• ICANN, under fire, targets alternate top-level domains
  Facing increased pressure from upstart companies that are contesting its authority over the designation of top-level Internet domains, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) plans to directly tackle the issue of so-called alternate roots at its regular quarterly meeting that starts Friday in Stockholm
  .... full story

• What's the Definition of ICANN?
  The early days of Internet governance were a techno-geek's dream: volunteer committees of programmers, network engineers, and other IT pros issuing endless papers about the best way to handle arcana that only they and their colleagues would ever understand or care about. It all worked out somehow and resulted in a set of fairly comprehensive standards and procedures for getting things done. Individual Internet users needed to pay attention only if they were interested, and only the most intrepid and knowledgeable participated.
  .... full story

• Sex.com founder offers bounty for domain name thief
  The owner of a porn website is offering £35,000 to anyone who knows the whereabouts of the cybersquatter who stole his domain name.
  .... full story

05/30/2001

• Report Urges ICANN To Broaden Leadership Ranks
  The powerful Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) won't achieve the "long-term legitimacy and stability" it seeks unless it moves quickly to include more voices in its decision-making process, according to findings released today by a coalition of public-interest groups.
  .... full story

• ICANN's I Can't Attitude Alienating Internet Community
  Advocates and adversaries are cranking up the rhetoric as they get ready for the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers meetings starting Friday in Stockholm.
  .... full story

• ICANN to settle on what's in a .name
  With no major initiatives on the table, the upcoming meeting of the world's Internet naming authority is likely to focus on new registries such as .name that are looking to upstage .com.
  .... full story

• New domains overshadow ICANN meeting in Stockholm
  When it meets in Stockholm on Friday, the Internet's top standards-setting body will still have to fight perceptions that it is too cautious and bureaucratic -- in essence, that it does not move at "Internet speed."
  .... full story

• First New Domain Names in 10 Years Are Ready
  The domain names may be new, but the issue of cybersquatting not. The hope is that a new registration system will alleviate the problem.
  .... full story

• ICANN meeting to focus on new domains
  The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) will have to fend off criticism of its bureaucratic image and slow progress on new domain names when it congregates for its quarterly conference in Stockholm this weekend
  .... full story

05/29/2001

• ICANN: The Movie Part II
  Choose your own ending
  .... full story

• Email reminders renew domain name squabble
  Complaints about carelessness and inefficiency are dogging the registration of Australian domain names
  .... full story

• Co-ops get own Net domain
  CO-OPS will be able to identify themselves on the Internet by using the domain name .coop, instead of .com, the Co-operative Union said today.
  The .coop name is part of the 157-year-old Co-operative movement’s attempt to drag itself into the Internet age, after a review of activities that has been backed by Tony Blair. The first .coop businesses are to be set up by the end of the year.
  .... full story

• Lockheed Wins Internet Domain Name Rights From China Critic
  Aircraft giant Lockheed Martin Corporation has won rights to an Internet domain name from a U.S.-based critic of China, according to a U.N. panel ruling released Tuesday.
  .... full story

05/28/2001

• What Happens When A Domain Expires?
  It's probably happened to you countless times. You get a call from a frantic customer who tells you, "I just realized that my domain name expired a month ago!" So you go and check, and, sure enough, their domain did expire over a month ago. Amazingly, it's still listed in the whois database as being registered, even though it has legitimately expired. Another domain that you meant to renew expired last week, and it's already gone from the whois database-meaning anyone can register the domain.
  .... full story

05/27/2001

• Texas county's site points to porn after domain ownership lapses
  When Karnes County leaders set up a Web site, they hoped to draw potential tourists wanting to learn about their historic Polish settlement, famed horned lizards and popular dove festival. Instead, they ultimately attracted a different group: porn buffs.
  .... full story

05/25/2001

• Commerce Department Urges ICANN To Add More New Domains
  Commerce Secretary Donald Evans today urged the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to step up the creation of new Internet domains to complement the increasingly crowded .com, .net and .org.
  .... full story

