Issue 43 - 18th October - This week: 1. gTLD Update 2. Industry News 3. Nic News 4. NetNames News 5. Fact of the week
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Please find below this week's N3Lite, full of domain name industry news, developments and facts.

This week we bring you the latest news on .biz, which has seen its launch date pushed back by two weeks. We also report on the .biz domain names placed on hold, following allegations of an 'illegal lottery' and cover a couple of interesting cybersquatting cases which were concluded this week.

As ever, please let us know if you have any questions.

Kind regards, Colette - N3lite@netnames.com

.biz launch date delayed

Neulevel, the registry running the new .biz domain suffix, this week announced that the launch of the biz registry had been delayed and would not now be going live on October 23. The registry will now open for live registrations on a first-come, first-served basis on November 7, 2001.

Neulevel stresses the delay is in response to recent market demand for the new gTLDs. By giving itself extra time, it hopes to ensure that demand can be satisfied, regardless of the amount of traffic generated.

More than 50,000 .biz domain names placed on hold

Last Friday, October 11, the Superior Court of Los Angeles issued a preliminary injunction, preventing the activation of certain .biz domain names.

More than 80% of the domain names applied for during the .biz application process are unaffected by the process. However, .biz domain names for which there were multiple applicants (not applications) will not resolve on November 7, when the .biz registry goes live. These names will now go live upon resolution of the legal proceedings.

NetNames will keep customers updated when more information is available from Neulevel.

.museum to go live in November

ICANN this week announced that the agreement to oversee the operation of the first ‘sponsored’ top level domain, .museum, had been signed.

Sponsored TLDs are co-ordinated by policy-making organizations, responsive to a defined group of stakeholders with a common purpose as defined by the organisation’s charter. The charter of .museum limits domain name registrations to bona fide museums, their professional associations and individual members of the museum community.

It is expected that by early November 2001, .museum will become a functioning TLD. N3Lite will bring you more information on registration details, once they become available.

2. Industry News

FSA in David vs. Goliath domain case

The UK Financial Services Authority (FSA) has lost the latest round in a case over the disputed fsa.co.uk domain name.

An independent expert appointed by the UK Registry, Nominet, ruled this week that the domain name should stay in the hands of the registrant, a small IT company based in Bournemouth - Findlay Steele Associates. The company originally registered the name in good faith in April 1997.

In a written recommendation submitted to Nominet, the adjudicator said that the IT company had 'demonstrated a willingness to seek to ensure minimisation of likelihood of confusion,' and so should maintain control of the domain name.

The FSA stated it was concerned that Nominet was not properly considering the security considerations of leaving the domain in the hands of the company. However, Findlay Steele Associates has voluntarily changed its email traffic system in order to screen out and return emails intended for the FSA. Their homepage also contains a direct link to the FSA web site.

The FSA said in a statement that is had not ruled out further legal action.

Actor wins right to domain name

The Hollywood Actor, Rip Torn, has won a dispute over the rights to the riptorn.com domain name, despite the fact that this is not his real name.

The actor argued that he was widely known as Rip Torn and the arbitrator agreed in his summing-up that "the public has come to recognise and associate the name as a symbol that identifies and distinguishes his particular acting services."

The domain name is not currently being used as a web site and the arbitrator ruled that there was "strong evidence that the domain name had been registered and was being used in bad faith." WIPO (the World Intellectual Property Organisation) ordered that the cybersquatter hand over the name to Rip Torn.

3. NIC News

Nominet introduces new domain dispute policy

The .uk Registry, Nominet last week introduced a new fast service for resolving domain name disputes. The new system requires all complainants to provide evidence that the domain name was registered or has been used in a manner that has been detrimental to their company.

This is a departure from previous regulations, set in July 1997, which stated that ownership of a domain name may be transferred 'if it is drawn to Nominet UK's attention that the name is being used in a manner likely to cause confusion to Internet users.'