Part of my daily routine is to peruse the expiring names at The Domain Name Aftermarket. I usually sift through about 2,500 names up for grabs each day. It’s almost unbelievable to see what domain names people were willing to spend their money on. There are always a few that stand out as particularly strange or disturbing. In today’s list I found the following:

FartandPoop.com: This isn’t an offensive name, but just what the heck did the person have in mind? LOL!

NakedBusDrivers.com: I know people all have their own fetishes, but come on!

MidgetFarm.com: Do they grow them there, or do they just work there?

HoboBoxing.com and HomelessFighting.com: What can I say about those?

KillFriend.com: Some friend.

BurnFaggots.com: Here’s a category in which I unfortunately see a lot of. This one is actually tame compared to many others.

There are a lot of strange people in this world.

Technorati Tags: domain, domain name, internet

Google Base is almost upon us and the “Base” domains are being picked up rapidly. Some who were quicker than I just beat me to some good ones! If you don’t yet know what Google Base is, you better get up to speed on all the rumors right away, because it’s going to be big, really big. To find blog articles tagged with “Base” use this Technorati link:

http://technorati.com/tag/base

Here’s what I’ve purchased so far:

BaseAdvice.com
BaseApps.com
BaseBasics.com
BaseExpert.com
BaseExperts.com
BaseGuru.com
BaseInsider.com
BaseListings.com
BaseManual.com
BaseRiches.com
BaseSelling.com
BaseSense.com
BaseSales.com
BaseTags.com
BestofBase.com
MygBase.com

Technorati Tags: base, google, google base, internet, domain, domain name

The last two days have seen much speculation, and now actual screenshots, of the upcoming Google Base classified ads system. Here’s one story you can read to get up to speed if you have not been following the news today.

I checked The United States Patent and Trademark web site to see “Base” is something Google trademarked or not. They did not. So, here’s your opportunity to grab some names quickly. I purchased BaseInsider.com today. There are many other names available but I’m not in a buying mood today. I did notice that BaseAdvisor.com, BaseTips.com, BaseBuying.com and BaseSelling.com are available. Go for it. Look for what works with eBay in domain names and try applying them to “Base.”

I guess I was in more of a political mood today, having purchased AllenRice.org, AllenGiuliani.org, AllenMcCain.org and McCainAllen.org. I don’t know a whole lot about Allen yet, but I do know that he’s going to be running.

Technorati Tags: domain, domain name, internet, google, base, ebay, investing

I ran across an old thread on WebmasterWorld entitled How to Pick and Evaluate Domain Names for Resale that I thought I should share with you. There are 35 posts in the conversation and what I think are some real nuggets of information. I think it would be worth a read if you are in the domain name game.

Technorati Tags: domain, domain name, internet, investing

I’ve just installed a new and improved design for DomainRookie.com. Please let me know if you come across any problems.

Technorati Tags: internet, domain, domain name

I’m trying to figure out if domain name parking companies like the ones I use — Afternic, Sedo and Goldey — submit parked name URL’s to search engines. When I search for some of my domain name URL’s there is sometimes a hit and sometimes there is not. I haven’t determined why some are listed and others are not. Do parking companies submit all of them and then do the search engines pick and choose? Do parking sites not submit any at all? Do search engines even attempt to index parked name sites; I’ve heard some don’t like to. If I submit the domain names to search engines myself will they even include them?

These are important questions and I’m hoping someone out there can help this rookie out with some clarification in the comments below. Thanks.

Technorati Tags: internet, domain, domain name, afternic, goldkey, sedo, parking, SEO, search engine, google

Is changing one letter in a trademarked word an infringement? Would a site called Microloft.info infringe on the Microsoft mark? Apparently the Church of Scientology thinks so. Or maybe they are simply not interested in any more bad press than they are already getting with Tom Cruise as their motor-mouth spokesman.

From the Newsday.com article, Mock them using another name:

Some things just aren’t funny — at least to the Church of Scientology.

A New Zealand-based website that says it is devoted to “exposing Tom Cruise’s moronic behavior in his relentless crusade to promote the Church of Scientology” has been ordered by church lawyers to stop using the domain name www.scienTOMogy.info.

The reason: Web surfers might confuse it with the real thing.

The site states that it has no connection with the Church of Scientologists and offers a link to the Scientology home page. Then it post links to a series of videos of Cruise talking about Scientology, including a sci-fi video parody of the actor’s infamous May television appearance on “Oprah,” in which he appears to electrocute her.

“The site is purely satirical and is for entertainment, and consists of links to other sites — it contains no fact nor claims to do so and is completely non-commercial,” the website said.

The creator of the website could not be reached by press time Tuesday. Church of Scientology attorney Helena Kobrin, a partner in Moxon & Kobrin law firm, said the letter was intended to protect the Scientology name.

“You can’t use someone else’s trademarks to promote your own agenda,” Kobrin said, adding that organizations routinely defend the integrity of their trademarks and copyrights. “Changing one letter is the trick of the infringer to try to get around the law, but the law makes it very clear that you can’t do that.”

The scienTOMogy.info website has posted an exchange with Moxon & Kobrin lawyer Ava M. Paquette, which began in September, in which Paquette warned that the Church of Scientology owns the trademark to the word Scientology.

“The fact that you have changed one letter (’m’ instead of ‘l’) does not protect you from trademark infringement,” Paquette wrote before pointing out that infringing on a trademark could lead to a $100,000 fine. Paquette then demanded that the domain name be transferred to the Church of Scientology.

