Domain Name Blogger

Domain names are simply the addresses of the Internet. E-mail is sent and web pages are found through the use of domain names.

Often a well established company finds that the domain name corresponding to their corporate name or product trademark is owned by someone else. When this happens the company can either choose a different name or fight to get the domain name from its current owners. When a dispute over a domain name occurs, the parties can always turn to the courts. While courts and judges (discuss this at CourtForum.com) have the authority to award control and ownership over domain names (just as they have authority to award control and ownership over any other property), the judicial process is notoriously slow. Many parties have avoided the courts and turned to the domain name dispute policies of the domain name registrars.

Companies that do bring a court action must present legal arguments on why a domain name registered to someone else should be cancelled or transferred to an organization who wasn’t fast enough to register the name first. Historically, these arguments were based on trademark law or dilution law. It was sometimes difficult to present a strong case under the traditional principals of trademark law, especially when the party seeking to obtain a domain name either could not prove a likelihood of confusion (which is required under trademark law) or was a famous individual who never technically established trademark rights in their name.

On November 1999 the Congress passed the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act. The act made it easier for individuals and companies to take over domain names that are confusingly similar to their names or valid trademarks. They must establish that the domain name holder acted in bad faith.

The experience necessary to successfully challenge domain ownership and defend against domain claims in arbitration proceedings under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) established by ICANN in 1999. 

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is responsible for managing and coordinating the Domain Name System (DNS) to ensure every address is unique and all users of the Internet can find all valid addresses by overseeing the distribution of unique IP addresses and domain names. It also ensures that each domain name maps to the correct IP address.

ICANN is also responsible for the global coordination of the Internet’s system of unique identifiers. These include domain names like .org, .museum and country codes like .UK, as well as the addresses used in a variety of Internet protocols. Computers use these identifiers to reach each other over the Internet.

ICANN is also responsible for accrediting the domain name registrars. Accredit means to identify and set minimum standards for the performance of registration functions, to recognize persons or entities meeting those standards, and to enter into an accreditation agreement that sets forth the rules and procedures applicable to the provision of Registrar Services.

ICANN holds periodic public meetings rotated between continents for the expressed purpose of encouraging global participation in its processes. Critics argue that the locations of these meetings are often in countries with lower Internet usage and far away from locations that the majority of the Internet-using public can afford to reach, thus making public input or participation from traditional Internet users less likely.

A domain name appraisal is important part of the domain evaluation and sales process. As more domains are registered and sold the domain name broker, buyer, and seller, or transacting parties have a point of reference for the valuation of the Internet property.

The Domain names are assets that require a professional evaluation by an experienced domain name broker and domain name sales specialist. Domain Name Appraisals are recommended before donating your domains to charity or used for tax donations.

The domain appraisal industry today is a booming business. Many believe that in business to provide appraisals, they actually miss out on a lot of key data points to assess their domain valuations with. Premium domain names have enabled trusted partnerships with a number of major domain investors.

Most appraisers use a generic tool to formulate a value for the domain based on a series of generic criteria - such appraisals have the appeal of being “fast” or cheap.  

The appraisals are designed for you to learn about what makes a domain name valuable.
 
Those who perform free domain name appraisals either use an off-the-shelf software package or make wild guesses about the value of a domain. Software packages use very generic criteria to evaluate a domain - and are typically way off the mark. The right approach will take into account between five and fifteen factors in order to derive at an eventual evaluation. They separate “standard” appraisals from “premium” ones because it is expensive. 

Then, it should seed the appraised value with the sale prices of similar names. The appraisals are done manually and undergo a thorough research and analysis lifecycle.

International domain names are today growing in interest. Domains such as .us, .tv, ws. and others have taken time to develop. Appraisal standards for these new forms of “internet real estate” are also growing.

There are two types of appraisal services:

1. Standard Appraisals - which  most are looking for to determine a domain rating and value.
2. Premium Appraisals - which are most often used by serious buyers and sellers that want leverage in the buying and selling of domain names.

When you purchase an appraisal, you get a professional evaluation of the domain name. Consider every aspect of the domain name to derive a value for the domain. The method differs from the typical fully automated computerized methods used by other services. Most appraisals comes with a domain appraisal certificate or written instrument detailing the criteria and certifying the estimated value.

