Internet starts to shrink
For only the second time ever, an authoritative monthly survey of the
number of sites on the net has found fewer sites online than in the
previous month. 
The fall has been put down to a drop in the number of registered
domains.
Despite the drop, the net remains hugely popular, and there are now
over 36m sites in cyberspace. 
 http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1738000/1738496.stm
 http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/23/23525.html

Internic finds demand brisk for dot-name domains
An Ottawa firm is capitalizing on the newest rush on the Internet:
the demand by Web users for personalized domain names.

http://www.nationalpost.com/tech/story.html?f=/stories/20011229/988835.html

2001: The low-down on domain name disputes
Domain name disputes are almost as old as the domain name system
itself. And the number of disputes will only increase as the Internet
continues to grow. Find out how to exercise your rights online 
 http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2101752,00.html

'Storm Chasers' Collide In Domain-Name Dispute 
A speedy arbitration process to settle disputes over the ownership of
Internet domain names isn't the kind of whirlwind Warren Faidley is
used to. But the Tucson, Ariz., photographer known for his dramatic
images of bad weather has wrested the address WarrenFaidley.com from
a fellow "storm chaser" who became a cybersquatter.  
 http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/173300.html

EasyGroup domain name dispute inches towards court
An MP has taken up cudgels on behalf of the owner of a domain name
which features the word "easy".
 http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/23419.html

Domain Application Fee Refunds
Businesses whose applications for .biz Internet addresses that were
put off as a result of litigation may get back at least a portion of
the fees they paid when they applied. 
 http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/24/technology/ebusiness/24DOMA.html

Verisign Steps Out From Behind the Curtain 
They direct you to every Web address you type in your browser. They
secure nearly every item you buy online. Soon they'll be routing your
telephone calls as well. And you probably don't even know who "they"
are. 
 http://www.ispworld.com/reuters/122001_gt7.htm
 
From The Filter...

 ICANN-watchers sounded a call for UDRP reform, arguing that the 
 policy tramples on the rights of the "average Joe" domain name 
 holder. In response, apologists pointed out that the UDRP 
 explicitly does not prevent either party from submitting a 
 dispute for consideration before a court with proper 
 jurisdiction--something that presumably would give "average Joe" 
 an avenue for recourse. The controversy sharpened last winter 
 when a ruling in the closely-watched case of  Sallen v. Corinthians 
 suggested otherwise: the plaintiff, having lost rights to 
 Corinthians.com under the UDRP, brought the case in a bid to have 
 his use of the domain name declared legal under the 
 Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA)--but the Court 
 summarily dismissed it, citing lack of jurisdiction.
  
 Now, however, that ruling has been reversed on appeal. Early 
 this month the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit found
 that the ACPA "grants domain name registrants who have lost 
 domain names under administrative panel decisions applying the 
 UDRP an affirmative cause of action in federal court for a 
 declaration of nonviolation of the ACPA and for the return of
 the wrongfully transferred domain names." (See

<http://www.ca1.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/getopn.pl?OPINION=01-1197.01A>.)
 Translation? The ACPA definitively trumps the UDRP.
  
 But if UDRP critics see the ruling an important victory, ICANN 
 representatives suggest that it simply confirms the status quo. 
 The ruling "confirms a core feature of the UDRP...so it's nice 
 to see a US federal appellate court reaching a consistent
conclusion," 
 writes ICANN Chief Policy Officer and CFO Andrew McLaughlin in an 
 email to Dave Farber's IP list-serve. What's "notable," however, 
 isn't what the ruling clarifies about the UDRP, but rather "the 
 court's firm declaration that the Anticybersquatting Consumer 
 Protection Act (ACPA) provides a cause of action in federal court 
 for those who lose a UDRP proceeding."
  
 <http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/172759.html>
  
 
<http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/200112/msg0
 0112.html>
  
 * Legitimacy Doesn't Pay the Bills: In related news, the 
 ICANN-accredited arbitration provider identified by Geist as 
 the "least complainant-friendly"--eResolution--has just folded. 
 "The market share of eResolution kept on shrinking to a point 
 where the proceeds no longer covered the costs of maintaining 
 the service," said eResolution President Karim Benyekhlef in a 
 press statement. "In the end, we were, for all practical purposes, 
 financing the legitimization of a system we knew badly needed 
 change." 
  
 <http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/tech/071453.htm>
       
 <http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-8068926.html>

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