• VeriSign, ICANN Finalize .Com Deal - Update
  Officials from VeriSign [NASDAQ:VRSN] and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) today signed the final language of a contract that will very likely ensconce VeriSign as the permanent paid steward of the popular ".com" Internet domain
  .... full story

• Australian City Shut Out In Second Domain-Name Dispute
  An international panel of arbitrators has handed the Australian city of Brisbane its second defeat this month in the municipality's attempts to claim Internet addresses containing its name.
  .... full story

• dot.com domain monopoly silences critics
  One of the quirks of domain name history is that the keeper of the all-important root file, Network Solutions (now VeriSign), hosted the most popular discussion forum on the subject of domain name politics. Until yesterday, that is.
  .... full story

• Hospital Delivers Your Child's Domain Name
  "The domain name is becoming an important form of identity, much like a social security number."
  .... full story

05/24/2001

• Restricted Registration for .Biz, .Info Domains Begins
  This week marks the beginning of the new registration period for .info and ..biz top-level domains (TLDs).
  .... full story

• New domain names up for grabs
  .biz, .info to be rolled out gradually
  .... full story

• Baby's first gift: A Web address
  First, babies get real names; then they get dot-com ones.
  .... full story

• VeriSign pulls critic-heavy discussion list
  The company that manages databases for the Internet's most popular names has shut down an e-mail discussion list that had turned into a forum for its critics.
  .... full story

• Playboy wins domain name battle with Good Samaritans
  Playboy has been awarded the rights to the internet domain name hughhefner.com in a UN ruling
  .... full story

• University sues adult Web site over domain name
  The University of North Carolina is suing the makers of an adult Web site, claiming they use the trademark "UNC" along with pictures of nude women.
  .... full story

05/23/2001

• Cyrillic Domains
  Expanding the Internet's reach to non-English speakers, Hong Kong company RegTime this week began registering names that end in the Cyrillic equivalents of .com, .net and .org.
  .... full story

• SEDO launches world's first dedicated .tv domain brokerage platform
  SEDO GmbH, the leading domain name brokerage in Europe has announced its launch of the world's first dedicated .tv domain name brokerage platform.
  .... full story

• Hong Kong's Domain Name Registration Company Announces New .hk Rules
  The Hong Kong Domain Name Registration Company Limited (HKDNR) has announced that new policies on the .hk domain registration will be more corporate-friendly and service-oriented.
  .... full story

05/22/2001

• New domain name claims
  The release of a host of new Internet domain names yesterday will increase choice and competition, but will it create more litigation between those who think they alone hold the trademark rights to a specific domain?
  .... full story

• How to stake out a domain-name claim
  Even though Icann is gradually releasing new domains - think .biz, .pro and .museum - it's as hard as ever for ordinary folks to nab a corner of cyber real estate
  .... full story

• ICANN, VeriSign Master Their Own Domains
  Commerce Department approves agreement that allows company to retain control of the .com top-level domain.
  .... full story

• Aimster to appeal arbitration decision on domain name
  The founder of Internet-based file sharing company Aimster, Johnny Deep, said he will challenge an arbitration panel's order to relinquish its Internet domain names to America Online Inc.
  .... full story

• .biz row prompts sequel from ICANN spoof makers
  The makers of a spoof of the International Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers has produced a sequel to its first episode - but one which allows the viewer to choose the ending.
  .... full story

05/21/2001

• Can you get a new domain name?
  Grabbing an Internet address that ends with a new domain may be more difficult than you think.
  .... full story

• VeriSign keeps .com domain
  VeriSign and the US Commerce Department have agreed that VeriSign can maintain control of the .com domain registration until 2007 in exchange for the company relinquishing claims to the .org and .net registries
  .... full story

• Post Office Gets its Domain
  On Friday, the Post Office succeeded in getting its hands on the postoffice.co.uk domain name
  .... full story

• Playing the domain game
  A local nonprofit organization that strives to raise awareness about the issue of child abuse also is raising its profile on the Internet search engines, thanks to one vital electronic ingredient: a new domain name
  .... full story

