Daily Wrap: ICANN CEO Update, .TICKETS Unique Thwarting of Cybersquatters, Instagram Launches Legal Proceedings, Afilias Has Damages Slashed Against Architelos And Auto gTLDs Gets $1m In EAP

ICANN participants logoStephen Crocker, ICANN’s Chair, has provided an update on the process to choose a successor to Fadi Chehadé. In short, Crocker says he “cannot say much more now” but that he ‘looks forward to giving a fuller update just as soon as he can.’ Chehadé is set to have his last day with ICANN on 12 March

ICANN participants logoStephen Crocker, ICANN’s Chair, has provided an update on the process to choose a successor to Fadi Chehadé. In short, Crocker says he “cannot say much more now” but that he ‘looks forward to giving a fuller update just as soon as he can.’ Chehadé is set to have his last day with ICANN on 12 March.

The .tickets gTLD has an interesting means of protecting against cybersquatting. It’s one that Domain Incite asks if it could be “the ultimate anti-cybersquatting system.”

The registry, Accent Media, “has launched an anti-cybersquatting measure that lets the world know who is trying to register what domain name a whole month before the domain is allowed to go live.”

“The service, at domains.watch, is currently only being used by .tickets, but it seems to be geared up to accept other TLDs too.” There are two processes for registrations – “fast track” and “standard”. The former “is for organisations with trademarks matching their names. It take five days for the trademark to be verified and the domain to go live.”

“Instagram has launched legal proceedings in the US in a bid to have a 2011 domain name purchase agreement upheld and block a ‘sham’ lawsuit in China” reports IPPro. Facebook paid $100,000 for the domain in 2011, which was previously owned by a Chinese registrant. The registrant, Murong Zhou, has “along with other family members, has made a business out of squatting on domain names containing famous trademarks, including Instagram’s, according to the district court complaint.”

Afilias was recently awarded a whopping $10 million in a court case against Architelos in a “trades secrets case” reports Domain Incite. A jury decided Architelos “had misappropriated trade secrets from Afilias in order to build its patented NameSentry domain security service, may even be thrown a lifeline enabling it to continue business.”

“A little over a week ago, the judge ordered that the $10 million judgment originally imposed by the jury should be reduced to $2 million.” Even this reduced would be too much for Architelos that has suffered a loss of business since the decision. “But the judge seems to be considering an injunction that would enable Architelos to continue to exist.”

The .cars, .car and .auto gTLDs have got off to a flying start, financially at least, taking in over a clear $1 million during the Early Access Period according to Domain Incite. General Availability started on 20 January and followed the Sunrise and lucrative Early Access Period, the latter closed on 12 January.

One of the most prominent registrations was Apple’s registration of “a trio of domains related to cars” according to USA Today. The trio were apple.car, apple.auto and apple.cars.