Check out http://auda.org.au/domain-news/ for the most recent edition of the domain news, including an RSS feed - already online! And see my website - http://technewsreview.com.au/ - for regular updates. The domain name news is supported by auDA. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Internet Governance Forum: Is It More Than Talk? by Monika Ermert http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/index.php?p=533&res=1280_ff&print=0 It?s Tax Time for Domain Name Owners - Domain names are uncharted territory for the U.S. Internal Revenue Service http://domainnamewire.com/2007/02/14/its-tax-time-for-domain-name-owners/ Picking Domain Names by Search Results http://www.circleid.com/posts/domain_names_by_search_results/ Israeli Court Holds that a DNS Definition may be Retained as Security for Payment of Debts http://www.ibls.com/internet_law_news_portal_index.aspx?s=Domain+Names ICANN U-turn over outdated domains http://www.multilingual-search.com/icann-u-turn-over-outdated-domains/11/02/2007/en/ ?organic-spintronics.eu? becomes .eu domain name number 2,500,000 (news release) http://www.eurid.eu/content/view/187/33/lang,en/ Rules and Procedures for .eu Code of Conduct have been established (news release) http://www.eurid.eu/content/view/188/33/lang,en/ ***************** GOVERNANCE ***************** Internet Governance Forum: Is It More Than Talk? by Monika Ermert Multi-stakeholder ?dynamic coalitions? of the UN IGF are pushing to have privacy, intellectual property, open standards and freedom of expression on the agenda of the second meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil next autumn. At a 13 February IGF stocktaking meeting in Geneva, several of the coalitions formed at the first IGF (in Athens in October-November 2006) presented short progress reports. Agenda-setting, the role of the coalitions, the IGF as a whole and the IGF output are still to be debated. IGF activists and organisers also look to New York where the new UN Secretary General has yet to make his first comments on Internet governance issues. http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/index.php?p=533&res=1280_ff&print=0 Pro und Contra zur Internationalisierung der DNS-Aufsicht Die Frage nach der Internationalisierung der DNS-Aufsicht ist noch lange nicht ad acta gelegt und kocht auch beim Internet Governance Forum immer wieder hoch. Das Forum war nach Vereinbarungen zwischen Regierungsvertretern auf dem Weltgipfel der Informationsgesellschaft (WSIS) erstmals im vergangenen Herbst zusammengetreten, um sich ?ber Fragen globaler Netzpolitik zu verst?ndigen ? zuvor hatte es im Verlauf des Weltgipfels heftigen Zoff um die Internet-Verwaltung, ihre Internationalisierung und das Beharren der USA auf die Internet-Oberaufsicht gegeben. http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/85281 ********************** DOMAIN NAMES ********************** It?s Tax Time for Domain Name Owners - Domain names are uncharted territory for the U.S. Internal Revenue Service Tax time creates headaches for domain name owners, especially those with large portfolios. Sure, we know we need to report parking income on our tax returns, but how do we account for purchases, registrations, and sales? If you ask your CPA you?ll probably get a blank stare. CPA Sandra K. Brooks has released a new guide called ?The Domain Tax Guide, 2007 Edition?. http://domainnamewire.com/2007/02/14/its-tax-time-for-domain-name-owners/ Picking Domain Names by Search Results There is a definite advantage to knowing what users look for when typing in domain names that they think should work. This article from Government Computer News shows an excellent example in .gov. "600,000 visitors a year to FirstGov try to find the federal government's Web site by typing USA.gov into their browser", so they switched from firstgov.gov to usa.gov. It wasn't mentioned in the article, but firstgov.gov redirects automatically; this is more intelligence than I normally expect from US government web sites. http://www.circleid.com/posts/domain_names_by_search_results/ Israeli Court Holds that a DNS Definition may be Retained as Security for Payment of Debts The Israeli Magistrates Court of Tiberias held on December 17, 2006 that DNS (Domain Name Server) definition is an asset which may be retained by a creditor as means to persuade a debtor to pay its debt. The Court stated that even if seemingly intangible, the DNS requires physical maintenance work and therefore can be said to be "physically held" and thus capable of being retained as security for ensuring payment. http://www.ibls.com/internet_law_news_portal_index.aspx?s=Domain+Names ICANN U-turn over outdated domains According