[DNS] domain name news - 16 August

From: David Goldstein <david> Date: Thu, 16 Aug 2012 12:07:08 +1000 · This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.0 : Sat Sep 09 2017 - 22:00:11 UTC

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://GoldsteinReport.com/ - for daily updates in between postings.

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The domain name news is supported by auDA

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Bono Mack Urges Senate Action on Net Resolution
http://techdailydose.nationaljournal.com/2012/08/bono-mack-urging-senate-action.php

Keep Partisan Politics Out of Internet Policy by Leslie Harris, President and CEO of the Center for Democracy & Technology
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/leslie-harris/keep-partisan-politics-ou_b_1773892.html

New gTLD Progress Report
http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/announcements-and-media/announcement-13aug12-en

The ICANN Policy and Decision Making Process is Seriously Flawed by Philip Corwin
http://internetcommerce.org/Registration_Abuse_Time_to-Fish_or_Cut_Bait

Judge Strikes Two of Five Causes of Action in 'Manwin v ICM'
http://news.avn.com/articles/Judge-Strikes-Two-of-Five-Causes-of-Action-in-Manwin-v-ICM-485546.html

.ORG Sixth Largest TLD As Registrations Grow Strongly
http://www.domainpulse.com/2012/08/15/org-grow-strongly/

nz: Kiwi websites vie for awards
http://www.3news.co.nz/Kiwi-websites-vie-for-awards/tabid/412/articleID/265553/Default.aspx

Similarity of gTLD Applications: Required Reading for Evaluators by Werner Staub
http://www.circleid.com/posts/20120815_similarity_of_gtld_applications_required_reading_for_evaluators/

Leahy Applauds ICANN Comments Extension
http://techdailydose.nationaljournal.com/2012/08/sen-leahy-applauds-icann-comme.php

Saudi Arabia objects to .gay, .wine and other proposed gTLDs [IDG]
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9230297/Saudi_Arabia_objects_to_.gay_.wine_and_other_proposed_gTLDs

The Legal Brief sponsored by ICA - August 2012 Can Time Work in Your Favor When It Comes to the UDRP?
https://sedo.com/us/news/3101/The-Legal-Brief-sponsored-by-ICA---August-2012/

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GOVERNANCE
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Bono Mack Urges Senate Action on Net Resolution
After the House unanimously passed a non-binding resolution opposing international efforts to regulate the Internet, the measure's author called on the Senate Tuesday to take swift action to take up the legislation.
http://techdailydose.nationaljournal.com/2012/08/bono-mack-urging-senate-action.php

Keep Partisan Politics Out of Internet Policy by Leslie Harris, President and CEO of the Center for Democracy & Technology
Is there anything to be gained by interjecting the strangling kudzu of partisan politics into Internet policy? I strongly doubt it and that's why I am frankly mystified by the Competitive Enterprise Institute's (CEI) Fred Campbell's bombastic and highly partisan July 26 opinion piece in the Atlantic calling on conservatives to join the fight for Internet freedom. His hypothesis seems to be that progressives are "winning" in their efforts to subvert the open Internet and deliver it into the clutches of "government control." Really?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/leslie-harris/keep-partisan-politics-ou_b_1773892.html

Public consultation opens for World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT-12)
The public consultation process for WCIT-12 opened today, with interested parties able to make their written contributions to the WCIT-12 discussions via ITU?s website in any of the six official UN languages.
http://www.itu.int/net/pressoffice/press_releases/2012/53.aspx

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DOMAIN NAMES
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 - ICANN
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New gTLD Progress Report
Did you miss our webinar for applicants last week? We?ll be holding more webinars to keep you informed of important developments as new gTLDs advance toward inclusion in the Internet.
http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/announcements-and-media/announcement-13aug12-en
http://www.icann.org/en/news/announcements/announcement-13aug12-en.htm

DSSA Working Group Phase 1 Report
Purpose (Brief): The DNS Security & Stability Analysis (DSSA) Working Group is seeking community comment on its Phase 1 Report. The Report was originally published on 15 June 2012 prior to the ICANN meeting in Prague, Czech Republic. The goal of the report is to bring forward for the community the work that the DSSA has completed to date and describe the work that remains.
http://www.icann.org/en/news/announcements/announcement-14aug12-en.htm

Letter from Stacy Burnette, Director, Contractual Compliance, ICANN to Chang Nyoung Suh, Asadal
Notice of Breach
http://www.icann.org/en/news/correspondence/burnette-to-suh-14aug12-en

