VAYTON Brand Capital - IP Management, Trademark, Domain Name

Domain Name Aftermarket Grows Steadily in Q2, 2010: Sedo Study

Paco — 2010-08-17T13:28:28Z

Offer-Counteroffer sales are the most prominent type of sales, .COM is the most popular top level domain, .DE is the most popular country code domain while .FR domains have the highest average sale value are the highlights from over 11,000 domain names sold through the domain marketplace and monetisation provider, Sedo, according to their latest quarterly report.

In the last quarter 11,146 domain names were sold through Sedo's Marketplace for a total value of US$21,568,780, meaning Sedo's aftermarket continues to show growth compared to the corresponding quarter in 2009, however it is a slight drop when compared to Q1, 2010.

Average sale value across all TLDs however remained fairly static with the average being $1,935. Almost half (46%) of all sales were for .COM domain names while three-quarters (74%) of all gTLD sales were for .COM domains, 12 per cent for .NET names followed by .ORG (7%), .INFO (5%) and .BIZ (2%).

Among ccTLDs, half (49%) of all sales were for .DE domains with CO.UK domains making up 15 per cent of all sales. Next was .ES with four per cent and then .EU, .NL, .AT, .FR, .CH and .US, all with three per cent. Possibly surprisingly was the tenth ranked ccTLD, .IN, with two per cent of all sales.

Offer-Counteroffer sales accounted for 39 per cent of all sales through Sedo according to the report while Fixed Price sales made up 25 per cent and Marketplace Auctions accounted for 22 per cent of sales. Auction Events, Brokerage and External Transfers made up the rest of sales with five, four and five per cent of all sales respectively.

The top sales through Sedo, and the only sales above $200,000, in Q2 were cgm.com ($365,000), software.de (€235,025), kredit.com (€220,000) and monalisa.com ($200,000).

The Sedo marketplace saw new TLDs appearing in the Top 20 like CO.UK, .ME and .TV, which contributed to one of the most well rounded Top 20 lists to date. It is suspected that this new trend may be attributed to the increase in small businesses looking to target more local visitors and to the increase in media coverage surrounding TLDs like .ME and .TV, which work well for marketing and branding strategies.

"While the economy is still emerging from the downturn, Sedo continues to show positive growth, revealing a strong and steady domain market that will help to fuel future economic growth," said Jeremiah Johnston, Chief Operating Officer at Sedo.com. "Companies and individuals across the globe are now looking at domain names as a critical component to the success of their marketing campaigns. With so many easy-to-use tools and options available to our members, Sedo is the perfect choice for anyone looking to invest in a comprehensive domain name strategy."

The TLD with the highest average sale price continues to be .FR. Average price plummeted to $2,466 from $11,382 in Q1, but the Q1 figure was exaggerated by the sale of credit.fr for €587,500 in Q1. Next was .COM with an average sale price of $2,401 then .DE ($1,999), .ES ($1,725) .NET ($1,673) and .AT ($1,383).

Median sales price is slightly different, and while the median sales values are only provided for five gTLDs, it shows that .NET leads here with a median value for each domain name of $581 followed by .ORG ($530) and .COM ($510). Median sales, as Sedo explains, can give a better guide to the value of TLDs as large sales can skew the average sale price as is the case with .FR in the previous quarter. The median price is where there are the same number of domain names sold above and below the value given.

Another point made in the report were the most popular categories of sales. There are over 2000 categories within the Sedo Marketplace and the most popular are software, regions, countries and cities, employment, tobacco, religion and spirituality, domain industry, humour, hardware, insurance and jewellery.

To download and read Sedo's Domain Market Study: 2nd Quarter 2010 in full, see:
http://sedo.com/fileadmin/documents...

Sedo Finds Domain Name Marketplace Growing Rapidly in 2010

Paco — 2010-05-27T18:41:40Z

Nearly 12,000 domain names changed hands for a total value of more than $23 million according to the latest quarterly report from Sedo, the leading online marketplace for domain names.

Nearly 12,000 domain names changed hands for a total value of more than $23 million according to the latest quarterly report from Sedo, the leading online marketplace for domain names. The sales in quarter one 2010 marked Sedo's highest quarter for domain sales since 2008 and represents an 18.6 per cent increase in the number of sales compared to Q4 2009.

