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Google wins fight over “Google Coronavirus” domain name

by — Policy & Law 1 Comment

Man agrees to give domain name to Google after facing cybersquatting complaint.

Picture of man wearing surgical mask with the word "Coronavirus" overlayed

A Massachusetts man who registered GoogleCoronavirus .com has agreed to hand it over to Google after the company filed a cybersquatting complaint.

Ben Ghosh registered the domain—at Google Domains, no less—on March 13. Google filed a cybersquatting complaint with National Arbitration Forum just three days later.

The domain name had a basic WordPress installation with no additional content.

Rather than fight the case, Ghosh consented to transfer the domain name to Google.

Companies have been registering domain names including their brands and terms like coronavirus and Covid-19 to protect against cybersquatting. For example, Facebook registered over 500 domain names including its brands and these terms.

It’s almost impossible to register every possible permutation. It probably makes sense for large websites to register obvious domains like brandCoronavirus. Beyond that, they can turn to cybersquatting mechanisms under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolutions Policy to get control of domains that people register.

Google also filed a case against CoronavirusGoogle .com, which was registered by Walter Lafky of Oregon. That case is still pending.

Breaking: Neustar retains .co registry, at a cost

by — Uncategorized 3 Comments

Neustar will continue operating .co but at much less favorable terms.

Graphic that states 'breaking news'

.Co Internet SaS, part of Neustar, will get to run the .co domain name registry after all.

Last year, MinTIC, Columbia’s Ministry of Information Technology (MinTIC), said it was putting the contract out to bid. Rivals lined up with hopes of cashing in on the popular domain extension.

The domain name wasn’t a global success when .Co Internet originally started running it in 2010; it spent heavily on marketing the domain name over the past decade, including in three Super Bowl commercials.

Neustar believed it had a right to a ten-year contract extension and filed a $350 million claim with the government of Colombia.

The parties settled the dispute, with MinTIC awarding a new contract to .Co Internet. The terms are very different from the first time around, though.

The government said it received about 6%-7% under the previous model and will now receive 81%.

Other terms have changed. First, it appears to be a five-year deal. Second, Colombia’s government will get more involved going forward. Here’s how Google Translate translated the relevant statement:

The selected contractor will operate the domain registration for the next 5 years after completing the transition process to the new operating model. In the future, the Ministry will be in charge of its administration through a group dedicated to Internet governance with technical personnel with knowledge and ability to manage and administer the domain. A fundamental change compared to the previous contract that contemplated the concession of the two components: the administrative and the operational.

[This story has been updated to clarify Colombia’s role going forward.]

Godaddy expects $25-$30 million revenue hit in Q2 due to Covid-19

by — Domain Registrars 1 Comment

Domain name aftermarket might be a weak spot during the downturn.

Graph showing U.S. government data on business establishments over time

People start businesses even in hard economic times. Graphic from GoDaddy Investor Day presentation.

GoDaddy held a virtual investor day yesterday and the impact of Covid-19 was obviously a discussion topic.

Ray Winborne, CFO of GoDaddy, said the pandemic had a minimal impact on Q1 and that revenue would land within $5 million of the company’s $795 million guidance.

The impact will be greater in the second quarter, during which GoDaddy expects about a $25-$30 million impact.

The company expects no significant changes to its core business, which is based primarily on renewals. It expects mild softness in new sales.

There will be two drags, however. First, having everyone work from home will impact employee productivity. Second, the aftermarket is likely to see a greater demand impact in a recession due to higher price points.

GoDaddy showed a chart (picture) with data from the U.S. government about new business starts, including during the Great Recession. Although it shows that people still start businesses in recessions, the company noted that the impact of Covid-19 is unique because it’s hard to predict the recovery shape and window.

The full investor presentation is here (pdf).

Reviewing 4-letter domains sold in March

by — Domain Sales 0 Comments

Kassey Lee evaluates four-letter domain sales as to how they might be valuable in China.

Four L's on a blue and orange background

Here are some 4-letter sold in March as reported by Namebio. I’ll look at them from a Chinese perspective.

XCDN .com sold for $22,000. XCDN.com is already a developed site by Yun Su Yun (云速云=speedy clouds) to provide cloud services such as CDN, server rental, and security. The domain and the company name do not seem to match.

XCDN.com.cn is operated by Xin Cheng (欣诚=happy and sincere), an internet service provider offering VPN, CDN, email, and domain registration services. The acronym XCDN may be formed by combining the first word of the company name and the term “CDN” (Content Delivery Network),

TDKJ .com sold for $1,375. TDKJ.com.cn is a developed site. TDKJ is an acronym for the company name Tong Da Ke Ji (通达科技=science and technology which are clearly understood). The home page suggests something related to cars but clicking the links does not display any contents.

ZYWX .com sold for $1,247. ZYWX.com forwards to Oxford.com.cn, which appears to be a news portal related to skills and qualifications. The Chinese brand of the site is Niu Kao Wang (牛考网=awesome exam net). Note that simple or popular English words such as “oxford” are liked by Chinese companies.

PWSY .com sold for $900. This domain is for sale and likely owned by a Chinese investor.

PWSY.com.cn is also for sale at 180 yuan or about $27. Even though the price is low, the owner must have spent a significant amount of time to identify company names matching this acronym. The information is very detailed and it includes the contact person’s name, phone number, email address, physical address, registered capital, and date of company registration. Such information is very useful in outbound sales to potential end users.

WXFT.com sold for $794. WXFT.cn is for sale with an asking price of 9,999 yuan, or about $1,500, which is much higher than the .com domain just sold.

Resource: Data on how business segments are faring in the pandemic

by — Services 0 Comments

Which online transactions are going up and down during the pandemic.

Chart showing change in affiliate actions at CJ in March 2020 compared to March 2019

This chart, courtesy of CJ, shows how online commerce has changed during the pandemic.

CJ, previously known as Commission Junction, is a large affiliate network. Many businesses run affiliate programs through them, including GoDaddy. Because it’s tracking commissions, it gets real-time data into what’s happening to different business segments in light of the pandemic.

The company is providing this data for free and updating it weekly. This is great, recently-updated data to help you navigate these times.

I think this year-over-year chart for March 1-28 is the most interesting. It shows clear winners and losers.

Winners:

  • Education, actions up 387%
  • Food and Drinks, up 66% (remember, these are people ordering food online)
  • Recreation and Leisure, up 49%
  • Sports & Fitness, up 49%

Regarding the latter two categories, people are buying exercise equipment and recreational equipment in droves.

Losers:

  • Travel, actions down 59%
  • Live Events, down 57%
  • Gifts and Flowers, down 19%

I thought about sending flowers to someone who had received bad health news, and then realized they probably don’t want a delivery driver showing up at their home.

Keep in mind that actions include things other than just sales, such as lead generation.

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