The website responded that it was using the name legally.

The letter isn’t the first time Scientology lawyers have claimed that websites had violated its trademark. San Francisco anti-Scientology activist Kristi Wachter received a similar letter from Kobrin four years ago after she registered the domain name www.truthaboutscientology.com.

Wachter said Tuesday that, after an exchange of letters, the Scientology lawyers appeared to drop the issue. But a few weeks ago, she said, her Web host was forced to temporarily remove more than 600 pages from her site after Scientology lawyers accused her of copyright infringement under the Digital Millennium Act. When no formal legal challenge was filed after four weeks, the pages were restored.

“I decided not to spend any further time on it because I decided she was just trying to intimidate me, or distract me,” Wachter said.

Here’s a thought: if Tom Cruise would think before he speaks, the website might never have existed.

Technorati Tags: internet, domain, domain name, trademark, tom cruise, scientology

Every time a domain name that has a trademark within it is discussed on the various domain boards, one or more people always bring up the warning that there will be trademark problems. Now, I’m still relatively new at this domain stuff, but from what I’ve heard from experts, and read myself, is that just having a trademark within the domain name is not on its own a problem.

As a practical matter, if your name is not trying to fool visitors into thinking you are the owner of the trademark in question, and you are not disparaging the trademark or its owner, you’re not going to get called on it. Of course, the company’s lawyers can do whatever hassling they wish, so you never know. But, take my previous web site for example–GoogleTutor.com. I wrote positive and helpful articles about Google, helping the world best utilize their product. No one thought I was a Google representative. Google didn’t seem to care. Why would they? I’ll bet they liked my articles. Now, if my domain name was GoogleInvestorRelations.com or GoogleSucks.com, they might.

As for ICANN yanking your domain name from you, they have set in writing very clear guidelines. For them to take your domain name, all three of the following has to be true:

(i) your domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which the complainant has rights; and

(ii) you have no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name; and

(iii) your domain name has been registered and is being used in bad faith.

Just what’s bad faith? They’ve defined that too:

(i) circumstances indicating that you have registered or you have acquired the domain name primarily for the purpose of selling, renting, or otherwise transferring the domain name registration to the complainant who is the owner of the trademark or service mark or to a competitor of that complainant, for valuable consideration in excess of your documented out-of-pocket costs directly related to the domain name; or

(ii) you have registered the domain name in order to prevent the owner of the trademark or service mark from reflecting the mark in a corresponding domain name, provided that you have engaged in a pattern of such conduct; or

(iii) you have registered the domain name primarily for the purpose of disrupting the business of a competitor; or

(iv) by using the domain name, you have intentionally attempted to attract, for commercial gain, Internet users to your web site or other on-line location, by creating a likelihood of confusion with the complainant’s mark as to the source, sponsorship, affiliation, or endorsement of your web site or location or of a product or service on your web site or location.

I’m interested in your comments…

Technorati Tags: domain, domain name, internet, icann, trademark

A few weeks ago I picked up the deleted domain ShutUpHillary.com through SnapNames.com for the $60 fee. With her possible Senate reelection run, and her most definite plans to run for president in 2008, this was a good purchase. Rather than sitting around waiting for someone to purchase it from me, I thought about how I might make some money from it right now.

I’m experienced in creating and selling CafePress.com products, and political items are their biggest sellers. So, it was a natural fit and I created the Shut Up Hillary store there. I’ve got just a few items up to get started. But, here’s the great thing I’m doing with this. Usually when you create a product on CafePress.com, others tend to imitate it and siphon off some of the sales. But, if one owns the trademark for the image or wording on the products, CafePress.com will shut copycats down as soon as they are notified by the trademark owner. There’s really no fighting it. So, I went out and filed for the trademark “Shut Up Hillary” in the proper class for selling these goods. No one else will be able to create Shut Up Hillary products.

The trademark filing fee was $270, but that’s nothing compared to what I can make on CafePress.com. I’ve done it before. And now, they’ve got a new affiliate program just coming out of beta, which will help to increase sales.

The domain name right now is simply pointing to my store (whose design I know I have to improve). I’m stuck with Register.com for 60 days since that’s who I had to continue using via this SnapNames sale. Register.com unbelievably will not let me redirect the domain to the store without them framing it and putting an add of their’s at the bottom of the page. Try clicking on ShutUpHillary.com and see for yourself. They charge $50 a year to redirect without the ad! I’m not paying them for that. I’ll wait until my 60 days are up and then move it to GoDaddy.com.

Just pointing the domain name to the CafePress.com page is good, but not the optimum. It’s not necessarily sending traffic to the domain name. I’m going to think about creating a site for the domain, with some Hillary content and with links to the store. I could write a blog in it, but the last time I did something political like that it burned me out (made me hate things about BOTH sides).

Anyway, I thought I’d share what I’m doing with CafePress.com since it is something you might be interested in doing with some of your domain names.

Technorati Tags: domain, domain name, internet, hillary, hillary clinton, clinton, cafepress

I picked up a great 2008 Presidential Election domain name today–JohnMcCainForPresident.com! I paid $61 on SnapNames.com. Not bad, I’d say. I’ve got a bunch of other McCain for President names in my portfolio already. You can see them here.

I also received Zuggernaut.com today from my TDNAM.com expired name auction ($10). I don’t know what it means, but I like it! LOL! I think it’s some science fiction character or something. there are 314 references in Google to it.

Technorati Tags: domain, domain name, internet, politics, mccain, john mccain, 2008