Andrew Allemann

Atom’s domain name registrar is live (sort of) Initial functionality will be limited to aftermarket domains purchased at Atom. Domain marketplace Atom announced plans for its own domain name registrar this summer, and it has now launched the first phase of it. Starting now, domain aftermarket purchases on Atom will use Atom's registrar. This means that sellers will transfer domains to Atom's registrar when they sell a domain, and buyers will be able to manage their domains through Atom's interface.

Atom’s domain name registrar is live (sort of)

Initial functionality will be limited to aftermarket domains purchased at Atom. Domain marketplace Atom announced plans for its own domain name registrar this summer, and it has now launched the first phase of it. Starting now, domain aftermarket…

DrivenData tries reverse hijacking .com domain Company frustrated by .org/.com confusion filed a UDRP that was dead on arrival. There might be a new poster child for egregious UDRP filings. DrivenData, Inc., which uses the domain name drivendata.ORG, filed a cybersquatting dispute against the domain name drivendata.COM. The company has been frustrated by confusion between the .org and .com domains since it launched on the .org over 10 years ago.

DrivenData tries reverse hijacking .com domain

Company frustrated by .org/.com confusion filed a UDRP that was dead on arrival. There might be a new poster child for egregious UDRP filings. DrivenData, Inc., which uses the domain name drivendata.ORG, filed a cybersquatting dispute against the…

UDRP decisions up 10% in Q3 More UDRP decisions in Q3, and more RDNH findings, too. GigaLaw has published its Q3 UDRP report, showing that UDRP decisions in Q3 were up 9.89% compared to the same quarter of 2024. This reverses the trend of the previous quarter, in which decisions were down 2.6% compared to the same quarter of 2024. While the case load increased in Q3, it actually covered fewer domain names than a year ago.

UDRP decisions up 10% in Q3

Inside Squarespace Domains – DNW Podcast #559 Kevin Doerr discusses Squarespace's domain name business. Squarespace is one of the biggest domain name registrars in the world after acquiring Google's domain name business. On today's show, I'm joined by Kevin Doerr, who oversees the company's domain business. We talk about Squarespace's new reseller API, why the company joined the Internet Commerce Association, how Squarespace serves different types of customers, and discuss how AI will impact the domain business.

Inside Squarespace Domains – DNW Podcast #559

Kevin Doerr discusses Squarespace's domain name business. Squarespace is one of the biggest domain name registrars in the world after acquiring Google's domain name business. On today's show, I'm joined by Kevin Doerr, who oversees the company's domain…

Court orders former Epik CEO Rob Monster to repay close to $2 million Judgment is for $1.37 million and 5.19 bitcoin. A U.S. Federal District Court in Western Washington has ordered (pdf) former Epik CEO Rob Monster to pay $1.37 million and return 5.19 bitcoin to a domain investor. Luigi Marruso sued Monster, Epik, and Masterbucks in September last year. He claimed that the company held proceeds from his domain sales and refused to disburse the money to him upon his request.

Court orders former Epik CEO Rob Monster to repay close to $2 million

Judgment is for $1.37 million and 5.19 bitcoin. A U.S. Federal District Court in Western Washington has ordered (pdf) former Epik CEO Rob Monster to pay $1.37 million and return 5.19 bitcoin to a domain investor. Luigi Marruso…

Health insurance company tries reverse domain name hijacking Panelist ruled in favor of Italian registrant who hasn't started using domain name. A company that provides health insurance plans in the United States tried to reverse hijack a domain name, a UDRP panelist has ruled. Centene Corporation, which offers health plans under the Fidelis Care brand, filed a dispute against fidelisinsurancecompany.com. The domain was registered earlier this year by a person in Italy and does not resolve to a website.

Health insurance company tries reverse domain name hijacking

Panelist ruled in favor of Italian registrant who hasn't started using domain name. A company that provides health insurance plans in the United States tried to reverse hijack a domain name, a UDRP panelist has ruled. Centene…

Dharmesh Shah transfers trademark.ai to Trademarkia Trademarkia's claims against Atom and others will continue. Trademarkia has dismissed Dharmesh Shah's company, OnStartups LLC, from a trademark lawsuit after Shah apparently transferred a domain at issue to Trademarkia. The trademark business filed a trademark lawsuit against domain marketplace Atom last month over its Trademark.io platform. Trademarkia uses the domain trademarkia.com. Its lawsuit also alleged that Atom acquired Trademark.ai. Domain Name Wire pointed out that the .ai domain appeared to be owned by Hubspot co-founder Shah, and Trademarkia…

Dharmesh Shah transfers trademark.ai to Trademarkia

Trademarkia's claims against Atom and others will continue. Trademarkia has dismissed Dharmesh Shah's company, OnStartups LLC, from a trademark lawsuit after Shah apparently transferred a domain at issue to Trademarkia. The trademark business…

Seville, Muscat, and Vancouver added to ICANN meeting schedule ICANN announces locations for upcoming meetings. Mark your calendars — ICANN now has locations for its next five meetings. It had previously announced that ICANN85, the Community Forum, will take place in Mumbai, March 7-12, 2026. ICANN86, the Policy Forum, will be in Seville, Spain, June 8-11, 2026. The most recent ICANN meeting in Spain was in Barcelona in 2018.

