Common Law Trademarks or "Usemarks."

By Duane J. Higgins, ceo
xtradot.com

I'm not an attorney and I don't play one on the Internet. However, I have to admit it's kind of fun to play desktop attorney and write about whatever I want. That being said, this is a column about common law trademarks. Some are probably questioning why I use the term "usemarks" in my title. The easy answer is that common law trademarks are sometimes called first use marks.  This additional information comes from the USPTO.gov website:

"What are "common law trademark" rights:

Federal registration is not required to establish rights in a trademark.  Common law rights arise from actual use of a mark and may allow the common law user to successfully challenge a registration or application.

Common law trademarks are of particular interest to me as I have owned upwards of ten thousand domain names through the years. In addition, I have certainly obtained common law trademark rights with many of the names through the use of the domain names and product/company names in commerce.

Let me start by mentioning that Yahoo recently spent about a billion dollars for a company called Tumblr.  CEO Marissa Mayer suggesting that 75% of that cost was for the social blogging site's "cachet" with the young trendy set. In Yahoo's quarterly report filed this week Yahoo revealed that  $752 million of Tumblr's value is "goodwill."

What exactly is Ms. Meyer referring to? Clearly she is referring to something that is far removed from the Tumblr tangible assets, contracts, software etc?  If that is the case- then were talking about a non-quantifiable asset that is valued at $752 million by Marissa Mayer!  Am I the only one that finds that interesting?

So is Marissa Myer referring to the Tumblr brand? The Tumbler brand that is of course protected by the Tumbler trademarks?

There are of course federally registered trademarks on Tumblr. However, what if there wasn't?  Is there  a chance that the Tumblr brand and "cachet" would be just as valuable at this point in the companies life?

Federally registered trademarks are of course enormously important and are critical to the smooth functioning of our worldwide intellectual property system. One of the most valuable mechanisms resulting from the Federally registered marks  are important procedural advantages in court, such as a presumption of validity for a plaintiff’s trademark.

But (like most of us) what if you don't have a federally or multinationally registered trademark? Where do you stand (legally) with the use of your business/service name in commerce?

Here's some information you might find interesting regarding ICANNs Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH) and their position regarding common law trademarks:

Nearly all of the discussions regarding ICANNs newly launched "Trademark Clearinghouse" have been regarding registered trademarks. However, it's important to note that "Common Law" trademarks are eligible for the TMCH as well.

Also keep in mind that inclusion of any trademark in the "Trademark Clearinghouse" is a rights protection mechanism in and of itself. From the Trademark Clearinghouse site:

The Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH) is the most important rights protection mechanism built into ICANN’s new gTLD program. Its' a centralized database of verified trademarks, that is connected to each and every new gTLD that will launch.

From the TMCH website regarding court validated marks:

Court validated marks refer to a mark that has been validated by a court of law or other judicial
proceeding at the national level, such as unregistered (common law) marks and/or well-known
marks. In the case of a mark validated by judicial proceedings, the judicial authority must have existed as a competent jurisdiction as of the date of the order or judgment. Any referenced authority must have the indicia of authenticity and must on its face confer the specified rights (i.e., the documentation must be sufficient to show validation of the mark without the need for the Clearinghouse to consult outside resources).

And now from the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office)  website:

What are "common law" rights?:

Federal registration is not required to establish rights in a trademark.  Common law rights arise from actual use of a mark and may allow the common law user to successfully challenge a registration or application.


From Wikipedia:

...An unregistered mark may still receive common law trademark rights. Those rights, for example, may extend to its area of influence—usually delineated by geography. As such, multiple parties may simultaneously use a mark throughout the country or even state. An unregistered mark may also be protected under the federal "Lanham Act" (15 USC § 1125) prohibition against commercial misrepresentation of source or origins of goods. Unregistered marks are also protectable in the United States under Lanham Act §43(a).

 From Bitlaw.com:

Trademark rights arise in the United States from the actual use of the mark. Thus, if a product is sold under a brand name, common law trademark rights have been created. This is especially true once consumers view the brand name as an indicator the product's source. Federal registration is not required to establish rights in a trademark.  Common law rights arise from actual use of a mark and may allow the common law user to successfully challenge a registration or application.

From WorldTrademarkReview.com:

Common law and Lanham Act protections afforded to unregistered trademarks provide a wealth of remedies since they are premised on use rather than registration.

Also, from that site:

In the United States, protection is available
for unregistered marks under common law
and the federal statute known as the
Lanham Act (§ 43(a)(1), 15 USC § 1125(a)(1)
(1989)). The owner of a valid but
unregistered mark can seek recourse against
the copyist in state and federal courts.

Also,

Common law and federal law provide the
owner of unregistered trademark rights with
bases for remedies to infringement.

This is from TraverseLegal.com:

Many businesses and individuals do not know that trademark rights arise not only from registration with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, but from simply use of a trademark in connection with goods or services.  These rights, or common law trademark rights as they are known to lawyers, come from the continuous prior use of a mark in commerce.  But common law trademark rights are not preferred, as they extend only to the places where a trademark has been used in commerce.  Additionally, they do not offer the benefits of federal registration with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, such as the ability to recover profits, statutory damages, attorneys fees, treble (triple) damages for willful infringement, national priority, and the right to use the ® to give notice of rights in a mark.

This is from Lsntap.org (Legal Services National Technology Assistance Project)

According to case law:

• A party may obtain a common-law trademark or service mark on any terms it uses in commerce, though absent federal registration, common-law status generally limits its protection the geographic area in which the term was used. Accordingly, to bring a claim under the Lanham Act, federal registration is not required, “but the scope of any common law rights vindicated would be limited to areas where the mark is in use.”

Just some information to keep in mind when you register or use a particular domain name for business, service or a product  in commerce. Attorneys will generally recommend the Federally registered mark for the maximum protection.  But keep in mind that a strongly established common law trademark or "usemark" can also serve as a deterrent to abusive practices by other parties.

Are You "Old School Internet"?

By Duane J. Higgins, ceo
xtradot.com

Maybe all of the discussions this past week about the 25th anniversary of the World Wide Web has caused me to wax nostalgic. Whatever the case,  I have recently concluded that I do very much long for the halcyon days of the early Internet.  What I like to call "old school  Internet".

From Urban Dictionary

"old school"

 

"Anything that is from an earlier era and looked upon with high regard or respect." 

Maybe it was my rather uninspiring standoff with the 20 something salesman at the cellular store over the merits (or lack thereof) of the latest smartphone  that lead me to relegate myself to the  "old school Internet" category.  Maybe it is my affinity for the early days of the Internet when you had  .com, .net and .org and that's all anyone ever wanted or needed.