to Cnews, plans by ICANN to delete some of the more ?outdated? domain extensions in their index have been derailed. They had opened a public discussion in San Paulo with a view to removing these extensions, which ended last month. Top of their list of their list for deletion was the Russian .su (Soviet Union) extension and the former Yogoslav Republic?s .yu. http://www.multilingual-search.com/icann-u-turn-over-outdated-domains/11/02/2007/en/ Original CNews story in Russian http://www.cnews.ru/news/top/index.shtml?2007/02/07/234517 ?organic-spintronics.eu? becomes .eu domain name number 2,500,000 (news release) .eu passed the 2.5 million mark with the registration of the domain name ?organic-spintronics.eu? by the Italian company Organic Spintronics Srl via the Italian registrar Tuonome.it. http://www.eurid.eu/content/view/187/33/lang,en/ Rules and Procedures for .eu Code of Conduct have been established (news release) After the introduction of the draft version of the .eu registrar Code of Conduct in January this year, EURid now introduces the draft version of the document laying out all rules and procedures surrounding the Code. Amongst other things, this document describes how the Council of Conduct will be elected and the procedures to be followed when complaints against registrars subscribing to the .eu Code of Conduct are filed. http://www.eurid.eu/content/view/188/33/lang,en/ Domain pulse 2007: Captivating internet issues - report Domain Names between Speculation and Benefits. This was the motto of the specialist ?Domain pulse? conference held in Baden on 8 and 9 February, which attracted more than 240 participants from Switzerland and abroad. http://domainpulse.ch/bericht-domainpulse-e.pdf Domain Pulse 2007 presentations Presentations from the recent Domain Pulse are now online, with most presentations in German, at: http://domainpulse.ch/pages/d/programm/index.html UK ENUM Tier-1 RFP Launched The UK ENUM Consortium has launched the RFP/ITT for the UK Tier 1 Registry and it is possible the UK may go commercial with ENUM sometime this year or in 2008. Organizations that would like to respond to the ITT should inform the UKEC of their intentions by 7 February and the response must be submitted before noon on 28 February. http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/newslog/UK+ENUM+Tier1+RFP+Launched.aspx Netcraft February 2007 Web Server Survey In the February 2007 survey we received responses from 108,810,358 sites, an increase of 1.93 million from last month. Apache has a decline of 442K sites this month, and sees its share of the web server market slip by 1.47 percent to 58.7 percent. This is the first time Apache's market share has been below 60 percent since September 2002. http://news.netcraft.com/archives/2007/02/02/february_2007_web_server_survey.html DomainMart Recommendation: Open Up Domain Names, Don't Litigate (news release) DomainMart released a study recommending that IP owners adopt a cooperative strategy with regard to domain name owners who are potentially infringing on their brand names. The study points out that companies have adopted two diametrically opposite approaches to dealing with domain name owners infringing on their IP, namely, to either take aggressive legal action or do nothing. It argues that both these approaches destroy shareholder value. http://prweb.com/releases/2007/2/prweb503948.htm PIR seeks President/CEO The Public Interest Registry is seeking to fill the position of President and CEO. More information is available at: http://www.pir.org/PDFs/PIR_CEO_Summary.pdf RealEstate.net Tops Trio of Six-Figure Sales in Big Week for the Domain Market There were three six-figure domain name sales last week - the highest being RealEstate.net for $300,000, acquired by a new Australian company, Real Estate.NET Holdings Pty Ltd. Other six-figure sales were BDSM.com for $295,000 and Yearbook.com for $237,500. http://dnjournal.com/archive/domainsales/2007/domainsales02-13-07.htm us: Temporary Restraining Orders in Online Advertising Cases must be Obeyed Immediately The United States Court of Appeals for the Eastern District of California issued a preliminary injunction and a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the defendant who was allegedly infringing plaintiff's trademark (trademark owners) through online advertisement. Some weeks after the injunction and TRO were issued, defendant was still using plaintiff's trademark on defendant's website. Trademark owners moved for contempt for failure to comply with the Court's order and the court held, "Persons subject to an injunctive order issued by a court with jurisdiction are expected to obey that decree until it is modified or reversed, even if they have proper grounds to object to the order." http://www.ibls.com/internet_law_news_portal_view.aspx?s=latestnews&id=1682 us: Cybersquatters Gamble on Possible Web Gold It may not be as sexy as winning the Powerball or Texas Hold 'Em, but there are people who hope to cash in on the famous and possibly soon-to-be famous. In May 2004, Fantasia Barrino was chosen as the next American Idol. But before she sang ?I Believe? on the season finale, someone had already purchased the domain name FantasiaBarrino.com. Someone from Charlotte beat her to the punch. http://www.myfoxwghp.