DomainIncite

The registry for the new .cpa gTLD reckons it has received “thousands” of applications for domains during its current launch period, potentially making it the most successful gTLD sunrise since 2012. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, which manages the TLD, said today: Well over half of the 100 …

ICANN is to make its annual general meeting next month available streaming on YouTube, the org has announced. That’s in addition to the Zoom rooms that have been used exclusively for meetings since the coronavirus pandemic hit at the start of the year. The YouTube streams will be listen/view only …

Knock Knock Whois There, the .blog registry, said it is going to release its inventory of three-character domains next month. Roughly 47,000 names will be released at premium fees, with prices ranging “from a few hundred dollars to over $100K”, the company said. That number suggests that pretty much all …

ICANN’s GNSO Council has approved a plan to overhaul Whois and sent it to the ICANN board for the royal assent, alongside a warning that it may be a huge waste of money. All seven members of the Contracted Parties House voted in favor of the plan, created by the …

The question of who should shoulder the costs of ICANN’s proposed Whois overhaul is being raised, with governments and others suggesting that the burden should fall on registrants themselves. In separate statements to ICANN recently, the Governmental Advisory Committee and Security and Stability Advisory Committee both put forward the view …

Nominet has angered members by unilaterally shutting down a discussion forum that has been for many years the main place for discussions about .uk policy. The forum, which Nominet hosted on its web site, went dark abruptly during the company’s annual general meeting yesterday. Speaking to members tuning in to …

Almost a year and a half after buying it, Donuts is ready to launch its newest gTLD, .contact. According to ICANN records, the sunrise period for the domain will run from September 29 to November 28. Registrars report that general availability will begin December 9. Retail pricing is expected to …

GoDaddy has been forced to deny (again) that it engages in front-running after a social media post attracted hundreds of comments. Front-running is the practice of a registrar monitoring customers’ availability searches then registering the name itself in order to mark it up to a premium price. No reputable registrar …

India’s largest independent domain name registrar appears to be “doing an AlpNames”, with many customers complaining about domains going dark, transfer codes not being issued, and customer support being unavailable for weeks. Net 4 India, which claims to have 400,000 customers, has been in insolvency proceeds for over two years, …

Pioneering registrar Webcentral has turned down Web.com’s offer to acquire it in favor of a lower offer from telecommunications company 5G Networks. The company announced this week that 5GN will pay one share for ever 12 shares of Webcentral, which works to to between AUD 18.7 million and AUD 19.5 …

While the coronavirus pandemic is well past its first peak in western Europe, the lingering effects of government restrictions is a gift that continues to give for at least one ccTLD. Associação DNS.PT today reported that total registrations of .pt names in August (6,843) were 35% higher than during the …

Community members itching to be able to suck up to (or berate) ICANN staffers in person rather than over the phone or videoconferencing will have to wait a little longer. The Org announced today that all face-to-face meetings have been cancelled until the end of the year due to the …

South African ccTLD registry ZADNA has upped the price of .za domains after a consultation. Standard pricing will increase by ZAR 10 to ZAR 55 ($3.35), which works out at about a 22% increase, from April 1 next year. There’s also a ZAR 10 increase on customers of its old, …

The Trademark Clearinghouse has added .com to the roster of TLDs supported by its infringement notification service. The Deloitte-managed service recently announced the change to its Ongoing Notification Service, which came into effect late last month. The update means TMCH subscribers will receive alerts whenever a .com domain is registered …