Web.com subsidiary gets patent for Whois Privacy, as compared to Whois Proxy. GoDaddy has patents for domain name proxy services. Now a competitor, Web.com's Network Solutions, has a patent for Whois privacy. U.S. Patent #9,817,979 (pdf) for ... Continue Reading5 Comments
Verisign files patent app for Thick Whois with privacy compliance
· UncategorizedVerisign patent application covers handling European Union compliance. The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will affect how domain name Whois services are delivered starting next year (podcast). In some cases, including ... Continue ReadingLeave a Comment
It’s out of control: how do we block SMS spam and robocalling based on Whois info?
· Policy & LawSomething has to be done. Robocalling, SMS spam and email spam to contacts collected from newly-registered domain names are out of control. Simply out of control. I registered a domain name last week using a Google Voice number so I could track the ... Continue Reading52 Comments
ICANN gives Whois privacy services breathing room on new transfer policy
· Policy & LawBoard chairman instructs ICANN to defer compliance on part of new transfer policy. On December 1, a new domain name transfer policy went into effect that requires both the previous and new registrant of a domain name to approve changes to certain ... Continue Reading4 Comments
3,000 comments submitted about whois privacy proposal
· ServicesPeople upset about non-consensus proposal to forbid whois privacy on sites conducting commerce. About 3,000 people and groups have submitted comments to ICANN during its comment period on privacy and proxy services. An ICANN working group proposed a ... Continue Reading2 Comments
Domain definitions: whois privacy vs. whois proxy
· Policy & LawWhat's the difference between whois privacy and whois proxy? With talk in Washington and policy circles about whois privacy, I think it would be good to define both whois privacy and whois proxy, and discussed how the terms are usually ... Continue Reading5 Comments
“Legitimate companies don’t hide their contact details”
· Policy & LawIs using whois privacy or proxy services a red flag? I was reading a story this morning about problems at Bitcoin payment processor EgoPay. The author noted that the EgoPay.com website is devoid of contact information and that the domain name is ... Continue Reading14 Comments
Companies don’t want you to use Whois privacy, but they use it themselves
· Policy & LawBrands owners benefit from whois privacy, even though they'd prefer their adversaries not be able to use it. There's a common myth in intellectual property circles that, if it weren't for whois privacy and proxy services, there would be a lot less bad ... Continue Reading8 Comments
Network Solutions files domain privacy patent application
· Domain RegistrarsDomain name registrar Network Solutions wants to patent various aspects of a domain privacy service, and has filed a patent application for "Private Domain Name Registration" with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The application is technically a ... Continue Reading2 Comments
Whois privacy. Even the Fortune 500 use it.
· Policy & LawIt's hypocritical for large companies to lobby against whois privacy services when they use them as well. Why do so many large companies argue against whois privacy and whois proxy services when they use the same tools themselves? It's a frequently ... Continue Reading2 Comments