Seville, Muscat, and Vancouver added to ICANN meeting schedule

ICANN announces locations for upcoming meetings. Mark your calendars — ICANN now has locations for its next five meetings. It had previously announced that ICANN85, the Community Forum, will take place in Mumbai, March 7-12, 2026.…

Domain aftermarket revenue surges 28% at GoDaddy GoDaddy tops guidance with massive growth in aftermarket domain revenue. GoDaddy (NYSE: GDDY) published third-quarter earnings after the market closed this afternoon. Growth in aftermarket domain name revenue surged 28%, helping the company top revenue guidance for the quarter. Overall revenue in the third quarter was $1.3 billion, up 10% year-over-year. Total bookings were $1.4 billion, up 9% year-over-year. The Core Platform segment, which includes domain names, grew a strong 8% year-over-year to $784.3 million.

Holy aftermarket! Domain Aftermarket revenue at GoDaddy surges 28% YoY

Company files cybersquatting lawsuit, alleges Atom logo is similar to its own Medical interview platform uses the term for part of the brain as its brand. A medical education interview platform has sued to get the domain thalamus.com, citing a logo used on an Atom.com listing as evidence of infringement. SJ Medconnect, Inc., which does business as Thalamus, filed an in rem lawsuit (pdf) against the domain name, alleging a violation of the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA).

Company files cybersquatting lawsuit, alleges Atom logo is similar to its own

Medical interview platform uses the term for part of the brain as its brand. A medical education interview platform has sued to get the domain thalamus.com, citing a logo used on an Atom.com listing as evidence of…

Domain Days closes books on 2025, sets date for 2026 event With three annual conferences in the books, Domain Days plans for 2026 event. Ambitious travelers in the domain name business are hopscotching the globe right now: Dubai last week for Domain Days, Dublin this week for ICANN, and Miami next week for NamesCon. Domain Days concluded its third annual show last week, and I'm hearing all good things about the event.

Domain Days closes books on 2025, sets date for 2026 event

With three annual conferences in the books, Domain Days plans for 2026 event. Ambitious travelers in the domain name business are hopscotching the globe right now: Dubai last week for Domain Days, Dublin this week for ICANN, and Miami next…

Bananas! Google stumbles in cybersquatting case against Nano-Banana domain Company loses the first of three cybersquatting disputes it has filed against Nano-Banana domains. Google has lost a UDRP cybersquatting case it filed against the domain name NanoBananaAI .com, with the panel finding that the company failed to prove trademark rights in "Nano Banana." Google said it uses Nano Banana in connection with AI image editing and generation software that it released on August 12, 2025, through the LMArena platform.

Bananas! Google stumbles in cybersquatting case against Nano-Banana domain

Company loses the first of three cybersquatting disputes it has filed against Nano-Banana domains. Google has lost a UDRP cybersquatting case it filed against the domain name NanoBananaAI .com, with the panel finding that…

This week’s end user domain name sales A fintech business, a metals company, and a local discussion platform bought domain names. Sedo's top sale this week was tuning.com for €72,000. It's not clear who bought the domain, but it is hosted with a Lithuanian company. Another interesting sale was dink.ai at $30,000. Will this be a pickleball site? Here's a list of end user domain name sales that were recently completed at Sedo.

This week’s end user domain name sales

A fintech business, a metals company, and a local discussion platform bought domain names. Sedo's top sale this week was tuning.com for €72,000. It's not clear who bought the domain, but it is hosted with a Lithuanian company. Another interesting sale was…

Only 70% of top domains use Registry Lock to protect against hackers Even after high-profile domain hijackings, many companies don't use this low-cost service for added protection. In 2013, a hacker gained access to The New York Times' domain registrar account and changed the nameservers. It was an attack the publication could have avoided if it had used Verisign Registry Lock. Registry Lock adds another layer of protection before changes can be made to a domain.

