Slips in schedule could result in reduced staff bonuses.

ICANN has clear short term economic incentives to roll out new top level domain names, and bonuses are one of those reasons. Read this exchange at the Cairo ICANN meeting between ICANN Senior Vice President of Services Kurt Pritz and former ICANN board member Michael Palage:

>>MICHAEL PALAGE: Mike Palage. Kurt, as you can appreciate, there are a number of attendees here today that have a vested financial interest in seeing the launch of this new TLD process. I was wondering if you could perhaps answer the question, are there any staff bonuses or performance clauses that are tied to when this process happens?
>>KURT PRITZ: We have essentially a management by objective program at ICANN, and so each trimester, where — each trimester, we each have individual goals to meet. The trimesters run along with the meeting schedules. So each trimester, for example, I have a set of goals to meet. My bonus is based on meeting those goals.
So one of my goals this trimester was to publish the draft RFP. And so part of my bonus will be based on that. But the percentage of bonus is preset as a maximum, and then you get a numerical score for how you did on your goals, and then you get a little bit of a bonus.
>>MICHAEL PALAGE: So just a follow-up question. To understand what the motivation is, obviously a lot of people here want to see this happen sooner as opposed to later. But there are some in the community that are not as, shall we say, opportunistic towards the launch of new gTLDs. So on behalf of that community, I think it would be important if you could perhaps share with the community what the targets are for bonuses.
When do the new TLD process have to start? What is the date? And if, in fact, that date slips, when does staff begin to suffer economically for missing that date?
>>KURT PRITZ: I don’t know. I think I have given you a lot of information that — you know, I don’t know how to go down the path on this question.
>>MICHAEL PALAGE: Thanks.

It’s no surprise that bonuses are tied to meeting objectives. But these goals should take into consideration the overall organizational goal. I have a patent for goal structure and how goals tie into an organization. If the goals are properly aligned, then what this means is ICANN has a goal of introducing TLDs in a timely manner rather than listening to the community.

Regardless, here’s one more reason new TLDs continue to go forward even though most people seem to be opposed to them.

Implementation Recommendation Team suggests drastic changes to existing protections for IP holders.

The Implementation Recommendation Team (IRT), formed by ICANN’s Intellectual Property Constituency, has released its preliminary report (pdf) of suggested safeguards for trademark holders in light of the introduction of new top level domain names.

The closed door and controversial group suggested a number of drastic changed from current trademark policy for domain names. Among the suggestions:

Create an IP clearinghouse and Globally Protected Marks List with added protection for IP holders

Rights holders could submit IP to the clearinghouse. This would be used during the sunrise process for new TLDs and would also alert rights holders to registrations using their marks.

The Globally Protected Marks List would allow holders of worldwide marks to have them added to a “white list”. This would afford fairly solid protection for the use of the mark at the top and second levels. The requirements to be included are steep: ownership of the trademark issued in at least 90 countries across multiple regions with 200 registrations, must be issued before November 2008, registered the trademark across 50 or more TLDs, and the second level domain for the main company must be identical to the mark. I assume this would include names like “Verizon” but exclude “Cosmopolitan”.

Introduce a new Uniform Rapid Suspension System (URS) that operates in addition to UDRP

URS would be a “rapid takedown” system that allows trademark holders to avoid the time delay and costs of UDRP. It would address “obvious” cases and would have a higher threshold for the complainant to win than UDRP.

The domain becomes locked but still functional after a complaint is filed. The domain owner has 14 days to respond and say he or she wants it reviewed and state his case. If he loses, the domain will remain locked and will not resolve for the duration of the registration period.

IRT thinks the typical case will take 15 minutes to review.

Ironically, National Arbitration Forum and WIPO will likely be opposed to this idea as it would essentially kill 90% of their business. The guidelines state that a UDRP provider will not be a URS provider. Since 90% of UDRP cases are clear-cut, only the 10% of questionable ones will make it through. This will make the work or arbitrators much more challenging and will cut their work load substantially.

Mark my words — if URS doesn’t go through or is substantially changed it’s because these organizations fought it.

Requirement of “thick” whois system

Registries would have to hold all registrant information themselves (rather than the registrar as is the case with .com and .net). Whois privacy would have limits.

Comment Period

The comment period technically runs through May 24, but you need to submit comments by May 6 for them to be considered for the final report.