The ICANN Policy and Decision Making Process is Seriously Flawed by Philip Corwin
ICANN?s policy and decision making process is supposedly based upon a bottom up, community consensus model. While we are all for careful deliberation before major policies are adopted and implementing actions are taken, we cannot support endless process for its own sake ? especially when no concrete action ever results.
http://internetcommerce.org/Registration_Abuse_Time_to-Fish_or_Cut_Bait

Judge Strikes Two of Five Causes of Action in 'Manwin v ICM'
U.S. District Court Judge Philip S. Gutierrez issued a mixed ruling Tuesday on the motion to dismiss filed by defendant ICM Registry in the antitrust lawsuit brought against it and ICANN by Manwin.
http://news.avn.com/articles/Judge-Strikes-Two-of-Five-Causes-of-Action-in-Manwin-v-ICM-485546.html

Judge Won't Dismiss Manwin's Antitrust Claims Against ICM, ICANN
A federal judge has pared Manwin's antitrust lawsuit against ICM Registry and ICANN, granting in part and denying in part motions to dismiss the case.
http://newswire.xbiz.com/view.php?id=152658

Court rules YouPorn can sue ICANN for alleged .xxx antitrust violations
A California court today ruled that ICANN is subject to US antitrust laws and therefore the lawsuit filed by YouPorn.com owner Manwin Licensing over the .xxx gTLD can proceed.
http://domainincite.com/10149-court-rules-youporn-can-sue-icann-for-alleged-xxx-antitrust-violations

Ruling Over Porn Site Domain Name Could Spell Trouble for ICANN [registration]
A case pitting adult entertainment companies against the gatekeepers of Internet domain names cleared a key hurdle this week, when a federal judge in Los Angeles largely allowed antitrust claims over the controversial .xxx domain to go forward.
http://www.law.com/jsp/ca/PubArticleCA.jsp?id=1202567641036

ICM, ICANN Get Claims Cut From '.XXX' Antitrust Case [registration]
A California federal judge pared a suit Tuesday claiming ICM Registry LLC and ICANN used an anti-competitive process to approve the new ".xxx" TLD, finding no affirmative registration market exists for the .xxx extensions.
http://www.law360.com/ip/articles/369838/icm-icann-get-claims-cut-from-xxx-antitrust-case

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 - ccTLD & gTLD NEWS
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Canadian Web site owners targeted by new scam
The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) today is warning dot-ca owners of a new online scan involving fake renewal notices sent via e-mail.
http://www.itbusiness.ca/it/client/en/home/News.asp?id=68504&cid=7

CIRA investigating dot-ca phishing scammers
The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) is working with police to investigate a phishing scam that targeted dot-ca domain owners, according to its CEO Byron Holland.
http://www.itworldcanada.com/news/cira-investigating-dot-ca-phishing-scammers/145964
http://www.itbusiness.ca/it/client/en/home/News.asp?id=68518

mobi: Mobile Users Now and in the Future: A Snapshot by Ram Mohan
Like many of us in the technology industry, I am captivated by the growing adoption of mobile. It's changing multiple industries at a pace that would have seemed impossible just a few years ago. And my own interest accelerated when Afilias acquired another Irish company named dotMobi. ...since a mobile domain is not useful without mobile sites, dotMobi developed a site-building tool called goMobi that is used globally by hundreds of thousands of site owners. Because of that, we have unique information about who is using the mobile Web, and how they're using it.
http://www.circleid.com/posts/20120813_mobile_users_now_and_in_the_future_a_snapshot/

.ORG Sixth Largest TLD As Registrations Grow Strongly
The number of .ORG domain names grew by 7.7 per cent in the first half of 2012 compared to the same period in 2011, with the total number of domains registered totalling 9.9 million at the end of June, the Public Interest Registry revealed in its latest bi-annual report The Dashboard.
http://www.domainpulse.com/2012/08/15/org-grow-strongly/

Public Interest Registry Releases Results of Bi-Annual Domain Name Report
Public Interest Registry (PIR)?the not-for-profit operator of the .ORG domain?today released the results of its bi-annual domain name report, ?The Dashboard,? detailing the strong growth of .ORG during the first six months of 2012. Specifically, PIR grew .ORG registrations by 7.7 percent in the first half of 2012 compared to the same time period a year ago.
http://pir.org/pr/2012/1H2012

nz: Kiwi websites vie for awards
The GeoNet website and a Maori language iPhone app are among 11 New Zealand finalists in an annual trans-Tasman internet awards showcase.
http://www.3news.co.nz/Kiwi-websites-vie-for-awards/tabid/412/articleID/265553/Default.aspx

sy: What?s in a Name?
Art.sy, the much-hyped online startup, has a Syrian domain name. Could it be violating U.S. sanctions?
http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/foreigners/2012/08/art_sy_s_syrian_domain_name_could_the_company_be_violating_u_s_sanctions_.single.html