Only 70% of top domains use Registry Lock to protect against hackers

Even after high-profile domain hijackings, many companies don't use this low-cost service for added protection. In 2013, a hacker gained access to The New York Times' domain registrar account and changed the nameservers. It was…

New Cloudflare Radar data ranks .su ahead of .com DNS Magnitude rankings are a surprising way to look at top level domain popularity. Cloudflare announced today that it is publishing new data related to top level domains and their popularity. The new section in Cloudflare Radar ranks top level domains by their "DNS Magnitude", which is a measure of how many unique clients send queries to the TLD. (DNS Magnitude was…

New Cloudflare Radar data ranks .su ahead of .com

DNS Magnitude rankings are a surprising way to look at top level domain popularity. Cloudflare announced today that it is publishing new data related to top level domains and their popularity. The new section in Cloudflare Radar ranks top level…

Verisign clarifies how Google Adsense for Domains changes could affect its business Verisign provides data after short seller raises alarm. Shares in Verisign plummeted on Friday before swiftly recovering. It was a bit surprising to see the decline after Thursday's earnings release. It seemed like the company had a solid quarter and, more importantly, things were looking up for domain growth. But Verisign created an opening with a less-than-satisfactory explanation of the impact…

Verisign clarifies how Google Adsense for Domains changes could affect its business

Verisign provides data after short seller raises alarm. Shares in Verisign plummeted on Friday before swiftly recovering. It was a bit surprising to see the decline after Thursday's earnings release. It seemed like…

What is web3 good for? – DNW Podcast #558 Exploring hype vs. reality in web3 and domain names. There's been a lot more noise lately about web3 and how blockchain can be applied to domain names. Domain investor Shane Cultra is well-versed in this intersection, so I asked him to come on the show to separate hype from reality and to discuss where he thinks the market is going.

What is web3 good for? – DNW Podcast #558

Exploring hype vs. reality in web3 and domain names. There's been a lot more noise lately about web3 and how blockchain can be applied to domain names. Domain investor Shane Cultra is well-versed in this intersection, so I asked him to come on the show to…

Verisign adds 1.45 million domains in Q3, ups guidance, addresses AI and Adsense Domain base grew at faster clip in most recent quarter. Verisign (NASDAQ: VRSN) announced Q3 earnings after the market closed today. The company added 1.45 million domains to the combined .com/.net domain base during the quarter. It processed 10.6 million new registrations, compared with 9.3 million in the same quarter a year ago and 10.4 million in Q2 of this year.

Verisign adds 1.45 million domains in Q3, ups guidance, addresses AI and Adsense

Domain base grew at faster clip in most recent quarter. Verisign (NASDAQ: VRSN) announced Q3 earnings after the market closed today. The company added 1.45 million domains to the combined .com/.net domain base during…

Pixels.com tries reverse domain name hijacking Company went after singular version of descriptive domain name it owns. Online art marketplace and print-on-demand company Pixels.com, LLC, has been found guilty of reverse domain name hijacking. The company, which owns the domain metalposters.com (plural), filed a cybersquatting dispute against the domain metalposter.com (singular). You don't have to be in the art business to immediately wonder if metal poster is a descriptive term, not a trademark.

Pixels.com tries reverse domain name hijacking

Company went after singular version of descriptive domain name it owns. Online art marketplace and print-on-demand company Pixels.com, LLC, has been found guilty of reverse domain name hijacking. The company, which owns the domain metalposters.com…

NameJet reveals $743k of expired domain sales Lancer .com leads September's domain sales on NameJet and SnapNames. NameJet and SnapNames combined to sell 127 domains for $2,000 or more in September, totaling $743,000. Here are some of the sales that stand out to me. Lancer .com $63,000 - The top sale is a great domain. Lancer is registered in 105 extensions, and numerous brands appear on the first page of Google.

NameJet reveals $743k of expired domain sales

Lancer .com leads September's domain sales on NameJet and SnapNames. NameJet and SnapNames combined to sell 127 domains for $2,000 or more in September, totaling $743,000. Here are some of the sales that stand out to me. Lancer .com $63,000 - The top…

ChatGPT goes on domain registration binge for new Atlas browser AI company registers or blocks hundreds of names related to its new web browser. The next battlefield for AI market share is the browser. Following the playbook of Google with search, consumer-facing AI companies are launching browsers to improve their stickiness with customers and hoover up more data. Perplexity launched Comet, and then OpenAI announced ChatGPT Atlas for Mac yesterday.

ChatGPT goes on domain registration binge for new Atlas browser

AI company registers or blocks hundreds of names related to its new web browser. The next battlefield for AI market share is the browser. Following the playbook of Google with search, consumer-facing AI companies are launching…

Early Warning Report hopes to limit new TLD contention sets Platform will provide intelligence about other companies' application plans before reveal day. A big point of discussion about the last round of new top level domain expansion was settling contention sets. If more than one applicant applied for the same string, ICANN encouraged them to decide amongst themselves which applicant would get the domain. This led to private auctions between parties where the losers got paid by the winners.

