When you climb into a cab, you never really know what to expect in terms of the driver’s personality. Some drivers prefer to remain silent while others strike up a conversation with you. From my years of traveling I have talked to cab drivers about everything from family to American foreign policy to sandstorms. The other day was no exception.

I had just finished telling the driver where I was going and was settling back into my seat when he asked me how long I have been in DC and what I do for a living (note: the picture here is not an actual photo of my cab driver; I just included it for comedic effect). I always pause for a second when asked that question; explaining what a “domain name strategy consultancy” is can be a bit complicated. But he seemed to know what I was talking about. When I had finished my usual spiel he began asking me more in depth questions about domain names and confided to me that he had purchased several “big” domain names ten years ago for a company he had started which subsequently failed.

We had arrived at my destination at that point. He had pulled the cab over to the side of the street, killed the meter and pulled out a pencil and pad. He began asking me more in-depth questions about buying and selling domains, how UDRP arbitration works and what qualifies as cybersquatting. I ended up giving him some information on DigitalDNA before finally paying and clambering out of the cab.

As he drove away my mind wandered over all that we had just discussed. I was amused that what had begun as a simple chat between two strangers had taken such a twist, but it almost didn’t surprise me considering how big a part domain names play in an increasingly Internet-driven society.

I think that sometimes, because our expertise is tightly focused on the domain name space, we tend to assume that we have to explain to people outside the industry why domain names are so important and how the work that FairWinds, CADNA and DigitalDNA do factors in. In this case, it was neat that in the span of about 10 minutes I managed to connect with a total stranger because of the work that I do here at FairWinds and it was definitely an experience that I won’t forget anytime soon.

CADNA recently released a report that predicts how much new generic TLDs will cost brand owners once they are released.  A lot of the attention paid to the subject of new TLDs has been focused on .BRAND TLDs and whether or not companies should register their own branded TLD.  In my experience dealing with various businesses, there seems to be the impression that once a company decides it will not register its own .BRAND, it will be in the clear and new TLDs will not be much of an issue.  The truth is, generic TLDs like .MUSIC, .ECO and .NYC will actually be a greater concern for businesses in terms of defending their brands against infringement and cybersquatting.
 
After ICANN released its predictions regarding how many generic TLD applications it will receive in the initial round, CADNA went to work calculating how much brand owners on average will need to spend to defensively register their brands and trademarks across these new generic TLDs.  It found that the initial launch will cost brand owners about $500,000 each, and that the cost to businesses worldwide could exceed $746 million.  The full explanation of these figures and calculations can be viewed on the CADNA Web site.
 
CADNA, which many know is a nonprofit that FairWinds helped to found, undertook the task of figuring out the cost of new generic TLDs in order to give brand owners an accurate picture of what impact the TLD launch will have on their brands and their bottom lines.  CADNA put forward this research to help illustrate how absurd it is to allow such a radical shift in Web site naming to be a complete free-for-all.  New TLDs are probably a good idea – some day.  But, it is never a good idea to build on a shaky foundation.  ICANN is broken and anticybersquatting laws are outdated.  If it underwent necessary reforms to improve its policy development process and Internet governance function in order to make public interest a higher priority, then a rollout of new TLDs would look very different.  There wouldn’t be a massive flood of extensions that would create an impossible challenge for trademark holders and law enforcement to protect consumers from the misuse of brand names.
 
Unfortunately, since releasing its calculations, CADNA has experienced some negative backlash.  Interestingly the negative reactions came specifically from new TLD entrepreneurs blogging about the topic.  All those who called CADNA’s projections bogus and charged the organization with fear mongering are the same people who have a vested financial interest in the success of new TLDs.  Not one of those critics contacted CADNA to ask for comments or for a further explanation of the calculations and methodology.  Instead, they simply wrote off the figures because the results were inconvenient for them and their business.  What it boils down to is this: these critics are calling CADNA biased when they are clearly as far from neutral as they can be.

On January 29, the Coalition Against Domain Name Abuse (CADNA), which FairWinds helped found and runs, hosted a policy forum here in Washington, D.C.  The forum focused on emerging challenges for the Internet community in 2010, specifically the future of ICANN under the Affirmation of Commitments (AOC) and potential reform to the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act.  Attendees heard from two panels regarding these issues, which featured brand owners, online policy experts and Congressional staff members.  The keynote address was given by Senator Stephen Urquhart (R-UT 29th District), the Chairman of the Utah State Senate Transportation and Public Utilities and Technology Committee.  Urquhart recently introduced the E-Commerce Integrity Act to the Utah state legislature. This bill is designed to make the state of Utah more business-friendly by creating greater deterrents to prevent cybersquatting: firstly, the bill raises the damages that can be levied on a cybersquatter, and secondly, it holds affiliates of domain name registrants liable if it is found that they benefit from cybersquatting behavior.

In addition to Sen. Urquhart, representatives of Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), Chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee; and Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee spoke on the panels.  Cybersquatting is an issue that hits close to home for the Senators they work for: PatrickLeahy.com and JohnDRockefeller.com both point to pay-per-click (PPC) sites.  (JayRockefeller.com, however, does lead to the Senator’s Web site.) SteveUrquhart.com also leads to a PPC site. 
 
When discussing the problem of cybersquatting, much of the attention often gets focused on businesses and infringements on brands and trademarks.  However, individuals like politicians and celebrities are also frequently the victims of squatting and other malicious conduct online. It’s great to know that Senator Urquhart and Congressional staff members understand this issue, and we’re happy to have them involved in efforts to create a safe, stable and flourishing Internet.