Sedo, a marketplace for domain name auctions and sales, accounts for the vast majority of domain name sales each week, regularly accounting for around three-quarters of the top reported sales each week according to Domain Name Journal.

Sales of both country code Top Level Domains (ccTLDs) and generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) both surged in the quarter with top sales including poker.org for $1 million, credit.fr (€587, 500) and pilot.com ($300,000).

Sedo attributes the strong growth in the domain name market to an increase in marketing spend among larger corporations, as well as the introduction of one and two-character domains and internationalised domain names.

Highlights of Sedo's study from quarter one 2010 include:

a total of 11,942 domains were sold on Sedo's global domain marketplace during the quarter (up 18.6 per cent from the previous quarter)
total domain sales of $23,177,253 (an increase of 8 per cent compared to Q4 2009, and up 36 per cent compared to Q1 2009)
the .COM extension remained the most popular gTLD accounting for 76 per cent of gTLD domains, and 42 per cent of all domains, sold through Sedo, followed by the .NET, .INFO, .BIZ and .ORG extensions, respectively
the average price of a .COM domain was $2,373 while .ORG had the highest average sale price of $3,376
average domain name prices are boosted by a few high value domain name sales, so median prices of domain names (where there as many sales above as below) often give a better picture of the market
the median price of gTLD domains ranged from $550 for .ORG to $418 for .INFO, with all extensions showing noticeable increases on quarter 4 2009 showing that you need not spend a fortune on acquiring a desirable domain name
among ccTLDs, the .DE extension was the frontrunner accounting for 38 per cent of ccTLD domains sold, followed by .EU moving into second place (36%), CO.UK (13%) and .ES, .BE, .FR, .AT, .NL and .CH (all with two per cent of ccTLD sales)
the highest average price of ccTLD domains was $11,382 for .FR, a figure boosted significantly by the sale of credit.fr, followed by CO.UK ($2,283)
Sedo attributes the increase in ccTLD sales to the launch of new IDN domains under .EU in Q4 2009 and the beginning of Q1 2010
Sedo found fixed price domains surged in popularity as a result of their "Buy it Now" option that provides customers with the ability to purchase a domain name immediately without an auction
the most popular category of domain names sold through Sedo was "tobacco" followed by "software" and "regions, country, cities".

"Sedo's record growth not only shows the resilience of the domain name market, but reveals a real strengthening in the global economy. As companies put their best foot forward to emerge from the downturn with advantage, they're starting to understand the critical role a domain name strategy plays in driving a successful marketing campaign," said Jeremiah Johnston, Chief Operating Officer of Sedo.com in a statement. "The introduction of our new Price Suggestion Tool, our ongoing 'Buy it Now' option and the overall updates to the Sedo website, makes it even easier for members to benefit from our variety of user-friendly tools and services."

Sedo also published a list of examples of companies to have invested in domain names in Q1 2010 to improve their branding. Some of those were:

Yahoo!: Me.Me; OMG.com; BallDontLie.com
Mack Energy Corp.: MEC.com
HBA International: HBA.com
CareerBuilder: WorkInCustomerService.com
Rapaport USA, Inc.: DiamondTrading.com
Concord Private Jets: Jets.com.

This increase is a result, says Sedo, of an increase in budgets for online marketing and branding.

"We've seen a real uptick in big sales over the past few months, and we expect it to continue throughout 2010," said Sedo sales broker Jeff Gabriel.

"As larger companies are better able to budget for online marketing and branding, they're considering a comprehensive domain strategy as an important part of their marketing efforts. In fact, some of these companies are even taking advantage of the upswing in the domain market by selling their own names through Sedo."

The complete Q1 2010 Domain Market Study can be downloaded from the Sedo website at: sedo.com/fileadmin/documents/pressdownload/Q1_2010_DomainMarketStudy_US.pdf.

Other Aftermarket News

The online marketplace Buy.com was bought by Japan's leading internet company, Rakuten, last week for $250 million. Buy.com is a leading American retail marketplace for approximately $250 million.

The sale price, that includes the domain name and intellectual property of Buy.com, was boosted by such a premium three-figure .COM domain name.

And in what could become the most expensive domain name ever traded, it was announced last week that the auction of sex.com is finally set to go ahead now that the owners and their creditors have reached agreement. Sedo has won the right to sell the domain name which should happen in the next few weeks.

