Don't forget to check out http://www.auda.org.au/domain-news/ for the archive of the last 3 months of the news.


And see my website - http://technewsreview.com.au/ - for daily updates in between postings.


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The domain name news is supported by auDA

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Whois Abuse Still Out of Control
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/Whois-Abuse-Still-Out-of-Control/

Larry Seltzer Struggles with ?Whois Identity Theft?
http://domainnamewire.com/2009/01/21/larry-seltzer-struggles-with-whois-identity-theft/

L'Australie f?te son 100?me "CityTLD"
http://domainesinfo.fr/extension/1766/extension-de-ville-l-australie-fete-son-100eme-citytld.php

Registrations of .be Domain Names Rises 17% in 2008 [news release]
http://dns.be/en/home.php?n=429

French Government Publishes Tender Document for .FR Registry
http://www.domainpulse.com/2009/01/19/french-government-publishes-tender-document-for-fr-registry/

Record-breaking Year for .PL
http://www.domainnews.com/en/general/record-breaking-year-for-.pl.html

.tel Landrush to start soon - Two-week countdown begins [news release]
http://telnic.org/downloads/Fifteen_days_left_for_Sunrise.pdf

US Feds to Shore Up Net Security
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/011509-bgp.html

Kentucky Court of Appeals Overturns Domain Name Seizure Order: Legal Analysis by Matt Zimmerman
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/01/kentucky-court-appeals-overturns-lower-courts-seiz

Kentucky State Loses Domain Seizure Case
http://technewsreview.com.au/article.php?article=7087

NC man gets $35,000 for Bush library domain name [AP]
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/01/20/national/a112830S86.DTL

au: Start-up businesses look online
http://smallbusiness.theage.com.au/starting/technology/start-up-businesses-look-online-911330418.html

au: Giant Aussie 2009 predictions round-up
http://www.zdnet.com.au/insight/business/soa/Special-Report-Giant-Aussie-2009-predictions-round-up/0,139023749,339294479,00.htm

The State of the Industry January 2009: 15 Leading Experts Break Down What Went Wrong in 2008 and Predict What Will Happen in 2009
http://dnjournal.com/cover/2009/january.htm


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DOMAIN NAMES
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 - ICANN
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Nigerian telecoms market, fastest growing in Africa - Akunyili
... While noting that the government is aware that Nigeria is competing with other African countries for this all-important meeting, Professor Akunyili however stressed that Nigeria is in a better position to host ICANN in 2010.
http://www.dailytrust.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3044&Itemid=87
http://allafrica.com/stories/200901200063.html

Whois Abuse Still Out of Control
It's still easy to try to steal an identity with false whois information. There are rules against it and ICANN pretends to enforce them, but I personally know that it doesn't really happen.
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/Whois-Abuse-Still-Out-of-Control/

Larry Seltzer Struggles with ?Whois Identity Theft?
I?ve heard people complain about ?whois identity theft? before. Essentially, this is when someone uses your name on their whois record. You can imagine how this could potentially be troubling for you, depending on the domain name. But in the case of eWeek writer Larry Seltzer, the ?identity thief? went several steps further.
http://domainnamewire.com/2009/01/21/larry-seltzer-struggles-with-whois-identity-theft/

Who manages the internet?
We use it every day, but how much do we really know about the internet? Looking into its innards illustrates why it is referred to as a "net" or "web." One node leads to another, interconnected while appearing autonomous. Acronyms abound: ICANN, IANA, DNS, ISP, TLD, IGF, NIC and NIXI - knick knack paddywhack, give a dog a bone.
http://www.itexaminer.com/who-manages-the-internet.aspx

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 - ccTLD & gTLD NEWS
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L'Australie f?te son 100?me "CityTLD"
http://domainesinfo.fr/extension/1766/extension-de-ville-l-australie-fete-son-100eme-citytld.php

