Handful of domain names using “Cloud Nine” brand registered.

We’ve seen a lot of cloud products lately adopt the “cloud” name in their brand. Is a major tech company getting ready to launch a “Cloud Nine” brand?

A company has just registered a number of domain names using this brand:

Cloud9application.com
Cloud9browsing.com
Cloud9searching.com
Cloud9Browser.com
CloudNineApplication.com
CloudNineBrowser.com
CloudNineBrowsing.com
CloudNineSearching.com

The domain names were registered to DNStination, an affiliate of MarkMonitor that registers domain names on behalf of large companies. Some of the companies that use DNStination are Google, Amazon.com, Facebook, and Microsoft.

One possibility is Amazon, which already has a search product call A9.com. Then of course Microsoft has its Internet Explorer 9 browser, so this could merely be a play on being on “Cloud 9″ and a marketing gimmick for the company.

What do you think?

Company upgrades from domain hack to minus.com.

Who paid $115,000 for the minus.com domain name?

New York City startup min.us officially disclosed that it is the buyer of the domain name. It previously went by the domain name min.us, a “domain hack” using the United States country code domain name.

Why move from a domain hack to a good .com domain name? As the company explains on its blog:

But as we have grown, it’s become apparent that some of our users find the .us top level domain to be confusing. As we brand our service with the Minus name, we want to be as accessible as possible to all users and make it easy for users to find us.

The seller originally stated that the buyer was a “math educational non-profit startup” according to the story on The Domains, but if that’s the impression he was under then he got spun a web of bull. Minus.com is a file sharing service for social networks.

Classifieds site goes after company selling “phone verified accounts” and helping people auto-post to Craiglist.org.

Craigslist has sued a Colorado man and associated businesses for helping people circumvent tools created to block spam on its site.

The online classifieds site claims the defendants offer services that make it easier for people to submit automated postings to Craiglist, against the sites terms of service. It alleges that the defendants sell “phone verified accounts” to make it easier for people to circumvent Craigslist’s spam protection features.

According to Craigslist, the defendants frequently change the domain names where it offers its services after Craigslist sends them demand letters.

Some of the defendants sites are 3monthPVAs.com and Craigslist-verifiedaccounts.com.

3monthPVAs.com offers phone verified accounts for as little as $3.50 each. The site says “[w]e have good connections within the telecomm network so we use real landlines and real IP addresses.”

Craigslist.org says the defendants falsified their domain name registration info to hide their identities.

Among the claims are violation of the DMCA, trademark infringement, and breach of contract for violating Craigslist’s terms of service.

The suit was filed in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California.

Domain Masters radio show returns with Victor Pitts back as host.

It’s baaaack.

WebmasterRadio.fm’s Domain Masters radio show is coming back with a familiar face as host.

Victor Pitts will return to host the program that has been online since 2004 and produced 243 episodes. It was originally hosted by Moniker founder Monte Cahn, who handed over much of the hosting responsibilities to Victor Pitts until Pitts left the company.

Pitts was then replaced by “Chef” Patrick Ruddell until he later left Moniker as well.

Domain Masters airs every Wednesday at 5pm ET at WebmasterRadio.FM. I’ve participated both as a guest and fill-in host, and think it’s a great program worth tuning into.

Company files dispute to get OURWalmart.com domain name.

[UPDATE: The original story said the case was against OURWalmart.com. It was actually against OurWalmart.org, which is indeed owned bye the non-profit. Additionally, WIPO has handed down a decision in favor of Wal-Mart. The story has been corrected.]

Walmart has started a fight with non-profit OUR Walmart over the domain name OurWalmart.org.

OUR Walmart, which stands for “Organization United for Respect at Walmart”, is a non-profit organization representing hourly workers at Walmart who apparently aren’t that satisfied to have jobs.

The organization’s web site is ForRespect.org, but the domain name OurWalmart.org forwards to the domain name.

Walmart has filed a dispute with World Intellectual Property Forum asking for the domain name to be handed over.

Although this may seem like a freedom of speech issue, that’s not how UDRP cases work. Many panelists only accept the freedom of speech argument if it’s clear before going to the domain name that it’s not owned by the trademark owner.

For example, before you visit CompanySucks.com, you’re pretty sure the company doesn’t own the site. But that’s not the case with OurCompany.com. The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union owns WalmartWatch.com, which is another example of a domain that’s clear from the outset that it’s not owned by the company.