DNSSEC Brings A More Secure Internet to Europe

Paco — 2010-04-29T10:20:21Z

Several European domain name registries as well as registries on every continent have enabled DNSSEC (Domain Name System Security Extension) while several more are planning to enable the security feature in coming months.

DNSSEC was designed to protect the internet from certain attacks, such as DNS cache poisoning, and came about as the original design of the DNS did not include security, an issue that has become more important in recent years.

The security protocol was designed by the Internet Engineering Task Force, and according to DNSSEC.net it is a set of extensions to the DNS that provide: a) origin authentication of DNS data, b) data integrity, and c) authenticated denial of existence. However it does not deal with availability of the DNS or confidentiality of data.

The benefits to the internet user includes, as the Public Interest Registry (PIR) explains, the ability to thwart the increasing predominance of attacks like pharming, cache poisoning, and DNS redirection that have been used to commit fraud, distribute malware, and/or identity theft. DNSSEC is an upgrade to the internet infrastructure and protects internet resolvers (clients) from forged DNS data, such as that created by DNS cache poisoning.

The added security for internet users allows for a more secure internet, which is especially important for banks and other financial services providers, for example.

As attacks on the domain name system becoming more prevalent, it is becoming more important to enable DNSSEC. Attacks can include DDOS (distributed denial of service) attacks on company websites or even attacks on vital internet links, such as registrars or registries. Such attacks can cause huge problems, including financial, leading to websites being down for extended periods.

In Europe, one of the domain name registries to have enabled DNSSEC was SWITCH, the registry for .CH (Switzerland) and .LI (Liechtenstein). SWITCH enabled DNSSEC in a public ceremony at the Domain Pulse conference in Luzern in February this year.

The world's largest country code registry, DENIC (.DE, Germany), have said they are on schedule to prepare a test bed for registrars and this phase will run until 2011, according to Sabine Dolderer, the company's CEO. While nic.at (.AT, Austria) will not be introducing DNSSEC in 2010. Richard Wein, CEO of nic.at believes there is not yet the demand or the market for it in .AT. However they will be watching developments elsewhere and will be preparing for DNSSEC internally to have it ready for deployment when there is a demand.

Of the gTLD registries, the registry for .ORG, PIR, is likely to be the first to enable DNSSEC. It plans to enable DNSSEC in June while ICANN plans to have all root servers signed with DNSSEC by mid-2010.

Others to have enabled DNSSEC are .PT (Portugal), .SE (Sweden) and .CZ (Czech Republic).

Internationalised Domain Names and Trademarks: Be Aware

Paco — 2010-04-19T16:01:28Z

Internationalised Domain Names are coming and these have implications for brand owners (trademark holders). But while some fear the worst, brand owners should take each one on a case-by-case basis. Much like they do now with ccTLDs and gTLDs.

Internationalised Domain Names are domain names represented by local language characters. Such domain names could contain letters or characters from non-ASCII scripts (for example, Arabic or Chinese). Previously domain names could only include ASCII characters, or simply letters in the English alphabet (A-Z), numbers (0-9) and dashes.

In November 2009 ICANN commenced the IDN ccTLD Fast Track Process and to date has approved 16 IDNs in eight languages – Chinese (for China, Taiwan and Hong Kong), Arabic (Egypt, Palestinian Territory, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and United Arab Emirates), Russian (Russia), Sinhalese and Tamil (Sri Lanka) and Thai (Thailand). Domain names in these IDNs will become available in 2010 with some, such as Russia, having already commenced a sunrise registration period.

Brand owners may also wish to consider registering their trademarks in these IDN ccTLDs. However while some representative organisations for trademark holders are suggesting the registration of brands across all of the IDN ccTLDs is necessary, this is not the case.

Currently brand owners selectively register their trademarks across a limited number of gTLDs and ccTLDs and this should continue to be the case. If a brand has interests in a particular country or region where there is an approved language, it would be worthwhile considering this IDN ccTLD.

For brand owners, they need to be aware of protecting their trademarks in the countries and languages where IDNs are approved. Recognising trademark abuse, and cybersquatting, in IDNs such as Chinese or Arabic will sometimes be difficult.

However dispute resolution procedures, such as ICANN's Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy, will be available and so cybersquatted domain names should be recoverable.

