Pasta.com Domain Name Sells for $250,000
The domain name Pasta.com was has sold for $250,000. The domain name was sold by WebsiteProperties.com Wednesday, May 21,2014.
The sale ranks among the 15 biggest domain name sales reported so far in 2014.
According to whois records, the domain name was first registered in 1996. The new owner is using Whois privacy ,so nobody knows who the new owner is.
Congratulations to both the seller and the buyer.
Google Files UDRP Complaint for GoogleGlass-Buy.com Domain
Google has filed a UDRP ,seeking control of GoogleGlass-Buy.com domain name.The complaint was filed with the National Arbitration Forum on May 16,2014.
According to whois records,the domain name was first registered in March,2014.
The National Arbitration Forum will examine if GoogleGlass-Buy.com domain is confusingly similar to Google’s trademark,if the current owner has rights over it and if the domain is being used in bad faith .The disputed domain name will be passed over to Google if it falls under all three of these stipulations.
The case is still pending compliance checks with the National Arbitration Forum .
Afnic : 77,8% Average Worldwide Renewal Rate for the Main TLDd in 2013
Afnic, the company behind .FR extension, released its monthly Instru Report on Domain Names. The report revealed and average worldwide renewal rate of 77,8% in 2013.
You can read the announcement after the jump :
“As we observed in the April issue of the Industry Report on Domain Names, renewal rates are going to become an increasingly important issue for most Top Level Domains, facing a market combining a slowdown in domain registrations, and the distribution of those domain names over a fast-growing number of TLDs due to the opening of the new TLDs. This factor is all the more important since the majority of existing TLDs, with the exception of those that have just been launched, generate most of their revenue from renewals.
A study conducted on nearly 40 TLDs, including the 17 gTLDs launched before 2014, showed that while remaining generally stable (only 1% was lost between 2008 and 2013), the renewal rate is following a downward trend.
It can also be observed that the rate directly correlates with the global financial climate: it dropped dramatically between 2008 and 2010, picked up in 2011 and declined again between 2012 and 2013.
The study of the distribution of renewal rates among the TLDs studied shows that 40% to 50% of TLDs renew 81% to 90% of their stock each year, and a similar proportion of TLDs renew less than 70% of it. Behind the average indicated above therefore there are marked contrasts related to the specific situations of the TLDs studied.
Factors common to all TLDs
As a result, it is useful for registries to identify the factors that determine the renewal rates of their TLDs, and to what degree those factors impact the changes in those rates.
Factors common to all TLDs but with varying influence on renewal rates include:
The utilization rate: the more the names in a TLD are utilized, the more likely registrants are to keep them. Several case scenarios can be identified: names used as a reference address for communication purposes, names that redirect to the latter, or names that redirect to holding pages. Domain parking should also be taken into account, as “domainers” are always deciding between keeping their names or giving them up in order to focus their investments on other names that are considered to be more promising;
The “age pyramid” of the names registered in the TLD, since “volatility” decreases over time. Every TLD is subjected to two forces, namely its predisposition to generate new registrations, and its ability to retain the names that are already registered. The final changes in its stock are the result of those two factors. In this respect, the .xxx TLD is worth mentioning. When it launched, this TLD “fixed” for 10 years a significant number of names registered defensively, enabling it to achieve a renewal rate (or “maintenance” rate) of 97% in 2012; but this rate dropped to 69% in 2013, as “losses” were apparently very high on renewals of names registered after the opening;
The reputation: the better-known a TLD, the more it is considered to be a “key” TLD for communication or simply brand protection (the potential damage caused by cybersquatting increases with the reputation of the TLD). This probably explains why the .net TLD is able to maintain a renewal rate higher than 75%, despite its utilization rate being relatively low compared with other TLDs. On the other hand, a poorly-known TLD runs the risk of its stock becoming depleted in the case of disposals in conjunction with other TLDs;
The fee: the higher the cost of registering under a TLD, the greater the risk of disposal, as registrants are increasingly confronted with the issue of the return on investment via the renewal of their domain names.
