Newfold Digital says it has settled a cybersquatting lawsuit with Facebook owner Meta, and will make an undisclosed payment to Meta as a result. Judging by the registrar’s press release, it’s pretty much bent over for Meta without actually admitting
Domain Incite
Domain Incite covers developments in the domain name industry, focusing on topics such as new generic top-level domain (gTLD) applications, corporate strategies involving domain portfolios, and significant personnel changes within domain registries and related companies. The blog reports on industry events including company restructurings, leadership transitions, and regulatory or governance issues related to ICANN and domain name management. It also addresses the impact of broader internet and advertising market changes on domain businesses. Published by Domain Incite, the blog provides updates relevant to domain registries, registrars, and internet governance stakeholders.
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DropCatch acquires 300 more registrars
By Kevin Murphy
Almost half of all ICANN-accredited registrars are now under the control of a single business, after DropCatch.com owner TurnCommerce bought 300 more accreditations. Numbered shell LLCs named DropCatch.com 1546 LLC through DropCatch.com 1845 LLC were recently approved for Registrar Accreditation…
Helsinki throws in the towel on city gTLD
By Kevin Murphy
Helsinki has become the third of the world’s capital cities to decide that it doesn’t want to run its city gTLD after all. The City of Helsinki has notified ICANN that it wants to terminate its registry contract for .helsinki,…
“Bulletproof” registrar takes a bullet to the head
By Kevin Murphy
ICANN has terminated a rogue registrar that claimed it offered “bulletproof” domain registrations services. Fewmoretaps, which went by the ironic d/b/a Trustname.com, will lose its right to sell gTLD domains names on September 11, having repeatedly failed to chase up…
.net prices going up
By Kevin Murphy
Verisign is exercising its option to raise the price of a .net domain, capped by contract with ICANN by 10%, starting about six months from now. The company told the markets yesterday: On August 27, 2026, VeriSign, Inc. announced an…
Robles to join ICANN board
By Kevin Murphy
ICANN’s Address Supporting Organization has selected Oscar Robles to serve an abridged term on ICANN’s board of directors. He will serve until the end of ICANN’s public meeting in November 2027, serving the remainder of the term of Alan Barrett,…
Former ICANN director Bertrand de La Chapelle dies
By Kevin Murphy
Former ICANN director Bertrand de La Chapelle has died unexpectedly, according to friends and colleagues paying tribute to his life this week. La Chapelle served on the ICANN board between 2010 and 2013, at the behest of the Nominating Committee,…
Fifty-six orgs get 85% off their gTLD fees
By Kevin Murphy
ICANN has revealed the final statistics for its Applicant Support Program, the deal that sees non-profits and others get up to 85% off their $227,000 new gTLD application fees. The number of qualified, fully confirmed applicants topped out at 56,…
Texas will object to .texas gTLD
By Kevin Murphy
The US State of Texas has become the first government to publicly object to any gTLD applications matching its name. Anthony Sauerhoff, state chief information officer, wrote to ICANN earlier this month to unambiguously state that Texas does not support…
WordPress hints it applied for more new gTLDs
By Kevin Murphy
WordPress.com owner Automattic has dropped some pretty major hints that it applied for a modest portfolio of new gTLDs in ICANN’s just-closed application window. In a blog post, the company all but confirmed that it has applied for at least…