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=2385290&version=2&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1 SWITCH confirmed as the registry for .ch domain names (news release) The SWITCH Foundation which operates the Swiss Education & Research Network is extending its contract with OFCOM for a further eight years. This means that SWITCH will be providing valuable services for the public at large in future too. http://www.switch.ch/about/news.html?id=130 SWITCHguard: Maximum security for domain names (news release) As the first registry in the German speaking world, SWITCH is launching high-security domain names. The new product is a solution that is implemented fully electronically and it will be available by the end of 2007. http://www.switch.ch/about/news.html?id=131 Switch to offer secured domain name service (sub req'd) http://www.telecom.paper.nl/news/article.aspx?id=157771&nr= ********************** OTHER INTERNET NEWS ********************** Belarusian Internet Cafes Obliged to Cooperate with KGB From now on an owner of an Internet-Cafe or a person authorized by him is to keep a log of domain names of sites read by users. A log of domain names is to be stores for at least 12 months and if necessary given to officers of state security, law-enforcing and state inspection agencies. This demand in contained in a decree of Belarusian government ?with the aim to regularize relations in the sphere of computer clubs and internet-caf? business?. http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2007/02/15/kgb To bust child-porn rings, larger role sought for Internet service providers It started out as a routine check of the computers at an Austrian Internet company. But the employee soon found in the electronic files a commercial child-pornography ring sexually abusing children as young as 5. Now, law-enforcement officials around the globe are starting an international pedophile hunt involving at least 2,360 subscribers in 77 countries. http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0209/p02s01-ussc.html au: Words perverts use to trap kids THE secret language of online chat rooms has been revealed to help parents trap sexual predators "grooming" their children. Codes and abbreviations used by children ? such as PRW (parents are watching) ? are being turned against them by paedophiles. http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,21220253-5006009,00.html Google Loses Belgian Newspaper Suit Associate Professor Peng Hwa ANG of the Singapore Internet Research Centre (Nanyang Technological University) writes he thinks the decision has much much less than meets the eye for several reasons. These being "The copyright management group essentially wants a share of the revenue"; and "best practice around the world for this issue of copyright infringement is that the infringing party should be given a reasonable period to act and only when it refuses to act should further action be taken". He also questions having your links removed from Google given Google's market clout. http://internetinasia.typepad.com/blog/2007/02/google_loses_be.html us: Wiki can link to controversial documents, says US judge Drugs giant Eli Lilly has failed in its bid to restrict a wiki from linking to documents that could be damaging to its business. The ruling of a New York court said that the court could not rule against the internet "in its various manifestations". http://out-law.com/page-7769 us: Eli Lilly Loses Effort to Censor Zyprexa Documents Off the Internet A U.S. District Court judge today refused Eli Lilly's request to ban a number of websites from publishing leaked documents relating to Zyprexa, Eli Lilly's top-selling drug. Although the judge rejected the First Amendment arguments made by a variety of individuals eager to publish the documents, the court concluded that "it is unlikely that the court can now effectively enforce an injunction against the Internet in its various manifestations, and it would constitute a dubious manifestation of public policy were it to attempt to do so." http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2007_02.php#005122 us: EFF takes Viacom to task over YouTube takedown A watchdog group is encouraging those wrongly accused of posting pirated Viacom material on YouTube to stand up to the giant conglomerate--even if it means a court fight. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6159548.html uk: Emails can infringe copyright, ruling Business letters can be protected by copyright and forwarding them to others can be an infringement, the High Court has ruled. The decision could have implications for email communication because the same principles will apply. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/02/15/email_copyright_infringement/ http://out-law.com/page-7768 Click Fraud: A Growing Nuisance for Web Advertisers, Part 2 Last year, the average click fraud rate of pay-per-click advertisements appearing on search engine content networks rose to 19.2 percent for the last quarter of 2006, the highest yet, according to Tom Cuthbert, CEO of Click Forensics. Click fraud occurs when online advertisers pay search engine companies and advertisement Web publishers a fee for each click made by either real or phony would-be customers. http://ecommercetimes.com/story/55745.html Click Fraud: A Growing Nuisance for Web Advertisers, Part 1 Click fraud -- the practice of falsely inflating online ad clickthroughs -- has hit an all-time high, according to a recent report. How big a problem is it? Will click fraud vanish once publishers and advertisers place a high enough demand on authenticity? Or will the fraudsters grow in sophistication as the practice becomes more lucrative? http://ecommercetimes.com/story/55606.html us: Court dismisses teen's suit against MySpace News Corp.'s MySpace.com said on Wednesday a federal court dismissed a negligence lawsuit filed by the family of a teenage girl who was sexually assaulted by someone she met on the popular Internet social network. http://news.com.com/2100-1030_3-6159571.html Hacker destroys 100 NZ websites An overseas computer hacker has managed to wipe out nearly 100 New Zealand websites. http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/488120/989935 Viruses promise heartbreak on Valentine's Day Beware of e-mails bearing Valentine's Day greetings, or you may get a digital heartache. http://www.zdnetindia.com/news/business/stories/171595.html ru: Piracy case collapses in Russia A Russian court has thrown out a criminal case against a rural headteacher accused of using pirated Microsoft software in his school. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6364953.stm http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/R/RUSSIA_PIRACY_MICROSOFT China detains six over 'panda' computer virus China has detained six men in their 20s for writing or profiting from a computer virus dubbed the "joss stick burning panda" which has infected more than a million PCs in the country, local media said. http://news.com.com/2100-7348_3-6158937.html Hackers target the home front Criminals are trying to gain access to banks' computer networks via the weakest link in the security chain: executives who work at home http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,2012712,00.html British hacker fights extradition A Scot has launched a High Court fight against extradition to the US for allegedly carrying out the "biggest military computer hack of all time". http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/glasgow_and_west/6360917.stm eu: Proposed legislation called a threat to Internet users' privacy European governments are preparing legislation to require companies to keep detailed data about people's Internet and phone use that goes beyond what the countries will be required to do under a European Union directive. http://iht.com/articles/2007/02/14/business/privacy.php The future of television: What's on next - The union of television and the internet is spawning a wide variety of offspring Bosses in the television industry have been keeping a nervous eye on two Scandinavians with a reputation for causing trouble. In recent years Niklas Zennstr?m, a Swede, and Janus Friis, a Dane, have frightened the music industry by inventing KaZaA, a ?peer-to-peer? (P2P) file-sharing program that was widely used to download music without paying for it. Then they horrified the mighty telecoms industry by inventing Skype, another P2P program, which lets internet users make free telephone calls between computers, and very cheap calls to ordinary phones. (The duo sold Skype to eBay, an internet-auction giant, for $2.6 billion in 2005.) Their next move was to found yet another start-up?this time, one that threatened to devastate the television