Win a case of ccTLD wine!!!

We'd love to know what you think of N3Lite so that we can continue to produce a newsletter that you find interesting and informative. Please take a couple of minutes to fill out the attached questionnaire and submit it to us. We'll award one lucky respondent a case of ccTLD wines - 12 bottles from some of the world's finest wine growing countries, where NetNames also happens to register domains.

To fill out our short survey, please click here.

Naturally all responses will remain confidential.

Colette - N3lite@netnames.com

Most popular new domains

As the IP claims service continues for .biz, and the Sunrise Period is set to be launched shortly for .info domains, the following is a list of the top 10 most popular new domains, based on enquiries to registrars:

2. Industry News

sucks.com owner wins case

A dispute resolution panel this week ruled that the owner of michaelbloombergsucks.com may keep his domain name, and does not have to hand it over to the Bloomberg financial news service.

The resolution flies in the face of previous decisions, which have favoured trademark owners over the owners of 'sucks' sites. In the past, Guinness has won disputes over at least 11 domains containing the word 'sucks', and other companies that have won the right to have similar sites shut down include Dixons Group and Wal-Mart Stores. In these cases the panels found that the sites had been registered in bad faith, and their owners were intent on selling them back to the trademark holder for a profit.

However in the Bloomberg case, the board ruled that the site offered surfers the opportunity to voice their opinions on a variety of issues, and decided it could stay open.

3. NetNames News

Timing for .info rollout announced
~ .info addresses to be live by September 19 ~

.info, the first new generic Top Level Domain suffix to go live since .com, will be fully operational on the Internet by September 19, 2001.

Registration for .info domain names will begin for trademark and service mark holders during the Sunrise Period on July 25, 2001, and will begin for the general public on September 12, 2001. .info domain names are expected to become live and accessible through all Internet Web browsers on or about September 19, 2001.

".info will be a domain extension with a powerful, global appeal. Businesses aiming to protect their intellectual property rights need to make sure that they register these at the end of July to ensure the best possible start to protecting their interests," said Jonathan Robinson, CEO of NetNames, part of the NetBenefit Group.

"We are pleased that .info will be the first of the new TLDs to go live, providing Internet users with a direct and intuitive way to quickly and simply create and share information around the world," said Hal Lubsen, interim CEO of Afilias, of which NetNames is a member. "Since .info will be the first unrestricted TLD to be introduced since .com, we have taken painstaking steps to ensure a fair and equitable introduction. To ensure a comprehensive and effective rollout for .info on a world wide basis, we feel it is important to give both the trademark holder and registrar communities ample time to plan and prepare."

Rollout Schedule
.info names will become available for registration on July 25, 2001 with the Sunrise Period during which trademark holders and service mark holders will be able register their exact marks. On August 27, 2001 the Sunrise Period will close and will be followed by a 15-day Quiet Period for testing and evaluation. Any challenges to names registered during the Sunrise Period may be raised during the Sunrise Challenge process, which will commence on August 28 and continue for a duration of 120 days. On September 12, 2001 registration in the .info domain will be opened to the general public and will be governed without restrictions on who may register.

Afilias is currently in the Operational Testing and Evaluation (OT&E) process of qualifying registrars to register domain names in the .info TLD. There are currently about 148 registrars accredited by ICANN, of which only 79 actively register the popular .com domain names.

Those interested in registering a .info name should contact their preferred ICANN-accredited registrar. Additional information on all the new top level domains is available at www.gtld.com. Qualifications for the Sunrise Period as well as specifications on the Sunrise Challenge process is available at http://www.afilias.com/download/fact-sheets/sunrise-fact-sheet.html

4. Fact of the Week

There are now more than 16 million Internet users in the UK alone, according to a survey published by the Consumer Association this week. This amounts to 36% of the population, up from 27% a year ago.

However the popularity of email is beginning to fade, with a mere 5% of respondents considering it their preferred method of communication, compared to 14% two years ago. Two years ago, face-to-face communication was favoured by 39%, today this figure has surged to 67% as Internet users have become disillusioned with the obtrusiveness of email and text messaging.