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 - NEW TLDS
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Similarity of gTLD Applications: Required Reading for Evaluators by Werner Staub
ICANN's evaluators should look at data published on "gTLD application similarity analysis". This sort of data helps dramatically reduce time and expense for the evaluation of new gTLD applications while increasing quality. The principle is simple: find the similarities between the 1930 applications. It is a proof-of-concept project by Arnoldo Mueller-Molina, a young Costa Rican researcher with a doctorate in computational analytics
http://www.circleid.com/posts/20120815_similarity_of_gtld_applications_required_reading_for_evaluators/

Leahy Applauds ICANN Comments Extension
ICANN will take public comments on its plans to add new gTLDs until Sept. 26, the group announced on Friday. The comments period had been due to expire this Sunday.
http://techdailydose.nationaljournal.com/2012/08/sen-leahy-applauds-icann-comme.php

ICANN Comments Pour In for Porn-Related gTLD Proposals
Comments on the proposed .adult, .sex and .porn TLDs keep piling up on ICANN's gTLD forum.
http://newswire.xbiz.com/view.php?id=152580

Saudi Arabia opposes .gay internet domain name
Opposition to the creation of the internet address ending .gay has been voiced by Saudi Arabia.
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-19259422

Saudi Arabia objects to .gay and .islam domain names
The Saudi Arabian government is objecting to a number of proposed new Internet address endings, including .gay, .bar, .baby and .islam.
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/08/14/tech/web/saudi-arabia-icann-disputes/index.html

Saudi Arabia Make Complaints Against Domain Names Including .Gay, .Catholic And .Virgin
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has logged a number of complaints against a range of domain names including .gay, .catholic and .virgin.
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/08/14/saudi-arabia-complaint-domain-names_n_1776082.html

Saudi Arabia objects to .gay, .wine and other proposed gTLDs [IDG]
Saudi Arabia objected this week to a variety of new gTLDs ranging from .porn and .sexy to .wine and .bar and .bible, according to records of ICANN.
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9230297/Saudi_Arabia_objects_to_.gay_.wine_and_other_proposed_gTLDs
http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/433663/saudi_arabia_objects_gay_wine_many_other_proposed_gtlds/

Saudi Arabia objects to .bible
During the objection period for new gTLDs, Saudi Arabia launches a multitude of challenges. The domains it has issues with include .wine, .catholic, and .gay.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57493763-93/saudi-arabia-objects-to-.bible/

Is .city confusingly similar to .citi? UDRP says yes
In one of the more surprising twists to hit the new gTLD program, Citigroup has claimed that its proposed dot-brand gTLD, .citi, is not ?confusingly similar? to the proposed generic gTLD .city.
http://domainincite.com/10130-is-city-confusingly-similar-to-citi-udrp-says-yes

More than half of new gTLD apps have comments
Over half of ICANN?s 1,930 new gTLD applications have received comments, two days after the original deadline for having them considered expired.
http://domainincite.com/10121-more-than-half-of-new-gtld-apps-have-comments

The beauty of .llc, .inc, etc.
A number of companies want to sell domain names ending in company type indicators such as .llc and .inc.
http://domainnamewire.com/2012/08/15/the-beauty-of-llc-inc-etc/

Architelos launches new gTLD anti-abuse tool
Architelos, having consulted on about 50 new gTLD applications, has refocused on its longer-term software-based game plan with the recent launch of a new anti-abuse tool for registries.
http://domainincite.com/10162-architelos-launches-new-gtld-anti-abuse-tool

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 - DNS SECURITY
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Failure of Senate to Pass Cybersecurity Act Leaves Us All At Risk
The Senate failed to muster enough votes to pass the watered-down Cybersecurity Act of 2012 (S. 2105) earlier this month, which reminds me of the line by Col. Nathan R. Jessep in the movie "A Few Good Men": "All you did was weaken a country today ... That's all you did. You put people's lives in danger."
http://www.cio.com/article/713498/Failure_of_Senate_to_Pass_Cybersecurity_Act_Leaves_Us_All_At_Risk

