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The domain name news is supported by auDA. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Web Site Owners May Get Tougher to Find http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1172656996106 Proposed ICANN policy could lead to domain name censorship http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070227-8928.html ICANN as the Nets Word Police http://www.agoravox.com/article.php3?id_article=5564 Domain Aftermarket Overdue for an "Asset Repricing" http://www.circleid.com/posts/domain_aftermarket_asset_repricing/ Trademark disputes a go-go http://news.com.com/2010-1030_3-6162702.html Motorola loses domain name case after failure to provide evidence http://out-law.com/page-7818 ********************** DOMAIN NAMES ********************** Web Site Owners May Get Tougher to Find Intellectual property lawyers guarding corporate trademarks on the Internet may soon have a harder time tracking down the people behind Web sites infringing on their clients' brands. http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1172656996106 Proposed ICANN policy could lead to domain name censorship ICANN is set to get involved in politics. An ICANN draft policy that will govern the creation of new TLDs would restrict anything that "shall promote hatred, racism, discrimination of any sort, criminal activity, or any abuse of specific religions or cultures." The new rule has some critics crying "Censorship!" http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070227-8928.html ICANN as the Nets Word Police ICANN may be trying to become the Nets word police, believes the Non-Commercial Users Constituency (NCUC). ICANNs policy council, the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO), wants string selection criteria that would prevent the registration of a new gTLD string containing a controversial word or idea, says Blogger News Network. http://www.agoravox.com/article.php3?id_article=5564 http://www.p2pnet.net/story/11451 Domain Aftermarket Overdue for an "Asset Repricing" For the last couple years the domain aftermarket has been hot again, we're seeing valuations not seen since bubble1.0, which saw valuations like 7 million dollars for business.com and 4 million for drugs.com. The TechWreck was induced by the NASDAQ crash of 2000 and the fun was over for awhile. What differentiates this bubble in the domain aftermarket from Bubble 1.0 is domain parking and monetization... The interesting thing is since then, the multiples on domain names have outstripped the multiples on developed websites. To me, this is the equivalent of the "inverted yield curve" that portends economic recessions. http://www.circleid.com/posts/domain_aftermarket_asset_repricing/ Trademark disputes a go-go In a report issued last week, the National Arbitration Forum said that its domain name resolutions climbed by a whopping 21 percent in 2006 from the prior year. Indeed, the NAF handled 1,658 Internet trademark disputes in 2006, the largest filing year in the history of the NAF domain name dispute program. http://news.com.com/2010-1030_3-6162702.html nz: Banks seek domain change to combat online fraud The New Zealand Bankers' Association, an industry group made up of all 16 registered banks, has applied to the Office of the Domain Name Commissioner for the creation of the second-level domain name .bank.nz. http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/3976481a28.html Motorola loses domain name case after failure to provide evidence Motorola has lost a battle to gain control of the domain name motorazr.com because it failed to prove when it started using the term Moto Razr. The domain name will be kept by its US owner R3 Media. http://out-law.com/page-7818 GoDaddy Responds to Deletion Over Invalid Email Address Domain Name Wire reported (see below) about how GoDaddy deleted the domain registration for a domain due to invalid Whois information. This invalid information was limited to the e-mail address used; the phone number and mailing address was correct. Today, GoDaddy Director of Domain Services Camille Ede responded to a number of my questions concerning the actions it took. http://domainnamewire.com/2007/02/28/godaddy-responds-to-deletion-over-invalid-email-address/ GoDaddy Deletes Domain Name for Inaccurate Email Address Owner of FamilyAlbum.com finds his domain was re-registered by another GoDaddy customer. http://domainnamewire.com/2007/02/27/godaddy-deletes-domain-name-for-inaccurate-email-address/ Report: Chinese Gmail rebuffs Google offer to buy domain name Beijing ISM Internet Technology Development Co., the Chinese company behind the Gmail.cn e-mail service, declined to comment on a report that Google has renewed its attempts to acquire the Gmail.cn domain name. An executive who answered the phone at ISM's Beijing headquarters Wednesday said the company was aware of the report, but was unclear about its origins and whether Google had made an offer to buy the Gmail.cn domain name. "When we understand the situation more clearly, we will make an announcement," said the executive, who did not give his name. http://infoworld.com/article/07/02/28/HNchinesegmailrebuff_1.html us: Senator Wants Review of Fake IRS Web Sites Earlier this week Senator Edward J. Markey (D-MA), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, called for a federal review of "fake" IRS Web sites that may mislead consumers into thinking they are on a government-affiliated Web site. http://accounting.pro2net.com/x56751.xml uk: Domain pain for film website The UK Film Council-backed social networking and community website, myfilms, has run into a hitch after it emerged it doesn't own the .com version of its web address - despite using the name in publicity material. http://film.