 Maybe I'm old fashioned or maybe I'm just a technology resister.  I'm  stuck in the Internet of 1998 and quite happy to be there.  What do I believe are some of the "classic" symptoms of the "old school  Internet" syndrome:

• I don't have a smartphone and have no interest in one. In fact my stone-age flip phone seems to serve me just fine. 
• I don't text and have never texted. Have never had a need to.  (I do understand the convenience and efficiency aspect of it. If something pushes me over the edge to become a "reluctant adopter" that will be it.)
• I don't do Facebook or any other social media. Never have. Don't plan to. 
• I don't do gaming systems. 
• I don't do downloads.
• I don't do wearable technologies or apps. 
• I have the minimum amount of technology for what I need to do. That amounts to my (circa 2003) HP laptop computer hard lined to the wall of course.  No need for wifi.

Not to worry if anyone is thinking that I'm up here in the northern hemisphere living an Amish-like type of existence.  I do spend a good deal of time on the Internet. You have to if you want to run an Internet business.  Like the notorious bank robber Willie Sutton famously once said when asked why he robbed banks and responded "that's where the money is." 

Of course, I know that there is a distinct chance that I am just a late adopter. Part of the latest raft of historys'  long line of late adopters. Whether involving the automobile,  television, microwave or the Internet itself. The folks who came to the party late and most likely were dragging their feet the whole way.

However, I am also reminded of the tales of the old time loggers in the northern forests who still cut their trees with a hand saw and use work horses to haul them out. Doing their jobs quite happily and efficiently. In a way that suits their purposes.

I kind of like the sound of that. 

The Dot Com Paradigm

By Duane J. Higgins, ceo
xtradot.com

 

Dictionary.com defines paradigm as a:

a. framework containing the basic assumptions, ways of thinking, and methodology that are commonly accepted by members of a scientific community.
b. such a cognitive framework shared by members of any discipline or group: the company’s business paradigm.

So what is the "dot com paradigm"

The dot com paradigm is this:

"All domain name extensions are and will continue to be adjuncts to .com."

What do I mean by adjuncts?

From Dictionary.com: Adjunct- ad·junct [aj-uhngkt] Show IPA noun
1. something added to another thing but not essential to it.

So I wanted to present some of my thoughts on what I'm calling "the dot com paradigm" in this blog post. However, as I've often noticed, many good ideas are often swirling around the Internet at the same time. I've posted credit to my counterpart at the end of this blog. But, first I wanted to mention a few things.

I've written extensively regarding the continued .com domination of all domain extensions and the Internet. However the design of this post has more to do with the rest of the domain name extensions. To show how the new domain extensions will fall neatly in line behind the .com behemoth.

This table of (global top level) domain registrations is from the Whois.sc (Whois Source) Domain Counts and Internet Statistics Website.

gTLD Overview for March 01, 2014

All	New	Deleted	Transferred	TLD
149,171,743	159,905	127,352	160,569	All TLDs
113,105,456	124,147	94,711	125,785	.COM
15,267,470	14,542	12,838	15,366	.NET
10,453,473	10,179	8,365	9,108	.ORG
5,790,637	6,236	7,269	6,032	.INFO
2,679,999	2,448	2,414	3,033	.BIZ
1,874,708	2,353	1,755	1,245	.US

This table of course does not include country code domain names, the new native language character set names, and new gTLD domain extensions such as .guru and .holdings.

Not to mention the upwards of 1300 new domain name extensions that are in the process of being released onto the global marketplace.

It's clear to see the patterns that are evident in the current domain registration paradigm from the above table. There are over 113 million .com domain names registered and .net is in second place with just over 15 million. One tenth of the registrations of .com.

Will any of the new extensions ultimately challenge .com for dominance in the domain name marketplace?

.guru? .web? .shop? .wiki? .blog? .app? .free? .link? .tips?
Some think that one of these extentions or even another could challenge .com and unseat the extension from its lofty perch above the Internet. However, it's not likely and the reason is that all of the new extensions are going to be adjuncts to .com in one way or another. Just as previous domain extenstions have been as such.

Now for the credit for my counterpart.

Below are examples of the types of "adjunct uses" that I see for the (upwards of 1300) new domain extensions as they are rolled out over the upcoming years:
From: telegraph.co.uk
By Sophie Curtis 3:00PM GMT 28 Feb 2014
"As the internet continues to develop new features, many companies plan to set up their own apps, blogs and wikis - so obtaining their own .app, .blog and .wiki domains is a logical step. The .feedback and .contact domains will also provide an intuitive address for particular web pages."

"The era of the singular 'web identity' is over," said Crawford. "As companies increasingly recognise the internet as the single largest source of new customers, even small businesses have moved beyond the position of buying one domain name for their website."


I couldn't have said it better.

Domain Names As Phone Numbers?

By Duane J. Higgins, ceo
xtradot.com

Are "Phonames" next?

There is an interesting news piece that appeared in media outlets around the Internet on January 30, 2014 titled:
"U.S. Seeks trials to test transition to digital phone networks"

The news article talks about how "U.S. wireless providers like AT&T Inc and Verizon Communications Inc on Thursday received a nod from regulators to test a transition of the telephone industry away from traditional analog networks to digital ones."

(also how)

"The Federal Communications Commission unanimously voted in favor of trials, in which telecommunications companies would test switching telephone services from existing circuit-switch technology to an alternative Internet protocol-based one to see how the change may affect consumers."

Now what does that article have to do with Internet domain names you might ask?

The answer may be in my blog post dated May 16, 2013 titled:

"Alternative Uses For Internet Domain Names"

In that (May 2013) blog post I'm referring to a 2006 prospectus that I wrote and remains on file at the University of Maines' Target Technology Incubator. The prospectus is in regards to a project describing utilizing Internet domain names for VOIP (voice over Internet Protocol) over the DNS (Domain Name System):

Two excerpts from that (May 2013) blog (that are actually from my 2006 prospectus) are here:

...the establishment of a private, secure, proprietary 1.) Domain Name Registry 2.) VOIP Communications and 3.) Mobile Platform Network that is a new use for existing technologies that will be widely adopted and allow for tight integration of VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) and DNS (Domain Name System) technologies. This will be a closed private network utilizing proprietary domain name system and registry technologies and proprietary mobile platform that will be VOIP enabled.

Rather than using telephone numbers, it will capitalize on a private (domain name) registry that provides a proprietary/private domain extension. The user will select an alpha numeric (domain name) that will replace the telephone number and be used on the secure network. The user will be able to select their own personalized (domain name) that will ultimately become as popular as email addresses and telephone numbers. The proprietary mobile platform and domain name registry (with proprietary extension) will also be available for license to cellphone/mobile providers.

