IDN news
.org German-script IDNs set for launch
.org Internationalised Domain Names (IDN) will be released
shortly. .org IDNs will support ä, ö, and ü characters, which are
used in the German language.
Orders can be placed online at www.netnames.com
from Monday 17th January.
.pt IDNs currently in Sunrise
Owners of Portuguese 2nd and 3rd-level domains can now apply for
the corresponding IDN containing Portuguese special characters. The
Sunrise period will last until 30th June 2005, with live
registrations commencing 1st July.
Student sells Tsunami domain and donates money
Canadian student Josh Kaplan used auction site eBay to sell the
domain name 'tsunamirelief.com' for $10,000 to an Internet gaming
company. The money from the sale went entirely to Chabad of
Thailand, a Jewish relief agency.
Mr Kaplan had previously been dubbed 'wave rat' by the New York
Post, which alleged that he was trying to profit from the tragedy.
His mother denied this, claiming that he had always intended to
donate the proceeds. A spokesman for the gaming company that bought
the domain stated that he also believed that Kaplan's intentions had
been good all along. The domain is now being used to direct traffic
towards relief efforts.
Conservative party website hijacked after
letting domain lapse
A Welsh branch of the Conservative Party forgot to renew their
delynconservatives.com domain and suddenly found their website turned
into a vehicle for pornography. They have since managed to buy back
the domain.
This is yet another example
of the risks associated with failing to renew a domain name.
NetNames encourages a proactive strategy for domain name management.
NAF decision over journalism domain name
The National Arbitration Forum (NAF) has decided that online news
company GetLocalNews.com will not have to give up the
bettendorfnews.com domain name to Lee Enterprises, which owns the
9,600 circulation Bettendorf News publication and issued a complaint
last November.
The three criteria which needed to be met in order to rule in
favour of the complainant were:
(i) the domain name registered by the Respondent is identical or
confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which the
Complainant has rights;
(ii) the Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect
of the domain name; and
(iii) the domain name has been registered and is being used in bad
faith
NAF ruled in favour of GetLocalNews.com on all three counts,
stating that the domain name was "merely a combination of the
geographically descriptive term 'Bettendorf' and the generic term
'news'".
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