Swiss scientists develop algorithm to sniff out source of malware, spam attacks [IDG]
Swiss scientists have developed an algorithm that can be used to locate spammers as well as the source of a computer virus or malware.
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9230199/Swiss_scientists_develop_algorithm_to_sniff_out_source_of_malware_spam_attacks
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/260781/swiss_scientists_develop_algorithm_to_sniff_out_the_source_of_malware_and_spam_attacks.html

Facebook accused of deceiving developers over security
Facebook has been accused of deceiving developers after it emerged that the social networking site did nothing to verify the security of applications it was paid tens of thousands of dollars to review, and which it assured users had been checked.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/aug/13/facebook-developers

FTC accuses Facebook of misleading developers over security
An investigation by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has suggested that the social networking site fell short in reviewing and verifying applications, and therefore "deceived" developers over security ratings.
http://www.zdnet.com/ftc-accuses-facebook-of-misleading-developers-over-security-7000002528/

Wikileaks website back online after DDoS cyber-attack
The whistle-blowing website Wikileaks is back online after being disrupted by a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack for more than a week.
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-19255026

WikiLeaks endures a lengthy DDoS attack
Under a barrage of more than 10GB per second in a DDoS attack, the document-leaking organization's Web site has been either inoperable or sluggish since the beginning of the month.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-57492527-83/wikileaks-endures-a-lengthy-ddos-attack/

New hijack threat emerges for DNS Changer victims
Potentially tens of thousands of machines once infected by the DNS Changer may be at risk of hijacking after IP address blocks were reallocated last week.
http://www.cso.com.au/article/433502/new_hijack_threat_emerges_dns_changer_victims/

More Cybersecurity Experts Blast US IT Security Legislation
In the second of a series of posts on the subject of current U.S. cybersecurity legislation, CIO.com blogger Constantine von Hoffman speaks with experts from Appthority, Axway, Kindsight Security Labs, Rapid7, Raytheon Trusted Computer Solutions and Voltage Security for their takes on the laws.
http://blogs.cio.com/security/17313/more-cybersecurity-experts-blast-us-it-security-legislation

Security vendor exposes vulnerabilities in DDoS rootkit
In what it says is an attempt to turn the tables on malicious hackers, security vendor Prolexic on Tuesday released details of vulnerabilities it has discovered in a toolkit family used by hackers to launch distributed denial of service attacks against corporate networks.
http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/security/security-vendor-exposes-vulnerabilities-in-ddos-rootkit

DDoS attacks on the rise in Latin America
After the Megaupload.com file-sharing website was closed last January on charges of copyright infringement, a group of hackers known as ?Anonymous? launched cyber attacks, leaving offline several government websites from several countries, including France, Poland (above) and Bras?lia, Brazil, in addition to some in the music industry.
http://infosurhoy.com/cocoon/saii/xhtml/en_GB/features/saii/features/main/2012/08/14/feature-01

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 - DOMAIN DISPUTES
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The Legal Brief sponsored by ICA - August 2012 Can Time Work in Your Favor When It Comes to the UDRP?
Legitimate use and a substantial passage of time have proven to be winning factors for domain owners seeking to prevail in a Uniform Domain-Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) proceeding.
https://sedo.com/us/news/3101/The-Legal-Brief-sponsored-by-ICA---August-2012/

Michael Jackson memorabilia site banned from trading
A businessman has been banned from selling Michael Jackson memorabilia and using the singer's name online, after a US judge ruled he was guilty of copyright infringement. District Judge Dean Pregerson granted an injunction blocking Howard Mann from using his sites including MJgives.com and michaeljacksonsecretvault.com.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-19232776

us: Cybersquatters accepting bids for Paul Ryan domain names
Even before Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan was announced as Mitt Romney?s running mate, entrepreneurial cybersquatters swooped in to buy up relevant Web domain names.
http://dailycaller.com/2012/08/14/cybersquatters-accepting-bids-for-paul-ryan-domain-names/

Why Seizing Domains is Reaping Failure
The bad guys don?t care. Just like popping a wheelie on your bike, it?s a neat trick but it only works for a few seconds. Please understand that we are investigating criminals, not websites. The person on your staff that tells you they are investigating websites should be fired for incompetence. That is like a homicide investigator saying he investigates piano wire. He clearly doesn?t understand the difference between a perpetrator and a tooL.
http://ipcybercrime.com/why-seizing-domains-is-reaping-failure/

au: Minespec Services Pty Ltd v. MINESPEC.COM, Cleanrite Australia Pty Ltd, Minespec Compliance Pty Ltd - Case No. DAU2012-0019
1. The Parties: The Complainant is Minespec Services Pty Ltd, of Emerald, Queensland, Australia, represented by IP Strategies International, Australia. The Respondents are MINESPEC.COM, Cleanrite Australia Pty Ltd, of Keswick SA, Australia, and Minespec Compliance Pty Ltd of Benowa, Queensland, Australia. 2. The Domain Name and Registrar: The disputed domain name <minespec.com.au> is registered with Enetica. ... 7. Decision: For all the foregoing reasons, the Complaint is denied.
http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/search/text.jsp?case=DAU2012-0019