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2023388,00.html Domain Sales Cooled Off a Bit This Week But SnapNames and Sedo Kept the Fire Burning The top reported transaction hit just $30,000 last week for CostaRicaHotel.com at SnapNames.com. http://dnjournal.com/archive/domainsales/2007/domainsales02-27-07.htm ********************** OTHER INTERNET NEWS ********************** An Increasing Number of Bloggers end up in Prison For three years, Egyptian blogger Abdelkareem Nabil Suleiman allegedly used his blog as a platform to criticize religious and authoritarian practices in his country, as well as Egypts highest religious institutions including the Sunni University of Al-Azhar, where he attended law school. In November, law enforcement authorities arrested the 22-year-old student. Last week, an Alexandria (Egypt) judge sentenced him to four years in prison, three for disparaging Islam and one for defaming President Hosni Mubarak in his online journal. http://www.ibls.com/internet_law_news_portal_view.aspx?s=latestnews&id=1694 au: YouTube ban for Victorian schools Australian Education Union Victorian branch president Mary Bluett said a ban on video-sharing website YouTube in state schools is likely to have little effect. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/03/01/1172338754827.html http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,21306297-2,00.html au: Why not ban the Internet at schools? The State Government of Victoria Australia has taken what I would consider to be a most stupid and ill-informed step by banning video sharing site YouTube from schools. The reason given - to prevent cyber bullying - is equally stupid and ill-informed. http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/10076/1023/ us: COPPA Protects Children But Challenges Lie Ahead (news release) In a report to Congress, the Federal Trade Commission says the Childrens Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), and the Commissions COPPA Rule, have been effective in protecting the privacy and security of young children online without unduly burdening Web site operators. The report does not recommend any changes to COPPA or to the Commissions Rule, but does note that, because widespread age verification technology is not available, age falsification remains a risk on general audience Web sites not intended for childrens use. The report also identifies social networking sites and mobile Internet access as new and emerging issues in childrens online privacy. http://ftc.gov/opa/2007/02/copparpt.htm us: Justices Decline Case on 200-Year Sentence for Man Who Possessed Child Pornography An Arizona man who received a 200-year prison sentence for possessing 20 pornographic images of children failed Monday to persuade the Supreme Court to consider whether the sentence was unconstitutionally excessive. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/27/washington/27scotus.html http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/20070227-091105-5551r/ My PC is being held to ransom Is it legal to lock people out of their own computers? Michael Pollitt examines an online billing system that uses what could be considered strongarm tactics. http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,2023190,00.html us: Search Engines Can Decline Ads (sub req'd) Internet search engines can refuse to run advertisements by choice, a federal judge ruled recently in handing Google Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo Inc. a major legal victory. http://users1.wsj.com/lmda/do/checkLogin?mg=wsj-users1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB117263683571521753.html U.S. presidential hopefuls flock to YouTube (Reuters) Top White House candidates unveiled their own YouTube video channels on Thursday, pushing the 18-month-old Web video-sharing site even farther into the U.S. political mainstream. http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKN2825410720070301 us: CDT Reiterates Call for Balanced Internet Neutrality Policy In comments filed today with the Federal Trade Commission, CDT highlighted ways in which the FTC could play a constructive role in a broader policy framework for Internet neutrality that benefits consumers as well as innovators. CDT filed the comments in connection to the commission's Broadband Connectivity Competition Policy Workshop, which concluded earlier this month. The comments address the importance of preserving an Internet without gatekeepers, and offer several specific recommendations to the FTC going forward. http://www.cdt.org/speech/net-neutrality/200702028ftcneutrality.pdf nz: Law to tackle unwanted spam passed The Government's anti-spam bill was passed last night with a promise it would help stem the avalanche of unwanted e-mails clogging New Zealand in-boxes. http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/3976318a28.html InternetNZ welcomes long awaited anti-spam law (news release) http://www.internetnz.net.nz/media/2007-02-28-spamlaw Fragrant future beckons for web Within a decade the net will be able to deliver smells as fast as it does data, predicts a report. The forecast came in a wide-ranging survey produced by the South Korean government to find out what consumers will want from future technologies. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6404067.stm Fragrant web provides a sniff of the future A smelly internet and a robot that makes tea are among this week's ideas from the Far East http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/personal_tech/article1452343.ece Internet use by black people is growing The number of black South Africans using the Internet has increased dramatically as schools and businesses connect. http://www.ioltechnology.co.za/article_page.php?iSectionId=2884&iArticleId=3708152 Active Home Internet Users by Country, January 2007 The active home Internet user population dropped in 10 countries by 2.4 million users in January. http://clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3625119 U.N. officials, Silicon Valley tech leaders discuss digital divide Officials from the United Nations met Wednesday with Silicon Valley executives to discuss the digital divide the growing gap between the world's wealthiest and most computer literate people and the impoverished masses without Internet access. http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20070228-1433-ca-brf-bay-digitaldivide.html Record labels target students The music industry is adopting new tactics in its battle with students who download and share music illegally http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article1456567.ece Microsoft puts up roadblocks on Vista for Mac owners After years of delays and billions in development and marketing efforts, it would seem that Microsoft would want anyone who possibly can to buy its new Windows Vista operating system. http://iht.com/articles/2007/02/28/business/ptvista.php Internet renegades go by the book The renegade Internet entrepreneurs who started the file-sharing service Kazaa and the online phone service Skype have started a Web video venture that is doing everything by the book. http://iht.com/articles/2007/02/27/business/joost.php EU warns Microsoft of possible further fines (Reuters) The European Commission warned Microsoft on Thursday it faced further fines in its antitrust case for seeking unreasonable prices from software makers for interoperability information. http://uk.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUKBRU00547920070301 WhyMax? A much-hyped wireless technology is about to be put to the test FOR the 60,000 people attending at 3GSM, the wireless industry's annual trade show that took place in Barcelona last week, WiMax was everywhere: on huge banners, on the lips of executives and on products in display cases. Everywhere, that is, except in the real world. The vaunted new wireless technology promises to combine the speed of broadband internet access with the ubiquity of mobile phones. Even as mobile operators start to upgrade their networks to the latest enhanced third-generation (3G) equipment, WiMax boosters say their technology is superior. Now that WiMax networks are starting to pop up around the world, the industry will soon find out if they are right. http://economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8748628 Wireless VoIP Threatens Telco Business The combination of wireless and Internet calling will force traditional mobile-phone companies to adapt as sales of dual-mode handsets rise, a report says. Traditional phone operators will be forced to change their approach as wireless VoIP technology surges over the next few years, say analysts. http://businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/feb2007/gb20070228_763163.htm Regulation of VOIP Services in the United Kingdom The proliferation of VoIP services has impacted the UK communication market over the last five years. VoIP services deliver significant consumer benefit through reducing the cost of delivering existing telecommunications services. Since the development of VoIP services is still in its infancy, the future development of these services and technology is, at present, unclear. http://www.ibls.com/internet_law_news_portal_view.aspx?s=latestnews&id=1695 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Sources include Quicklinks <http://qlinks.net/> and BNA Internet Law News <http://www.bna.com/ilaw/>. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ (c) David Goldstein 2007 --------- 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) "Every time you use fossil fuels, you're adding to the problem. Every time you forgo fossil fuels, you're being part of the solution" - Dr Tim Flannery Send instant messages to your online friends http://au.messenger.yahoo.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------- List policy, unsubscribing and archives => http://dotau.org/