Registrations of .be Domain Names Rises 17% in 2008 [news release]
The number of .be domain names has risen appreciably over the past year. At the turn of the year, there were 859,474 domain names registered with the not-for-profit organisation DNS BE, which is the official control body for .be domain names. That?s an increase of 16.7% compared with 2007, when there were 736,498 domain names registered.
http://dns.be/en/home.php?n=429
http://www.domainpulse.com/2009/01/21/registrations-of-be-domain-names-rises-17-in-2008/
http://www.domainnews.com/en/general/registrations-of-.be-domain-names-rises-17-in-2008.html

French Government Publishes Tender Document for .FR Registry
The French government has called for tenders from organisations interested in managing the .fr registry for seven years.
http://www.domainpulse.com/2009/01/19/french-government-publishes-tender-document-for-fr-registry/
http://www.domainnews.com/en/general/french-government-publishes-tender-document-for-.fr-registry.html

GoDaddy touts India's top level domain name as "the next 'in' thing" on The Net

The ccTLD system was designed initially to indicate country of origin or at least operation of the domain name owner but ever since the tiny Pacific Island nation of Tuvalu realised there was money to be made from the fact that its ccTLD (.tv) is the same as that of the couch potato's best friend, other have seen the possibility of monetising ccTLDs.
http://www.itwire.com/content/view/22754/1095/

Record-breaking Year for .PL
2008 was a superb year for the .pl ccTLD, says NASK, the .pl registry in a report reviewing the year. For the year, domain name registrations grew by 73.5 per cent to 1.3 million domains, making .pl the fifth largest ccTLD in Europe and tenth largest worldwide.
http://www.domainnews.com/en/general/record-breaking-year-for-.pl.html
http://www.domainpulse.com/2009/01/19/record-breaking-year-for-pl/

.tel Landrush to start soon - Two-week countdown begins [news release]
With two weeks to go before Landrush for the innovative new TLD .tel, trademark owners have a limited time to apply for their domains before applications for any domain open to all.
http://telnic.org/downloads/Fifteen_days_left_for_Sunrise.pdf
http://technewsreview.com.au/article.php?article=7086
http://www.domainpulse.com/2009/01/21/tel-landrush-to-start-soon-two-week-countdown-begins/
http://www.domainnews.com/en/general/.tel-landrush-to-start-soon-two-week-countdown-begins.html

Telnic Calls for Trademark Owners to Claim Names on New .tel Domain
Anticipating a rush of applicants when a new Internet domain becomes available in two weeks, a London-based registry operator today is calling for trademark owners to apply now.
http://asterisk.tmcnet.com/topics/open-source/articles/49035-telnic-calls-trademark-owners-claim-names-new-tel.htm

Online directories buy into .tel domain opportunity [news release]
Telnic Limited telnic.org, the registry operator for the new .tel TLD, today welcomed strong interest from online directory service providers for .tel domains.
http://telnic.com/downloads/online_directories_keen_for_tel.pdf
http://www.domainpulse.com/2009/01/21/online-directories-buy-into-tel-domain-opportunity/
http://www.domainnews.com/en/general/online-directories-buy-into-.tel-domain-opportunity.html

World?s best-loved reality shows place their vote for .tel domains [news release]
Telnic Limited, the registry operator for the new .tel TLD, today announced that audiences of some of the best-watched reality television broadcast programs in the world will soon be able to vote for their favorite participants more easily.
http://telnic.org/downloads/best_loved_shows_with_tel.pdf
http://www.domainpulse.com/2009/01/21/worlds-best-loved-reality-shows-place-their-vote-for-tel-domains/
http://www.domainnews.com/en/general/worlds-best-loved-reality-shows-place-their-vote-for-.tel-domains.html

Vietnam lifts ban on domain name trade [VietNamNet Bridge]
The Ministry of Information and Communications has issued a new circular guiding management and use of the Internet. This one doesn?t have an article banning the trade of domain names like the old one.
http://english.vietnamnet.vn/tech/2009/01/824280/

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 - DNS SECURITY
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US Feds to Shore Up Net Security
The U.S. federal government is accelerating its efforts to secure the Internet's routing system, with plans this year for the Department of Homeland Security to quadruple its investment in research aimed at adding digital signatures to router communications.
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/011509-bgp.html
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/157909/.html
http://pcworld.idg.com.au/article/273512/

