Tag Archives: Rightside

Domain Name Registry

Public Interest Registry joins the Internet Watch Foundation

Public Interest Registry has joined the Internet Watch Foundation as a Member, in a move which reinforces its commitment to protecting billions of internet users and the child victims of disturbing sexual abuse images and videos.

As the operator of .org, .ngo and .ong domain names, Public Interest Registry has over 10 million domains under management globally. By joining the IWF, Public Interest Registry is helping to further prevent the spread of child sexual abuse content.

PIR joins other registry operators such as Nominet, Afilias, Donuts (along with Rightside who they took over in 2017), ICM Registry (recently taken over by Minds + Machines), Dot London, webhost and registrar Names.co.uk as well as DNS Filter and Linx – the London Internet Exchange, who are all among the 130 members of the organisation that works internationally to make the internet safer by removing images of child sexual abuse.

Though a small organisation, Public Interest Registry, which is based in Reston, Virginia, operates popular domains that the world counts on to be platforms for the public interest. Its values have been echoed in this important move to join the IWF.

“The IWF represents the companies that are defining how the world tackles online child sexual abuse,” said Susie Hargreaves OBE, IWF CEO.

“With 137 organisations joined up as Members of the IWF, we now have more Members than ever before. These companies include some of the giants of the internet world, through to smaller filtering companies. What unites them, is their commitment to do the right thing.

“We can’t thank Public Interest Registry enough for joining us as a Member. It means that so many more domain names are now protected from child sexual abuse content. In turn, this is protecting billions of users of websites on these domains, as well as the victims themselves.”

“IWF’s global mission to eliminate online child sexual abuse imagery is among the most important work being done on the internet,” said Elizabeth Behsudi, Vice President and General Counsel at Public Interest Registry.

“Public Interest Registry is committed to making the .org domain space a safe and trusted environment for everyone. We are proud to work with the IWF and support the incredibly important services they provide.”

Domain Name Registry, New gTLDs

Donuts Closes $110 Million in a Financing Led by Silicon Valley Bank

donuts_inc_logoDonuts, who has recently completed its takeover of Rightside, has announced it has closed a $110 million credit facility led by Silicon Valley Bank (a division of SVB Financial Group), and with participation from Cadence Bank, N.A., Comerica Bank, Pacific Western Bank, and Umpqua Bank. This debt financing was oversubscribed. Donuts is using these funds to complete its $213 million merger with the Rightside Group, and for general corporate purposes.

“We are delighted to partner with Silicon Valley Bank and are gratified by the enthusiastic response from co-lenders,” said Donuts chief executive officer, Bruce Jaffe. “SVB understands deeply our business and our industry and did a terrific job in forming a syndicate of leading institutions. This financing will help to fuel our growth, as we focus on helping individuals and organizations to transform their online branding capabilities.”

“Donuts growth and opportunities are reflections of the emerging category of new, top-level domains, its management team, portfolio and it’s strategy,” said Jayson Davis, Director, Silicon Valley Bank. “We  appreciate the opportunity to have worked with the leadership team at Donuts, as well as our banking partners, to enable the right financing at the right time to help the company achieve its growth goals.”

With its latest acquisition, Donuts now offers 238 new high-quality, top-level domains, including .email, .guru, .social, .business, .life, .restaurant, and many more with 2.986 million registrations or 11.16% of all new gTLD registrations. Donuts domains provide extensive variety to anyone wishing to enhance their brands online. With recent investments in Netki and Geofrenzy, and the acquisition of the Rightside Group, Donuts is leveraging its deep industry expertise to identify and invest in emerging technologies that can enhance the domain name system (DNS), expand the company’s portfolio of high-quality top-level domains, or otherwise complement its business and growth strategy.

Domain Name Registry, New gTLDs

Following Takeover, Rightside TLDs Now Included in Donuts DPML

donuts_inc_logoFollowing Donuts’ takeover of Rightside being formalised on 28 July, one of the first benefits to come of it is that what was Rightside’s new gTLDs are now covered by Donuts’ Domains Protected Marks List (DPML) programs.