So, back to the aforementioned article regarding a transition from traditional analog networks to digital (Internet) networks.

Did Federal regulators just move us all one step closer to my 2006 prediction of VOIP communicatons over the DNS (Domain Name System) and using domain names as phone numbers?

As I have mentioned before, I am not a technologist, programmer, IT specialist or anything of the like. So I really don't have the slightest idea how the technology aspect would work in the real world. Some people would say that I know just enough to be dangerous. However, I did find at least one person who was thinking along similar lines. This was posted on another site two weeks ago regarding the next step technology to pull this off.

The post is titled "Domain Names As Phone Numbers":

Also, if any of you are thinking at this point that this is all pure craziness -I wanted to mention that this (VOICE over DNS) has all been done experimentally before. You will find some of that information here:

http://developers.slashdot.org/story/04/06/21/2225217/dan-kaminsky-suggests-having-fun-with-dns

In closing, I would add that there are likely still some regulatory hurdles to overcome regarding my 2006 prediction of using Internet domain names as phone numbers. In fact, the last I knew using VOIP over the DNS would be frowned upon by the FCC. However, the new FCC trials regarding potentially switching to digital (Internet Protocol) telephone networks may be more of a harbinger of things to come than anyone can imagine.

That is until now.

Did the Trademark Clearinghouse Commit a Faux Pas?

Duane J. Higgins, ceo
xtradot.com

I was roaming around the Internet the other day and discovered an interesting occurrence as far as potential trademark infringement goes. There is an organization called "The Clearinghouse" that has apparently functioned in some capacity since 1853. According to their website they are involved in financial payment systems and "The Clearing House payment systems clear and settle more than 65 million transactions with a total value of $2 trillion each day." The organization uses the domain name http://www.TheClearinghouse.org as their website address. 

So, as many know there is also (ICANNs) Trademark Clearinghouse which (according to their website) is designed to accomplish the following:

The Trademark Clearinghouse is a one-stop-solution for protecting your brand in the new gTLD era. This centralized database of verified trademarks connects to every of the more than 1,000 new TLDs that will be launching, to protect your brand...

You can of course read all of the information that your like on the TMCH website which they advertise is located at http://www.trademark-clearinghouse.com.

So what caught my attention with the potential trademark infringement by the (ICANNs) Trademark Clearinghouse is that they have also purchased and are using the following domain name to promote their (TMCH) website:

http://www.clearinghouse.org

So is this trademark infringement?  Is the Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH)  infringing on the long established usage (trademark) of "The Clearinghouse" that processes financial payments?

The strongest argument is that the competing domain names (usages) are very similar. See below for  comparison:

http://www.theclearinghouse.org
http://www.clearinghouse.org

I certainly don't have the answers as far as any real potential legal (infringement) issues go. 

Maybe it was just a slow day in the blogosphere for me.

However, I did find this interesting.

The Great Domain Flood of 2014.

By Duane J. Higgins, ceo
xtradot.com

Will (ICANNs) pouring of upwards of 1300 new gTLDs (domain name extensions) onto the open marketplace have the effect of devaluing domain names? Will the billions of new domain name possibilities available disincentivize domain name investing? Those are two big questions that domain name investors and buyers and sellers alike have been wrestling with as we witness this massive/unprecedented expansion of the domain name system.

ICANN's main argument for flooding the marketplace with the new domain name extensions (to upwards of 1300 new extensions this round) from the current 22 was to create more choice for consumers of domain names. To make domain name ownership more accessible. More available. More reasonably priced. The common argument had to do with all of the good domain names (of existing extensions) already being taken.

However, as if often the case some funny things happen along the way of the path to good intentions. I had already started writing this blog post when another blog post appeared today titled:

"What if Domain Investors Buy the Good gTLD domain names?" 

It's a good article and I think that Mr. Silver is probably right.

It is likely true that most of the good domain names of the new extensions will be taken by investors, and trademark and tradename owners. That will still leave alot of names. However, ICANN could end up in the exact same situation that they started before the onslaught of new extensions. With limited choice of freely available names for domain name buyers as time goes on. And so goes the law of supply and demand and the prices of the good names (with the new gTLDs) will go up, and up and up over time.

I have a few other points that I would like to make. I did hear an argument early on that ICANN was hoping to a "dis-incentivize" domain investing or even de-value domain names to a certain extent. The analogy would be to make the commodity of domain names similar to vanity telephone numbers or vanity license plate numbers. Where you might be a slight increase in cost for preferred combinations, however not that exorbitant prices that have been attached to alot of domain name sales to date.

There are a few other interesting things happening along with the release of the gTLDs that I wanted to mention.

First of all the prices of the existing gTLDs  and ccTLDs are basically holding up. I don't have numbers to back that up. However I base that on observation. There are still a significant number of 5 and 6 figure sales of existing gTLDs each week. Values (prices) are not going down. If so, not much.

If anyone thought that the process of "flooding the market" with the new domain extensions would devalue the existing extensions or the new extensions that does not appear to be happening either. If any intention was to dis-incentivize investors from investing in domain names (such as the new extensions) that is not happening. If devaluation does happen, the normal economic process if that even if the values/prices do go down temporarily they are likely to go back up over time. That is the law of supply and demand. Look at land values over time in just about any location throughout the world. Too much land and the prices go down. As demand increases the prices go up. That will happen to nearly all of the new (and old) gTLDs that survive.

The prices of all of the new gTLDs that survive will likely go up over time and likely from the starting levels. People buy what they want to buy and they pay what they want to pay. This is happening in the housing market right now and the prices are going up. Everytime that someone overpays for a particularly domain name that they want the overall market (for that extension) will rise and the values of many other domain names will go up as well.

So I do agree with Mr. Silver and his article that domain name investors are going to take the day when it comes to the new gTLDs.  Domain names are basically low hanging fruit. Domain name investing is too temping with the prospect of registering a domain name for a relatively small amount with the potential for significant appreciation and sometimes wild appreciation of the asset.

The New gTLDs: Individualization vs. Industrialization.

By Duane J. Higgins, ceo
xtradot.com

There are countless prevailing factors that are going to influence the relative success or failure of the new domain name extensions that are being rolled out over the next few years. I would like to focus on one of the key trends trends that I think will develop and that is the idea of individualization vs. industrialization.  The definitions I would like to use are the following:

Individualization:

to make individual or distinctive; give an individual or distinctive character to.

Industrialization: the large-scale introduction of manufacturing, advanced technical enterprises, and other productive economic activity into an area, society, country, etc.

 
To illustrate my point I would like to take a look at the  early stage success of the .guru extension which I believe could foreshadow a  major trend that will develop over the  next few years.  First of all, .guru has potentially large market to start. That is a head start for the domain extension. Several other names will have the same promise such as .mail, .web and .free and many others.