Services consider many characteristics of a domain name.

A quality domain appraisal service provides you with a fair and accurate account of the value of your domain name or web site against the current market trends.

Several factors play a role in this assessment, and each appraisal requires
special attention in weighing these dynamics.

An accurate domain name appraisal is a critical first step for sellers and buyers alike. A small fee, you can obtain the latest market value of a domain name from our experts. 
 
The buyer, ordering a domain appraisal could potentially save you thousands before you make an offer for a web domain name. 
 
As for the sellers, professional domain name appraisal service may make the difference between making a great sale, turning buyers off by setting the asking price of your web domain name too high, or not maximizing the true potential of your domain by setting your price too low.

Domain names serve as a unique Internet identity as well as a companies online brand. Customers will remember and use a web address to find your Web site, your products or 
your services.

Domain Names are granted for a limited period of time, subject to the appropriate registration or renewal fees being paid. Once the owner of a domain name declines to pay the renewal fee to maintain their registration, that domain name will expire, and eventually be deleted and returned to the “pool” of unregistered names.

A domain name that is approaching its renewal date is said to be “expiring soon” and a domain name that has passed its renewal date (also known as its “expiry date”) without the renewal fee being paid is said to have “expired”.

When a domain is not renewed by the current owner it expires and is eventually made available to the public. Many great domains become available which are very hard to register because of automated systems and crooked registrars which understand the timing and procedure to quickly register expired domains using high speed dedicated registrar connections. 

Domain names become available after a “grace” period which the current registrant can still renew. Grace periods vary by registrar and usually lasts from 30 to 45 days. It can be more or less depending on circumstances. The record reflects the status ON-HOLD during the grace period. 
 
After the grace period, a domain enters another 30 day period called the REDEMPTIONPERIOD. If the current registrant does not have the domain name restored and renewed by the end of this period the registry places the registration in DELETING status, and approximately five days later the domain name will become available.

Domain names can be registered for a fixed period of only 1 year although most registrars now offer the option of registering a domain name for a period of 1-10 years, often with substantial discounts for extended registrations

Expired domains solicit a lot of interest since essentially they form a new supply of domain names returning to the market, sometimes for the first time in many years…

Domain names are simply the addresses of the Internet. E-mail is sent and web pages are found through the use of domain names.

When a company finds that the domain name corresponding to their corporate name or product trademark is owned by someone else, the company can either choose a different name or fight to get the domain name from its current owners. When a dispute over a domain name occurs, the parties can turn to the courts. While courts and judges have the authority to award control and ownership over domain names (just as they have authority to award control and ownership over any other property), the judicial process is notoriously slow. Many parties have avoided the courts and turned to the domain name dispute policies of the domain name registrars.

Companies that do bring a court action must present legal arguments on why a domain name registered to someone else should be cancelled or transferred to an organization who wasn’t fast enough to register the name first. Historically, these arguments were based on trademark law or dilution law. It was sometimes difficult to present a strong case under the traditional principals of trademark law, especially when the party seeking to obtain a domain name either could not prove a likelihood of confusion (which is required under trademark law) or was a famous individual who never technically established trademark rights in their name.

On November 1999 the Congress passed the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act. The act made it easier for individuals and companies to take over domain names that are confusingly similar to their names or valid trademarks. They must establish that the domain name holder acted in bad faith.

The experience necessary to successfully challenge domain ownership and defend against domain claims in arbitration proceedings under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) established by ICANN in 1999. 

Expired domain names are names that were previously registered, but where the registration has not been renewed, or where the registrant has defaulted on payment. These unclaimed domain names are then repossessed and are made available for anyone to register again. These lists show thousands of .COM, .NET, .ORG, .BIZ, and .INFO domain names registered that are pending renewal or deletion.

Different services provide information about expired domains. But the chances to find the good ones are definitely low. In 1999 Expired Domains is the company that brought expired domains to the public and working and changing upon market changes to offer the customer’s cutting edge tools to localize top expired and available domains. Domain entrepreneurs know that - if they want to find good domains before than competition - they need to use our service.

Expired Domains offers 5 different tools engineered to help domain entrepreneurs find and register the very best expired, deleting and available domain names. The tools can be accessed only by Expired Domains Members. Purchase an Expired Domains membership you may choose between a 30 or 365 day plan, and you will get password access to the five tools.