Domain name service drops upfront fees.

[Update: What I couldn't write about yesterday but can now is that Parked.com has purchased WhyPark.] Domain name parking alternative WhyPark has dropped its upfront fees and is now free. Previously, WhyPark charged $99 for the first 100 web sites. Add-on services, such as article writing and search engine submissions, are still available for a fee.

WhyPark enables domain name owners to create dynamically updated web sites on their domain names. Using article feeds and various other content sources, clients can quickly develop their domain names. The system is flexible and allows users to customize templates and add their own content.

WhyPark is a good solution for domain names that receive little type-in traffic. A properly designed and promoted WhyPark site can get into organic search listings, driving visitors and revenue. The system includes an integrated two-click advertising system, similar to what you find on most domain parking pages.

Some people shied away from the system in the past because of the upfront fees, so I expect WhyPark to rapidly grow its user base going forward.

A look back at the 2009 GeoDomain Expo.

Some domain name conferences are special. Different. Unique.

On Sunday morning, I opened up the sliding door to my first floor room at Catamaran Resort in San Diego and saw this:

The vista made me think about how “different” the GeoDomain Expo was to other industry conferences. It was held away from the city and away from a high rise hotel. Lunch and drinks were served on the beach. Panels and sessions were packed with people taking notes and learning. Speakers weren’t limited to the domain industry; many were in tangential fields that could relate to GeoDomains.

That’s not to say it all went off without a hitch. Saturday’s domain auction was intersting. The resort booked a wedding on the other side of the lawn, so the auction was done without a microphone to disturb the wedding. And the Geo crowd has always been into development rather than domain trading, so buyers were few and far between. At last year’s conference only two people were responsible for the majority of sales, and they weren’t in the buying mood this year.

But no one seemed to mind. It’s a different time and a different world. GeoDomain Expo 2009 helped clear peoples’ minds. They thought about the future of local media and how to be a disruptive force. They heard from a futurist. They heard from former journalists. They heard from their peers.

For me personally, it made me realize how big the opportunity staring us in the face is. Now is not the time to retreat, it’s a time to be disruptive.

It will be interesting to hear about the TRAFFIC conference kicking off in Silicon Valley today. Few people at the GeoDomain show said they were making the trip, save for service providers. TRAFFIC organizers have admitted that the show won’t be as big as in the past. To be sure, there will be news at the conference. Check back here tomorrow morning for the first announcement.

For those of you that missed the show, enjoy this view from the Executive Suite at the GeoDomain Expo:

Company wins great domain name at UDRP just two weeks after being found guilty of reverse domain name hijacking.

Just two week ago, financial firm Versa Capital Management was found guilty of reverse domain name hijacking (RDNH) by an arbitration panel when it tried to get the domain name VersaCapital.com. But Versa Capital and its lawyers are high-fiving now that they picked up an even better domain, Versa.com, at arbitration.

This answers one of the questions of why companies bring frivolous cases. There’s no penalty for losing, and a lot to gain for winning.

In the Versa.com case the domain owner didn’t respond to the complaint. Perhaps his whois information was wrong or he was on vacation. But that allowed Versa Capital Management to make its allegations without any sort of defense, and it walked away with the domain. Frankly, even without a response this decision should have been in favor of the respondent.

VersaCapital.com was registered well before Versa Capital Management came into existence. Versa.com was also registered well before — in 1994 — but its ownership changed hands after the company was formed. Versa Capital has only been around since 2007 and only has an intent-to-use trademark filed with USPTO. But National Arbitration Forum arbitrator Louis E. Condon decided that Versa Capital had common law rights to the term Versa:

Complainant can and has sufficiently established common law rights in the VERSA mark by showing that its mark has established secondary meaning through its continuous use in conjunction with unsolicited media attention.

It’s preposterous to suggest the respondent had Versa Capital Management in mind when it acquired the domain name. A simple Google search for “Versa” shows a number of companies and products, including a Nissan car, a valve company, and a Verizon phone. But Versa Capital is no where to be found on the first page.

In Condon’s world, any one of these companies using the term could have grabbed it at UDRP. The decision mentioned nothing of competing pay-per-click links on the site; only generic links.

You can read the decision here.

Hat tip to UDRPsearch.com.