There will also be issues where domain names using IDNs are registered that may be deceptively similar to a trademark, either in spelling (depending on the language) or phonetically. It is possible that while an IDN could look very different to a domain name in ASCII characters, it could sound the same or similar when pronounced. In the case of disputes, it could be that the brand holder has to demonstrate that any disputed domain is sufficiently similar to their existing trademark.

Another option is enforcing rights to a trademark through trademark infringement action, often quite expensive and even difficult due to how laws are enforced. And that is if there are adequate laws.

More information on Internationalised Domain Names is available from the ICANN website at http://icann.org/en/topics/idn/.

For information on trademark issues for brand holders, contact eBrand Services or your lawyer.

Canon first multinational to publicly announce desire for gTLD

Paco — 2010-03-22T17:16:58Z

Canon, the global electronics company headquartered in Japan, has become the first multinational company to publicly say they intend to apply for a generic Top Level Domain (gTLD) when ICANN begins accepting applications, later in 2010 or in 2011.

The surprising announcement the company will apply for .CANON comes about as trademark bodies around the world are fighting to stop the introduction of new gTLDs or to ensure the strings of characters in domain names contain as few trademarked names as possible. These restrictions are wanted even if there are legitimate registrants for domain names containing such strings and that these strings may even be trademarked in another activity or have another use.

In its announcement on their intention to apply for their own gTLD, Canon says that "following approval for the new gTLD system, which is expected to take place after the latter half of 2011, Canon will make full use of the new domain name to increase the convenience and effectiveness of its online communications."

It is also interesting to note that the first multinational company to express an interest in a gTLD is not American, where trademark and copyright lawyers particularly have been fighting their introduction.

ICANN has been going through what often seems a tortuous process in attempting to deal with criticisms of its introduction of new gTLDs, many of which deal with complaints raised by trademark holders and their representative organisations. The fourth, and possibly last, version of the Draft Applicant Guidebook setting out the rules and guidelines for gTLD applicants is expected to be published prior to the ICANN Brussels Meeting (20-25 June 2010). ICANN has said they will be taking comments on this draft but it is intended to be the final version.

While many trademark holders appear guarded in their plans, others appear to be much more open to their own gTLD with Canon's move possibly the first of many multinational companies to express their desire for a new gTLD. In a small survey in early 2009, among those surveyed there was a desire for a gTLD among several respondents, but also confusion as to what it all means by some. It also appears, anecdotally at least, that some multinationals are waiting to see what their competitors are doing.

There are undoubtedly some companies are excited about the opportunities a gTLD offers for online brand and marketing strategies through a domain name such as www.brand compared to www.brand.com. There are others who are concerned their introduction will lead to an increase in the cost and complexity associated with managing and protecting digital brands

To date, potential applicants have been dominated by city or regional names (.BERLIN, .PARIS, .CYM - Wales, .SCO – Scotland, .NYC – New York City) and special interests (.SHOP, .HOTEL, .GAY).

More information on ICANN's New gTLD Program can be found at icann.org/en/topics/new-gtld-program.htm.

InterContinental Hotels Wins 1,500 Domain Names

Paco — 2010-03-01T13:43:22Z

InterContinental Hotels Wins 1,500 Domain Names in Largest WIPO Dispute

In the largest domain name dispute resolution decision to date, the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)'s arbitration centre transferred 1,519 out of a total of 1,542 disputed domain names to the InterContinental Hotels Group in January. Another ten names were refused transfer while the hotel group withdrew claims relating to 13 other domain names. The Panel found the Respondent had no legitimate interest in the domain names and had acted in bad faith.

The disputed domain names were all held by one registrant, a Daniel Kirchhof of Leipzig, Germany, who has over 70,000 domain names registered. All of the disputed domain names had a domain parking page with a headline for the website of, for example, “Hotel InterContinental Amstel” following by an image of five stars. There are tabs for “Homepage”, “Hotel offers”, “Hotel pictures” and “Surrounding pictures”. The websites were designed to make internet users believe they were visiting the website of the actual hotel. However they all linked to third party websites offering bookings at rival hotels as well as links to some InterContinental Hotels group hotels.