industry. http://economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8670279 Read me first: Blogs are no longer free from everyday commercial pressures by Seth Finkelstein The appearance of companies that pay bloggers to write about advertisers' products has created an uproar, pitting those who have been called the "sidewalk hookers of the blogosphere" against A-listers who might be termed the blog world's "executive escorts". The debate tends to follow a well-worn path concerning advertising versus integrity, and when disclosing a payment from an interested party is required or sufficient. http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,2012714,00.html Asia: Repairs completed on undersea cables All external telecommunications services, including Internet access services, have been fully restored, according to Hong Kong officials. http://iht.com/articles/2007/02/15/business/connect.php Living the converged media life At the 3GSM trade show in Barcelona, mobile operators and phone makers are placing huge bets on convergence - the coming together of mobile phones, television and music players. But does it work? http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6355449.stm Recycled PCs Bridge Digital Divide For green disposal of electronic gear, companies may consider recycling computers in the developing world. Here Business Week looks at two nonprofits http://businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/feb2007/gb20070213_608507.htm WiMax is finding a home across the digital divide The wireless technology is not yet a feature in many cellphones, but it is gaining a reputation as the Internet broadband access of choice in developing countries. http://iht.com/articles/2007/02/14/business/wimax.php Microsoft hit by Vista upgrade workaround An IT professional has discovered a way of getting a full version of Vista for the cost of a simple upgrade http://news.zdnet.co.uk/software/0,1000000121,39285933,00.htm Face value: Web deux point z?ro - Has Tariq Krim created a French internet blockbuster? ?IF FRANCE was more like Netvibes, things might be a lot better here,? says Tariq Krim, with disarming frankness. The website, which he runs out of Paris, is the most popular of a new class that lets users snap together individual components such as blog feeds, e-mail accounts, news headlines and videos to create a ?dashboard?, or home page, that displays all their online information. If only his country?with its grand projects, restrictive labour rules and social hierarchy?showed similar flexibility, laments the 34-year-old Frenchman. Politicians on the stump seem to agree. Having snapped together journalism, business ventures and politics in his own career, Mr Krim is now cast as a paragon of Europe's new generation of internet entrepreneurs. http://economist.com/people/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8625931 VoIP threat as crims seek out soft targets PEOPLE are careful to secure their data systems, but corporate phone networks are subject to increasing security threats, Cybertrust principal security consultant Andrew Wells says. http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,21201155%5e16681%5e%5enbv%5e,00.html au: Ex-coach faces child porn charges A FORMER Perth sports coach who allegedly invited street kids to his home has been charged with possessing child pornography. http://theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21224681-1702,00.html http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,21224681-1702,00.html us: Substitute teacher's porn conviction sparks tech debate Amero was convicted in January of exposing students to pornography on her classroom computer. While prosecutors insist she is guilty, some experts believe that the lewd images were caused by unseen spyware and adware programs, which critics call one of the top scourges of the Internet. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/2007-02-14-teacher-porn_x.htm +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Sources include Quicklinks <http://qlinks.net/> and BNA Internet Law News <http://www.bna.com/ilaw/>. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ (c) David Goldstein 2007 --------- David Goldstein address: 4/3 Abbott Street COOGEE NSW 2034 AUSTRALIA email: Goldstein_David §yahoo.com.au phone: +61 418 228 605 (mobile); +61 2 9665 5773 (home) "Every time you use fossil fuels, you're adding to the problem. Every time you forgo fossil fuels, you're being part of the solution" - Dr Tim Flannery Send instant messages to your online friends http://au.messenger.yahoo.comReceived on Wed Feb 21 2007 - 15:04:59 UTC
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.0 : Sat Sep 09 2017 - 22:00:09 UTC