7 ms·

Everything to do with the DNS system is so corrupt and shady. Half the domains dropping in the new GTLD process are "unavailable", "registered", etc. We tried t

Everything to do with the DNS system is so corrupt and shady. Half the domains dropping in the new GTLD process are "unavailable", "registered", etc. We tried to get an exact trademark for one of our companies in the new GTLD system during the Sunrise phase only to be told by Gandi that the new GTLD owner rejected it. We pushed it pretty hard and had a back and forth with Gandi's CEO who was pretty much on our side but the new GTLD owner (Demand Media) wouldn't budge. We have to sue them if we want it. That's what the privatized DNS system has come to. You know who I feel bad for though? Those people who originally registered big corporate brands .COM in the 90s and had their domains ripped from them. That shit is ICANN endorsed nowadays.

joelrunyon 12y ago
To be fair - you were dealing with Demand Media :(
icebraining 12y ago
Is there any law or ICANN rule saying you're owed the domain with the same characters as your trademark in every possible GTLD? I don't understand what the outrage is about. It's not even like you have an exclusive claim on that particular string (multiple companies can have the same mark, eg across industries, countries, etc).
- nly 12y ago
  His point is he had a strong claim to the name, as strong or stronger than anyone elses, and he was willing to pay the Sunrise premium to get it... and still couldn't.
  - icebraining 12y ago
    Yes. So what?
    - etherealG 12y ago
      I particularly like this argument. It's so full of meaning.
      - icebraining 12y ago
        It's not an argument. It's a request for one. What's the argument for condemning the GTLD holder just because he doesn't want to sell a particular domain?
        deleted 12y ago
        [deleted]
        grizzles 12y ago
        The argument is that there's only one Sunrise phase. If Demand Media decide to sell it later to say a competitor of mine, I'm out of luck now aren't I? What's the point then of even having a Sunrise phase? It's just smoke and mirrors.
        patmcc 12y ago
        >>If Demand Media decide to sell it later to say a competitor of mine, I'm out of luck now aren't I? That depends - are they really a competitor in the same industry, and their use of your trademark leads to confusion in the marketplace? Because then you're not out of luck at all, you have a trademark case.
        teacup50 12y ago
        We have traditionally held DNS administrators to a higher standard of behavior in exchange for our granting them the rights and responsibilities of administering a portion of the DNS system -- specifically, we've required that they engage in reasonable, non-discriminatory practices. DNS is not private land; it's a system in which the existence of a TLD is dependent on the widespread agreement to grant registrar(s) the right to administer it. Movement away from reasonable and non-discriminatory behavior is an attempt to secure undue control over a system that exists only because of the participation of the internet community at large. Of course, given the massive growth in internet consumers and the general impossibility of their all being educated (much less having a voice in these sorts of decision), this sort of abusive behavior is quickly becoming par for the course on today's internet.
- grizzles 12y ago
  nly answered it pretty well. But just taking a more 100 ft view approach, it's pretty obvious what Donuts and Demand Media's game is. Once donuts gets their 300+ GTLDs, they can push around every small and medium sized business around right up to the point that company is going to file a lawsuit. They can and will exploit that friction to extract premium prices. Just another kind of rent seeking. Here's Washpost's view on it: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/donuts-incs-major-play-for-new-web-domain-names-raises-eyebrows/2012/09/24/c8745362-f782-11e1-8398-0327ab83ab91_story.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/donuts-inc...
bhartzer 12y ago
The new gtlds have nothing to do with this. Your tm issue is something different than 5k domains being taken.
tankenmate 12y ago
Did you register your trademark with the TradeMark Clearing House (TMCH)?

joelrunyon 12y ago

To be fair - you were dealing with Demand Media :(

icebraining 12y ago

Is there any law or ICANN rule saying you're owed the domain with the same characters as your trademark in every possible GTLD? I don't understand what the outrage is about. It's not even like you have an exclusive claim on that particular string (multiple companies can have the same mark, eg across industries, countries, etc).

nly 12y ago
His point is he had a strong claim to the name, as strong or stronger than anyone elses, and he was willing to pay the Sunrise premium to get it... and still couldn't.
- icebraining 12y ago
  Yes. So what?
  - etherealG 12y ago
    I particularly like this argument. It's so full of meaning.
    - icebraining 12y ago
      It's not an argument. It's a request for one. What's the argument for condemning the GTLD holder just because he doesn't want to sell a particular domain?
      - deleted 12y ago
        [deleted]
      - grizzles 12y ago
        The argument is that there's only one Sunrise phase. If Demand Media decide to sell it later to say a competitor of mine, I'm out of luck now aren't I? What's the point then of even having a Sunrise phase? It's just smoke and mirrors.
        patmcc 12y ago
        >>If Demand Media decide to sell it later to say a competitor of mine, I'm out of luck now aren't I? That depends - are they really a competitor in the same industry, and their use of your trademark leads to confusion in the marketplace? Because then you're not out of luck at all, you have a trademark case.
      - teacup50 12y ago
        We have traditionally held DNS administrators to a higher standard of behavior in exchange for our granting them the rights and responsibilities of administering a portion of the DNS system -- specifically, we've required that they engage in reasonable, non-discriminatory practices. DNS is not private land; it's a system in which the existence of a TLD is dependent on the widespread agreement to grant registrar(s) the right to administer it. Movement away from reasonable and non-discriminatory behavior is an attempt to secure undue control over a system that exists only because of the participation of the internet community at large. Of course, given the massive growth in internet consumers and the general impossibility of their all being educated (much less having a voice in these sorts of decision), this sort of abusive behavior is quickly becoming par for the course on today's internet.
grizzles 12y ago
nly answered it pretty well. But just taking a more 100 ft view approach, it's pretty obvious what Donuts and Demand Media's game is. Once donuts gets their 300+ GTLDs, they can push around every small and medium sized business around right up to the point that company is going to file a lawsuit. They can and will exploit that friction to extract premium prices. Just another kind of rent seeking. Here's Washpost's view on it: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/donuts-incs-major-play-for-new-web-domain-names-raises-eyebrows/2012/09/24/c8745362-f782-11e1-8398-0327ab83ab91_story.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/donuts-inc...

bhartzer 12y ago

The new gtlds have nothing to do with this. Your tm issue is something different than 5k domains being taken.

tankenmate 12y ago

Did you register your trademark with the TradeMark Clearing House (TMCH)?