McAfee warns of economy-based threats
Security vendor McAfee?s 2009 Threat Prediction Report has indicated that cyber criminals will begin to favour attacks tied to the economic situation.
http://security.cbronline.com/news/mcafee_warns_of_economy_based_threats_200109

McAfee Lists Top Malware Threats in 2009
Security technology company, McAfee, Inc, has forecast that the declining economy will drive the malware threats in 2009. In a new report entitled 2009 Threat Predictions, McAfee Avert Labs, the global research team of McAfee, states that the tough economic times will lead to more cybercrime and exploitation of legitimate users.
http://sip-trunking.tmcnet.com/topics/security/articles/49102-mcafee-lists-top-malware-threats-2009.htm

Detecting Internet routing "lies"
Australian Geoff Huston is one of the foremost authorities on Internet routing and scaling issues. We sent Huston a few questions about the U.S. government's plan to bolster R&D to secure the Internet's core routing protocol, the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP). Here are excerpts of from what Huston had to say:
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/012009-internet-routing.html
http://www.arnnet.com.au/article/273711/
http://computerworld.com.au/article/273711/
http://www.techworld.com.au/article/273711/

Cyber Security Reaches "Tipping Point" in 2008; Attacks on Critical Infrastructure Systems and Cyber Warfare Will Increase in 2009 [news release]
The year 2008 was a time security threats and malicious activity reached a tipping point, and 2009 stands to be the year critical infrastructure systems become prime targets for cyber criminals and the global financial crisis will be exploited for a variety of malicious activities, according to a new report released today from VeriSign iDefense Security Intelligence Services.
https://press.verisign.com/easyir/customrel.do?easyirid=AFC0FF0DB5C560D3&version=live&prid=460870&releasejsp=custom_97

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 - DOMAIN DISPUTES
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Kentucky Court of Appeals Overturns Domain Name Seizure Order: Legal Analysis by Matt Zimmerman
The Kentucky Court of Appeals today granted petitions by the Interactive Gaming Council (IGC) Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association, Inc. (iMEGA) to overturn an earlier trial court ruling authorizing the seizure of domain names owned by operators of overseas gambling websites.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/01/kentucky-court-appeals-overturns-lower-courts-seiz

Kentucky State Loses Domain Seizure Case
The Kentucky Court of Appeals has granted petitions by the Interactive Gaming Council (IGC) Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association, Inc. (iMEGA) to overturn an earlier trial court ruling authorising the seizure of domain names owned by operators of overseas gambling websites says the Electronic Frontier Foundation in a posting on its website.
http://technewsreview.com.au/article.php?article=7087
http://www.domainnews.com/en/general/kentucky-state-loses-domain-gambling-seizure-case.html
http://www.domainpulse.com/2009/01/21/kentucky-state-loses-domain-gambling-seizure-case/

Online gambling sites win this round
Kentucky, a haven for gamblers who want to bet on horse racing, has hit a setback in its efforts to stop unregulated online casino gambling.
http://www.kentucky.com/181/story/665769.html

Kentucky barred from domain name seizure
The Kentucky court of appeals has ruled that the state does not have the right to seize domain names of web sites that contravene state law. In September the courts in Kentucky ruled that the state had the right to seize 141 domain names of online gaming sites which fell foul of strict anti-gambling laws in 2007.
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2234788/kentucky-barred-domain-name

Kentucky court overturns gambling domain seizure on appeal
A Kentucky court order authorizing the seizure of 141 overseas domains has been overturned by the the Kentucky Court of Appeals. The court ruled that the domain names, all related to online gambling, do not fall under the state's definition of a "gambling device," and therefore they cannot be seized under that statute.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20090121-kentucky-court-overturns-gambling-domain-seizure-on-appeal.html

What Domainers Should (and Shouldn?t) Do Post Kentucky
Here are some things for domainers to consider now that the Kentucky case has been overturned. The Kentucky Court of Appeals has overturned a trial court?s ruling that the state could seize domain names associated with online gambling. The Court of Appeals ruled that domain names weren?t ?gambling devices?, which was part of the statute used to justify seizing the domains.
http://domainnamewire.com/2009/01/21/what-domainers-should-and-shouldnt-do-post-kentucky/

