Check out http://auda.org.au/domain-news/ for the most recent edition of the domain news - already online! Stories include:
au: Aussie by any name
au: Celebrities may be able to reclaim domain from cybersquatters
au: Arbitrator backs claim domain name use was 'conduct in bad faith'
au: The sheriff is home on the range
 
 The domain name news is supported by auDA.
 
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us: Typosquatting isn't false advertising
http://tushnet.blogspot.com/2006/09/typosquatting-isnt-false-advertising.html

by: Belarusian online shops must have national domain names
http://law.by/work/EnglPortal.nsf/0/C8F30E67848C7D1EC22571EA0048DA03
http://e-belarus.org/news/200609151.html

uk: Nominet solves rogue domain seller problem
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/09/15/nominet_transfer_fees

Expert Analysis Recommends Key Security Changes to ICANN's Pending Registry Proposals
http://webhostdir.com/news/articles/shownews.asp?id=17438

ICANN Control Likely Renewed (Reuters)
http://informationweek.com/industries/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=193000491
http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=13480381

Critics Blast ICANN Proposed Registry Agreements
http://webhosting.devshed.com/c/a/Web-Hosting-News/Critics-Blast-ICANN-Proposed-Registry-Agreements

ICANN Ratifies Global Policy for Allocation of IPv6 Address Space
http://nro.net/documents/nro40.html

ICANN GNSO Review - London School of Economics (LSE) Report
http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-15sep06.htm

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GOVERNANCE
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itu: World Information Society Report
The ITU?s Strategy and Policy Unit is delighted to announce over 17,000 downloads of its major new report, the World Information Society Report (WISR), over the two months since its publication. As part of the ITU?s follow-up to WSIS, the Report charts progress in building the Information Society and track the dynamics driving digital opportunity worldwide using a new tool?the Digital Opportunity Index (DOI).
http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/newslog/World+Information+Society+Report+WISR.aspx

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DOMAIN NAMES
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us: Typosquatting isn't false advertising
Plaintiff sued for violations of the Lanham Act, ACPA, and state law based on its payment of commissions to defendants, as part of plaintiff's affiliate agreement, that allegedly turned out to be generated by typosquatting, in violation of that agreement.
http://tushnet.blogspot.com/2006/09/typosquatting-isnt-false-advertising.html

by: Belarusian online shops must have national domain names
Belarusian online shops must be registered in the national domain space according to Belarusian Council of Ministers resolution No. 1161.
http://law.by/work/EnglPortal.nsf/0/C8F30E67848C7D1EC22571EA0048DA03
http://e-belarus.org/news/200609151.html

uk: Nominet solves rogue domain seller problem
Nominet has gone a long way toward solving the problem of rogue domain sellers in the UK by reducing transfer fees. From 1 October, the company that oversees the .uk registry will slash the cost of moving .uk domain names both between agents and actual owners. The result will not only improve competition within the domain name market by making it cheaper to shift Internet names, but also effectively remove a loophole that has allowed some unscrupulous companies to charge customers over the odds.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/09/15/nominet_transfer_fees

Expert Analysis Recommends Key Security Changes to ICANN's Pending Registry Proposals
An expert report released today concluded that in proposals for the .com, .biz, .info and .org registries, ICANN has failed to ensure adequate security safeguards. The report, written by leading security technology expert Jerry Archer, recommends that oversight, planning and testing provisions be implemented in the proposals to run these registries before they are finalized. 
http://webhostdir.com/news/articles/shownews.asp?id=17438

Expert Analysis Recommends Key Security Changes To ICANN's Pending Registry Proposals (Network Solutions news release)
An expert report released today concluded that in proposals for the .com, .biz, .info and .org registries, ICANN has failed to ensure adequate security safeguards.  The report, written by leading security technology expert Jerry Archer, recommends that oversight, planning and testing provisions be implemented in the proposals to run these registries before they are finalized.
http://vocuspr.vocus.com/VocusPR30/Newsroom/Query.aspx?SiteName=NetworkSolutions&Entity=PRAsset&SF_PRAsset_PRAssetID_EQ=148157&XSL=PressRelease&Cache=True&Merge=