Domain names disputed included those from InterContinental Hotels, Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, Staybridge Suites, Hotel Indigo and Candlewood brands belonging to the hotel group. The dispute hearing was extremely large and unprecedented in the number of domain names it considered. However the WIPO Panel said that due to this large “number of disputed domain names, it would be procedurally efficient to deal with all matters in the one proceeding given the almost identical facts among them.”

The Panel agreed with many of the InterContinental Hotels complaints. Among the findings, the Panel found that almost all of the domain names contained terms that “were in some cases identical and in other[s] confusingly similar to trade marks held by the hotels group,” a key issue in such a complaint. The brand owner was required “to show that the name is identical or confusingly similar to terms that it has rights to; that the person who owns it has no rights to the domain name; and that it was registered and is being used in bad faith.”

The Panel also found the registrant had no legitimate interest or fair use in the domain names with the websites containing a mechanism for booking rooms in InterContinental's hotels “using a third party booking engine. The websites also contain links to third party websites (or the Complainant's own websites), and sponsored advertising which is likely to entitle the Respondent to receive commercial revenue and directs potential customers of the Complainant to websites of its competitors. This clearly constitutes commercial use of the disputed domain names without the Complainant's authorisation.” The Panel also found there “is clear evidence of bad faith” in the registration of the domain names.

The Panel also decided that given the large number of domain names registered in itself was evidence the Respondent had acted in bad faith. “The fact that this proceeding has been brought in relation to over 1,500 domain names which contain the Complainant's trade marks, makes it clear that the Respondent has engaged in a pattern of registering domain names in order to prevent a trade mark owner from reflecting their mark in a corresponding domain name. The Panel's view is further supported by the fact that the Respondent owns a vast array of other domain names.” The ten names that were refused transfer did not contain the terms to satisfy the tests used by the Panel to determine the Respondent had no legitimate use of the domain names. The 13 domain names disputed that were withdrawn from the complaint by InterContinental Hotels as they had been deleted.

The case is one reason why trademark and brand holders should consider registering their domain names before cybersquatters do. Despite the seemingly quick and efficient manner in which this dispute was decided, it is possible for cybersquatters to do damage to a brand/trademark's image before the legitimate holder of the domain name is able to get hold of disputed domain names.

To help prevent such disputes, brand owners and trademark holders should consider having a brand protection strategy that includes domain names. This could include registering all common spellings and mis-spellings of brands and products across a wide range of generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs - .COM, .ORG, .NET) and country code Top Level Domains (ccTLDs - .CN, .DE .UK

The full WIPO decision is available at: www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/decisions/html/2009/d2009-1661.html

2010: the year of new Top Level Domains

Paco — 2010-03-01T13:36:07Z

This year will be the year of the new top level domains, and we wanted to use this opportunity to share our knowledge with you...

This year will be the year of the new top level domains, and we wanted to use this opportunity to share our knowledge with you:

What are gTLDs? The Internet has seen tremendous evolution with the introduction of specific extensions such as .info, .mobi, and .asia to complement the .com. The creation of these extensions has helped companies to better define their Internet presence while allowing customers to more easily find the right products or services.

“New” gTLDs? Comforted by the success of those extensions, ICANN has decided to accept much more extensions including special-purpose ones such as generic terms or even brand names.

While the whole list and the candidates remain still unknown, there are some chances to see some capital cities (.berlin, .paris…) or categories (.music, .web…) to complement the existing TLDs.

Protecting your Brand online Far from a threat, this change could be a tremendous opportunity for your company! It would give your brand immediate recognition on the Internet: when your competitors are stuck with “http://www.myproduct.com” bring your customers to the instantly memorable “http://MyBrand”! Control your own Internet space and distribute domain names to all your subsidiaries, key entities… or even customers!

If you don't want to own your own TLD, your brand will flourish in one or several of the new TLDs that are currently talked about: .bank? .health? .sport? .radio?

A team of Experts… At your Service Over the last ten years, we developed an expertise in the domain name Industry with a special interest on new gTLDs. Taking an active part in ICANN meetings since the first new extensions were announced in 2000, our experts can effectively inform you through our up-to-the-minute announcements as well as represent your interests in any of the numerous forums where ICANN seeks input from the Community.