We do have .guru which is being viewed by many as a very successful launch already with over 30,000   registrations and counting in the first days of the it's existence. Dozens of other extensions have been released as well (such as .ventures and .holdings) to somewhat lesser degrees of success to date.



First of all, the .guru extension is relatively short.  I believe you will see this trend continue as the new gTLD extensions are rolled out. Of course, short (second level) domain names have always been preferred by the masses.  But what we have now with all of the new top level extensions is that many of them are not as short as previously released extensions which have generally remained between two and four characters. We now have the .events, .cruises, .flights, .rentals, .partners .ventures,.holdings etc, etc,. etc, which many of the 1300 new extensions are longer than the 2-4 characters. This is an attempt to change the paradigm of the public's relationship to domain names that the public may be less interested in. As I mentioned, shorter second level (names) have always been preferred and the new longer extensions are going to make is more difficult to use the same types of names (that people like) with the new longer extensions as the overall names will be longer. I have found that people like short personalized domain names but not generally too short. They want room to express themselves. To the left of the dot. Short extensions best allow for this so the overall name doesn't become too long. 

The complicating factor for the new (longer) extensions is that for the most part, the domain name on the left side of the dot (second level domain) has been more important to the public than the name on the right side of the dot.  The reason is of course that the name to the left of the dot is the primary "identifier" for the user. The name on the left of the dot of course is created by the user. The name to the right is not.

See definition below:

From Wikipedia.org:

An identifier is a name that identifies (that is, labels the identity of) either a unique object or a unique class of objects.

People/companies/entitites identify with the name that they create. With the name of their company, enterprise or website. The name is them. They are the name. The name is special. The name is individual. Very personal.  The name to the left of the dot. 

It's the artists' brush vs. the palette. 

It's the artist vs. the medium. 

Which is more important?


So what about the right of the dot you ask?

First of all let me ask you. Is the right of the dot personal?

No, the right of the dot is categorical. The right of the dot is industrial. "an advanced technological enterprise" from my definition above. Not very personal.

The right of the dot is the secondary identifier.  The right of the dot is not individualized or personalized. The right of the dot represents a category of sites or names. The right side of the dot represents a commodity. The right side of the dot represents the industrialization of the Internet.

Not very romantic if you ask me. 

If my theory is correct. The short domain extensions that have wider potential target market (for example  .book, .blog, .free, .shop, .mail, .web and a few others) have the best chance of success and widespread usage.

Longer domain extensions with more limited target markets may struggle as they have a double whammy. 

Double whammy: An English expression meaning multiple (or a combination of) negative circumstances, events, or effects.



 

The Dot Com Firewall.

By Duane J. Higgins, ceo
xtradot.com

In computing terms, firewall has many definitions. In history, the term firewall originally referred to a wall intended to confine a fire or potential fire within a building. In domaining terms, what I'm referring to is the practice of registering the .com version of a domain name which can effectively quash incentive for anyone to register any other version of that particular name.

The fact is that there are several practical advantages and inherent rights protections that are in play that are built into the fabric of owning and using a .com domain name for business purposes.

Is owning the .com version (and using the name in commerce) of a particular domain name a rights protection strategy unto itself that you could employ. Even possibly equal to or better than a registered trademark?

First of all, as far as your intellectual property rights are concerned. If you own a .com domain name and you use it in commerce you have very likely established common law trademark rights to that name.

According the the USPTO- "businesses automatically receive common law trademark rights in the normal course of commerce."

Common law trademarks are something that I like to call a "usemarks."

From Bitlaw.com

The term "common law" indicates that the trademark rights that are developed through use are not governed by statute. Instead, common law trademark rights have been developed under a judicially created scheme of rights governed by state law. Federal registration, a system created by federal statute, is not required to establish common law rights in a mark, nor is it required to begin use of a mark.

Now if course, registered trademarks are usually more powerful than common law trademarks. However, not necessarily and there is case law to prove that.

My main point has to do with the inherent value of owning the .com version of your domain name or website.

First of all this is the definition of "inherent" from Dictionary.com:
in·her·ent
[in-heer-uhnt, -her-] Show IPA
adjective
1.
existing in someone or something as a permanent and inseparable element, quality, or attribute: an inherent distrust of strangers.

Here are a few related points: If you own the .com version of a name, the name is not likely (highly unlikely) trademarked by another party. The reasons are that if the name were trademarked by another entity you likely would have never been able to register it- or you would have already been asked to cease using it. Either by court order or less formally. Either way you would know that there is an issue with the use of the name. There are too many rights protections mechanisms in place with the domain registries and with ICANN right off the bat. (see Trademark Clearinghouse) for one. Also, you would have likely gotten tripped up with improper usage of the name if there were any conflicts. The high likelihood is that the business that owns the registered trademark would also have likely already purchased the .com version of the name.

If you use the name for trade/commerce then you have likely already engendered "common law" trademark rights which are actually significant. However, not likely as powerful as a State or Federally (USPTO) registered trademark. However, the "common law" mark could trump them all based on prior use and if it is a "strong" mark. (see usemarks)

The fact is that if you own the .com version of a domain name, no other party is likely to register the name with another extension and use it for business purposes. Let me give you an example. Lets say you own the domain name Trinexeo.com. Just made that domain name up and it is currently unregistered. So for my example, what if someone registered that domain name and used it for commerce. They would likely have soon established common law trademark rights as well as developed a business brand with that name. What if the chance of someone then going out and registering say Trinexia.biz or Trinexia.anything and trying to use it for businesss? They would be foolish to use that name. They may infringe your common law trademark. They may create a confusingly similar business name which is no benefit to them.

So part of the inherent value of owning the .com version of your domain name is that it effectively can serve as an unofficial "trademark block" of sorts to further registrations. Why would someone else waste their good money on another extension when you own the .com? They might and you might sue them. They might register another version of your .com name and if they use the name in commerce (in violation of your common law trademark) they will probably send traffic and customers to your site business. They might try to trademark the name after you are already using the .com version in commerce and they will lose in arbitration.

So back to my main point regarding the value of owning the .com version of a good domain name that doesn't infringe on another parties registered trademark, trade name or usemark. You can take the dot whatever. I'll take my .com domain name into battle any day of the week.

I call that my firewall.

The Rebirth of of Dot Biz. (Part I)

By Duane J. Higgins, ceo
xtradot.com

There is a massively underutilized resource that has been languishing in the back alleys of the Internet for the last 13 years. That resource is the .biz top-level domain name extension and it may be poised for explosive growth (finally). 

