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The problem with selling .org domains to Chinese entities

by — Domain Sales 2 Comments

Have a .org domain targeted to the Chinese market? Read on.

Do you own .org domains intended for Chinese buyers, such as Pinyin domains? If so, you should be aware of restrictions and trends that make aftermarket sales unlikely.

The chart below indicates the total number of .org domains registered in China over the last 15 years, according to China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC). You can see a consistent decline in recent years, which fell to 146,000 domains in 2020. This number is really tiny when compared with the 19 million .cn domains registered in the same year.

Chart showing decline in .org domains in China

There are several reasons this might be the case.

First, website operators in China need a license, and the government doesn’t issue licenses for .org domains.

If you visit Aliyun (Alibaba subsidiary), the largest domain registrar in China, you may find the following notice on its .org domain registration page.

.org域名暂无法进行网站备案，请先注册进行保护

The notice says that you can register your desired .org domain, but currently, you can’t apply for an ICP license to build and operate a website on the domain in China.

Obviously, this means registrars in China don’t push/promote .org domains heavily, and Chinese businesses and non-profits will steer clear of these domains.

Second, it isn’t easy to become a non-profit organization in China. As I have said earlier in another article, in recent years, the Chinese government has been very strict in confirming non-profit organization status. While .org is open to any type of registrant, it is a preferred extension for non-profits.

Finally, .org registry Public Interest Registry began focusing on quality over quantity of registrations a few years ago, so cheap promos for domain investors are out.

These issues, primarily the ICP issue, mean that .org domains held for sale specifically for the Chinese market are probably an unwise investment.

2020 in Review: .Org sale

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A top story this year was the sale of .org falling through.

Yellow and blue graphic with the words "2020 top stories the .org non-sale"

This is the third in a series of posts about the domain name industry in 2020. Read the others here.

One of my predictions for 2020 was that Ethos Capital’s deal to acquire Public Interest Registry would go through despite widespread outrage. I was wrong.

Ethos Capital and Public Interest Registry (PIR), which operates .org, announced the deal in November 2019. Ethos Capital agreed to buy the non-profit for $1.135 billion with plans to turn it into a for-profit venture.

Internet Society controls PIR and generates substantially all of its funds through the sale of .org domain names. It viewed this as an opportunity to exchange future cash flows from domains for one lump sump, derisking potential negative changes to the market for .org domains.

I remember receiving a call the day the deal was announced. The caller asked, “Do you think Fadi Chehadé is behind this deal?”

My initial reaction was no. Chehadé, the former CEO of ICANN, made a splash in 2018 when he led a deal by Abry Partners to acquire top level domain company Donuts. But why would he try to buy .org through a different firm?

But the caller pointed out that Chehadé’s name was in Whois for the registration of a domain name related to Ethos Capital. It turns out this caller was right; Chehadé was involved.

It’s still unclear to me why Chehadé and Abry partner Erik Brooks left Abry ostensibly to pull off this deal. Did Abry not want to be connected to the controversy? Did Chehadé and Brooks just see a bigger opportunity?

There was lots of pushback against the deal. EFF was particularly active in opposition. Six lawmakers — including Democratic presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren — urged ICANN to reject the deal.

Still, history suggested the deal would go through…

Until California’s Attorney General spoke up.

In his role as Attorney General, Xavier Becerra oversees non-profits in the state. ICANN is incorporated in ICANN.

Becerra’s initial letter delayed the deal. It appeared ICANN was ready to approve the transaction in April but scuttled the approval when Becerra sent a more forceful letter.

At the end of April, ICANN’s board of directors voted to reject the sale.

The non-profit community is breathing a sigh of relief. And ISOC will have to settle for about $70 million a year rather than a $1.135 billion lump sum.

2020 .Org Impact Awards announced

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Public Interest Registry announces winners of 2020 awards.

Days for Girls logo

Days for Girls won $45,000 in the .Org Impact Awards contest.

Public Interest Registry has announced the winners of the 2020 .Org Impact Awards.

In previous years, the awards were presented at an awards ceremony. They were announced online over ten days this year due to the pandemic.

Days for Girls International was the big winner. It walked away with $45,000 after winning both the .Org of the Year award ($30,000) and the Combating Coronavirus Award ($15,000).

The other winners pocketed $5,000 each.

The full list of winners includes:

Combatting Coronavirus
Days for Girls International
Masks for Millions & Periods Don’t Pause for Pandemics

Fighting Hunger and Poverty
Food For Free 
Improving access to healthy food within the greater Boston area

Championing Equality, Equity, Inclusion
Change Labs 
Fostering Native American entrepreneurship for the Navajo and Hopi Nations

Promoting Education
SMASH
Building a strong, diverse and socially conscious tech workforce

Advancing Environmental Sustainability
Mangrove Action Project
Protecting the world’s mangrove forests

Promoting A Safer Internet
Child Rescue Coalition 
Protecting innocence through technology

Innovation Award
Crisis Tracker
Mapping violence in Central Africa

Outstanding Volunteer
Kayla Abramowitz, Chief Kid Officer of Kayla Cares 4 Kids
Collecting and donating items for kids in hospitals

.ORG Newcomer of The Year
Arwa Damon, President & Co-founder of INARA 
Life-altering medical care for children from conflict areas who have catastrophic injuries or illnesses

.ORG of The Year
Days for Girls International 
Masks4Millions & Periods Don’t Pause for Pandemics

.Org registry names finalists for Impact Awards

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Kiva, a local chapter of The Salvation Army, and Rainforest Alliance are among this year’s finalists.

Logos of the finalists for the 2020 .Org Impact Award for Combatting Coronavirus including Molssi, The Salvation Army, Days for Girls, Heart to Heart and CFK

.Org will announce the winner of the first category, Combatting Coronavirus, on November 30. The winner of this category will get $15,000.

Public Interest Registry has named the finalists for this year’s .Org Impact Awards. The winners will be announced over a ten-day period beginning November 30.

There are five finalists for each category, including “Combatting Coronavirus,” “Promoting Education,” and “Fighting Hunger and Poverty.”

One organization will be named the .Org of the Year and pocket a $30,000 prize. The Coronavirus category winner will get $15,000, and eight other winners will each receive $5,000.

PIR says that it received over 500 submissions for the awards.

Finalists and details are online at OrgImpactAwards.org.

.Org launches new registrant rights/appeal mechanism

by — Policy & Law 0 Comments

.Org registrants now get multiple appeals if their domains are suspended.

Logo for .org domain, featuring a blue circle with white letters spelling ORG

Public Interest Registry (PIR), the registry for .org domain names, has unveiled a new appeals process for .org registrants who believe the registry unfairly suspended their domains.

Last year, PIR suspended about 6,500 .org domain names for violating its policies. In almost all of these cases, the suspensions were for DNS abuse, such as spam. It suspended only 11 sites for content violations such as child sexual abuse materials and distributing opioids.

.Org users could always appeal these suspensions to Public Interesting Registry. PIR has granted some of these appeals, such as when a domain name had been compromised when the DNS abuse occurred. It has also denied some of these appeals.

Now, registrants who are rebuffed by PIR on appeal will have the opportunity to then appeal to a tribunal operated by National Arbitration Forum.

Forum charges $1,200 per appeal case but PIR will subsidize the cost, so it’s only $500. Registrants will get a full refund if their appeal is successful.

PIR works with domain name registrars to contact registrants before suspending their domains. Given this advanced notice, plus the PIR appeal process, this new mechanism will likely rarely be invoked.

PIR stressed that the new mechanism does not signal any sort of increased enforcement activity on its part.

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