UDRP on the docket for ICANN meeting next week.

ICANN’s Board of Directors will again consider its contractual relationships with Uniform domain-name Dispute Resolution Policy providers at its August 5 meeting, as well as consent to post an application from an entity wishing to become a UDRP provider.

The topic of contractual relationships with UDRP providers was on the April agenda but was tabled because the board ran out of time. It wasn’t on the agenda in Brussels (which was an open meeting during an ICANN meeting). But it’s there again for August 5, albeit the last item on the agenda. Which means it could be tabled again.

Separately, it appears a new entity has applied to ICANN to become a UDRP provider. Item 2g on the agenda states “Receipt and Posting for Public Comment of the Application to be a New UDRP Provider.” Of course I’m basing this on only that one line of information on the agenda — perhaps there’s an effort under way for a new application process.

Publicly traded Quinstreet acquires Insurance.com.

Lead generation company QuinStreet has purchased the Insurance.com web site and domain name.

A notice on Insurance.com states “Insurance.com has changed ownership. Click here to review our updated privacy policy.” The privacy policy notes that site is owned by Quinstreet.

I called a phone representative at Insurance.com who said the company was acquired “a couple days ago”. I am awaiting a response from Quinstreet with further details.

This was surely an expensive acquisition, but I can’t find information about it in any of Quinstreet’s SEC filings.

Last year QuinStreet purchased the Insure.com web site for $16 million. It then filed to go public on the NASDAQ, and now has a market capitalization of about $550 million.

Compete.com estimates that Insurance.com receives 325,000 visits per month.

Many readers of Domain Name Wire think that Insurance.com is the most valuable domain name in the world, even more valuable than Sex.com.

This video will resonate with a lot of domainers.

If you’re a domainer, you’re probably an entrepreneur. Maybe not a full time entrepreneur, but at least you take your future into your own hands.

Which is why I think you’ll appreciate this video from Cameron Herold speaking at a TEDxEdmonton. A warning: it’s 20 minutes long, so watch it when you want to take a break. But watch the whole thing, including the video at the end from Grasshopper.com.

I’ve been an entrepreneur since I could talk. Yet I feel that the American school system largely failed me. I did well, and even graduated college with a 4.0. But most of what I learned was wrote memorization with little practical use. It’s something I think about every day, especially with my daughter heading to kindergarten in a year.

Enjoy.

Company tries to get “proper” version of its domain through UDRP but fails.

I’ve argued many, many times that you shouldn’t create a web site at a “domain hack”, where the top level domain name is part of the keywords. Here’s just another example, courtesy of a decision at World Intellectual Property Organization.

Sazze, Inc, which operates DealsPl.us, has lost a case brought against the owner of DealsPlus.com.

DealsPl.us is a big web site, getting well over a million unique visits per month according to Compete. But imagine trying to tell someone to go to the actual web site:

“It’s DealsPlus. That’s deals-p-l-dot-u-s.”

That doesn’t work well.

So DealsPl.us filed a UDRP to get the better domain name DealsPlus.com. A three person panel found that the domain name wasn’t registered and used in bad faith.

Like just about every site on a domain hack that has become popular, I bet Sazze wishes it would have done things right from the beginning.

Tags: domain hacks, udrp, wipo

Here’s the scoop on the next TRAFFIC conference.

TRAFFIC is taking the show on the road again next month, traveling to Dublin, Ireland August 24-25. Domain Name Wire caught up with show organizer Rick Latona to get the scoop on the show.

DNW: Why did you pick Dublin as one of the locations for this year?

Latona: Many Internet companies are setting up their European headquarters in Ireland. There are excellent tax advantages as well as a very tech friendly infrastructure. English is also a great benefit for us American companies that are exploring business opportunities. Ireland is far less expensive than Britain and of course, it’s in the European Union. The beer is good too.

We go to Ireland often on business and wanted to show our American domainers who travel to the overseas shows and the main land Europeans the benefits of the environment.

DNW: At the Vancouver show you lowered prices but cut some of the extras. I understand the meals and parties are back for Dublin. What can people expect in terms of entertainment and food?

Latona: Domain Invest (.com, not to be confused with domaininvest.lu) is throwing a big dinner on the second night and Latona’s will be sponsoring the opening night cocktail. Dublin is a great place to let loose a little because the bars aren’t open so late that we’ll get into too much trouble!

DNW: The Dublin show is only 2 days, as opposed to 2 1/2 to three at previous conferences. Why the change?

Latona: We understand that many people have been going to a lot of shows and they want to focus on their businesses. So, we’ve jam packed the two days, cut the auction back to a single event and included parties on both days. It’ll be a tiring two days but it’ll be productive and to the point.

DNW: What new and different events or panels will people want to see at this TRAFFIC?

Latona: The Test Track is always good and our guests tell us often that it is their favorite part of the show. Sponsored by .CO the Test Track is the event where entrepreneurs can pitch their businesses to the panel of investors at the show. Please note that we still have room for applications if anyone is interested.

DNW: Looking forward, any updates/info about Hong Kong show?

Latona: The Hong Kong event isn’t until November and we’ll be posting updates about it soon enough. We want to focus on Dublin for now. That’s one thing that we’ve definitely learned this year. Focus on just one show at a time.

Tags: domain conference, rick latona, targeted traffic