Below is a small chart of registered top-level domain names to date:

From Whois.sc dated Feb. 1, 2014

TLD Overview for February 01, 2014

All	New	Deleted	Transferred	TLD
148,562,332	131,782	111,530	216,922	All TLDs
112,561,214	98,361	80,458	176,743	.COM
15,234,841	12,745	11,598	15,966	.NET
10,419,443	8,509	6,603	9,465	.ORG
5,826,055	7,059	9,023	9,869	.INFO
2,660,044	2,948	2,200	3,307	.BIZ
1,860,735	2,160	1,648	1,572	.US

 Just to summarize. That's 2.5 million .biz registrations compared to 112 million .com registrations.  Or just over 2% percent for .biz compared to the .com giant. In other words, there are millions and millions of good .biz domain names unregistered and there for the picking if someone were to find a use for them. The same can not be said for any of the other TLD extensions. Dot info (.info) is the closest you will get with the same low numbers however .info clearly has an established target market or brand identity (information).

There's a famous saying that goes something like "what's new is old and whats old is new."  I have heard this phrase many times however never expected to see it come to roost squartly on the shoulders of the domain name industry.  Especially, with the impending release of upwards of 1000 new domain extensions onto the global marketplace. What would you say if I told you that very possibly the next blockbuster domain extension has been in existence since  2001. That the next wildly successful domain extension has been sitting nearly idly with no significant identity or branding success since 2001.

Of all the previously released top level domain extensions- .biz is probably the one that has been the most battered and bruised. If you listen to many of the prognosticators you will likely conclude that .biz is undoubtedly on life support if not already deceased. This extension has actually been lingering around the Internet since 2001 with very little fanfare or attention.

What if I told you that I had three words could launch the .biz extension to a rebirth and possibly even a prominent role in the Internet  economy?

What if I told you that the three words are "mobile based business."

With the rebranding of .biz to the home/mobile based business extension.  I'll post the remarkably simple formula here:

Low End Phones +Handsets + Low End Tablets+ Home/Mobile/Based Business opportunities+ .Biz extension= An Internet Revolution?

So, why .biz?

1.) Because its a relatively unused and untapped resource (many good domain names left).
2.) Dot biz is an established extension. Infrastructure and registrars are fully in place. Just underutilized.
3.) The extension is a natural for this use. (short, memorable and already established).
3.) The extension really doesn't have a specific brand established. Narrowing the focus (to this unlimited market or mobile based business) could have immediate and revolutionary results. Rebranding .biz as the mobile based business extension would be an easy coup for the registry.

By the way, I have read recently that we now have more mobile devices connected to the Internet than we have people in the world. Or we very soon will. (I don't have an exact count). That's a pretty large target market.

How could the next Behemoth (i.e. monster) domain extension be sitting so quietly and innocently on the shelf right in front of our eyes? The answer is simple. The timing has not been right. That is until now.

First of all here are the catalysts for this new domain extension boom.

1.) The mobilization of the masses across the globe. From Tokyo to Timbucktu everyone is getting online. There is now an ease of entry to almost anyone to get online, get engaged and make money. All you need is a handset. That's a low barrier.

2.) Low end mobile devices are taking the world by storm. Take a look at all of the mobile companies. From Google to Nokia to Samsung and even Blackberry. They are all getting on board in a big way with low end phones, smartphones and tablets. The potential target markets are massive, profitable and easily cultivated through viral marketing.

3.) Business opportunity models that capitalize on these trends (of everyone owning a mobile device and being connected to the Internet) are in a position to dictate another wave of Internet engagement and commerce. In a way that hasn't been done before.

Mobile Based Business can be the great equalizer for economic inequality in our society.

Are you listening Mr. Obama?

The ventures/companies/organizations that capitalize on these trends will be big winners.


If your are curious yourself you might try a quick search at news.google.com for the term "low end phones." There are 90 news stories/results today regarding all of the major handset makers focusing on the low end phones. That isn't to even mention low end handsets and tablets.

That is not just a trend. That is an avalanche. It is really a revolution. All of the (handset) makers have noticed. It's now up to the individuals to devise ways to capitalize on the proliferation of the low end devices and provide opportunities for the users.

I say that "mobile based business" is the way to go. Stay tuned for some projects that I am co-developing in this space. There are some specific strategies that I believe will be key in propogating this Mobile Based (.biz) model. As is often the case, there are likely just one or two key "distinctions" that will be key.

Welcome to the "Inter-niche".

By Duane J. Higgins, ceo
xtradot.com

99.9% of the (upwards of 1000) newly proposed domain name extensions have no chance of ever rivaling or even competing with .com as the king of the Internet.  The new name extensions are going to be "niche" names. Limited scope or category specific names.

For the record, I will  say that there is one (and only one) name that even has the potential to rival .com in its popularity, usage and pervasiveness- and that is the proposed extensions of .web.  No fewer than seven companies have applied for the privalege to run a proposed .web registry. Each one knows what the stakes could be.  .Web has at least a punchers chance to ever take on .com and compete. .Web has a chance however slim. Not impossible. Not likely. I have written about the .com dominance in prior blog posts and you can find that if you like. Suffice it to say that .com is and will remain the kind of the Internet. If you ask me, someone has to be at the top of the pyramid and I don't see .com coming off. 

Keep in mind that .net was the last extension to have the "punchers chance" to take on .com and compete. What happened to .net? .Net is a nice little "niche name" that is widely used for many purposes. Does it rival .com in usage and popularity? Not even close. Not even in the same conversation. Does .web have a better chance than .net (to rival .com)? We will see.

Let me give you an example of some of the new domain extensions that are about to be released onto the global marketplace.

.bike
.ventures
.holdings
.plumbing
.guru
.singles
.lighting
.contractors
.estate
.technology
.equipment
.graphics
.gallery
.photography
.voyage
.tattoo
.career
.sexy
.land
.careers
.photos.
.shoes
.cab
.company
.computer
.academy
.systems
.management
.center

Ok, you get the idea.  That's a nice list of some niche names that will become new domain extensions. That list is just a few of the upwards of 1000 proposed new domain extensions. The new extensions that will be added to the mix along with the existing extensions of  .com, .net, .org, .info, .biz, .us and the like. This list above does not include of course the newly proposed country code domains,  non-english character domains, and branded/company names that have been proposed.

Why do I bring all of this up?

The reason is that there will be an interesting hierarchy developing  between the existing domain name extensions (such as .com, .net and .org) and all of the newly proposed extensions.

I'll pull a few of the new name applications that appear to have the potential to engender even slightly more attention or interest than the type of niche names listed above. Some of these name do have potential for fairly widespread usage.


.blog
.book
.buy
.club
.deals
.free
.home
.mail
.mobile
.music
.news
.online
.tech
.shop
.store
.web

Ok, that's enough of those for now and back to my main point.

