GoDaddy Files Patent App for “Jointly Auctioning Expiring Domain Names”
Thursday, April 29th, 2010
Registrar files patent applications related to helping owners of expired domains sell them.
Domain name registrar Go Daddy has filed two patents describing a system for jointly selling an expiring domain name in conjunction with the current owner of the domain name.
United States Patent publications 2010/0106650 and 2010/0106616 describe a system whereby a deal is struck between the owners of expiring domain names and a domain seller to sell the domain names and share the profits.
The basics of the invention are:
1. Pull a list of domains expiring within a predetermined timeframe
2. Contact the owners of these expiring domains, offering to help the owners sell the domains
3. Getting the owner to agree via some mechanism (e.g. email, click-through agreement on web site)
4. Sell the domain (e.g. on GoDaddy Auctions) and share the proceeds
The two patent applications were filed on October 29, 2008 and just published today. They list Go Daddy President & COO Warren Adelman and Vice President of Corporate Development & Policy Tim Ruiz as inventors.
Application PDFs:
Further Reading:
I hope all these trivial patents are just to cover themselves not to blackmail everone for a patent fee. That would be sad…
Sounds like someone see’s the writing on the wall.
How much longer will registrars be able to auction off property they dont own.
Its good and its bad. Many good drops might get reregistered.
However when you let something expire you get the chance of making money on it.
Another ridiculous claim to an “invention” that is nothing more than sending out an email and selling a domain. FFS