I had the honor of testifying, in writing and orally, to the US House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property Oversight Hearing on Internet Domain Fraud & US Government’s Role in Ensuring Public Access to Accurate Whois Data. My written testimony.
Compliance with UDRP Decisions: A Case Study of Joker.com
Compliance with UDRP Decisions: A Case Study of Joker.com. (June 2003)
After a URDP panel orders a domain name transferred from respondent to complainant, the respondent’s registrar is obliged to do so. However, practitioners report that this process sometimes proceeds unduly slowly, if at all. This research attempts to quantify the magnitude of the situation and to report specific domains not transferred to their UDRP complainants, UDRP decisions notwithstanding.
Research yields 23 domains registered by registrar Joker.com, successfully challenged in a UDRP proceeding (one as long as three years ago), yet at the time of publication still registered to their original registrants at Joker.com. At least some of these domains seem to have been renewed by their current registrants, subsequent to UDRP decisions ordering their transfer.
Jurisdiction over Domain Names: Too Much Law Or Too Little?
Domain Name Typosquatter Still Generating Millions
Domain Name Typosquatter Still Generating Millions. CircleID. (February 2003)
Web Sites Sharing IP Addresses: Prevalence and Significance
Web Sites Sharing IP Addresses: Prevalence and Significance. (September 2013)
More than 87% of active domain names are found to share their IP addresses (i.e. their web servers) with one or more additional domains, and more than two third of active domain names share their addresses with fifty or more additional domains. While this IP sharing is typically transparent to ordinary users, it causes complications for those who seek to filter the Internet, restrict users’ ability to access certain controversial content on the basis of the IP address used to host that content. With so many sites sharing IP addresses, IP-based filtering efforts are bound to produce “overblocking” — accidental and often unanticipated denial of access to web sites that abide by the stated filtering rules.
Large-Scale Registration of Domains with Typographical Errors
Large-Scale Registration of Domains with Typographical Errors. (January 2003)
The author reports more than eight thousand domains that consist of minor variations on the addresses of well-known web sites, reflecting typographical errors often made by Internet users manually typing these addresses into their web browsers. Although the majority of these domain names are variations of sites frequently used by children, and although their domain names do not suggest the presence of sexually-explicit content, more than 90% offer extensive sexually-explicit content. In addition, these domains are presented in a way that temporarily disables a browser’s Back and Exit commands, preventing users from exiting easily. Most or all of the domains are registered to an individual previously enjoined by the FTC from operating domains that are typographic variations on famous names, and these domains remain operational subsequent to an injunction ordering their suspension.
Defensive Registrations: Why They’re Still Needed, and How to Make Them Earn Their Keep
Invalid WHOIS Data: Who Is Responsible?
Invalid WHOIS Data: Who Is Responsible? CircleID. (November 2002)
TLD Registration Enforcement: A Call for Automation
TLD Registration Enforcement: A Call for Automation – Part I and Part II. CircleID. (September – October 2002)
Survey of Domain Registration Services – Initial Results
Survey of Domain Registration Services. (August – November 2003)
Numerous competitive registrars offer diverse domain registration services to individuals, companies, and organizations. This site attempts to index and analyze their service offerings, facilitating analysis by other researchers and in preparation for additional analysis by the author.
Interested registrars have completed a survey of service offerings, and this page summarizes results. Surveys remain available for those additional registrars who care to submit information about their services.