The coverage is subject to the fine print (existing terms and conditions), but in general customers’ DPML programmes now automagically include all of the 40 previously-Rightside top-level domains (TLDs). These names include:

.ACTOR, .AIRFORCE, .ARMY, .ATTORNEY, .AUCTION, .BAND, .CONSULTING, .DANCE, .DEGREE, .DEMOCRAT, .DENTIST, .ENGINEER, .FAMILY, .FORSALE, .FUTBOL, .GAMES, .GIVES, .HAUS, .IMMOBILIEN, .KAUFEN, .LAWYER, .LIVE, .MARKET, .MODA, .MORTGAGE, .NAVY, .NEWS, .NINJA, .PUB, .REHAB, .REPUBLICAN, .REVIEWS, .RIP, .ROCKS, .SALE, .SOCIAL, .SOFTWARE, .STUDIO, .VET, .VIDEO.

Additionally, there will be no incremental fees associated with the addition of these 40 names, expiration dates will remain intact, and customers’ Donuts DPML programs remain unchanged.

As always, Donuts advise there may some coverage exceptions for Donuts DPML, such as previously-registered domain names and premium-priced domain names.

Donuts advise that if a customer holds both a Donuts DPML and a Rightside DPML, their programmes will remain unchanged and intact for the time being. In both cases, customers should contact their registrar for questions pertaining to coverage.

If customers have purchased a Rightside DPML only, their program will remain intact at this time, and will include the same subset of TLDs they originally purchased. These customers will continue to have the option to purchase a Donuts DPML, DPML Plus or register domains at their discretion. New subscription service fees will apply.

Rightside will no longer be accepting new applications for its DPML product. All new orders for the DPML programme for the combined Donuts and Rightside TLD portfolio will be managed by Donuts.

Domain Name Registrants, Domain Name Registrars, Domain Name Registry, New gTLDs

Donuts Completes Rightside Takeover

Rightside logoThe 2 Seattle-based new gTLD registries have finalised their merger, with Donuts in effect taking over Rightside. The takeover was finalised Thursday.

Together the new Donuts will operate 238 new generic top level domains, making it the largest registry operator by far. The next largest by new gTLDs is Minds + Machines, or MMX, with 26.donuts-logo

On domain names under management, Donuts will now manage almost 3 million domain names – the number currently stands at 2,956,678 according to nTLDstats.com, making them the fourth largest behind XYZ.COM, Famous Four Media and Jiangsu Bangning Science & Technology, which only has one TLD – .top. For XYZ.COM, their .xyz alone would make them the largest by DUM with its 5.606 million domains.

The deal valued Rightside on its own as being worth approximately $213 million which was a premium of approximately 22% percent over Rightside’s stock market value. As a result of the takeover Rightside will cease to be listed on the stock market.

Domain Name Registry, ICANN and Governance, New gTLDs

Donuts and Rightside Get ICANN Approval for Merger

Rightside logoDonuts and Rightside have received ICANN’s approval to merge, or rather for Donuts to takeover Rightside, in a deal that was announced in mid-June valuing Rightside at $213 million. The consent was given on 15 July.

In a news release from Rightside that seems to have been written by a lawyer that’s never had a life, or an existence outside a law firm since birth, the headline gives it away. Not much else is understood.

At a guess, the takeover/merger still requires a majority of Rightside shares to approve the takeover, with responses required by 26 July.

Donuts is the largest manager of new generic top level domains with 197 new gTLDs and the fifth largest by domains under management with 2.269 million according to nTLDstats.com. Rightside is the second largest by new gTLDs with 40 and 654,000 DUM. The new company will have 2.923 million DUM and 217 new gTLDs, making it the largest by new gTLDs and fourth largest by DUM.

