A faster, more secure way to transfer domain names for in-person transactions?
Picture this: you’re at NamesCon in January when you strike a deal with a fellow domainer to sell a domain name to them. You both pull out your phones, activate an app, keep the phones near each other, and then click a few buttons to instantly transfer the domain name to them.
That’s the basic idea of a patent application (pdf) by GoDaddy that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published yesterday.
The application describes a system in which people can transfer domain names via apps on their phones, preferably when the phones are within 100 feet of each other. I imagine the distance is for security purposes.
This does not appear to be near-field communications (NFC) driven, although I suppose that could be covered under the patent. With NFC, two people could activate the app and then “bump” their phones together to authenticate a domain transfer, much like you can transfer contact information and music playlists on some phones (see video for example).
Dave says
If you think this isn’t “new” you need to preserve and be able to authenticate prior art published before the filing date of April 30, 2014. Don’t gripe, collect your evidence.
Andrew Allemann says
Did someone gripe about the patent?
M. Menius says
Sounds like a sophisticated solution in search of a problem. 🙂
Joseph Peterson says
Got to admit this sounds pretty cool. Would love to try it out.
Then again, I’ve never been in the same room as another domainer. Ever. Nor a buyer. Nor a client. So us doing a phone “chest bump” seems a bit unlikely.
BT says
The application reads like Godaddy is trying to patent all domain transferring over apps. That’s not novel or patentable. How they go about it (ie. nearfield) may be