The existing names of .com, .net, .org and .info will remain as popular as ever. Even the names that were lagging behind such as .mobi and .biz are likely to see a renewed interest do to the release of the new domain extensions. There will be many winners and losers among the new extensions. However, the domain extensions that have the least to worry about are the already established extensions. The newly proposed extensions will serve as adjuncts and additions to the existing extensions.

We'll see how this process (of introduction of new domain name extensions) rolls out over the next few years. It will be interesting to see how this new "Inter-niche" plays out.

Will .mobile lead to a .mobi renaissance?

By Duane J. Higgins, ceo
xtradot.com

There are upwards of 1000 new domain name extensions about to be poured onto the Internet scene. Many have speculated on who will be the big (registry) winners in this new gamble by ICANN (The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) who administrate the domain extensions and proposed the massive expansion as well.

We have an avalance of new top level domain name extensions coming down the slope.  So what we are undoubtedly  looking at a paradigm shift in the way that domain names are viewed and utilized in our global society. Who will be the largest beneficiaries of the deployment of the new domain name extensions? Some have speculated that .web and .shop are destined to be big winners.

Who will be some of the big winners?

Will it be .shop, .web, .book, .mobile or any number of a thousand others?

I would like to take a look specifically at .mobile and .mobily.  The domain extensions .mobile and .mobily have been applied for as part of ICANNS reorganization of the Internet. Of course, the domain extension .mobi has been in existence since 2005. In fact, .mobile has been applied for (to run the registry) by three different entities. Suffice it to say that we will likely soon be looking at the three domain extensions (.mobi, .mobile and .mobily) widely available on the Internet for purchase and use.

(* .Mobily Mobily (Arabic: موبايلي‎) is the trade name launched in May 2005^[2] by Saudi Arabia's second Telecommunications company. (from Wikipedia post).)

What is the point of all of having three extensions that have essentially the same meaning and content?

You might look here:

According to a recent Cisco research report. The number of smartphones, tablets, laptops and internet-capable phones will exceed number of humans in 2013. 

These numbers already suggest more than 8 billion Internet connected devices by now.  Probably more. Now these 8 billion Internet connected devices mean alot of different things to many people. However, to the domain name industry (because that's what I write about) it will likely mean many (hundreds of millions) more domain name registrations one way or another. Meaning, depending on what the new registries/operators have planned for the new and old extensions.  The basic reasons for the likely explosion in (mobile related) domain names are as such- in order of importance:

Defensive registrations by companies seeking to prevent domain "squatting" or misuse and protection of intellectual property.
Domain name speculation (investments)
Company/website names and development. (such as domain portfolios)
Other uses (such as email addresses, mobile ids or security related)

How many new domain name purchases could (mobile specific) domain names involve? Projections are that billions and billions of mobile devices (accelerating at a rapid pace) are connected to and connecting to the Internet.  Remember that domain names are cheap. That ten dollars/year for some useful application is pretty inexpensive. One billion domain names sold at ten dollars/year is ten billion in revenue/year. Not bad for any new domain name extension (such as .mobile) or even .mobi which many have already left for dead and is which is likely to see a renaissance.

To the .mobi domain extension I say congratulations and welcome to your new life.

Big Domain Players Taking the "Long View" with gTLDs.

By Duane J. Higgins
xtradot.com

The new gTLD registrars are most certainly taking the "long view" regarding the prospective success of the new domain name extensions. With billions of dollars being invested in the new domain name extensions-the big time players are placing very calculated bets on the future of the Internet. (and the domain name industry as a whole) rather than much immediate success.

What will the Internet landscape look like in 10-20 years? No one has the slightest idea. What will the domain name landscape/marketplace look like in 10-20 years? No one worth their salt would place a bet in any direction there. There are so many question marks and only speculation.

Beyond the speculation I do have some givens that the new registrars are counting on as part of their calculus.  Why else would the (at least four) largest players (Google, Uniregistry, Donuts and Amazon) be willing to pony up hundreds of millions of dollars each for just the chance at dictating this new domain name landscape?

Here are some givens that helped guide these big players to their investments:

1.) The registrars are counting on mostly slow and continued growth of their individual extensions. There likely won't be any wildly successful extensions right off the bat. Maybe .web or .shop and possibly others.

2.) Many (if not most with some extensions) of the registrations will be defensive in nature. Domain registrations done to protect name or proprietary interests. Defensive registrations. Some registries will have mostly defensive registrations and those numbers could number in the millions for those registries. That will be big profits.

3.) Speculative domain registrations will be rampant. There are already enough domain name speculators to cover this. Add in a few million new speculators to the mix and in some cases you will see a frenzy for certain extensions. That will be pure speculation. Registering domain names is too easy. All you need is credit card, paypal account or some form of payment. The costs are so low that theres essentially no barrier to entry. Why wouldn't many people jump on board and try to make some money? Why not take a chance on SanDiego.bike, Mystery.book, newage.music, or bankapp.financial? As I mentioned, the speculation (and frenzy) will be endless.

Some of the newest domain extensions are already available and hundreds and hundreds more will be introduced over the next few years.

Are you ready to place your bets?

Is the .cc Domain Extension a Sleeping Giant?

By Duane J. Higgins, ceo
xtradot.com

With upwards of 1000 new domain name extensions about to be released onto the global marketplace, why would I devote an entire blog post to the .cc extension?  An old, worn out, passe' country code that has yet to find an actual niche, significant target market or brand identity.

I did read on the Internet the other day that .cc was poised for a revival. The author didn't say why, how or when- however that it was going to happen.  So I decided to do a bit of research on that extension and to find out just how a rebirth of that domain extension could or would happen.

First of all, the .cc extension has been bouncing around the Internet for some. Some brief information on that extension from Wikipedia:

.cc is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Cocos (Keeling) Islands, an Australian territory of 5.4 square miles and about 600 inhabitants. It is administered by VeriSign through a subsidiary company eNIC, which promotes it for international registration as "the next .com"; .cc was originally assigned in October 1997 to eNIC Corporation of Seattle, Washington, by the IANA. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, an unrecognised country by the UN, that officially belongs to the republic of Cyprus, also uses the .cc domain.

Also, according to Wikipedia:

The .cc domain is preferred by many cycling clubs as well as churches and Christian organizations as "CC" also happens to be an abbreviation for "Christian Church" or "Catholic Church." Some open-source/open-hardware projects, e.g. the Arduino project, use a .cc for their home pages, as "CC" is the abbreviation for "Creative Commons", whose licenses are used in the projects. Business owners in Southern Massachusetts are rapidly adopting Cape Cod CC domains for local identity. Canadian Club whiskey has also used .cc domains for marketing purposes.


