiment, Resellers guide Clients to a Registrar web site through the use of advertisements, links in various web sites and/or links from search engines. The Registrar web site communicates directly with the Client and registers the Client desired domain names and compensates the Reseller for guiding the Client to the Registrar web site. In the second embodiment, Resellers have their own reseller web sites that communicate directly with the Clients and communicate the desired domain names to the Registrar web site so the Registrar web site can register the Client desired domain names. In this embodiment, the Client may compensate the Reseller and the Reseller may compensate the Registrar for the services rendered.
U.S. patent number 7,644,117 (sizable pdf) seems like it could be applied to simple domain name registration affiliate programs as well, where a client uses a referral link to send clients to the registar’s web site (for example, the top link in this article).
Go Daddy Group has another related patent application for “Reseller program for registering domain names through resellers’ web sites” that is right now pending. Both patent applications were filed in July 2003.