If you want to receive one of the worst news releases ever written annoucing ICANN’s consent, go to:
investors.rightside.co/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=1033384

You’ll be sorry you did!

Domain Name Registry, New gTLDs

More Domain Industry Consolidation as Two Biggest Registries by New gTLDs, Donuts and Rightside, Merge

Two of the bigger participants in the new gTLD world, Seattle-based Donuts and Rightside, are merging the companies announced Wednesday. The announcement comes almost a year after Rightside rejected a bid from Donuts, proposed in June 2016. It also follows the recent departure of Richard Tindal from Donuts, one of the original 4 co-founders.

The merger will see Donuts acquire Rightside for $10.60 per share in an all-cash tender offer, for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $213 million. The purchase price represents a premium of approximately 12% percent over Rightside’s average closing price for the 30-day trading period ending 13 June and a premium of approximately 22% percent over Rightside’s average enterprise value (excluding cash) for such period. The 2016 bid valued the company at $70 million in an all-cash deal.

Donuts is the largest manager of new generic top level domains with 197 new gTLDs and the fifth largest by domains under management with 2.209 million according to nTLDstats.com. Rightside is the second largest by new gTLDs with 40 and 642,000 DUM. The new company will have 2.851 million DUM and 217 new gTLDs, making it the largest by new gTLDs and fourth largest by DUM.

The Merger Agreement was unanimously approved by Rightside’s Board of Directors following a comprehensive review of strategic and financial alternatives that Rightside announced in the first quarter of 2017.

“We believe that this agreement offers a substantial cash premium to our shareholders,” said Taryn Naidu, Rightside chief executive officer. “We look forward to working closely with Donuts to consummate this merger.”

“Donuts and Rightside have a long history of working together, and we are delighted to take the next step with this transaction,” said Bruce Jaffe, Donuts chief executive officer. “We believe that the combined company will be well positioned to serve our registrar customers and the millions of businesses and individuals who are embracing new ways to brand their online identities.”

The merger/takeover will see Rightside become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Donuts, a privately-held company, and Rightside’s common shares will no longer be listed on any public market. It also follows a number of mergers and takeovers in the domain name industry at the registry level, as well as well as a number of registries seeking to expand their services.

 

Domain Name Registrants, Domain Name Registrars, Domain Name Registry

Rebrandly Partners With Rightside to Meet Demand for Branded Short Links

Rightside logo[news release] Rightside and Rebrandly today [31 May] announced a partnership that will make it easier for companies to create their own unique Branded Short Links that promote their brand and reflect their personality. The partnership is in response to a growing number of brands embracing Rightside’s new top-level domains (TLDs) in Branded Short Links, which improve trust, engagement, and name recognition over non-branded link shorteners.

“If you frequent social media, you’ve seen a growing use of short links, which are great when you are limited on space. But the links are typically a generic string of numbers and characters that completely miss the opportunity to showcase the brand,” said Scott Ryder, VP Registry at Rightside. “Rebrandly can now easily leverage Rightside’s portfolio of TLDs to provide their customers with trusted short links to connect with audiences.”

Big Brands are realizing the importance of using Branded Short Links, including Chick-fil-A, Microsoft, and the New York Jets football team who can share recognizable links with followers using ChickfilA.social, MSFT.social, and NYJ.social, respectively. Jenn Herman, a social media expert and Rebrandly customer, is using jennstrends.social as a Branded Short Link in her Instagram bio. In addition to appending her brand to the top of her page, the Branded Short Link helps her to track traffic to her blog much more accurately.

By partnering with Rightside, incorporating new domains such as .SOCIAL, .LIVE, and .NEWS will be easier than ever for Rebrandly’s customers. The combination of Rightside’s brand-focused TLDs and Rebrandly’s leading short link platform gives brands an important tool to execute their marketing strategies.