• DB wins back domain name
  DB Breweries has won a court battle giving it ownership of the website address www.db.co.nz.
  .... full story

05/20/2001

• Staking Your Claim to the New .biz Domain
  .biz, the first of seven new top level domains("tlds"), will go live in October this year. In the meantime, a procedure has been put in place enabling trade mark owners to assert their rights, provided they do so between 21 May 2001 and 9 July 2001.
  .... full story

05/19/2001

• Washington approves VeriSign domain deal
  The U.S. government approved a deal allowing top Internet domain registrar VeriSign to retain control of the lucrative ".com" Web addresses, the Commerce Department said on Friday.
  .... full story

• Net Law Notebook: Trademark Owners Get Some Protection in New Domain Names
  For several years, trademark attorneys have debated whether expanding the number of top-level domains (TLDs) would help or hurt their clients, and these debates are partly to blame for the long-delayed expansion of TLDs. Now that two new domain names are awaiting approval from the Department of Commerce, attorneys surely will begin debating the effect of the trademark protection schemes implemented by the new registries.
  .... full story

• DoC Clears Landmark Verisign-ICANN Deal
  The U.S. Department of Commerce Friday approved the landmark agreement between the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and VeriSign Inc., the world's largest registrar of top-level domain (TLD) names, with few changes
  .... full story

05/18/2001

• VeriSign retains hold on .com domain
  After days of wrangling, the Commerce Department finally left its rubber stamp on an agreement with the Internet's governing body that allows VeriSign to remain in control of the .com domain.
  .... full story

• NCBA Launches New .coop Domain Venture; New Corporation Opens Offices To Provide Domain Name Registration Services
  The National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA) opened offices today for DotCooperation LLC, a new wholly owned subsidiary that, following successful completion of negotiations with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, will offer domain name registration services for .coop.
  .... full story

• KB Toys Acquires Etoys Domain
  KB Toys has acquired the rights to the name and Web site of defunct e-tailer Etoys for $3.35 million.
  .... full story

• Markey Questions VeriSign, ICANN Deal
  VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) is finding it more and more difficult to get approval of its agreement with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in Washington, D.C
  .... full story

• Aimster's a Cybersquatter, Domain-Name Arbitrators Say
  In a decision that might shock some fans of the file-sharing service known as Aimster, a binding dispute resolution process has declared that the company behind the AOL Instant Messenger (AOL) add-on should give up its Aimster.com Internet domain.
  .... full story

• Local lawyers win back Dell domains
  The Dell Computer Corp. has won back 10 contested domain names from an alleged cybersquatter in an arbitrators' decision favoring arguments made by two attorneys
  .... full story

• Smoking pistol unravels VeriSign domain name stitch-up
  Against all expectations, the cosy deal which obligingly extends registrar VeriSign's .com domain monopoly for another six years (and its .org and .net franchise for another five) appears to be unravelling in the spotlight. An incriminating email reprinted on the ICANNWatch weblog appear to show ICANN's counsel Joe Sims privately laying the groundwork for the deal, which strongly favoured VeriSign, in contradiction to public statements and ICANN's charter
  .... full story

05/17/2001

• New Internet domains to be added in fall
  The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has signed off on a deal that will clear the way for .biz and .info to take their places in the Internet naming system next to .com, .ca, .org, and .net.
  .... full story

• Commerce Ready To Approve ICANN-VeriSign Deal - Sources
  The Commerce Department will approve a deal that gives VeriSign [NASDAQ:VRSN] near-permanent control over the global ".com" Internet registry in exchange for VeriSign agreeing to relinquish the ".net" registry earlier than it had planned, a source close to the negotiations said today.
  .... full story

• Philippine Provider Unveils Shared Registration For '.ph' Domain
  DotPH Inc., Philippines registry and the sole registrar of the ".ph" country code top-level domain (ccTLD), has announced the rollout of a scaled-down shared-registration service for the domain, based on extensible markup language (XML).
  .... full story