The way forward 2010 will see several milestones that no Internet-focused can miss:

ICANN has initiated a public comment period which allows small and large companies to express their concerns and opinions on new gTLDs and the way forward. You should be heard too and we can help!
Following this consultation, ICANN will start an “Expression of Interest” period before the summer, where any and all entities willing to obtain a new gTLD will have to participate in the process and provide key information on the project: the Team can guide you every step of the way and ensure your application is ready in record time.
Our team will bring you a large and diverse expertise and will accompany you from A to Z through your application, by filling in ICANN's requirements and understanding the different processes

As the application deadline is getting closer, it would be quite useful for us to meet you so we can understand your needs and interests and explain the complete process in greater details.

Don't hesitate to contact us directly so we can schedule an appointment at your earliest convenience. In the meantime we remain,

TLD February 2010 report

Paco — 2010-02-04T13:49:00Z

Welcome to E-Brand Services monthly update of news regarding updates to country code and generic Top Level Domains (ccTLDs and gTLDs)...

Welcome to E-Brand Services monthly update of news regarding updates to country code and generic Top Level Domains (ccTLDs and gTLDs).

.AU: In a battle over the domain name of the government minister responsible for telecommunications, the registrants of stephenconroy.com.au found it was helpful to read the rules prior to registration, particularly when the domain name is likely to be controversial.

.BG: In an online poll conducted by the Ministry of Transport, Information Technologies and Communications, Bulgarians said the characters "BG" and "BGR" were the most popular choices as Bulgaria's proposed gTLD in Cyrillic. Two options were canvassed in the survey as “BG” in Cyrillic is visually very close to Brazil's ccTLD .BR which could cause problems.

.COM: VeriSign announced that as of 1 July 2010 there will be an increase in the fees charged to registries for domain name fees for .COM and .NET as per its agreements with ICANN. The registry fee for .COM domain names will increase from $6.86 to $7.34 and the registry fee for .NET domain names will increase, from $4.23 to $4.65, increases of around seven per cent.

.CN: CNNIC, the registry for .CN domain names, announced changes to registration policies in recent months. The changes effectively limited registrations to businesses and effectively excluded private citizens from registering new domains. The new rules are meant to restrict online pornography however many view the changes as a means of clamping down on freedom of expression online. A review of the new rules is now taking place with the possibility of registrations by individuals becoming available again in the near future. CNNIC also required applicants to submit hard copy (paper) applications in addition to their online application as of December.

.CZ: CZ.NIC, the .CZ registry, decreased its annual registration fee for holding a .CZ domain as of 1 January 2010. The wholesale price for a domain registration will drop from the current CZK190 to CZK155, excl. VAT.

.EU: EURid, the .EU registry, now allows domain names to be registered using characters from all 23 official languages of the European Union. This means that registrants, for example, can use Greek or Cyrillic names like διαδίκτυο.eu or роуминг.eu. Other examples of what is allowed are the Polish ł, the Spanish ñ, the Danish ø, the French é and the Bulgarian л. During the first hour when registrations went live, 38,172 Internationalised Domain Names were successfully registered and ärzte.eu was the first IDN registered.

.FI: FICORA, managers of the .FI ccLTD, have reduced fees for the registration of .FI domain names. FICORA reduced the registry fees as of 4 January 2010 for the application, transfer or renewal. The new charges are €13 for one year, €36 for three years and €55 for five years. The number of .FI domain names registered increased by 20 per cent in 2009 to 225,625.

.FR: AFNIC, the .FR registry, announced .FR domain names will be available to French expatriates living outside of France in the first quarter of 2010, probably in March 2010. Under the changes any French national whose normal place of residence is abroad will be able to register a .FR domain name. 2009 saw the 1.5 millionth .FR domain name registered and registrations grew 25 per cent year-on-year.

.IE: Registrants of .IE domain names have been warned to be alert for scam letters from a company posing as an Irish internet registration body. The IE Domain Registry has warned that a company called Internet Register Ireland with an address in Germany has been sending letters asking recipients to sign a form to update their domain registration details at a cost of nearly €3,000 over three years.

.MADRID: The Spanish city of Madrid has entered the race for a new gTLD with a proposal to apply for .MADRID when ICANN begins accepting application for new gTLDs, probably later in 2010. .MADRID is aimed at helping developing the unique cultural aspects for the city.

