Domain registrar files patents for system to sell equity in domain names.

Go Daddy Group Inc. has filed a patent for a method of selling equity in domain names and protecting the domain names in which the equity is issued.

The patent is for a system that will facilitate the sale of shares in a domain name. The patent application explains that a number of institutions are interested in investing in domain names, but there isn’t a simple mechanism to do so. Conversely, many domain owners are interested in selling equity in their domain names, but need a way to connect with investors.

The sale of shares of equity in a Domain Name associated with the current invention simplifies the current rudimentary process by which Registrants attract investors through either knowing the party or being connected through outlets such as forums or other online media. Such a centralized sale of shares of equity would need to provide means to underwrite the sale of such equity and provide a means to protect the domain name from inadvertently or fraudulently being transferred to another entity…

…The invention should have a desirable side effect on the entire domain name industry in that it may provide a significant amount of secure capital to registrants, which would allow them to develop their domain name organizations and invest in capital expenditures such as dedicated servers, other domain names, etc., while providing assurance to potential investors and underwriters that the domain name may be protected and used as collateral during the sale of such equity in the domain name.

United States patent application 20090171823 describes the method of connecting domain owners and equity underwriters as well as protecting the domain names that receive investments. Go Daddy has also filed United States Patent application 20090171678 specifically for protecting the domain name during investment.

Both patents were filed in 2007 but only published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office today.

Domain name registrar adds new security features and advanced whois privacy.

Domain name registrar Fabulous is adding two new features including a whois privacy service that sets the bar for customer service. The features will be available July 1.

The first new feature is a physical security device that adds additional security to sensitive areas of your account, such as name pushes and nameserver changes. The USB device delivers a one time-use passcode with the push of a button, which is then required to perform the action.

Fabulous is also introducing whois privacy. Although whois privacy is a common registrar feature, Fabulous’ seems to be the most registrant friendly. Each user gets a unique identifier so they can receive all voicemail intended for the registrant. (Most whois services just have a generic registrar phone number). All e-mail and important postal mail is also forwarded to the registrant. The service is free, although there’s a $25 charge if the company needs to forward important postal mail such as a domain dispute.

Read domain registrar reviews at RegistrarJudge.com.

Research report shows consumers not keen on new TLDs.

A couple weeks ago I received an email from a researcher at The Future Laboratory, a UK-based research and trend forecasting company. The company was preparing a report, sponsored by domain registrar Gandi.net, about the introduction of new top level domain names. We later discussed the issues surrounding new TLDs via phone.

I assumed that the report would be tainted by Gandi’s position on new top level domains, but I was assured the company was only the sponsor. Aside from some sidebars from Gandi, the report seems to be straightforward and unbiased.

One of the findings in the report is that consumers mostly haven’t heard of these new domains, and most don’t care to see them:

They believe existing domain name extensions are trustworthy and reassuring, whereas the prospect of new website suffixes provokes suspicion and concern. For example, 35% of consumers think
.uk is trustworthy, compared to 3% that trust .biz (which was created in 2001) and 4% that trust
.eco (a proposed new TLD)…

The majority of consumers polled (60%) agree that the liberalisation of domain name extensions will
change the way they use the Internet, but not for the better. The Internet will become full of pointless
domain names (for 65% of those polled), messy and confusing (57%), too complex to navigate (46%) and
out of control (41%)…

Consumers muster little enthusiasm for any new top-level domains. A quarter of people are ambivalent about the prospect of a .theirname suffix and 28% would be wary of domains ending with .theirprofession. Just 15% think this sort of suffix would be appealing.

The report also gave examples of new ways to use domains, such as london.lonelyplanet. I keep seeing examples like this, and wonder what’s wrong with london.lonelyplanet.com. Indeed, many people will type the domain that way anyway. The report includes a similar assessment by an ecommerce consultant:

Everyone knows that Amazon is amazon.com or amazon.co.uk,’ says ecommerce consultant, Emma Kane. But if Amazon ever decides to operate under .books, she says ‘it will just lead to confusion, especially amongst less savvy internet users who will type in Amazon.books.com as opposed to Amazon.books.

The Future Laboratory surveyed 1,000 British consumers for the report. Although one could cite the sample size or locality of the consumers as different from the world at large, this is the only study I know of that shows any hard stats about consumer interest in new TLDs.

Over the next few months you will surely see more studies about consumer interest in new TLDs. Always consider the source, as many are backed by companies looking to make a buck off of new domains.

Lawsuit claims domain name registrar transferred domain name back to cybersquatter.

It’s not unusual to find a domain name registrar named in a cybersquatting lawsuit because an infringing domain is registered with them. But a case filed June 2 in U.S. District Court against eNom involves an alleged inappropriate transfer back to a cybersquatter. Here’s what happened, according to the lawsuit.

Financial services company First American won the domain name firstamerican.com from Pluto Domain Services in January of this year through UDRP. (Incidentally, First American lost a UDRP for the same domain name in 2000 against Ult Search.) First American alleges Pluto is associated with ICANN-accredited domain name registrar Lead Networks of India, where the domain name is registered. After losing the UDRP decision, Pluto sued First American in India to keep the domain name.

First American says it then settled with Pluto, agreeing to transfer the domain name to First American in return for money. Pluto transferred the domain name to eNom, where First American registers its domain names. But then Pluto and/or Lead Networks informed eNom that the transfer was a mistake, so eNom transferred it back.

First American blames eNom for transferring the domain name back, and says that eNom also should have known the domain name was infringing because it is the registrar for First American’s domain names. The suit claims eNom should pay $100,000 plus legal fees.

It will be interesting to see how this one plays out. It’s possible First American brought eNom into the lawsuit because it helps prove that Washington (where eNom is based) is an appropriate jurisdiction.

You can read the lawsuit here (pdf).

New web site allows you to track changes in GoDaddy’s terms of service.

Electronic Frontier Foundation has launched TOSBack, a new service to track changes to company’s terms of service. It currently tracks a number of popular web sites, including Facebook, eBay, YouTube, and domain name registrar GoDaddy.com. It shows a side-by-side comparison with relevant changes highlighted. Most of these are minor or benevolent changes, but we all remember the uproar a couple month’s ago when Facebook radically changes its TOS.

Most people don’t realize that these sites change their terms on a regular basis. GoDaddy changed its Universal Terms of service in May and changed its Domain Name Registration Agreement twice in the past few weeks.

According to TOSback, on May 18 GoDaddy changed its Domain Name Registration Agreement by adding to the list of country code domain names that renew on the first day of the month prior to the domain expiring. These domains must also be renewed no later than the 20th day of the month prior to expiration if done manually.

On May 22, GoDaddy added a new term to its Domain Name Registration Agreement:

You acknowledge and agree a copy of the customer contact data You provide will be used as the initial domain contact data and made public in the WHOIS database.

On May 20, GoDaddy changed its Universal Terms Of Service to reference agreements related to new GoDaddy products.