ICANN Control Likely Renewed (Reuters)
A US State Department official indicated on Wednesday that the memorandum of understanding between ICANN and the US Commerce Department, which controls Washington's authority over the Internet Domain naming system, is likely to be renewed by the Senate committee when it meets next week.
http://informationweek.com/industries/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=193000491
http://thewhir.com/marketwatch/091506_ICANN_Control_Likely_Renewed.cfm
http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=13480381
http://www.governmententerprise.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleId=193000491
http://allheadlinenews.com/articles/7004861110
http://www.itnews.com.au/newsstory.aspx?CIaNID=37050

Critics Blast ICANN Proposed Registry Agreements
ICANN can?t seem to draw up a decent agreement with registries to save its life. Its latest proposed contract, with the registries handling .biz, .info, and .org, drew literally thousands of comments over the 30 days it was publicly posted, most of them negative. Keep reading to find out what the uproar is about.
http://webhosting.devshed.com/c/a/Web-Hosting-News/Critics-Blast-ICANN-Proposed-Registry-Agreements

ICANN Ratifies Global Policy for Allocation of IPv6 Address Space
On 7 September 2006, the ICANN Board ratified the Global Policy for Allocation of IPv6 Address Space. This policy provides for the allocation of IPv6 address space from ICANN to the Regional Internet Registries.
http://nro.net/documents/nro40.html

ICANN GNSO Review - London School of Economics (LSE) Report
ICANN has been provided with the LSE's review of the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) [Report, Annexes]. This report will be used to inform ICANN's effort to develop detailed proposals for improving the GNSO's structures and processes. ICANN's Board will work with the GNSO and the ICANN community to consider this report, along with previous reviews and public input, in a collaborative process to strengthen this key policy-making body. This independent review of the GNSO is the first in a series of such reviews mandated in ICANN's bylaws as part of ICANN's ongoing commitment to evolve and improve its operations.
http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-15sep06.htm

ICANN: Addition to Website and Announcement of Information Page on Requests for New Registry Services
As part of ICANN's effort to support a timely, open and transparent process for the evaluation of new registry services, ICANN has today added a link in the Current Issues menu of the ICANN website to the Registry Services Evaluation Process. This page serves as the information area for the Registry Services Evaluation Policy and requests for new registry services.
http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-1-13sep06.htm

ICANN Releases Issues Paper for the July 2007 - June 2010 Strategic Plan
Based on consultations at the ICANN meeting in Marrakech (conducted in English, Spanish, French and Arabic), and feedback to questions posted in an online forum, ICANN has released an Issues Paper for the July 2007 - June 2010 Strategic Plan. Comments to the Issues paper can be posted to issues-paper-comments§icann.org and reviewed at http://forum.icann.org/lists/issues-paper-comments/. 
http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-13sep06.htm

us: Schools domain taken by porn
This is the kind of home schooling no one expected. After ownership of Utah Home Education Association's old Web site domain name lapsed, a porn site bought it. And although the home schooling organization has a newer, slightly modified Web address, anyone who types in the outdated domain name is led to a page with graphic, sexual images and references to "parental secrets" and "moms on film."
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_4334746
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2006/09/15/1157827121133.html
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/09/15/1157827121133.html

Travel domain firm wants 'Site Finder' service
Tralliance Inc, which runs the .travel domain name, said that it will continue to pursue its request to introduce a "DNS wildcard" service, similar to VeriSign Inc's controversial 2003 service Site Finder, despite running up against early security-related hurdles.
http://cbronline.com/article_news.asp?guid=5711D567-A27B-48C5-BF18-B25BB1739414
http://computerwire.com/industries/research/?pid=2B7F65B2%2DB527%2D4663%2DABFD%2DB3F238471158

Public Interest Registry Announces 5,000,000 .ORG Domains Registered Worldwide
The Public Interest Registry announced that 5,000,000 .ORG domains are now registered worldwide. The phenomenal growth experienced by the .ORG registry in 2006 reflects the continued increase in awareness, value and use of the .ORG brand, in addition to the success of .ORG registrars internationally.
http://www.circleid.com/posts/pir_announces_5_million_org_domains/
http://webhosting.info/news/1/public-interest-registry-reports-5mn-.org-domains-registered_0913068831.htm

Security in DNS spotlight again
The security and stability of the internet has once again come to the forefront of the domain name space, as companies spar to get the best deals out of ICANN and the US government.
http://cbronline.com/article_news.asp?guid=8822EB5F-3AEF-447D-BA85-4D8647347BF8
http://redorbit.com/news/technology/657717/security_in_dns_spotlight_again