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 - IPv4/IPv6
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IPv6: The Summer It Finally Happened by Yves Poppe
A decade old guessing game finally came to an end during these 2012 summer months. America was supposed to be hopelessly behind while Europe had not much to show after a decade of spending lavishly EU money on IPv6 related projects. China and Japan were thought to be light years ahead of everybody else. But in the end, it was the might of the American Content Industry that tipped the scales.
http://www.circleid.com/posts/20120814_ipv6_the_summer_it_finally_happened/

Can SIP and IPv6 Co-Exist?
SIP and IPv6 will get along, but the transition from IPv4 will be a challenge, as running a dual-stack environment will not always work on devices with limited memory and operating systems that support only one version of IP. 
http://www.networkcomputing.com/ipv6/can-sip-and-ipv6-co-exist/240005449

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 - MISCELLANEOUS
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Cybercrime and the Future of the URL
For more than a decade, Verisign, Inc. ? the registry operator for .com, .net and other TLDs ? has been connecting people to the websites that shape the world.
https://mashable.com/2012/08/14/verisign/

Internet Society to organize African Peering and Interconnection Forum (AfPIF-3)
The Internet Society is organizing the third edition of African Peering and Interconnection Forum (AfPIF-3).
http://www.telecomlead.com/inner-page-details.php?id=10867&block=Events

Front Running: Debunking the Myth
A blogger recently accused Go Daddy of misusing customer domain name search activity for profit. The process is called domain name front running and it means a registrar monitors customer searches and then registers the domain names for their own purposes.
http://inside.godaddy.com/front-running-debunking-myth/

Tucows sells $1.1 million in domains, credits better organization for increased sales
Last night Tucows reported earnings for the second quarter including $1.1 million in domain name sales from its own portfolio. Revenue from domain sales and parking totaled $1.6 million.
http://domainnamewire.com/2012/08/14/tucows-sells-1-1-million-in-domains-credits-better-organization-for-increased-sales/

Tucows Reports: Revenue Up 22% & YummyNames.com Sells $1.6 Million In Domains
Tucows Inc. reported its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2012 after the market closed today.
http://www.thedomains.com/2012/08/13/tucows-reports-revenue-up-22-yummynames-com-sells-1-6-million-in-domains/

AT&T suffers DNS outage [IDG]
Some AT&T customers are being affected by a failure in the carrier's DNS (Domain Name System) servers that began Wednesday morning.
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2012/081512-att-suffers-dns-261673.html
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9230315/AT_amp_T_suffers_DNS_outage

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 - DOMAINING & AFTERMARKET
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Have You Registered 300 Domain Names?
If so, you may be suffering from ?domain name addiction?--the tendency to register many URLs without following through on one strong idea.
http://www.fastcompany.com/3000427/have-you-registered-300-domain-names

RomneyRyan.com on the market
In the wake of Mitt Romney?s selection of Paul Ryan as his running mate, plenty of folks headed to RomneyRyan.com to learn about the new Republican ticket.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0812/79751.html

Six-Figure Sales Streak Extended to Four Weeks With $118,000 Deal At Sedo
For the fourth week in a row a six-figure sale leads our all extension Top 20 Sales Chart. Sedo kept the streak alive by selling Designers.com for $118,000 in a deal handled by their veteran broker Dave Evanson.
http://dnjournal.com/archive/domainsales/2012/20120815.htm

Six months in, Tobias Flaitz on the domain name industry
Six months into my new role as CEO of Sedo, I?ve had the great opportunity to get to know my colleagues and many of our partners and to get diverse and big-picture insight into the domain industry. With the potential expansion of the internet just around the corner, I have to say that there is no better time to have entered the industry.
http://domainnamewire.com/2012/08/13/six-months-in-tobias-flaitz-on-the-domain-name-industry/

Realtor Niederman calls 7-figure purchase of Denver.com "priceless"
For Denver real estate executive Peter Niederman, his seven-figure purchase of the Internet domain name Denver.com ? while virtual ? is comparable to buying prime real estate.
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_21305176/realtor-niederman-calls-7-figure-purchase-denver-com