• TDC wins legal fight on domain names
  THE Trade Development Council (TDC) has won two intellectual property rights arbitration cases after its domain name in Chinese was registered separately by two companies in the mainland and Taiwan.
  .... full story

• New group formed outside ICANN for Internet top-level domain owners
  A group of Internet top-level domain (TLD) holders have formed a nonprofit association to prevent what they fear will become a splintered Internet domain naming system.
  .... full story

05/16/2001

• Mum's the Word in VeriSign Domain Talks
  Talks between the Department of Commerce, VeriSign, and ICANN carried into the evening on Tuesday, as the parties spent the entire day ironing out an agreement on the future operation of the .com domain registry and VeriSign's contract with ICANN.
  .... full story

05/15/2001

• The .tv Corporation sells highest annual registration fee domain name
  Domain name Drugstore.tv sells for half a million dollars
  .... full story

• New Domains .biz, .info To Debut
  The Internet is about to get its first new generic domain names in over 15 years as .biz and .info received their final approval, the group that administers the World Wide Web said Tuesday
  .... full story

• .biz, .info registrars schedule domain sales
  The Internet's governing body approved plans Tuesday to make two new Internet suffixes available, giving Web site owners alternatives to the crowded .com top-level domain market.
  .... full story

• VeriSign near Internet domains deal
  The Department of Commerce expressed confidence Monday that it could grant VeriSign extended rights to manage the most popular Internet addresses.
  .... full story

• Internet domain name group proposes budget increase
  The nonprofit group that oversees the Internet's domain name system posted a proposed budget Monday that calls for a nearly 20 percent increase in spending.
  .... full story

• Advocates Upset Over Verisign/ICANN Flipflop
  Critics are upset over the Department of Commerce's likely approval of the contract arrangement between VeriSign and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.
  .... full story

05/14/2001

• VeriSign's Internet domain names deal nearly done
  The Commerce Department felt confident Monday that it could grant a California company extended rights to manage the most popular Internet addresses.
  .... full story

• City Strikes Out In Dispute Over BrisbaneCity.com Domain
  The City of Brisbane in Australia has been told it doesn't have more rights to an Internet domain bearing its name than does its current holder, a Queensland man whose stable of Internet addresses reflect numerous Australian place names.
  .... full story

• Taking a domain in vain
  As British Telecom prepares to split itself up to help reduce its mountain of debt, it will have o choose the names for its new divisions very carefully.
  .... full story

• Domain Games
  An independent network of Web sites branded with the names of city magazines has prompted the City and Regional Magazine Association to alert its members to what it considers to be rampant trademark infringement.
  .... full story

• 2600.com Domain Hijacked
  As the Department of Commerce Monday prepares to rule on a deal between the Internet Corp. for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and VeriSign which would allow that company to hold onto both its registrar and registry businesses, reports of a high-profile foul-up related to the company's Network Solutions Inc. registrar business have surfaced on the Web.
  .... full story

05/12/2001

• Kevin Spacey wins Internet domain name dispute
  Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey wins a dispute with an allege "cybersquatter" in a challenge over an Internet domain name.
  .... full story

05/11/2001

• Congressmen Back ICANN-VeriSign Pact
  As the Department of Commerce nears a decision on whether to accept the domain name administration agreement brokered between ICANN and VeriSign, two Congressmen this week sent letters to the agency urging it to approve the deal.
  .... full story

• J-Phone Wins Web Domain Name Dispute, Files Claim for Compensation
  J-Phone East Japan Co., Ltd. has won a court case in which it had sought to prevent food importer-exporter Taiko Tsusho from using a Web site with the "j-phone.co.jp" domain name.
  .... full story

• PACIFICA BACKS OFF LAWSUIT THREAT TO CRITICAL DOMAINS
  The Pacifica Foundation, owner of radio station WBAI (home of "Off The Hook") and four other stations, has backed off of a threat to sue the owners of various web sites that criticized the network and its stations.
  .... full story