Spammers Step Use Of Disposable Domains
According to trend research conducted by security software vendor McAfee, spammers have increased the number of disposable domains that they use and are cycling through new domains faster than in the past. While this trend is certainly a boon for domain name registrars it is in fact a bain for recipients of email as well as mail system administrators.
http://windowsitpro.com/mobile/pda/Article.cfm?ArticleID=93518&News=1

French NIC Warns Against Slamming
Everyone knows there are many frauds linked to the growth of domain names. According to AFNIC there has been a significant increase in the number of cases of slamming since the beginning of this year.
http://www.circleid.com/posts/french_nic_warns_domain_slamming/

ng: Control of Nigeria?s domain name
It is a national shame and embarrassment that the the country?s code top-level domain name, .ng, a spin-off of the the Internet revolution has remained in the hand of foreigners.
http://sunnewsonline.com/webpages/opinion/editorial/2006/sept/14/editorial-14-09-2006-001.htm

us: Typosquatters Target Credit Unions
One of the largest bulk registration of credit union-like domain names ever took place last weekend, according to the Credit Union Information Security Professionals Association.
http://banknet360.com/news/NewsAbstract.do?na_id=5263

us: Brother-in-law of county judge candidate claims opponent's Web domains
When county judge candidate Wes Suiter tried to find a domain name for his campaign Web site ? like wessuiter.com, wessuiterforjudge.com or suiterforjudge.com ? he found someone had already purchased all of them. His opponent's brother-in-law.
http://www.lufkindailynews.com/news/content/news/stories/2006/09/14/domain_names.html

ca: Website bounces to opponent's ad
Vaughan's bare-knuckle politics have taken a new twist online as a veteran councillor has hijacked his election rival's name for a web address that bounces to his own campaign site. Type in http://www.maryruffolo.com, and you get a web page introducing Mary Ruffolo, who's running against incumbent Peter Meffe for the Ward 1 seat.
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1158357012479&call_pageid=968350130169&col=969483202845

in/us: Maruti loses case on domain name
On August 15, Maruti Udyog lost its case to Mr Rao Tella, a US citizen and the present owner of the domain name www.maruti.com, for transfer of the domain name to the auto major. As of date, Mr Tella can file a motion for summary judgment on his claim on or before September 18, and if he proceeds, Maruti has the option to file a reply. However, sources said Maruti Udyog is unlikely to do so.
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/09/16/stories/2006091602120200.htm
http://www.moneycontrol.com/india/news/business/marutiudyograotella/marutilosescasedomainname/market/stocks/article/240658

.MOBI Warning: Protect your trademark before Fri. September 22!
The end is near for the "sunrise period" of .Mobi. As it will end this Friday September 22nd, this is the very last chance for Trademark holders to register their brands in the Internet space for mobile content before it becomes available to everyone.
http://www.eurodns.com/info/alerts/12092006.php

Message from MAG, the Independent Nonprofit Industry Association Serving dotMobi Stakeholders
The dotMobi Advisory Group (MAG) has been set-up as an independent not-for-profit industry association accredited by dotMobi per its ICANN agreement and it is not owned nor operated nor financed by dotMobi (mTLD).
http://www.circleid.com/posts/dotmobi_mag_independent_industry_association

Templates.com Changes Hands in One of the Year's Top Ten Sales 
Tessoro Media Limited reluctantly sold Templates.com for US$450,000, originally acquired the domain for $43,000 just three years ago. Other sales included EX.com for $126,160, CityCenter.com for $72,250 and CanadaRentals.com for $41,861. The top non .com domains for the week were Racing.info selling for $18,000 and SIL.net for ?5,000 ($6,343).
http://dnjournal.com/domainsales.htm

Brazil to have over 1 million .br domain names by November (sub req'd)
http://www.telecom.paper.nl/news/article.aspx?id=141036&nr=

Why Do People Search for Domain Names?
The August 2006 Hitwise report on the Internet's most popular search terms points out how inexperienced most searchers are. Here are the top ten terms:
http://www.technologyevangelist.com/2006/09/why_do_people_search.html

Swiss government settles disputes over domain names (sub req'd)
http://www.worldtrademarklawreport.com/login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fArticle%2fDefault.aspx%3fr%3d6140

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OTHER INTERNET NEWS
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uk: Warnings over social site 'abuse'
Social networking sites such as Bebo and MySpace must do more to police what users do, warns Computing Which? A study of the sites by the consumer watchdog unearthed pornographic images, evidence of bullying and inappropriate adverts.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/5344722.stm
http://technology.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,1871945,00.html