It is being average over 20,000 domain names that are being deleted everyday. There are many valuable and great names for web sites. If you want a name for a new site, you will get a much better name by grabbing an expired or a deleted domain rather than looking for an unregistered name.

Many reasons valuable domains allowed to expire, including but not limited to: 

1. Not enough funds to renew them
2. Invalid contact e-mail address
3. Loss of interest in online world
4. Bankruptcy
5. Lack of knowledge about value of domain names
6. Being away at time of domain renewal

Domain parking is an advertising practice that is used by domain name registrars and internet advertising publishers to monetize type-in traffic visiting an under-developed domain name or a service that offers to its clients as a way of securing a domain name for future use. It is a simple way to generate revenue from owning a domain name. It is one of the reasons why many expired domains are bought up quickly and often for large amounts. The traffic on these expired domains will be the highest initially, but will steadily drop off as the web page is deleted from search engine indexes.  The domain name will usually resolve to a page containing pertinent internet advertising listings and links. The links will be targeted to the predicted interests of the visitor and may change vigorously based on the results that visitors click on. The domain owner is typically paid based on how many links have been visited (e.g. pay per click) and on how helpful those visits have been. The keywords for any given domain name offer clues as to the goal of the visitor before arriving. There are two types of domain parking which are a monetized and non-monetized. In the former, ads are shown to visitors and the domain is ‘monetized’. In the latter, an “Under Construction” or a “Coming Soon” message is put up on the domain. This a single page web site that people see when they type the domain name in a web browser. This is one quick way for getting an Internet presence. Domain names can be parked before a web site is ready for launching. 

On domains, there are terms as ‘one-click’ implementation and ‘two-click’ implementations. A “one-click” implementation on a domain parking site means that there is no initial keyword to click on before being served ad links. A “two-click” implementation means that a user must click on a keyword to generate the ad links. Expired domains that were previously websites are also required after for domain parking. A domain that was used as a website and is allowed to expire will still maintain most of its past inbound links. These types of domains usually start off with their largest amount of visitor traffic initially after being claimed from the domain drop lists. As website operators and search engines begin to remove the former inbound links, the traffic to the parked domain will begin to decline. If someone decided to develop their domain, he or she will need to pay for hosting services at that point. The right hosting service will provide enough space for your website and any special scripts or services you need. Once the domain is being hosted, it is no longer parked.  The domain parking is also used to secure addresses similar to your main website and redirect traffic there, an inexpensive way to protect your website. 

A domain registrar is a company or individual who is accredited by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) or by a national ccTLD authority to register Internet domain names. ICANN insures that all registered names are unique and map properly to a unique Internet Protocol (IP) address. It is the numerical address of the website that tells other computers on the Internet where to find the server host and domain. Some domain registrars can act as affiliates under accredited regsitrars, but they are not offically accredited by ICANN themselves although the body they report to or are controlled by is.

In 1999, there was still no Shared Registration System (SRS) with only Network Solutions operating the .com, .net, and .org registries, and was the de jure registrar and domain name registry. However, several companies had set up as de facto registrars including NetNames, who invented the idea of a commercial standalone domain name registration service in 1996. Registrars formed another link in the food chain, introducing the concept of domain name sales, effectively introducing the wholesale model into the industry. NSI followed suit, forcing the issue of separation of Registry and Registrar. It was in or around October 1998 when the NSI’s agreement was amended requiring the creation of an SRS that supported multiple registrars.

Domain registration is accessible to the public via a registrar. Fees and services differ from company to company, but the process is very affordable. Before a domain registration can be approved, the new name must be checked against existing names in the DNS database. The online registrar provides a field into which you can enter your desired name hierarchy. Several examples are .com, .net, .org, .name, .info, .biz, and with so much more. If the name is not yet taken, it means that it is still free to use for domain registration. During the process, the applicant will be required to give contact information that will be publicly available through the WHOIS database and all registrars require that all of the given information must be accurate and true. If someone doesn’t want to provide their personal information, there are some registrars that will act as a proxy, supplying their information in place of your own as the contact for the domain. In most cases there is a fee for this domain privacy service and possible drawbacks to balance against the ability to maintain individual’s privacy, one must read the Terms and Conditions carefully before deciding to opt for a domain by proxy.