Other factors
In addition to these TLD-specific factors, more exogenous factors also emerge:
The global economic climate, which leads registrants (both corporate and individual) to be more cautious as regards their domain name budget, by realizing savings on the renewal of names deemed of little value;
The promotion (or lack of promotion) of the TLD by registrars, and promotional campaigns designed to persuade their customers to keep the names they registered under the TLD in question. In this respect, it is highly significant that promotional efforts so far have focused more on registration fees (the “aggressive” customer acquisition approach) than on renewal fees (a more “defensive” approach to protect the existing portfolio). This aspect will no doubt be explored in the future by certain stakeholders;
The number of available TLDs, which dilutes the individual importance of each, and affects the reasons why some registrants want to keep their domain names, for example to “block” a term or protect their brands. The more rights holders understand the uselessness of defensive strategies designed to eliminate risk, the more they will use their budgets for defensive registrations covering the most strategic TLDs for their businesses, or for registrations under other TLDs deemed more valuable from the marketing point of view. It is still difficult to measure the impact of this disposal behavior between existing and new TLDs, but it is quite clear that it will not be neutral.
In essence, this brief discussion on renewal rates only completes a more general analysis of the processes taking place on the domain name market:
The sharp increase in supply due to the new TLDs is going to inflate the customer acquisition costs of all market players (both for existing and new TLDs);
Similarly, customer retention costs are also going to increase, either via short-term approaches (promotional campaigns), or via efforts carried out as part of mid- to long-term value creation approaches (such as to boost the utilization rate);
At the same time, the growing competition is going to influence the profit margins of all the players, with the exception of those lucky enough to find “niches” allowing them to charge high fees (the .rich TLD is almost a caricature of this kind of strategy, although its performance has been fairly disappointing so far).
Whatever the case, the relative stability of renewal rates, which is baseline data for the business models of many TLDs, will be challenged in the future. It can also be noted that the renewal rate helps measure the vulnerability of a TLD to the competitive playing field. It is no doubt preferable to have a renewal rate of 75% like the .biz TLD, than to lose one in two domain names every year like the .info TLD.
Having focused on domain creations until now, the strategies adopted by registries (and registrars) will thus be increasingly conditioned by the need to protect existing portfolios, unless they deliberately attempt to outrun the number of registrations in order to compensate for the losses in renewal rates, which are trending downwards.
Check out EuroDNS here to register your .FR domain name.
Domains Seized, Rogue Registrars Targeted And Thousands Of Illicit Online Pharmacies Shut
Over 10,000 websites were taken down and rogue domain name registrars targeted as nearly 200 enforcement agencies across 111 countries took part in Operation Pangea VII. The operation targeted criminal networks behind the sale of fake medicines via illicit online pharmacies. The operation led to 237 arrests worldwide and the seizure of nearly US$36 million worth of potentially dangerous medicines.
In terms of the number of participating INTERPOL member countries, Operation Pangea VII is the largest-ever global operation targeting fake medicines. It resulted in the launch of 1,235 investigations, the removal of more than 19,000 adverts for illicit pharmaceuticals via social media platforms and more than 10,600 websites shut down.
In the UK alone £8.6 million ($14.5m) of counterfeit and unlicensed medicines were seized along with 3.6 million doses of counterfeit and unlicensed medicines, five arrests and the shutdown of 1,891 websites.
In addition to interventions on the ground, which included the identification and dismantlement of three illicit laboratories in Colombia, the operation also targeted the main areas exploited by organized crime in the illegal online medicine trade: rogue domain name registrars, electronic payment systems and delivery services.
Operation Pangea VII was coordinated by INTERPOL, with the World Customs Organization (WCO), the Permanent Forum of International Pharmaceutical Crime (PFIPC), the Heads of Medicines Agencies Working Group of Enforcement Officers (WGEO), the Pharmaceutical Security Institute (PSI) and Europol, with support from the Center for Safe Internet Pharmacies (CSIP) and private sector companies including G2 Web Services, LegitScript, MasterCard, Microsoft,PayPal and Visa.
As well as raids at addresses linked to the illicit pharmaceutical websites, some 543,000 packages were inspected by customs and regulatory authorities, of which nearly 20,000 were seized during the international week of action (13 – 20 May).
Among the 9.4 million fake and illicit medicines seized during the operation were slimming pills, cancer medication, erectile dysfunction pills, cough and cold medication, anti-malarial, cholesterol medication and nutritional products.
“The sole focus of the organized crime networks behind the sale of these fake and illicit medicines is to make money, and they do not care about the potentially life-threatening consequences of their actions,” said INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble.
“Operation Pangea has again demonstrated that the joint efforts of law enforcement agencies around the world and with the support of the private sector can have a significant impact in helping to protect the public and turn back crime,” said the INTERPOL Chief.
