Panel faults financial services company for weak case and for continuing after learning the registrant’s identity. Domain name investor Blue Nova has successfully defended the domain inyo.com in a UDRP proceeding. A three-member panel concluded that Inyo, Inc., a financial services company, attempted reverse domain name hijacking by filing the complaint. Inyo argued the domain … Read more

Domain investors are behind nearly every .si sale this year, and one buyer accounts for over 40% of transactions. Slovenia’s country code top-level domain, .si, has recently attracted notable interest from domain investors. Part of the appeal appears to be a perceived association with the acronym “SI,” which some interpret as shorthand for “superintelligence,” a … Read more

Group must act quickly to reach conclusions before the new gTLD application window closes. ICANN has announced the seven members of a Technical Study Group that will examine how blockchain-based naming systems interact with the Domain Name System (DNS). The appointed members are: Sebastien Ducos, Unstoppable Domains Nick Johnson, ENS Domains Brian Lonergan, Identity Digital … Read more

ICANN says a registrar focused on “sensitive niches” has failed to handle DNS abuse properly. ICANN issued a breach notice today to Fewmoretaps OU, which operates as TrustName.com, citing multiple failures in how the registrar handles domain abuse complaints. TrustName presents itself as a registrar for privacy-conscious customers in “sensitive niches,” advertising a “bulletproof” approach … Read more

Company alleges that AdMedia created a fraudulent assignment agreement and submitted it to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Yahoo Ad Tech and Yahoo IP Holdings have filed suit against Ad.com Interactive Media (doing business as AdMedia) and its CEO, Danny Bibi, accusing them of improperly obtaining rights to the advertising.com trademark. The complaint, filed … Read more

A GLP-1 seller, a sports apparel brand, and a company that helps nurseries print plant labels bought domain names. Tagvia helps nurseries design and print plant labels. Image from Tagvia.com. Reviewing recently completed end-user domain sales reveals a surprising variety of niche businesses and practical uses. Some buyers are established brands extending their reach, others … Read more

Company warns that it may suspend domains or de-accredit domain registrars. NIXI, the organization responsible for managing India’s .in country-code top-level domain, has issued an advisory reminding registrants and registrars that selling or assisting in the sale of .in domain names is prohibited. Until recently, NIXI’s restrictions focused primarily on registrars, banning them from investing … Read more

Bidding activity is picking up in GoDaddy’s latest domain auction. GoDaddy’s current domain auction event concludes this week, with many lots closing on June 9 and 10. The auction includes a wide selection of premium domains spanning generic, industry-specific, and brandable names. In the previous GoDaddy auction, thousands of bids came in from buyers across … Read more

A discussion about using domain suspensions to censor online speech. Human rights organization Article 19 recently published a report titled “Damming a River to Catch a Fish” that examines how governments and other actors are increasingly using the Domain Name System (DNS) to restrict access to online content. The report documents methods and trends in … Read more

Entrepreneur files claim against domain registered before his trademarks An Indian entrepreneur and fund manager has been found to have attempted reverse domain name hijacking in a dispute over the domain CEOAthlete.com. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) panel concluded that the complaint lacked a reasonable prospect of success because the domain predated the complainant’s … Read more