05/10/2001

• Leaked ICANN budget apportions $0 for elections
  A draft of ICANN's annual budget prepared in April by Maximum CFO Mike Roberts* has surfaced on the web.
  .... full story

• Rolex Domain Victory
  Montres Rolex SA is the Swiss company that is well known for manufacturing Rolex watches. Rolex sued the owner of the website www.rolex.dk in the Danish courts.
  .... full story

• Intella goes domain name crazy
  WE DUNNO WHY we started calling Intel La Intella a few months back but it's obviously caught on with the corporation because in the last week it has registered domains including in-telia.com, in-tellia.com, and in-telia.com.
  .... full story

05/09/2001

• .NAME Operator Appoints CEO to Develop the Personal Domain Space and Promote Digital Identity
  Andrew Tsai, former President of Urbanfetch Ltd., joins Global Name Registry Ltd., registry operator of .NAME, the first top-level domain exclusively for individuals
  .... full story

05/08/2001

• Registries prepare for domain crush
  Companies in charge of the newest top-level domains on Monday gave a glimpse of their plans for handling the online land grab that's sure to follow the launch of new Internet addresses
  .... full story

05/07/2001

• Afilias, the Registry For .INFO, Names New CEO; Former idealab! Exec To Lead Effort To Roll-Out The First Truly Global Top-Level Domain Name
  Afilias, the company selected by ICANN to operate the new .INFO registry, today announced that Ronald Berg is joining the company as its chief executive officer.
  .... full story

• Protection of 'domain names' under the TML
  On April 13, the President promulgated the Trade Mark Ordinance, 2001. The new law, while being TRIPs compliant, also seems to have taken into account developments in the international law regarding trade marks.
  .... full story

05/06/2001

• University agrees to fund student fellowships to get domain name
  A prestigious private college has agreed to pay $170,000 for the Internet rights to its own name.
  .... full story

05/04/2001

• ICANN Bashing: The Movie
  It's easy to sit back and knock the work of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). But to turn distrust of the organization that is in charge of the Net's generic top-level domain names (gTLDs) into an epic Flash movie ...
  .... full story

05/03/2001

• NYC.com, NewYorkCity.com Domains Attract $2M Bid
  The NewYorkCity.com and NYC.com domain names -- two of the more recognizable and valuable URLs -- have been put up for sale on the eBay auction site and, by mid-morning today, the bidding had exceeded $2 million.
  .... full story

• A company’s net domain is its castle
  While the birth of the internet breathed life into business through the vigour of a fresh marketplace, it also opened doors to less scrupulous individuals relishing the challenge of a new scam.
  .... full story

05/02/2001

• Register.com Turns Profit, Looks To New Domains
  Register.com [NASDAQ:RCOM], the first company to compete with Network Solutions Inc. in the sale of ".com" Internet addresses, has turned a first-quarter profit of $2 million, or 4 cents per share.
  .... full story

• Wockhardt wins battle over domain name at Wipo
  PHARMA major Wockhardt has won its domain name back from a US-based company in a legal battle at the World Intellectual Property Organisation Arbitration and Mediation Centre, Geneva.
  .... full story

05/01/2001

• ICANN Completes Negotiations For New Internet Suffixes
  Internet addressing authorities last week cleared one of the last major hurdles standing in the way of two new global Internet domains - ".biz" and ".info."
  .... full story

• UN awards Fulham its internet domain
  A United Nations panel has awarded Fulham FC the rights to the internet domain name www.fulhamfc.com. The World Intellectual Property Organization has ordered that the name is transferred to the club.
  .... full story

• Hong Kong To Implement New Domain Name Registration
  The Hong Kong Domain Name Registration Company Limited (HKDNR) has informed the government that it will soon implement new policies relating to Hong Kong's Internet domain name registration as .hk. Mr Rex Chang, Principal Assistant Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting, told the Hong Kong press that companies will be able register multiple domain names under .hk and transfer domain names upon mutual consent from June 1 this year.
  .... full story