Police and Authorities Now Taking Online Crime Much More Seriously.

Evening Folks!!

Been a LONG slog these past years. Ghostbusters was about your best bet because the Police, FBI and authorities throughout the world were largely uninterested in online criminal activity and other crimes online. They did not understand it and they did not take it seriously. Not their fault. That is the cost of progress. That's why it takes so long for something as big as the internet to be understood.

A few things changed it along the way. 9/11 was the start. AirKatrina.com was when it  grabbed headlines and attention when the Attorney General of the USA is on national tv speaking about it. That incident changed how charities operate online and even off-line. The authorities were now interested in folks abusing others online and the fraud and that went along with it.

But even after that it would be years before the authorities took things really seriously. Crimes via Craig's list and others drove the effort. Today they understand more. Not 100% but they do understand it is THEIR jurisdiction. I think Australia has led the way in some of the crimes as their authorities have always responded and showed an interest in things online. They are proactive in investigating and they follow-up. They share information that in the USA would never happen.

The USA is getting better. Still may not be easy. There are ways to start the ball rolling where before they would just give you an empty look and point you to another department or jurisdiction who would in turn point you to another and another and eventually you would end where you started and at that point you try one more time and then give up.

This is the reason I also believe that Reverse Domain Name Hijacking is in the last days. The rash of over reaching is going to be OVER within a year or two. There will always be some SCHMUCK that will try to steal, but I believe that the numbers in the second half of 2013 nd 2014 will decline and I think we are already seeing that. Don't forget to factor in how many more domains there are today than 10 years ago and the fact it is widely known many are very valuable.  Plus all parties are much more sophisticated and educated on what's what!

The social penalty is much more severe and long-lasting than a fine. Plus a fine of $1000 won't do much. $10,000? Maybe a bit stronger deterrent but on a $2 million domain still a good gamble. So you would have to get to at least a $100k penalty or make it criminal to actually deter. That is why the social penalty is a bigger deterrent. Priceless!

So a tip of the hat to the authorities for finally recognizing that crime online is just as important as crime offline! And also a tip of the hat to the WIPO and NAF panels that are largely getting it right these days as opposed to days past. Tomorrow we will take it to the next level. Until then.......

Rick Schwartz

 

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Core Diagnostics of Gurgaon, India Tries to Reverse Hijack CoreDiagostics.com and LOSES! My Turn!

Afternoon Folks!

According to TheDomains.com, Core Diagnostics of Gurgaon, India has just been found GUILTY of Reverse Domain Name Hijacking (RDNH)

The Complainant is M/s. Core Diagnostics of Gurgaon, India, represented internally. Represented internally??? Love it!  (Otherwise known as a "Self Colonoscopy" with complications. lol) I am gonna stick it hard to these MORONS and would be THIEVES!

We have another Reverse Domain Name Hijacking Decision and this one was a slam dunk in 2 sentences:

4. Factual Background


The Complainant first started business in 2011. It registered its trademarks in 2012.

The Respondent registered the disputed domain name in 2001 and has been using it since then to promote various medical diagnostic products.

GAME OVER in my book and it was!! Nothing more to win this one and EXPOSE another would be THIEF!

Your job is to circulate and let it cost them. That's how you put a fine and penalty on what they do and hopefully that has a long term cost to them. Those that take the time and energy to tell me how meaningless that is let me suggest you help me with that time and energy. Give  it and me the benefit of the doubt.

Time to rip these folks a new one along with their "In house" attorney. SCHMUCKS!

More to come as they get listed on my hit parade charts as #46.

Rick Schwartz

Can the New gTLD’s Have a Domino Collapse? You Betcha! I’ll Show you How.

Morning Folks!!

Can the New gTLD's Have a Domino Collapse? That is a very provocative question but does not delegitimize me asking it? At what point does the weight of other extensions that have not done well weigh so much on what is coming that the entire thing collapses like 1000 dominos lined up. When you add the weight of dozens of .mobi's and .travels. When you add the weight of all the gTLD's that have already been canceled. When you add the weight that even a GREAT gTLD could be tainted by the loss of the others.

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Does it matter if .mobi has 1,000,000 domain registrations? Does that make it a better investment or is it still a loser as it stands today? Who cares if they make money at the registry level? They are no factor in domain investing or even domain flipping. It has NOTHING to do with YOUR LIFE!

And I don't mean to pick on .mobi but that is without doubt the clearest example so far. With great fanfare. They had their moment in the sun.They make $$$ with the sunrise and all, but face it, domain investors got caught holding the bag. And that is ok. That is what speculation is about. But other extensions DO have a more active aftermarket. .TV, .INFO, .ME. So there are lessons to be learned.

So in the event that the first 100 new extensions came to market and fell flat, what exactly would that spell for the other 900? It does not help their efforts it hinders their efforts. Even a winner could be weighed down by the sinking of others. And some are gonna sink right to the bottom.

So in that event, I would think some would be forced to even further delay a new extension rollout as they could go down with the tide. Let me be clear, I am not saying this will happen. But I do see it as ONE of the possibilities. Who goes FIRST could play a huge part in how this all unfolds. What if the first 5 rollouts are DOGS?

Food for thought. Never discount things that are possible until that threshold has been passed. .Mobi did not make the cut. Tebow did not make the cut. Both were surrounded by excitement and all the rest. But at the end of the day, the road has yet to lead either where they "Intended" to go. Tebow is still alive, .mobi is not alive as a domain investor extension today. So who cares how many are registered. They are not being used commercially and that is the KEY to value. No billboards, no TV, No Radio, no ADVERTISING DOLLARS at the end-user level. That's the KEY to growth. Not a bunch if domain investors buying TULIPS! If you don't know the Tulip Story, go LEARN IT right now!! RIGHT NOW. I sure have talked about it enough over the years. THAT is the most likely scenario at best.

Need, want desire. If nobody needs, wants or desires an extension and the few they sell are to investors looking for the 2nd coming and few if any are used commercially in advertising, how exactly does it get the oxygen to survive? Especially for investors. In OUR LIFETIME!?

.Com took off for a reason. The value of .com took off for a reason. How much did end users spend promoting .mobi last year?? THAT is where the value STARTS!

Reasons are missing in this new equation. They are just missing. And when you try to copy a recipe and the main ingredients are missing, what exactly do you have?

990 or more extensions could be very disappointed with their results regardless of their aspiring intentions. Some may not matter because with many new gTLD's then collectively they can operate and make money. But that is a different business than we are in.

.com did not happen overnight even with millions of registrations and many advertising the extension and little competition. A success on a new gTLD could take 10-20 years or more to manifest itself. Some folks think they can't plant a seed in the morning and have a tree in the evening. Maybe. 3 real or FAKE stories like that and the sheep will come a running.

But not to consider these things? Come on! This is MORE than possible given the evidence we already have. So those who have not thought about this scenario.....are they REALLY prepared? My question being in sales and marketing for so long is why would you not EXPECT it to happen? So if you don't expect something that is a possibility and that possibility arises and you are caught SURPRISED.......what happens then?

Rick Schwartz