Following the discovery of the illicit laboratories in Bogota, INTERPOL’s National Central Bureau in Colombia issued the first ever INTERPOL Purple Notices – which seek or provide information on modi operandi, objects, devices and concealment methods used by criminals – in relation to pharmaceutical crime.
NCB Bogota also requested INTERPOL Blue Notices requesting further intelligence regarding suspects in a criminal organization related to pharmaceutical crime in order to trace and locate them.
“The results from Operation Pangea VII are not just about the seizures and arrests, but also about demonstrating the growing commitment from member countries in tackling these crimes, and their increasing expertise,” said Aline Plançon, head of INTERPOL’s Medical Products Counterfeiting and Pharmaceutical Crime (MPCPC) unit.
“The interceptions and seizures physically stop these potentially life-threatening medicines from reaching unsuspecting consumers, but equally as important is shutting down the online platforms used by organized crime to target the public,” added Ms Plançon.
Throughout Operation Pangea VII, INTERPOL’s General Secretariat headquarters in Lyon served as the central hub for information exchange among the participating countries and agencies. From this base, the WCO’s Regional Intelligence Liaison Office for Western Europe coordinated activities between participating customs administrations via CENcomm and the Pangea team, and a mobile Europol office also conducted cross-checks.
Operation Pangea VII is part of INTERPOL’s Turn Back Crime global awareness campaign, which aims to educate society about the ways in which organized crime infiltrates our daily lives, and to assist the public in protecting themselves.
Melbourne Gets Bragging Rights Over Sydney In Battle of Australian gTLDs
Melbourne has become the first “big” Australian new gTLD to announce its launch, with ARI Registry Services announcing they have signed a ten-year contract with the Victorian Government to manage all functions in the operation of the .melbourne gTLD.
“The management of .melbourne on behalf of Victorian Government and the City of Melbourne is going to be one of the largest and most significant digital branding opportunities for this State and it’s a major achievement for ARI Registry Services to win this contract for the next 10 years,” Adrian Kinderis, CEO of ARI Registry Services. The other big one will be the contract to operate .sydney that is expected to be announced in coming months.
“The Government understands that operating .melbourne requires mission critical Internet infrastructure and they’ve chosen ARI Registry Services because we’re a proven leader in the field.”
“Some of the world’s largest and most recognised brands will sit alongside .melbourne on our systems and we’re incredibly proud to be an Australian technology company kicking major goals on the global stage.”
The .melbourne gTLD beat .sydney, mainly because it received a higher priority number. But it does give Melbourne some bragging rights that it will come to market some months before its rival. It is expected General Availability will commence in September.
Expected to launch this year, he said .melbourne will give Victorian businesses and Internet users their first opportunity to register geographic domain names as part of this evolution of the web.
A .melbourne web address will be an innovative way for businesses and individuals to clearly display an online affiliation to Melbourne. It will be the easiest way to identify products and organisations serving the Melbourne and Victorian communities online.
“The geography of the Internet is on the precipice of a revolutionary change and .melbourne is leading the charge as one of the first cities in the world to claim their own corner of the web,” Mr Kinderis said.
“The Victorian Government and the City of Melbourne have long recognised the value of a strong city brand and has accordingly supported this opportunity. Through .melbourne, they now have a unique digital asset to amplify the reach of brand Melbourne across the globe with every domain name registered under it.”
Mr Kinderis said .melbourne will become a quintessential part of the city’s business brand. He said Internet users around the world will turn to .melbourne as the city’s online source of truth, while savvy businesses will use the namespace to tap into the booming ecommerce potential of the city.
“We expect to see innovative businesses snap up premium category names like plumber.melbourne, pizza.melbourne or bars.melbourne in a move to gain unparalleled online marketing supremacy.”
Mr Kinderis also noted that .melbourne will appeal to individuals too and expected many people and families to register their names under .melbourne.
The two-year-long process to apply for .melbourne was initiated by the Victorian Government with the City of Melbourne, through ARI Registry Services.
Today’s milestone saw the Victorian Government enter into a Registry Agreement with ICANN to formally obtain the rights to .melbourne. It will be joined by the likes of London, Tokyo, New York and other high profile world cities and regions securing their own piece of online real estate.
Nearly 40 other Australian applicants such as .sydney, .anz, .tab and .iinet are also anticipated to launch soon.
