As the domain name community knows, the ICA has been warning of an impending price hike on .com domain name registrations. We publicized the issue, launched a website to increase awareness of the issue, created a petition that attracted over 2,000 signatures, and advocated for our position directly to David Redl, the head of NTIA, as well as to the Department …
Nominations for ICA’s 2019 Lonnie Borck Memorial Award – now open!
The ICA is happy and proud to announce that we are now accepting nominations for ICA’s 2019 Lonnie Borck Memorial Award! Thanks to NamesCon’s generous support, for the 3rd year in the row, the award will be held during the conference. The Lonnie Borck Memorial Award is granted to an individual for indelible contribution to domain investor rights, and we invite you all …
ICA Letter to David Redl on Expiry of NTIA-Verisign Cooperative Agreement
In its letter to David Redl of the NTIA, the ICA urges that the NTIA extend Amendment 32 to the Cooperative Agreement between the Department of Commerce and Verisign, which is set to expire on November 30, 2018. Read the full letter, which was submitted on October 18th, 2018, here.
ICA Letter to ICANN Board of Directors on ICANN oversight over the UDRP
In its letter submitted to the ICANN board on October 9th, 2018, ICA pointed out the absence of any ICANN oversight over the UDRP such as an office or staff, regular review process, complaints procedure, or contracts with existing UDRP dispute resolution service providers. ICA requests that ICANN includes a budget for such oversight in its current budgeting process. Read …
Dereliction of Duty in Wonderland
Guest post by Greg Thomas The shot clock is ticking towards expiration of the NTIA-Verisign Cooperative Agreement — yet stakeholders are AWOL on completing accountability safeguards at root of the Internet. It is remarkable — for all the wrong reasons — that only two months remain before the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) must make a fateful decision on how it will address its’ long-standing …
Response to a United Nations Letter on the IGO Working Group Final Report
The ICA participated in responding to the United Nations, who had written a letter to the ICANN Board complaining about the IGO Working Group Final Report. The ICA was extensively involved in this Working Group and took issue with the UN’s complaints about the outcome. This Working Group spent four years examining the UDRP and how IGO’s and INGO’s could …
ICA to NTIA: 1. Lower .com Prices; 2. Do Something About GDPR and Whois
On July 17, 2018, the Internet Commerce Association (ICA) submitted its feedback to the United States’ Department of Commerce in connection with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s Notice of Inquiry on International Internet Policy Priorities. The message was clear. Two major issues need immediate attention; 1. Root Zone Management and ICANN’s Inherent Conflict of Interest with the Verisign monopoly …
ICA Member Profile: Slade Michalec
Slade got his start in internet marketing, working on the affiliate marketing side of things where focus was on website optimization and user retention/recovery. After hearing Hobi speak of the domain industry for several years, Slade became more fascinated with domains. He eventually made the career jump and began brokering premium domain names at Domain Holdings. Since the beginning to …
ICA Member Profile: Hobi Michalec
Hobi Michalec graduated college at FAU with a Bachelor’s in Business Management and a focus on entrepreneurship. He discovered domaining by chance after meeting John Ferber and joining Domain Holdings for a number of years. He left the company after its acquisition to help Co-found Lumis.
Responsible and Prudent UDRP Panels Decline to Draw Conclusions in the Absence of Clear and Sufficient Evidence
In the recent case concerning Chatroulette.org , the Panel demonstrated the responsible and prudent approach in evaluating evidence in the UDRP. The Panel stated as follows: “The Panel takes the view that the Respondent’s denial of knowledge of the existence of the Complainant and his trade mark at that date is credible enough to require more from the Complainant to …