Ky. court blocks move to seize gambling domains [AP]
Kentucky may not seize 141 online casinos' Internet domain names in an attempt to block them from operating within the state's borders, a three-judge appeals panel ruled.
http://www.thestate.com/technology/story/658574.html
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/01/21/financial/f073902S38.DTL

Kentucky Appeals Court Shuts Down Attempted Domain Seizure
The Kentucky Appeals Court has ruled in a 2-to-1 majority decision against the Commonwealth of Kentucky in its attempt to seize 141 valuable gambling domains, overturning the previous decision by Judge Thomas Wingate of the Kentucky Circuit Court and finally putting an end to Governor Steve Beshar?s efforts to shut down any online gambling websites which could be accessed within the state
http://www.domainnamenews.com/legal-issues/kentucky-appeals-court-shuts-down-attempted-domain-seizure/3713

Kentucky Court overturns judge's order
The Kentucky Court of Appeals has overturned a local judge's controversial order that 141 gambling related domain names be turned over to the state. The appeals court ruled that the lower court's contention that the domain names were "gambling devices" that are illegal under Kentucky law was not correct.
http://dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2009/dailyposts/01-20-09.htm

NC man gets $35,000 for Bush library domain name [AP]
Web developer George Huger says he turned $5 into $35,000 when he bought the expired Internet domain name for former President George W. Bush's presidential library and then sold it back.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/01/20/national/a112830S86.DTL
http://www.kentucky.com/471/story/665540.html
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-odd-bush-library-web,0,1160544.story
http://www.nydailynews.com/money/2009/01/20/2009-01-20_5_turns_into_35000_at_george_w_bushs_exp.html

Ashley Furniture Gets Cocky, Loses Case for Ashley.com
I?ve seen it happen many times: a company starts filing UDRP arbitrations for a number of obvious trademarks. After winning a handful, it gets bold and goes after a generic domain.
http://domainnamewire.com/2009/01/20/ashley-furniture-gets-cocky-loses-case-for-ashleycom/

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 - IPv4/IPv6
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Google ramps up IPv6 mission, google.com a year away
Google has begun preaching the wonders of IPv6 in the hope more awareness will help expedite the transition from the legacy IPv4 networks most people use today.
http://computerworld.com.au/article/273660/
http://www.cio.com.au/article/273660/
http://www.techworld.com.au/article/273660/

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 - MISCELLANEOUS
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MAP Research Releases Global Domain Registration Industry Report [news release]
Melbourne-based research company MAP Research has released the world's first report on the size, state and future of the global domain registration industry.
http://www.domainnews.com/en/general/map-research-releases-global-domain-registration-industry-report.html
http://www.domainpulse.com/2009/01/21/map-research-releases-global-domain-registration-industry-report/

Outdated Whois Information Might Lead to False Light Tort: Meyerkord v. Zipatoni by Eric Goldman
It's a late entry, but this opinion may be a dark horse candidate for the most bizarre case of 2008. Meyerkord was a Zipatoni employee and listed as the registrant on domain names at Zipatoni's Register.com account. Meyerkord left in 2003. In 2006, Zipatoni ran an astroturfing viral campaign for Sony to promote the Play Station Portable at the domain alliwantforxmasisapsp.com... Unfortunately for Sony -- and Meyerkord -- the campaign did not go well.
http://www.circleid.com/posts/20090120_outdated_whois_information_meyerkord_v_zipatoni/

au: Start-up businesses look online
... Last quarter, 81,000 new domain names were registered by one leading provider alone with renewals averaging at 70%. Quoting figures supplied from AusRegistry, Damon Fieldgate, general manager of business and consumer for Melbourne IT and a number of associated brands, says national domain registrations, numbering 1.28 million nationally, have gone up by 28% year on year.
http://smallbusiness.theage.com.au/starting/technology/start-up-businesses-look-online-911330418.html

au: Giant Aussie 2009 predictions round-up
Chris Disspain, auDA CEO: Later this year it will be possible for countries around the world to register their ccTLD in non-Latin script. So, China will be able to have the equivalent of .cn in Chinese and India the equivalent of .in in a number of the 12 different scripts in use there. This is going to dramatically increase the number of people who have access to the internet that is currently limited by the requirement for an, at least, basic understanding of the Latin alphabet and the ability to switch languages or scripts on the computers keyboard.
http://www.zdnet.com.au/insight/business/soa/Special-Report-Giant-Aussie-2009-predictions-round-up/0,139023749,339294479,00.htm