.NL: SIDN, the .NL registry, have modified their Whois service with less information now available about each .NL registrant. The changes are designed to protect registrants' privacy, as requested by the local internet community during the 2008 Domain Name Debate. Other changes to come about from the Domain Name Debate include registrars are no longer required to verify the identity of a prospective registrant before proceeding to register the relevant domain name. It is also now possible to reserve .NL domain names for a fee, meaning it is now possible to register a name without it being delegated. As of March 2010 there will also be a new Domain Name Registration system to make .NL registrations faster and simpler, and while the changes are of most benefit to registrars, registrants should see some slight benefits as well.

.NO: On 1 March 2010, Norid, the registry for .NO domain names, will increase the fees for registration and annual upkeep of .NO domains to NOK 60. The increase is caused by Norid's need to lessen their deficit due to heightened demands for security and emergency preparedness. There will also be a new regular registration fee for domain transfers between holders (not between registrars) that will come into effect once a new registry system has been introduced.

.PARIS: The proposal to apply for a .PARIS gTLD when ICANN begins accepting applications for new gTLDs was officially launched online in December. The website, in French only, is currently collecting signatories for its petition to support its application.

.PT: The manager of the .PT ccTLD (FCCN - Foundation for National Scientific Computing) has enabled DNNSEC for the ccTLD. The DNSSEC standard consists of security extensions to the DNS protocol, thereby introducing security mechanisms that enable a number of the main problems in this area to be resolved.

.RU: There is now an English-language translation of the latest version of the terms and conditions for .RU domain name registration on the website of the Coordination Center for TLD RU as well as the terms and conditions for the Cyrllic domain .РФ.

.UK: Nominet, the .UK registry, who passed the eight-millionth .UK domain name registration milestone in November, have found UK consumers have a greater level of trust in .UK domain names with 77 per cent preferring to click on a .UK search result over a .COM result. As part of their efforts to keep the ccTLD more secure, Nominet have announced a number of changes including:

changes to the acceptable use polices for our registrar systems in order to protect the stability of our domain name registration systems
following discussion and approval by their Policy Advisory Body Nominet have released two new functions to provide registrars with the appropriate tools to take action against illegal online activity at a domain name level – a phishing feed and an investigation lock

the phishing feed is a service that provides registrars with information about domain names on their account that are suspected of being involved in phishing
the investigation lock locks domain names by removing the name from the zone file and preventing changes from being made. This means that any web site or email associated with the domain name will no longer be available and is only to be used when there is credible evidence of suspected illegal activity carried out using the domain name. In other .UK news, Nominet received an instruction from the Metropolitan Police's Central e-Crime Unit (PCeU) to take down around 1,200 CO.UK domain names in December that have been under investigation for criminal activity. The order was part of Operation Papworth where the PCeU was targeting websites run by organised criminal networks that purported to sell designer items - clothes, jewellery and electronic goods. Many of the sites involved supplied counterfeit goods or in some cases simply failed to supply any goods to the consumers who placed orders.

80% tax exemption on IP

Paco — 2009-04-21T14:24:42Z

Only 5.72% is the tax rate on income generated by your trademarks, domain names, patents, designs, models and software in Luxembourg. This initiative from the Luxembourg government aims at promoting the development of intellectual property and new technologies in the country. So, here are the facts to help you benefit from a unique, attractive tax advantage.

Only 5.72% is the tax rate on income generated by your trademarks, domain names, patents, designs, models and software in Luxembourg. This initiative from the Luxembourg government aims at promoting the development of intellectual property and new technologies in the country. So, here are the facts to help you benefit from a unique, attractive tax advantage.

Background of the new IP law . December 21, 2007 - Bill 5801 was adopted to provide an 80% tax exemption for some intellectual property rights revenue, as defined in Article 50bis.

. December 24, 2007 - VAYTON Brand Capital was created to assist companies worldwide to develop and manage brands in Luxembourg.

. December 19, 2008 - Paragraph 60a, under Article 50bis, was introduced as an amendment declaring domain names as eligible intangible assets.

. March 5, 2009 - The Luxembourg tax administration published a clarification that precisely defined the conditions for granting a tax exemption.

What Kinds of Intellectual Property Apply? Trademarks, domain names, patents, models and designs as well as copyright on software may be granted up to an 80% tax exemption.

What Are the Requirements for Qualifying? The two main conditions are 1. Intellectual Property was created or acquired after December 31, 2007 2. Intellectual Property is utilized or licensed by a Luxembourg company.

