.Org dominated the news last month. November was a busy month in the domain name business, led by a planned takeover of the .Org registry. I've grouped many of the .org-related articles into one on the top 5 posts list. Here's the full roundup of ... Continue Reading1 Comment
ISOC is leaving money on the table with .org, but…
· Policy & LawA secretive deal was the only way ISOC could get a deal done. I've written a lot about how Internet Society's (ISOC) deal to sell the .org registry to a private equity company impacts the internet's users and non-profits. From a credibility ... Continue Reading12 Comments
ICANN says it “does not have authority” over .org transaction
· Policy & LawDomain regulator is unlikely to do anything about the sale of .org by a non-profit to a private equity firm. Anyone holding out hope that ICANN will block the sale of .Org to private equity company Ethos should prepare to be disappointed. The ... Continue Reading22 Comments
Ethos paid $1.135 billion for .Org
· Policy & LawInternet Society reveals the price it is selling out for. On a webinar today, Internet Society has purportedly disclosed that Ethos Capital will pay $1.135 billion to acquire the .org registry from it: #Internetsociety offered 1b and 135mil$USD ... Continue Reading23 Comments
ISOC chapter breaks ranks, criticizes deal to sell .Org
· Policy & LawNetherlands chapter calls on others to join it in denouncing sale. Shortly after Internet Society (ISOC) announced a deal to sell Public Interest Registry (which runs .org) to a private equity company, ISOC sent a notice to its local chapters ... Continue Reading13 Comments
ISOC CEO repeats the registry competition fallacy
· Policy & LawThere is no competition for domain renewals. Internet Society CEO Andrew Sullivan has responded to some of the uproar about his non-profit selling Public Interest Registry to a for-profit private equity company. In his response, he repeats the ... Continue Reading15 Comments
Namecheap escalates .Org challenge
· Policy & LawRegistrar files rebuttal, moving toward Independent Review Process. Namecheap has filed a rebuttal to ICANN's board decision on its reconsideration request over the new .org contract. It is also filing for Independent Review, starting with the ... Continue Reading9 Comments
ICA asks ICANN to block .Org private equity deal in damning letter
· Policy & LawGroup calls out ICANN's "terrible blunder". Internet Commerce Association is asking domain overseer ICANN to block the sale of the .Org registry to Ethos Capital. It sent a damning letter (pdf) to ICANN today that states what many observers are ... Continue Reading29 Comments
The economics of .org domain names
· ServicesEthos Capital just bought a license to print money. Yesterday, Internet Society announced it was selling the .Org registry to a private equity company. The price has not yet been disclosed, but it was surely a very high figure, as I will ... Continue Reading34 Comments
Breaking: Private Equity company acquires .Org registry
· ServicesEthos Capital, led by former ABRY Partners Managing Partner, buys .Org registry. I thought this might happen. And now it has. Fresh off ICANN's blunder letting Public Interest Registry set whatever price it wants for .org domain names, Internet ... Continue Reading50 Comments