Sedo says domain parking continuing to decline, writes off EUR 57.1 million
Sedo Holding, which runs Sedo and affiliate marketing company Affilinet, recently released first half financial results.
http://domainnamewire.com/2012/08/14/sedo-says-domain-parking-continuing-to-decline-writes-off-eur-57-1-million/

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SOCIAL MEDIA
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Why social media isn't the magic bullet for self-epublished authors
In the third in a series of essays on digital media and publishing, Ewan Morrison, who will appear at the Edinburgh World Writers' Conference, claims that as the project to monetise social media falters the self-epublishing industry's defects will be laid bare
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/jul/30/tweet-about-cats-just-write

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NEW TECHNOLOGIES
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9 Unheralded Technology Innovations
Some of the indispensable technology that you use every day was so ahead of its time that it now goes largely unnoticed. Here the innovations that forever changed email, Web development, database management and other "givens" in today's tech finally get their due.
http://www.cio.com/article/713075/9_Unheralded_Technology_Innovations

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CHILD PROTECTION & ONLINE SAFETY
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us: FTC modifies COPPA rule proposal
The Federal Trade Commission (?FTC?) has released a new set of proposed amendments in its ongoing review of its Children?s Online Privacy Protection Act (?COPPA?) regulations. These amendments would alter key definitions in the COPPA regulations, modifying the FTC?s original proposal from September 2011. If finalized, the FTC?s proposals to date will significantly change who and what COPPA covers and when COPPA applies. Comments are due by September 10, 2012.
http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=d6b6ffbb-9fa2-4462-8836-1018650dec57

nz: Laws to criminalise cyber-bullying 'will work' - Netsafe
Proposed laws to criminalise cyber-bullying and unmask anonymous offenders are being backed by internet security organisation Netsafe.
http://tvnz.co.nz/technology-news/laws-criminalise-cyber-bullying-work-netsafe-5023947
http://tvnz.co.nz/technology-news/proposed-laws-criminalise-cyber-bullying-5023947

NZ may outlaw cyber-bullying
New Zealand's Government says it may make cyber-bullying a criminal offence.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-15/an-nz-may-outlaw-cyber-bullying/4199316

nz: Proposed laws will criminalise cyber-bullying
Tough proposed laws will criminalise cyber-bullying and require schools to take action against digital tormentors.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/politics/7478641/Proposed-laws-target-cyber-bullying
http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/7478565/Proposed-laws-target-cyber-bullying/

nz: opinion: Rushed cyberbullying proposals doomed to fail
The Law Commission is about to release Harmful Digital Communications - the rushed report into the "adequacy of current sanctions and remedies".
http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/rushed-cyberbullying-proposals-doomed-fail-ck-125830

nz: Editorial: Cyber bullies lowest of low
OPINION: Bullies are cowards. They pick on the weak and vulnerable, and often hunt in packs. Cyber bullies, who are able to keep their identities secret as they inflict misery on the lives of their victims, are the most cowardly and destructive of all.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/comment/editorials/7485243/Editorial-Cyber-bullies-lowest-of-low

nz: Law Commission wants name-and-shame, take-down measures against cyberbullies
The Law Commission says the government should introduce sweeping new measures to fight cyber-bullying ? including anew Communications Tribunal that would have the power to name-and-shame online offenders, and force ISPs or websites to take down content.
http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/law-commission-wants-name-and-shame-take-down-measures-against-cyberbullies-dont-open-ck-125

nz: Law Commission releases Ministerial Briefing for its Review of Regulatory Gaps and the New Media
On 15 August 2012, The Law Commission released the Ministerial Briefing, Harmful Digital Communications: The adequacy of the current sanctions and remedies. In May, Justice Minister Judith Collins asked the Commission to fast-track its work in this area in response to growing concern from Police, Coroners and teachers about the impact of cyber-bullying.
http://www.lawcom.govt.nz/news/2012/08/law-commission-releases-ministerial-briefing-its-review-regulatory-gaps-and-new-media

nz: Ministerial Briefing - Harmful Digital Communications: The adequacy of the current sanctions and remedies
In May 2012, in response to rising concerns about the impact of cyber-bullying on young people, the Minister responsible for the Law Commission, the Hon Judith Collins, asked the Law Commission to fast-track the part of the project dealing with the third leg of the terms of reference ? namely the adequacy of the sanctions and remedies for dealing with harmful digital communications.
http://www.lawcom.govt.nz/project/review-regulatory-gaps-and-new-media/publication/ministerial-briefing/2012/ministerial-briefing-harmful-digital-communications-adequacy-current-sanctions-and-remedies

nz: New laws needed for today's digital living: media release
The Privacy Commissioner Marie Shroff has welcomed the Law Commission's latest recommendations to help combat cyber-bullying and the harmful use of social media. "Our laws need to be updated to tackle the digital age," she said.
http://privacy.org.nz/new-laws-needed-for-today-s-digital-living-media-release/