So in other words, .cc domain names are used for many things. No real defined target market. .cc has been a generalist  rather than a specialist. A jack-of-all trades in the Internet community. Useful for many, valuable to few.

So, I'm thinking that with a thousand new domain extensions about to be introduced to the open market that .cc is dead in the water, right? Or maybe not.

Then it hit me like a ton of clicks. 

What if  a new identity were established for the .cc extension? A singular, identifying and universally recognized identity or focus. A brand identity.  


What if the .cc domain extension were marketed as a "dot credit card" extension and how could that be applied or utilized as a domain extension?

Its not as far fetched as you might initially think. First of all,  .credit and .creditcard have both been applied for with the new domain name extensions. If you ask me, I think that .cc is much better than .creditcard. The .CreditCard applicant has hundreds of millions of dollars behind it. Apparently, someone is quite serious about that extension and the value. Why not .cc instead or as well? It's shorter and easy to remember. That's just me. .Finance and .Financial are also applied for.

Let me give you a few examples of how the .cc (credit card) extension could be used/marketed to users:

Masked Credit Cards- One the buzz words of today. (See Forbes article dated 12/4/2013). How could the promoters of masked credit cards capitalize on this movement? Maybe your purchase your identity (with a .cc extension) such as JohnQDavis.cc. That is your highly secure sign in site for your account. You are able to manage all of your credit card accounts and move your funds around from there. Also, to manage your masked account. Part of the security is the unique identifiers/security layers that are used for you to sign into your personal site. Part of the security is the IP address that your sign in from and the ip address assigned to your domain name.  No one else can get in and your credit card usage will be masked.


 Account Management: See above. .cc could be (the) secure way to manage all credit card and online (credit) accounts.

Retailers- There could be highly secure advantages for online retailers (how many of them are there?) to have a separate (and highly secure) site/extension for credit card management.  The key word is security. If .cc were to brand itself as the secure extension for credit card management/accounts that could really be branded that way.

Amazon.cc
Ebay.cc
Facebook.cc
Apple.cc
Samsung.cc
Microsoft.cc
Yahoo.cc
Google.cc
 
Virtual Credit Cards: With the developments in eWallets, virtual coins and currency you can use your imagination. I want to throw in a few wild cards though. Rotating IP addresses (like are sometimes used in the mobile industry) and shifting servers as in utilizing a variety of cloud servers that arbitrarily shift. All related to security that could be used and applied with the .cc extension. Again unique IP address and unique (IP) sign-in platform are part of the security.

(Just so you know, I'm not a technologist. Im just a blogger. The technology details are for someone else to work out.) 


.CC might consider taking a lesson from the new .secure domain extension that has been applied for. According to the website of  Artemis.net the group that has applied for the extension:

.secure is a unique Top-Level Domain (TLD) that provides Internet users with confidence to go about their business online in a trustworthy environment. The value of .secure comes from three core principals: verify, secure and enforce.  There is a good deal more information on that site. However, the basic idea is that .secure will be the most secure domain extension of them all.

Just checking to see if your listening .cc?

Anyone else  ready to invest in .cc (dot credit card)?

I'm in.

With the new gTLDs... Everyone Wins.

By Duane J. Higgins, ceo
xtradot.com

After several years of planning-  ICANN (the Internets governing body) did open up applications for proposed new gTLDs. They received over 1900 applications and are likely to introduce around 1000 new domain name extensions when the smoke clears.

There are two schools of thought swirling around the Internet (and often colliding)  regarding the prospective success of the new domain extensions.

The first is that the new domain extensions (such as .shop, .web, .books, .music, .online, .app etc. etc. etc.) are the best thing that ever happened to the Internet. That opportunities will abound for the new registries and new domain name extensions. That the sky will be the limit for the new applications that are being developed and will be developed for the use of these new domain extensions.

The competing school of thought is that there are already 22 Global Top Level Domain Name extensions. They are listed here: .com, .net, .org, .info, .biz, .edu, .gov, .mil,  .int, .aero, .asia, .cat, .coop, .jobs,.mobi, .museum, .name, .pro, .post, .tel, .travel, .xxx.  That this list of domain extensions has already met with only a  mixed degrees of success regarding each individual extension. That with 22 current gTLDs that there is a very good argument that there is already too many. Some will argue that for example many of the extensions have already failed. The most often targeted extensions for this accusation are .mobi, .biz, .info, and .name.

Those are two totally divergent viewpoints. Two viewpoints that are both very popular around the Internet.

Which argument is right?

Well of course they both are.

First of all as far as the "old standby" domain name extensions such as. .net, .org and .com. go. They will remain big, bigger and biggest into the forseeable future. First of all .net is the natural extension for the Internet and has a huge head start on the new extensions. It is an extension that will remain big and potentially get much more popular. .Org is reserved for non-profit. That extension is established as well. No worries for that extension either. .Org will remain the premium extension for non-profit organizations.

As for .com which stands for commercial.   Of the currently 250 million registered domain names, over 100 million are .com. That extension is at the top of the food chain and there it will stay. Let me ask you one question to settle that point. What company or person would invest any significant amount of money or time in a domain name with the new extensions without owning the .com version as well? No one in their right mind would. With that settled I have a few more points.

There are 300 some country code names such as .cn for China. .jp for Japan and .us for the United States etc. Country code top-level domains total of 110.2 million domain names registrations.Those extensions will continue to be popular. For the same reason that area codes, zip codes and phone extensions remain important. They identify with a certain country or locality. That won't change.

Now as far as for the current extensions that have been deemed less than successful. I would suggest that the new extensions (upwards of 1000 of them) are actually likely to be a boon to the "old extensions" such as .mobi, .biz and .info. The reason is that a new mindset about the place of domain names in our society and lives is about to evolve. What we are about to see is a sea change in how domain names are seen and utilized in our everyday lives. One thousand new domain name extensions flooding the Internet will have a tendency to do that to us. Leave it to the creative types, the marketers and the advertisers to program that into our DNA over the next several years and decades with the new domain name applications that proliferate. 

What I'm willing to predict here is that most if not all of the new domain extensions will be successful. Let's simply define success as being profitable and leave it that that as there are thousands of ways to define what would be deemed "successful." (Save for mismanagement by the registry or operators). Some will be wildly successful and some moderately successful and some will scrape by. However, like I just said, All it will take is a  change of mindset by the masses as to what domain names can be and how they can be used to enhance our lives. Phone numbers, email addresses (and) domain names. Give it some time.

So I'm also predicting that the introductions of the new gTLDs will be a boon to some of the older (and slightly tired) extensions such as .mobi, .info,  and .biz.  Domain names are going to become much more prominent and a much more significant part of all of our lives. Without exaggerating, as I've said in previous articles- we will all (or a large majority of us) soon own one, or two or dozens or hundreds of domain names. Just as we all have email addresses and mobile phone numbers. Circumstances that will unfold over the next several years and decades. As I said in the title of this blog. With the new gTLDs... everyone wins.