“When you create Branded Short Links, it’s just so much easier to post links to a company website or blog, while also reinforcing your company’s name in a highly trusted way to boost your CTR by as much as 39%,” said Katie Espinoza, Growth & Partnership Manager for Rebrandly. “We’ve already made it very intuitive to create, share, and track Branded Short Links, and now our partnership with Rightside gives our customers a way to do it using some of the most popular new domain names. Setting up your Branded Short Link has never been easier.”

About Rightside
Rightside inspires and delivers new possibilities for consumers and businesses to define and present themselves online. The company, with its affiliates, is a leading provider of domain name services, offering one of the industry’s most comprehensive platforms for the discovery, registration, usage and monetization of domain names. In addition to being a new gTLD registry operator, Rightside is home to one of the most admired registrar brands in the industry, Name.com. Headquartered in Kirkland, WA, Rightside has offices in North America and Europe. For more information please visit www.rightside.co.

About Rebrandly
Rebrandly is a link shortener that incorporates custom, branded domains in the URL, this way every link users share creates a connection to their brand. Rebrandly is for individuals, businesses and enterprises who are forced to choose between long alphanumeric URL’s or ugly, unpronounceable, and anonymous short links when sharing content. Rebrandly allows users to create short links with their brands associated, instil trust and offer a cool factor previously only available to global brands. Moreover, Rebrandly allows users to get the most out of their marketing efforts for free, providing a useful solution in a digital world where it’s increasingly important to stand out from the crowd.

This news release was sourced from:
http://investors.rightside.co/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=1028436

Domain Name Registry, New gTLDs

Rightside Registry Revenue Grows 20% In First Quarter 2016, Registrations Up 26% In 12 Months

Rightside logoRightside Group, the operator of 40 new gTLDs today with 627,000 registrations, has reported a yearly revenue increase of 20% and total company gross margin of 41% improved 470 basis points. The company also reported it had successfully completed the divesture of eNom as they focussed on growing and driving margin expansion in their new gTLD registry business and retail registrar, Name.com.

Rightside registrar services revenue increased to $7.3 million compared to $7.0 million in the previous quarter and registry services revenue increased 20% to $3.2 million compared to $2.6 million.

Aftermarket and other revenue was $4.3 million compared to $7.3 million as a result of challenges in the lower margin third party syndication business and total revenue decreased to $14.4 million compared to $16.6 million. Their net income was $69.8 million inclusive of a $75.6 million gain from the sale of eNom.

Rightside has significant cash reserves of $47 million currently available, and in the previous year have repurchased approximately 320,000 shares of its common stock for approximately $3.0 million.

At the end of the first quarter the registry had approximately 590,000 domain names under management, up 26% year-over-year. The final registry renewal rate for the fourth quarter of 2016 was 59% compared to 53% for the same quarter in 2015. Registry renewal rates are not fully measurable until 45 days after the end of the quarter.

Domain Name Registrants, Domain Name Registrars, Domain Name Registry, New gTLDs

Rightside Launches DPML Upgrade for Enhanced Domain Brand Protection

Rightside logo[news release] As trademark lawyers face tough challenges in protecting their client’s brand with ever-expanding Internet domain name options, Rightside Group, Ltd., today launched an upgrade of its Domain Protected Marks List (DPML) product (dpml.rocks).

The upgrade radically expands DPML’s flexibility, giving trademark owners and their agents more tools to protect their valuable brand on the internet, while also empowering marketing teams and brand managers to activate specific domains for future marketing campaigns. DPML provides protection across all 40 of Rightside’s top-level domains (TLDs), which include the best TLDs for brands in the industry such as .NEWS, .SOCIAL, .LIVE, and .SALE, to name a few.

“Lawyers for some of the world’s best known brands have had their work cut out for them protecting their trademarks from cybersquatters and other nefarious individuals,” said Statton Hammock, ‎vice-president, business and legal affairs at Rightside. “By expanding the best-in-class brand protection we offer across all of our TLDs, protecting their brands effectively will be easier than ever before.”

