Is this the ‘Beginning of the End’ of .Com domains? Welcome to the new Web domains rush

The Internet’s long-restricted virtual real estate market is open for business. Hundreds of new so-called top-level domains (TLDs) like .photography, .expert and .pizza are available now that the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which oversees the domain name system, has expanded access to suffixes. A handful of companies that prepared years ago …

Arstechnica: Vox Populi fires back at ICANN over .SUCKS domain pricing criticism

When last we left the nascent “.sucks” generic top-level domain, ICANN was calling for investigation and scrutiny into the pricing structure the domain’s designated registry was implementing. That registry, a company called Vox Populi, is currently offering sunrise pricing on “.sucks” domain names with the MSRP going as high as $2,499. Individual registrars are charged …

Troubling Revelations Regarding the IANA Transition – Major Alarming Gaffes by ICANN CEO

The one million dollar question however is: “If the ICANN CEO thinks that the CWG does not understand how the IANA functions work, and no body else understands it but ICANN, then why give such an important responsibility of aspects of the IANA Transition proposal to a group of people that presumably do not understand how the …

Godaddy becomes first Domain Registrar to hit 500,000 New gTLD Registrations

According to ntldstats.com, Godaddy.com has become the first domain name registration to have registered more than 500,000 domain names. Godaddy has 500,091 new gTLD domain names under registration, 100,000 more than the second closest domain registrar, Network Solution which topped the 400,000 domain mark although around 377K of the 400,000 Network Solutions domain names were …

From .coffee to .email to .xyz: The Web’s crazy new reality is here

Dot-com? How quaint. A smorgasbord of new Net domains has arrived, with hundreds more on the way. There’s opportunity aplenty, but lots of trademark hassles, too. Heather Parker is a technically savvy businesswoman. She has her own Heather Parker Photography Web site, she knows about social media and search-engine optimization, she publishes examples of her …

Sen. Jay Rockefeller slams ‘.sucks’ for websites, calls it a ‘predatory shakedown scheme’

Late last year,  new gTLD applicants for .sucks opened up Priority Registrations for .sucks domain names for $250 per domain and Trademark Priority Registrations of $2,500 per domain. The registry plans on charging $25,000 PER domain for Sunrise Registrations. Sunrise is reserved for registered trademarks which are registered with the Trademark Clearing House (TMCH). The …

ICANN Jumps Into Internet Governance Talk; Fight Over Domains For GIs

Written originaly By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), celebrating its 15th birthday during its 48th meeting in Buenos Aires this week is not only busy pushing forward the introduction of new top-level domains. ICANN President and CEO Fadi Chehadé also inserted the organisation into the …