Iranian authorities boast of success in Internet filtering
Iran is doing its utmost to isolate its citizens from the rest of the world by purging the Internet of independent content, in the name of ?morality?, says Reporters Without Borders, noting that the authorities even brag about the success of their censorship.
http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=18864
http://www.payvand.com/news/06/sep/1166.html
http://rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/9/0c6bc4f4-9417-4615-b6f3-538b5e366165.html

us: Gonzales asks for stronger penalties against online sex predators (AP)
Joint federal and local task forces arrested more than 1,600 people nationwide last year who were accused of exploiting children over the Internet, a fivefold increase over 2000.
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/15519922.htm

us: Court Panel Denies Blogger?s Appeal
In a case closely watched by First Amendment advocates, a federal court panel has rejected an appeal by a freelance journalist and blogger who has refused to appear before a grand jury or turn over video he shot of a violent protest last summer.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/12/us/12video.html

us/ie: GoDaddy Caves To Irish Legal Threat
"An Irish website RateYourSolicitor.com, which aims to let clients find and rate solicitors (a British Isles flavor of lawyer), has received an Irish High Court injunction to remove defamatory material about one such rated solicitor.
http://yro.slashdot.org/yro/06/09/16/1741242.shtml

EFF's Six Tips to Protect Your Online Search Privacy
In the wake of AOL's publicly revealing customers' Internet search histories, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has published "Six Tips to Protect Your Online Search Privacy."
http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2006_09.php#004900

us: Surfing a bigger risk than spam to company networks
Company networks are now more likely to pick up malicious software via employee Web surfing than from e-mail attachments, according to a new study.
http://news.com.com/2100-7355_3-6116244.html
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39283339,00.htm

Cybercrime Is Getting Organized
If you read the news, you'd think that most cybercriminals are lonely, maladjusted teenage hackers stealing credit card numbers from their windowless rooms. But the real damage is being done by organized syndicates, and they're playing for much higher stakes.
http://wired.com/news/wireservice/0,71793-0.html

uk/us: Spam fighter hit with $11.7 million judgment
The nonprofit group behind a popular blacklist used to block spam has been hit with a multimillion-dollar judgment, but the order may not be enforceable.
http://news.com.com/2100-7350_3-6116009.html
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39283356,00.htm

us: FTC shuts down four spam rings
The Federal Trade Commission has shut down four illegal Internet spam operations, including two that hijacked computers to send sexually explicit spam.
http://news.com.com/2100-1030_3-6115948.html

au: Man may have sent two billion Viagra spam e-mails (AP)
An Australian man under investigation for illegal spamming sent more than 2 billion e-mails promoting Viagra in a year, an official said Wednesday.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2006-09-13-viagra-spam_x.htm
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/15510335.htm

au: ACMA executes search warrant for alleged major breaches of the Spam Act (news release)
The Australian Communications and Media Authority has recently executed a search warrant on a residential premises in relation to an allegation that an Australian resident was sending billions of unsolicited commercial electronic messages, referred to generally as ?spam?.
http://www.acma.gov.au/ACMAINTER.590146:STANDARD::pc=PC_100759

Hanging with the in-crowd: Big media firms and investors are cosying up to social-networking websites
WEBSITES for social networking have never had so many friends. The best known, MySpace, recently became the most visited website in America. Its acquisition last year by News Corporation, a media giant headed by Rupert Murdoch, for $580m now looks like a masterstroke. Other media groups and investors are crowding around other such websites, which allow people to create their own pages with photos and blogs and make connections with other people. Takeover rumours have been swirling around two smaller sites, Facebook and Bebo. And a group of investors recently put $10m into Friendster, an early example of the genre that is trying to make a comeback. Even Wal-Mart, an American retailing giant, has started a social-networking site, called The Hub?to widespread derision, because it forbids the racy content that users enjoy.
http://economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=7918729

us: Sun setting on TVs, research shows
If you had to choose between your PC, TV set or mobile phone, which one would you pick? That was one of the questions researcher Forrester posed to almost 4800 households in the US and, although the TV set still ruled the roost in most homes, the study showed that it was no longer the top gadget of choice among the young and prosperous.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/09/12/1157826926545.html