Early Warning Report hopes to limit new TLD contention sets

Platform will provide intelligence about other companies' application plans before reveal day. A big point of discussion about the last round of new top level domain expansion was settling contention sets. If more than one applicant…

RDNH: WIPO panel cuts power to energy metering company’s cybersquatting claim Company files cybersquatting claim three years after negotiating to buy domain. A utility metering company attempted to reverse hijack the domain name EDMI.com, a World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) panel has ruled (pdf). EDMI Limited filed the dispute against the domain name, which is owned by a domain investor in India. The investor acquired the domain name in an expired domain auction in 2020 for $4,201…

RDNH: WIPO panel cuts power to energy metering company’s cybersquatting claim

Company files cybersquatting claim three years after negotiating to buy domain. A utility metering company attempted to reverse hijack the domain name EDMI.com, a World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) panel has…

20 more recent end user domain name sales A metalworking company, a European travel business, and a marketplace for Muslims bought domain names. Sedo's top public sale of the past week was allin .com for €625,000. It's not clear who bought the domain name. Here's a list of end user domain name sales that were recently completed at Sedo. You can view previous lists like this here.

20 more recent end user domain name sales

A metalworking company, a European travel business, and a marketplace for Muslims bought domain names. Sedo's top public sale of the past week was allin .com for €625,000. It's not clear who bought the domain name. Here's a list of end user domain name…

Answer key: domain trivia contest #3 These are the correct answers to the latest domain trivia. Thanks to everyone who participated in the latest Domain Name Wire trivia contest. This month's winner was Leanne McMahon, who gets a $500 credit at Spaceship and a one-year Domainer membership at NameBio. Congratulations, Leanne! Here are the questions and answers for the latest contest. Which of the following are actual top level domains?

See the answers for the latest domain trivia and see who won this month!

My domain sales this year – DNW Podcast #557 Reviewing my domain name sales through mid-October. We're over three-quarters of the way through 2025, so this week on the podcast, I'm going to talk about my sales results thus far. I'll share how many domains I've sold, where I've sold them, where I acquired them, my hold times, and much more. Also: New SnapNames option, new premium domain marketplace, interesting cybersquatting cases, and more.

My domain sales this year – DNW Podcast #557

Reviewing my domain name sales through mid-October. We're over three-quarters of the way through 2025, so this week on the podcast, I'm going to talk about my sales results thus far. I'll share how many domains I've sold, where I've sold them, where I…

Heavy metal band Slipknot files lawsuit against Slipknot.com Band cites parked page ads as proof of targeting. The heavy metal band Slipknot has filed an in rem lawsuit (pdf) for cybersquatting against the domain name slipknot.com. Slipknot.com was registered in 2001, and the band was formed in the 1990s. Of course, slipknot is also a dictionary term for a type of knot. But the band argues that the domain name owner has used the domain to profit from the band's name.

Heavy metal band Slipknot files lawsuit against Slipknot.com

Band cites parked page ads as proof of targeting. The heavy metal band Slipknot has filed an in rem lawsuit (pdf) for cybersquatting against the domain name slipknot.com. Slipknot.com was registered in 2001, and the band was formed in…

How to use NameBio trends to understand the domain name aftermarket

Use this tool to become a better domain investor. Understanding what domains end users are buying is critical to being a successful domain name investor. One area of focus is popular keywords. Afternic posts a list of the top 20…

Australian male strippers fail to strip domain from U.S. company It's the second time the Australian company has tried to reverse hijack a domain name. An Australian company that provides male strippers has been found guilty of reverse domain name hijacking for a second time. Last month, a World Intellectual Property Organization panelist ruled that Magic Men Holdings Pty Ltd tried to reverse hijack MagicMen .com. In a new case…

Australian male strippers fail to strip domain from U.S. company

It's the second time the Australian company has tried to reverse hijack a domain name. An Australian company that provides male strippers has been found guilty of reverse domain name hijacking for a second time. Last month, a World…

€1.1 million domain profit.com saved in UDRP Brazilian company claimed the domain infringed on its "Profit" trademark. A World Intellectual Property Organization panel has, unsurprisingly, ruled (pdf) that the registrant of the dictionary term profit.com is not cybersquatting with its registration. Profit.com is a platform for financial trading. According to the decision, the domain was acquired in 2022 for €1.1 million. The Brazilian company Nelogica Sistemas de Software Ltda coveted the domain and filed a claim under the UDRP.

€1.1 million domain profit.com saved in UDRP

Brazilian company claimed the domain infringed on its "Profit" trademark. A World Intellectual Property Organization panel has, unsurprisingly, ruled (pdf) that the registrant of the dictionary term profit.com is not cybersquatting with its…