Who Benefits from the Tax Exemption? New companies and businesses that regularly launch new products, Brand owners and domain names owners, software designers, architects or franchises with international development operating within Luxembourg benefit from this new law.

With this new IP law, VAYTON brings a unique tax advantage for your company.VAYTON can ensure the identification, establishment and management of your intellectual assets to increase their value.

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New ICANN TLD's: .brand

Paco — 2009-04-09T15:22:54Z

In a major change to the domain name system, the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has announced a draft plan (or Guidebook) that will allow for applications for new generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) and is seeking comment from interested parties

News 1st of November 2008

"Since ICANN was founded 10 years ago, one of the foundational principles has been to support competition and consumer choice in generic top-level domains. That competition is meant to promote innovation and enhance user choice and satisfaction" said Dr Paul Twomey, ICANN's President and Chief Executive Officer.

"The Internet has produced great openness and innovation that has led to changes few of us imagined. The effect of opening up the top-level of the domain system will enable more innovation and entrepreneurial applications" he said.

Emergence of new internationalised domain names Currently there are 21 of these gTLDs, such as .com, .org and .info, all of them using Roman (or English) characters. Groups already expressing an interest in applying for new gTLDs include those for .berlin, .paris, .nyc (New York City), .cym (Cymru/Wales) .car and .sport, among others.

The addition of non-Roman characters (or internationalised domain names - IDNs) will mean that not only will new gTLDs be available using non-Roman characters, but existing gTLDs and ccTLDs (country code Top Level Domains) will also be able to add these.

“There are 1.5 billion people online and billions more coming. The majority doesn't speak English. Opening up domain names in this way means a whole new way for people to express themselves. The potential for innovation and diversity is huge” said Paul Levins, ICANN's Executive Officer and Vice President Corporate Affairs.

Rights Protection Mechanism There has been a long debate involving several of the proponents of new gTLDs over the last few years that has seen many discussions at ICANN meetings around the world. Some of the controversial issues have involved the possibility of offensive gTLDs, protection of brand names and trademarks, dispute resolution procedures and how geographic names will be considered.

These controversial issues are addressed in the Guidebook. In regards to what could be considered offensive gTLDs, third parties will be able to object to proposed TLDs that are racist, sexist or otherwise offensive. Geographic gTLD names that are a country, territory, county or state will require the support from a relevant government or authority, as will applications for a city gTLD unless the name is to be used only to represent a generic term or brand.

Brand protection is another key issue, with all applications required to develop a proposed Rights Protection Mechanism. This is to ensure proposed gTLDs do not infringe upon the existing legal rights of others that are recognised or enforceable. Further, that brand names and trademarks are not abused in the registration process once the approved gTLD is operational.

Those eligible to apply are any established corporation, organisation, or institution that is considered to be in good standing while applications from individuals or sole proprietorships will not be considered.

Application for Open or Community gTLDs When applying, the guidebook says applicants would be required to designate whether they are applying for an open or community gTLD. Open gTLDs are somewhat flexible in their use, as long as the applicant is an established corporation, organisation or institution. A community gTLD needs to be operated for the benefit of a defined community and have the support of that community.

The proposed application process will consist of a gTLD evaluation fee of US$185,000 and the completion of the application form using ICANN's TLD Application System (TAS) and another fee of $100. The application fee is designed to be cost/revenue neutral and factors in costs already forgone, future processing costs and legal expenses that are significant and which ICANN believe would be a large drain on their budget. Applicants will also be required to demonstrate they have the technical competence to run a registry.

Where there is two applications for the same, or similar, character string, ICANN proposes to resolve this through an auction process if no other settlement or agreement can be made between the parties.

To explain these proposed new rules, ICANN's Draft Applicant Guidebook, over 200 pages, is available to enable interested parties to make comment. The Guidebook will be made available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.

To encourage public participation and comment in the process, ICANN have developed a public comment page to collect input on the Draft Applicant Guidebook for new gTLDs. It is also important to note that all materials are in draft form during this public comment and review process, which will last for at least 45 days till early December.

Following this Draft Applicant Guidebook, a final guidebook will be issued in the first quarter of 2009 with an application launch period in the middle of 2009.

More information, along with the Guidebook, is available from http://icann.org/en/topics/new-gtld....

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