EU digital divide fuelled by fat pipe take-up
Wide discrepancies in broadband penetration rates are increasing the digital divide, with Denmark topping Ecta's league table but some countries significantly lagging behind
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/business/0,39020645,39283337,00.htm
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/09/15/euro_broadband_rates/

au: Broadband tops 3.5m
THE number of broadband subscriptions in Australia topped 3.5 million at the end of June, but uptake continues to slow.
http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,20411288%5e16123%5e%5enbv%5e,00.html
http://zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/Aussie_broadband_takeup_hits_3_5_million/0,130061791,339271068,00.htm

Broadband take-up strong and steady: ACCC (news release)
Take-up for broadband services continues to increase, according to the latest Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Snapshot of Broadband Deployment.
http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/762527/fromItemId/142

eu CONFERENCE: Broadband Europe (December 2006, Switzerland)
This conference, hosted by ITU and organised by the BREAD project on behalf of the 'Broadband for All' strategic objective, will be the most authoritative European Forum of its kind. It will feature exclusive scientific presentations, broadband project research results, semi-scientific commercial presentations (including agencies, municipalities on trials and roll-outs on broadband) and semi-commercial presentations from companies on broadband products and services.
http://bbeurope.org/

The world wide web: past, present, and future
In just 15 years, the World Wide Web has gone through many iterations: document-sharing tool for researchers, key source of news and information, shopping mecca, multimedia playground, and incredibly popular means of socialising and self-expression. How did the Web get so far so fast?
http://www.itnews.com.au/newsstory.aspx?CIaNID=37028

Social Networks: Execs Use Them Too
Networking technology gives companies a new set of tools for recruiting and customer service?but privacy questions remain
http://businessweek.com/technology/content/sep2006/tc20060911_414136.htm

Marketing to Kids Where They Live
Companies hoping to attract young customers are building whole marketing campaigns around social network sites such as Facebook and MySpace
http://businessweek.com/technology/content/sep2006/tc20060908_974400.htm

Progress made in bridging the digital divide - ITU report cites advances in connectivity among least developed countries (news release)
The International Telecommunication Union launched a report in New York today on ICT/Telecommunication development in least developed countries. The report examines key developments in the information and communication technology and telecommunications sector including trends and challenges in the world?s poorest countries in the period 2001 to 2005. ITU?s findings reveal that considerable progress has been made to bridge the digital divide and that teledensity targets set by the Brussels Programme of Action have been met by 25 of the 50 LDCs.
http://www.itu.int/newsroom/press_releases/2006/16.html

ITU: 'Least developed countries' now more connected
The International Telecommunication Union is making significant inroads in its attempt to bridge the digital gap between the rest of the world and 50 of the globe's poorest economies.
http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/communications/0,39044192,61953026,00.htm

Curbing the CO2 that comes from PC use
You'd never guess it, but your PC puts about 450kgs (1,000 pounds) of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year.
http://news.com.com/2100-11398_3-6116121.html

nz: Network separation key issue in Amendment Bill
InternetNZ was amongst a number of organisations and industry companies presenting last night to the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee on the Telecommunications Amendment Bill.
http://www.internetnz.net.nz/media/2006-09-14-network-separation

fj: Minister urges phone monopoly removal
Information Minister Isireli Leweniqila says there is an urgent need for the removal of the telecommunications industry monopoly before the proposed Telecommunications Bill is passed in parliament.
http://fijilive.com/news/show/news/2006/09/17/09Fijilive1702.html

The Internet Needs an Area Code!
As that new global network becomes a reality, we need an area code for the Internet. A ?Worldwide Internet Area Code? would allow any landline or wireless user in the world to dial directly to any VoIP user. Calls could pass seamlessly between the old world and the new.
http://www.convergedigest.com/bp-ttp/bp1.asp?ID=408&ctgy=Home

VoIP: Is it Secure Enough?
With all the bad press about a dangerous, unsecured Internet, why should you send your telephone calls over it? Deb Shinder explains steps you can take to optimize security for your VoIP network. - When considering whether to cut the telco cord and go exclusively with IP-based telephony, transmission quality and reliability top the list of concerns among business owners. But sending your voice calls over today's attack-prone, virus- and worm-infested Internet raises a third issue: security.
http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-1035_11-6114900.html

Report: VoIP Market on The Upswing
VoIP service providers have something more to remind them of summer than sand in their pockets: Increased revenues and a strong demand for next-generation voice services.
http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/mowi/article.php/3632321

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Sources include Quicklinks <http://qlinks.net/> and BNA Internet Law News <http://www.bna.com/ilaw/>.

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(c) David Goldstein 2006