Lovelorn Kiwis lose $670,000 in scams
New Zealanders looking for love lost more than $670,000 over the past 12 months to romance and dating scams, according to an internet security group.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10826784

nz: Dating scams increase
The amount of money Kiwis lost to online dating scams has doubled to account for almost two-thirds of all reported online fraud losses in the past year.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/digital-living/7473134/Dating-scams-increase

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ONLINE TV & MUSIC
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German ISPs Must Hand Over File Sharer Info to Rights Holders, High Court Rules [IDG]
German ISPs must hand over to content rights holders the names and address of people connected to an IP address used for sharing material illegally, the German Federal Court of Justice ruled, a court spokeswoman said on Tuesday.
http://www.cio.com/article/713609/German_ISPs_Must_Hand_Over_File_Sharer_Info_to_Rights_Holders_High_Court_Rules
http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/433563/german_isps_must_hand_over_file_sharer_info_rights_holders_high_court_rules/

Surfthechannel owner sentenced after piracy conviction
The owner of Surfthechannel.com - a site that provided links to illegally copied TV shows and films - has been sentenced to four years in jail.
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-19253359

Surfthechannel owner sentenced to four years over piracy
A 38-year-old Briton who made ?35,000 a month through a website that linked to pirated copies of films and TV shows has been sentenced to four years in prison.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/aug/14/anton-vickerman-surfthechannel-sentenced

Pirate website owner gets four years. But what about Google?
Four years is longer than the average jail term for assault or burglary. But that is the sentence received by Anton Vickerman of Gateshead today, after he had been found guilty of two counts of "conspiracy to defraud" by running a website, surfthechannel.com, that linked to pirated films and more.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/aug/14/pirate-website-owner-four-years

YouTube is teens' No. 1 pick for music listening
Gone are the days of teenagers buying albums and listening to them all the way through, as are the days of following beloved radio DJs and tuning in at the appropriate times. The new generation is opting for their own music curating by means of YouTube, according to a new study released today by consumer research firm Nielsen.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57493338-93/youtube-is-teens-no-1-pick-for-music-listening/

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MOBILE/WIRELESS
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Tiny transmitters that cost a penny to print unveiled
Researchers in Korea have devised a cheap way of transmitting data from objects to mobile phones when swiped.
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-19208112

uk: Cracks appear in Osborne's plan to boost mobile phone coverage
A ?150m project championed by George Osborne that promised to bring full mobile phone coverage to millions of rural inhabitants has run into difficulty, because a fraction of that number will be helped and one of the UK's four networks has declined to sign up.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/aug/12/mobile-phone-rural-coverage-osborne

Samsung accuse Apple of violating patents
A Samsung expert witness testified on Tuesday that Apple's iPhone and iPad violate three of Samsung's patents, as the South Korean electronics company went on the offence in the third week of a high-stakes trial.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/aug/15/samsung-accuse-apple-violating-patents

Apple: more than $8bn of Samsung's US sales involved patent breaches
Apple is claiming that more than a quarter of Samsung's $30.4bn in US smartphone and tablet sales result from copying of the iPhone and iPad or infringe on other patents, a damages expert for the US company said on Monday.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/aug/14/apple-samsung-patent-breaches

U.S. judge urges Apple, Samsung to settle before verdict
A U.S. judge asked that the chief executives of Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd speak to each other at least once on the phone before a jury begins deliberating next week in the high-stakes patent trial between the two tech companies.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/08/16/uk-apple-samsung-trial-idUKBRE87906T20120816
http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/08/16/apple-samsung-trial-idINDEE87E0AF20120816

Gartner likely to cut outlook for 2012 mobile phone sales
Research firm Gartner said it will likely cut its 2012 outlook on global sales of mobile phones as consumers around the world hold back from upgrading their mobile phones due to economic uncertainty.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/08/14/uk-gartner-mobile-idUKBRE87D07S20120814

Android extends smartphone OS dominance in Q2, says Gartner [IDG]
Android continued to increase its dominance of the smartphone market during the second quarter, powered by Samsung's success. Competitor Apple in contrast struggled somewhat as consumers held out for the next iteration of the iPhone, Gartner said Tuesday.
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9230258/Android_extends_smartphone_OS_dominance_in_Q2_says_Gartner

