Name.com
Encyclopedia
Name.com is an ICANN accredited domain name registrar
and web hosting company.
, who previously founded the computer software company, Mushkin
Inc. in 1994. Mushkin bought the company Spot Domain LLC (Domainsite.com) in 2002. There are currently three registrars in the group: domainsite.com, name.com and name.net.
Name.com offers domain registrations with free Google Apps.
Name also recently introduced two factor authentication.
and Bergdorf Goodman
. The companies declared the domain registrars Name.com and Spot Domain had registered over 40 domains of various misspellings, such as NeimanMarco.com and BerdgorfGoodman.com. These domains failed to show accurate contact information or provided false details. In the complaint, which was filed in March 2007, in the US District Court in Denver, the high-end retailers sought damages of at least $100,000 per name.
Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman claimed that the registrars were taking advantage of their special status with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN
), to secure misspelled domains during the five-day grace period, and paying only for the ones with valuable revenue. This practice, called domain tasting
, resulted in cybersquatting
on various trademarked names. Neiman Marcus had accused the registrar Dotster in 2006 of the same infringement. Mushkin, however, denied the accusations of "domain tasting," explaining that Name.com and Spot Domain were merely registrars, caught in the crossfire. He also argued that "the industry is young," and the issues were not clear-cut. In the settlement, there were several stipulations imposed on the companies Name.com and Spot Domain. Mushkin declined to specify the agreement that was reached.
(EFF) are listed as well.
Apart from the listed donations, Name.com has been involved in several other charitable efforts. The company has a bike-to-work incentive program which involves payback for a new bicycle. Though the project appears to be at a standstill, Name.com worked briefly on a system of maps for laptop.org, and offered to guide interns in their Denver office. In April, 2008, Name.com went to London for the Webby’s People’s Voice Awards, sponsored by The Public Interest Registry
, the registry behind the .ORG extension. Name.com sponsored Idealist.org at the event, which featured a panel of non-profits, including Greenpeace
and Wikipedia
.
Domain name registrar
A domain name registrar is an organization or commercial entity, accredited by both ICANN and generic top-level domain registry to sell gTLDs and/or by a country code top-level domain registry to sell ccTLDs; to manage the reservation of Internet domain names in accordance with the guidelines of...
and web hosting company.
History
Name.com was founded in 2003, by Bill MushkinMushkin
Mushkin is best known for producing computer memory modules . Located in Englewood, Colorado, United States, Mushkin provides performance enhanced computer products to users worldwide, with customers including gamers and industry professionals, and the firm claims to have supplied Apple Inc...
, who previously founded the computer software company, Mushkin
Mushkin
Mushkin is best known for producing computer memory modules . Located in Englewood, Colorado, United States, Mushkin provides performance enhanced computer products to users worldwide, with customers including gamers and industry professionals, and the firm claims to have supplied Apple Inc...
Inc. in 1994. Mushkin bought the company Spot Domain LLC (Domainsite.com) in 2002. There are currently three registrars in the group: domainsite.com, name.com and name.net.
Services
Name.com offers more than 50 gTLD and ccTLD extensions and an aftermarket domain brokerage. Customers have over one million domain names registered with the company.Name.com offers domain registrations with free Google Apps.
Name also recently introduced two factor authentication.
Additional projects
The employees at Name.com have worked on additional side projects, including Who.is, BlueRider.com and Wiki.Name.com.Domain tasting allegation
In 2007, Name.com was accused of trademark infringement by Neiman MarcusNeiman Marcus
Neiman Marcus, formerly Neiman-Marcus, is a luxury specialty retail department store operated by the Neiman Marcus Group in the United States. The company is headquartered in the One Marcus Square building in Downtown Dallas, Texas, and competes with other department stores such as Saks Fifth...
and Bergdorf Goodman
Bergdorf Goodman
Bergdorf Goodman is a luxury goods department store based on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The company was founded in 1899 by Herman Bergdorf and was later owned and managed by Edwin Goodman, and later his son Andrew Goodman....
. The companies declared the domain registrars Name.com and Spot Domain had registered over 40 domains of various misspellings, such as NeimanMarco.com and BerdgorfGoodman.com. These domains failed to show accurate contact information or provided false details. In the complaint, which was filed in March 2007, in the US District Court in Denver, the high-end retailers sought damages of at least $100,000 per name.
Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman claimed that the registrars were taking advantage of their special status with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN
ICANN
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is a non-profit corporation headquartered in Marina del Rey, California, United States, that was created on September 18, 1998, and incorporated on September 30, 1998 to oversee a number of Internet-related tasks previously performed directly...
), to secure misspelled domains during the five-day grace period, and paying only for the ones with valuable revenue. This practice, called domain tasting
Domain tasting
Domain tasting is the practice of a domain name registrant using the five-day "grace period" at the beginning of the registration of an ICANN-regulated second-level domain to test the marketability of the domain...
, resulted in cybersquatting
Cybersquatting
Cybersquatting , according to the United States federal law known as the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, is registering, trafficking in, or using a domain name with bad faith intent to profit from the goodwill of a trademark belonging to someone else...
on various trademarked names. Neiman Marcus had accused the registrar Dotster in 2006 of the same infringement. Mushkin, however, denied the accusations of "domain tasting," explaining that Name.com and Spot Domain were merely registrars, caught in the crossfire. He also argued that "the industry is young," and the issues were not clear-cut. In the settlement, there were several stipulations imposed on the companies Name.com and Spot Domain. Mushkin declined to specify the agreement that was reached.
Philanthropy
The site name.com/good features an assortment of causes supported by Name.com. The company has supported a range of non-profits, including a small literary magazine in South Africa, Amazwi, and a well-known local organization, Environment Colorado. Many of the charities featured are small, grassroots efforts, though Susan G. Komen and Electronic Frontier FoundationElectronic Frontier Foundation
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is an international non-profit digital rights advocacy and legal organization based in the United States...
(EFF) are listed as well.
Apart from the listed donations, Name.com has been involved in several other charitable efforts. The company has a bike-to-work incentive program which involves payback for a new bicycle. Though the project appears to be at a standstill, Name.com worked briefly on a system of maps for laptop.org, and offered to guide interns in their Denver office. In April, 2008, Name.com went to London for the Webby’s People’s Voice Awards, sponsored by The Public Interest Registry
Public Interest Registry
Public Interest Registry is a not-for-profit corporation created by the Internet Society in 2002 to manage the .org top-level domain. It took over the operation of the domain from VeriSign on 1 January 2003. Afilias manages the technical operations of the .org registry under a contract with the...
, the registry behind the .ORG extension. Name.com sponsored Idealist.org at the event, which featured a panel of non-profits, including Greenpeace
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
and Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
.
External links
- Name.com
- What's Your Name.com? (company blog)