Mobile Phone Numbers, Email Addresses and ...Domain Names.

By Duane J. Higgins, ceo
xtradot.com

Believe it or not there may be a time in the coming years where the question of "what's your domain name?" will be as common as the oft repeated questions of yesteryear such as "what's your email address?" or "what's your mobile phone number?"

How long before we all have our own domain name? or two or three or dozens? My guess is that within 10 years owning an internet domain name will be as common as candy. As common as email addresses. As common as mobile phone numbers. In fact, I think the more common questions will be "how many domain names do you have?" and "what domains do you own" or "what's your domain portfolio valued at?"

The easy analogy for the ultimate place of domain names in our society is of course is to our physical/home address or places that we live. How many of us have home addresses? The places that we live? Of course we all do. If you tabulate that worldwide that would be billions of home addresses. One to match nearly every person with multiple people in many residences.

With the ongoing release of upwards of 1000 new top level domain extensions such as .web, .fun, .pics, .pay, .app, .home, .tube, .win, .cloud, .life, .fun, .book, .movie, .online and on and on and on. - We are all going to have unlimited opportunities for the personalization of our own domain names. Domain names that will be used primarily as Internet identities and Internet addresses. The places that we live on the Internet. Just as most of us move around in the real world and end up having several physical addresses over time. That is what will happen with our domain names. Depending on the usage at the time and our goals and objectives, we will all own at least one or maybe several or dozens or hundreds of domain names over the course of our lives. Some of them we will keep. Some we will sell. Some we will even trade or lease. Just we we do with the places we live in our mobile lives in the real world. Our lives on the Internet will be mobile and changeable and adaptable as well. Innovative and valuable domain name uses are going to spring up and draw us into them. With the introduction of these upwards of 1000 new domain name extensions- domain name applications and uses for the consumer and commercial use alike can ultimately explode exponentially.

Adding to the luster of domain name ownership and registrations are the fact that many domain registrations are going to continue to be purely speculative. Just as they are now. Of the almost 290 million domain names currently registered, how many were registered for speculative purposes? I would venture a guess at least two thirds. Domain Names that were registered as primarily investments. A hedge against the future that someone would pay the individual more in the future than they paid for the name. That trend will continue to happen, grow and I suspect accelerate. Where else can you buy (register) a commodity for say 10-20 dollars and turn around and potentially sell it for thousands of dollars or more? Almost nowhere else. That's called a low barrier to entry. Buying domain names is easy. Speculating on them is fun. Look for that trend to mushroom as well.

With this release of upwards or 1000 new Top Level Domain extensions onto the global marketplace-we are going to gradually see Domain names take a new seat in our society. Domain names are going to become more prevalent, more common, more ordinary and more a part of our everyday lives.

As I mentioned before. Think of mobile phone numbers and think of email addresses. How long ago was it when none of us had either one of those? Just a few short years ago. That is where domains names may be. Quite possibly a big part of all of our lives. Meaning that most of us will have one or more and we will all know what they are and can be used for. Much different than today.

Just give it some time.

Is Google Developing a Domain Name Killer?

By Duane J. Higgins, ceo
xtradot.com

Throughout the years there have been a  number of  "domain name killer" applications come across my desk or teletype machine. I wanted to pass on a recent post I came across about the latest doom and gloom report on domain names. 

There is an interesting post by Simon Johnson posted on his website DomainerIncome.com. The title of the article is  "New Catastrophic Threat to Domains and new gTLDs."  The premise of the article is an unofficial mention from an unofficial Google Blog talking about a new “Google Experiment” which hides the URL in search results.

What could that proposed (experimental) Google browser feature have in consequence for the long term viability of domain names? Some would think that the result could be catastrophic? Especially if additonal browsers move towards the same trend of hiding the URL (domain name) in the search result. Now, do you think this URL blocking feature will get much traction or ever have any widespread usage?  If you ask me I don't think it's very likely.

Think of  a world without numbered houses, apartments or mailboxes? Without physical addresses? How would that work out? 

That's an Internet without domain names.

I"ve written about the integral place of domain names in society before- however this is a good opportunity for me to emphasize some of these points again.

Domain names have everything to do with the Internet. They are identifiers. They are Internet addresses. Just as physical addresses are such in real life. Domain names are critical to our ability to navigate the Internet. Domain names represent the intersection of the real world and the Internet.

Domain names are of course just names. Just as we all use our own personal/legal  names and the names of others (how would the world function without people having legal names?) Domain names represent our connection to the Internet and places on the Internet and everything on it.

There are several prevailing currents swirling around the domain name industry that will assure that this potential Google "URL hiding feature" would end up being nothing more than a cute little trick or fad that may or may not be included in some browsers. (and may even end up helping with the growth and usage of domain names).

First of all, there is a very good chance that a URL hiding feature in the search results could be a boon for domain names. If the domain names are hidden in the search results-then users would have that much more motivation/incentive to learn, know and record (maybe an app to save them) so the domain names/sites could be accessed immediately when needed. Think of saving phone numbers or email addresses in your smart phone or address book. We could get to that point with domain names. But you will still need the names. Now that everyone has everyone elses phone number in their address book did that eliminate the usage of phone numbers? Of course not.

With the impending launch of upwards of 1000 new gTLD domain name extensions-we are about to see a massive explosion in domain name registration and usage. I have predicted on previous blog posts that we are likely to see the number of current domain name registrations which are 250 million- to easily jump by a multiple of 10 in 2 or 3 years. That would be 2.5 billion registered names in a few short years.  Suffice it to say that we are going to see explosive growth in domain name registrations in the coming few years. By consumers. By companies. By Industries. By governments. This is just going to happen.

Now I have to mention that with the impending launch of upwards of 1000 new gTLDs- Google recently applied for the ability to administrate over 100 of those domain name extensions through an entity called Charleston Road Registry Inc. Google paid almost 20 million dollars in application fees for the right to potentially run these registries.  Google stands to make billions of dollars in profits  from running these new domain name registries and they stand to develop countless applications for the new gTLDs. What is the chance that they would send their own cash cow (the  new gTLDs)  out to pasture and block the domain name results in their browser? That's not likely to happen.

Also, I should remind you that Google is the company that also recently proposed to offer dotless domain names with the .search top level extension that they have applied for.  That project was shot down in a "New York minute" by ICANN (the Internet overseer) as the Google proposal was found to be very risky and unsecure to the domain name infrastructure. My point is that Google clearly experiments in alot of areas. Not all of them fruitful.