Motorola Set for Big Cuts as Google Reinvents It
Motorola Mobility, the ailing cellphone maker that Google bought in May, told employees Sunday that it would lay off 20 percent of its work force and close a third of its 94 offices worldwide.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/13/technology/motorola-to-cut-20-of-work-force-part-of-sweeping-change.html

Google Taking the Ax to Motorola, Cutting 20 Percent of Staff, or 4,000 Jobs
While still not going into details on its product plans, Google is ready to say one thing about the future of Motorola under its stewardship. It will be a smaller endeavor.
http://allthingsd.com/20120812/google-taking-the-ax-to-motorola-cutting-20-percent-of-staff-or-4000-jobs/

Motorola to cut 4,000 jobs in Google restructure
Motorola Mobility, the once-dominant but now ailing mobile handset maker, has told its staff that it is cutting 20% of its staff ? about 4,000 people ? and will close about a third of its 94 worldwide offices.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/aug/13/motorola-job-cuts-google

African cross-border payments go mobile
South Africa's First National Bank (FNB) has launched cross-border payments to Swaziland and Lesotho through its Pay2Cell service.
http://www.southafrica.info/business/trends/newbusiness/fnb-150812.htm

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SPAM
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The Economics of Spam
People pitching goods via spam probably earn only about $200 million annually, while some $20 billion is spent fending off unwanted email, according to a new academic article. That ratio of cost (to society) to benefit (to miscreants), 100:1, is far higher than that for many other kinds of commercial crime, the authors say.
http://blogs.wsj.com/ideas-market/2012/08/13/the-economics-of-spam/

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ONLINE CRIME & LEGAL
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Google v Oracle: judge's order creates ethical dilemma for tech bloggers
In the dog days of a hot American summer, the tech journalism and blogging community are being made to sweat a little more than usual. Or at least that is the theory, after a judge in a long-running and high-profile patent infringement case between Oracle and Google asked both companies to disclose which writers they pay for consultancy or favourable opinions.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/aug/12/google-oracle-ethical-dilemma-bloggers

Top Australian Cybercop Laments Slow Official Evidence Exchange
Australia generally doesn't pursue obtaining evidence in cybercrime cases using mutual legal assistance treaties due to long lag times in receiving court-certified evidence.
http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/433506/top_australian_cybercop_laments_slow_official_evidence_exchange/
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/260842/top_australian_cybercop_laments_slow_official_evidence_exchange.html

Don't feel too ashamed to report data breaches: AFP
If businesses are putting in place the right security, they shouldn't feel ashamed about reporting their data breaches, according to Australian Federal Police (AFP) High Tech Crime Operations detective superintendent Brad Marden.
http://www.zdnet.com/au/dont-feel-too-ashamed-to-report-data-breaches-afp-7000002583/

Alsup Goes Fishing With Wide Net
When U.S. District Judge William Alsup ordered Oracle Corp., Google Inc. and their counsel to disclose financial relationships with any bloggers, journalists and academics who've written about their smartphone megatrial, it set off a raft of questions among technology lawyers:
http://www.law.com/jsp/ca/PubArticleCA.jsp?id=1202567055312

Bitcoin users sue over funds lost in site attack
A Bitcoin website - which handles virtual currency trading - has been sued by four users who said it failed to provide adequate compensation following a security breach.
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-19244210

Court to Hear Google?s Challenge to Class-Action Lawsuit on Book Scanning
In May, the Authors Guild celebrated a decision in the long-running case over Google?s book-scanning project when a federal judge granted its authors class-action status.
http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/14/court-to-hear-googles-challenge-to-class-action-lawsuit-on-book-scanning/

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SECURITY
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Cybercrime and the Future of the URL
For more than a decade, Verisign, Inc. ? the registry operator for .com, .net and other TLDs ? has been connecting people to the websites that shape the world.
http://mashable.com/2012/08/14/verisign/

Failure of Senate to Pass Cybersecurity Act Leaves Us All At Risk
The Senate failed to muster enough votes to pass the watered-down Cybersecurity Act of 2012 (S. 2105) earlier this month, which reminds me of the line by Col. Nathan R. Jessep in the movie "A Few Good Men": "All you did was weaken a country today ... That's all you did. You put people's lives in danger."
http://www.cio.com/article/713498/Failure_of_Senate_to_Pass_Cybersecurity_Act_Leaves_Us_All_At_Risk