EuroDNS Rewarded Best Domain Registrar for 2008
DomainInformer has just rewarded EuroDNS Best Domain Registrar in its annual awards competition, thus recognizing and honoring the company?s outstanding performance in 2008.
http://www.domainnews.com/en/general/eurodns-rewarded-best-domain-registrar-for-2008.html

vn: Why registering domain names is crucial
Unique internet domain names are registered on a first-come, first-served basis. Besides being used to locate an address on the internet, in place of a hard-to-remember numeric serial chain, domain names are a superb marketing tool, a method to telegraph information about the business or service being offered. As a consequence, a domain name is a highly valuable resource for any company.
http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=01TAW210109

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 - DOMAINING & AFTERMARKET
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The State of the Industry January 2009: 15 Leading Experts Break Down What Went Wrong in 2008 and Predict What Will Happen in 2009
What a difference a year makes. When we put together our January 2008 State of the Industry report the domain business was coming off its fourth consecutive year of robust growth and major capital investors were actively trying to roll up the domain space. The big question was whether or not the industry could continue to enjoy such smooth sailing. Unfortunately as the year went along many boats in the domain fleet ran into stormy weather.
http://dnjournal.com/cover/2009/january.htm

Survey on TLDs and the Secondary Domain Name Marketplace [news release]
According to a report issued by Hudson Crossing Advisory, a strategic advisory firm specializing in venture capital, the secondary domain name market, toll free numbers and the internet industry, very few domain names other than .com command 6 and 7 figure sale prices on the secondary market.
http://www.domainpulse.com/2009/01/21/survey-on-tlds-and-the-secondary-domain-name-marketplace/
http://www.domainnews.com/en/general/survey-on-tlds-and-the-secondary-domain-name-marketplace.html

DOMAINfest Conference Brings Experts Together To Discuss Industry Evolution
DomainSponsor?, the domain monetization business of Oversee.net and organizer of DOMAINfest Global?, the domain name industry?s premier conference, has published the final DOMAINfest? agenda, which features a comprehensive list of experts who will offer insights and opinions on the key changes impacting the domain, search and advertising industries.
http://www.domainpulse.com/2009/01/21/domainfest-conference-brings-experts-together-to-discuss-industry-evolution/
http://www.domainnews.com/en/general/domainfest-conference-brings-experts-together-to-discuss-industry-evolution.html

SolarEnergy.com Delivers the Light for $1.65m
In a quarterly report from Solar Energy Initiatives, under ?Significant Capital Expenditures? there is a note that US$1,650,000 was spent on ?the purchase of the domain name, solarenergy.com. We have used these assets to begin our business operation.?
http://www.domainpulse.com/2009/01/21/solarenergycom-delivers-the-light-for-165m/
http://www.domainnews.com/en/general/solarenergy.com-delivers-the-light-for-1.65m.html

YP.com Sold for $3.85m
In a move aimed at making better use of resources, on November 5, 2008, LiveDeal sold the domain name yp.com to YellowPages.com LLC for cash totalling US$3,850,000.
http://www.domainnews.com/en/general/yp.com-sold-for-3.85m.html
http://www.domainpulse.com/2009/01/21/ypcom-sold-for-385m/


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(c) David Goldstein 2009


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David Goldstein
address: 4/3 Abbott Street
COOGEE NSW 2034
AUSTRALIA
email: Goldstein_David §yahoo.com.au
phone: +61 418 228 605 (mobile); +61 2 9665 5773 (home)


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