All trademark owners have some ability to protect their brands in the Sunrise period of every new TLD, however, those protections only cover their specific marks, and may not prevent the misappropriation of their brands in the long run. The expanded protection of Rigthside’s DPML now protects up to ten additional terms that may be confusingly similar to the brand-owners’ trademarks, thwarting a tactic favored by domain name squatters. With 10 phrases and the trademark itself covered on all 40 Rightside TLDs, every DPML subscription covers as many as 440 unique domain names up to 10 years at a time.

The DPML upgrade gives brands the protection they need, and now also facilitates marketers to enhance the brand by allowing domains protected by the list to be activated without an additional fee. When a brand wishes to introduce a new product or service, a protected domain can be activated and used for a website, redirect address, Branded Short Link, or any other marketing need as it arises, for instance, a philanthropic campaign built around YourBrand.GIVES.

Hammock continued, “We’ve always believed that there is more value in a domain name when it’s being used. This new feature of our DPML product makes it easy to switch a domain from just protecting the brand, to truly adding value to it.”

The upgraded DPML is currently available through Rightside’s channel of corporate registrar partners, and is open to brands with marks recognized by ICANN’s Trademark Clearinghouse.

About Rightside
Rightside inspires and delivers new possibilities for consumers and businesses to define and present themselves online. The company, with its affiliates, is a leading provider of domain name services, offering one of the industry’s most comprehensive platforms for the discovery, registration, usage and monetization of domain names. In addition to being a new gTLD registry operator, Rightside is home to one of the most admired registrar brands in the industry, Name.com. Headquartered in Kirkland, WA, Rightside has offices in North America and Europe. For more information please visit www.rightside.co.

Domain Name Registrants, Domain Name Registry

Rightside Doing Its Bit For a Safer Internet, One Domain at a Time

Rightside logoRightside has published a blog post to promote the work it’s doing to make the internet a safer place. It is, says Rightside, the right thing to do and ensures a better reputation for the domain name industry as a whole.

Recently their efforts were awarded with recognition by the Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies (ASOP) and the Internet UK’s Watch Foundation (IWF).

ASOP presented its first Internet Pharmacy Safety E-Commerce Leadership Award to Rightside and domain registrar Realtime Register at ICANN58 in Copenhagen in March. As illegal online pharmacies proliferate across the internet, Rightside’s policies and practices have helped to shut down sites and prevent domain names from being used to distribute illegal, fake and dangerous drugs. This has led to a “near zero count of illegal internet pharmacies” using Rightside’s services, despite having hundreds of thousands of domains under management.

Rightside’s VP for Business and Legal Affairs, Statton Hammock, accepted the award at the GNSO Joint Meeting for the Registries and Registrars Stakeholder Group at ICANN58. “Rightside is pleased to be recognized for its ongoing efforts to shut down illegal pharmacies on both its registrar and registry platforms. The access to, and distribution of, unsafe medications to consumers without a license is a serious global public health risk and Rightside is glad to participate with other companies to address this problem.”

With hundreds of millions of domain names in the wild, the unfortunate fact is that when even a small percentage of them are used to distribute illegal imagery of child abuse, it is still far too many. While 80% of the domains identified as containing child abuse content were found in just five TLDs (.COM, .NET, .SE, .IO, and .CC), the problem is growing across the internet, including in new gTLDs. To do their part, Rightside participates in IWF’s Domain Alerts programme, to expedite the process of removing the offending domain at the registry level.

Alan Woods, Rightside’s Registry Compliance Manager has worked closely with IWF to ensure the registry can respond to Domain Alerts quickly and efficiently. “We believe that the IWF partnership provides an important protection, not only for all of Rightside’s registrants, and the general internet user, but [also for] the well-being of Rightside’s own Abuse Team in processing such reports,” he says. “[A]s one of the first new gTLD registries to partner with the IWF, [Rightside] sees the benefit of membership in establishing gTLD best practices to protect all web users worldwide from malicious actors.”