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In
terms of challenges faced in the past year,
the ad tech industry as a whole has seen an
increased use of adblocking software amongst
users. We will continue our close discussions
with all stakeholders to uphold our acceptable
ads certification as well as comply with
future standards, including the better ads
initiative that will go into effect in the
upcoming months.
Looking
ahead to 2018...
We
expect the trend of consolidation to continue
across the entire ad tech industry. As a
result, we don’t believe more than one or
two companies per niche can obtain or maintain
critical scale in order to be competitive.
On
the ad optimization side, we expect a
continued shift from automated to machine
learning algorithms. This should lead to
stabilization in click prices as well as
better fraud detection which should boost
returns for quality traffic in the long run.
On
the regulatory side, GDRP (General Data
Protection Regulation) is the elephant in the
room and everyone in the industry should by
now be working on the necessary
implementations in order to minimize the
impact on user flows.
Michael Gilmour
Founder, ParkLogic.com
ParkLogic.com,
led by Founder Michael Gilmour, has
certainly stood the test of time (the company
will celebrate its 11th anniversary this
year). In addition to knowing the business
inside out, Michael continues to thrive by
out-working the competition. It is a rare
domain conference that doesn't have Gilmour in
attendance and, more often than not, on stage,
explaining the ins and outs of successful
monetization to domain investors around the
globe.
|
Michael
Gilmour
Founder, ParkLogic.com |
The
launch of ParkLogic Next was the
single most significant event for our
company during 2017. Next is the
culmination of two and half years of
development effort and taps into over
11 years of experience in the domain monetization
space. What many domain investors
don’t realize is that monetizing
domain traffic is not dead but that it
has changed. We see Next as the
platform that will take us through the
following decade by providing the
flexibility and scalability that is
necessary to extract the greatest
amount of value from domain traffic.
As
Einstein said, “Insanity is doing
the same thing and expecting a
different result.” If you’ve been
experiencing a downturn in your
traffic revenues and don’t do
anything about it then don’t be
surprised if the downward trend
continues.
At
a more macro-industry level it’s
very clear there is a bit of a
shake-out in the new gTLDs. Like any
industry there are those that are
successful and those that are at the
best walking dead. What is also
interesting is viewing the fruit
unfold from many of the more fanciful
marketing strategies of some of the
extensions. For an extension to be
successful it has to ultimately be
used by real businesses. |
| Looking
ahead to 2018...
I believe we have only just started to see a
sorting out of the new gTLDs. That
being said, there is a massive
opportunity for investors in this
space….as long as they get the
timing just right. As extensions
continue to gain traction with
businesses this year the business
models underpinning domain investors
will become less risky.
I
think that at long last traditional
domain parking will really begin to
change this year as new payment
mechanisms for different business
models will become enticing for
traffic investors. This will have the
potential to completely transform some
of the current business models for
domain monetization and especially
what domains should be kept or
dropped.
Aftermarket
domain sales will continue to increase
in volume and the average sale price
will go up. What will change a lot is
where the sales are coming from. I
believe this year will see a step up
in sales from ccTLDs as the various
country based registries begin
adopting standardized technologies
that will make the sale of ccTLDs more
streamlined. The ccTLDs have always
been a latent opportunity for domain
investors and this year will finally
see the opportunity flourish. |
Brandon Abbey
Director, Strategic Accounts, Payoneer
Domain
escrow in a completely different aspect of
making money from domain names - one that
ensures that when you sell a domain you won't
have to worry about "the check
bouncing" on any other bogus form of
payment causing you to lose both the domain
and the money you were supposed to receive for
it. Brandon Abbey is a key figure in
that service sector having spent 11 years as
President of Escrow.com before joining global
giant Payoneer where he is the Director
of Strategic Accounts.
|
Brandon
Abbey
Director, Strategic Accounts
Payoneer |
For the
first time, domainers have multiple
licensed escrow services to choose
between to secure their
transactions. Competition has
been good for the industry. It
has driven more innovation in 2017
than the past 10 years – features
such as buyer financing options,
improved API functionality, multiple
currency capability, buy-it-now
buttons, multi-lingual customer
support, and improved website
usability. These innovations are
benefiting experienced domainers, as
well as those who are new to the
industry. In a relatively staid
industry like escrow, there continues
to be opportunity for further exciting
advances and we expect this trend to
continue into 2018 and beyond.
Looking
ahead to 2018...
As in
other industries, we continue to see
the domain world flatten, with
individuals and companies doing
business with others from all corners
of the globe. We expect to see
that trend accelerate, despite efforts
from certain political leaders to
close our borders. With services
like Payoneer enabling easy, low cost,
secure payment options, it is becoming
easier and easier to do business
without the limitations of national
borders. Competitive pressures
in our sector will continue to benefit
the domain community. |
Community
& Legal Matters
Edward
Zeiden
Managing Director, NamePros
Forum
Even
before there were domain conferences, there
were domain forums that provided a community
where newcomers could meet online with domain
veterans to learn the ins and out of the
business. The later emergence of conferences
and blogs expanded those opportunities but the
NamePros forum is even busier than it
was back in the days when forums were the only
game in town. Edward Zeiden is the
Managing Director in charge of making sure
that important community continues to thrive.
|
Edward
Zeiden
Managing Director
NamePros.com |
We’re
not a publisher of information, but
rather a platform service for its
distribution because the masses want
to voice their opinion and be heard,
too. In no particular order, here are
ten of the most commented and/or most
viewed domain
name discussions
that users started in 2017:
·
Escrow.com
Is Now Asking For Photos of Personal
Docs
·
Best
Crypto Domains
·
10x
Your Money In Domains Or
Cryptocurrency?
·
Problems,
Bugs and Fixes at Afternic
·
Name
some domains you think actually look
BETTER as a gTLD than a dot com
·
XR
domains- Umbrella term for AR VR MR
(all reality technologies)
·
Bidding
on your own names at NameJet...?
·
Mike
Mann Puts All 300k Domains Up For Sale
With BIN Prices
|
|
·
nGTLDs
plateauing at 27-29 million. Growth
RATE has reduced by 90%
·
FREE
Domain Transfer to Network Solutions
with Free 1 Year Extension! No
Limitation!
Looking
ahead to 2018...
Hot
trends come and go, but the free
market is here to stay. We continually
see from community activity that there
will always be winners and losers
depending on which side of the market
curve an investor is on. Judging from
the popular 2017 community threads
alone, public opinion seems to be “bullish”
right now on crypto-related domains,
but plateauing
or even “bearish” on certain gTLDs.
As the interest in cryptocurrency
continues and U.S stocks rise with tax
reform, other investments will be
enticing. Domain investors could look
to diversify and sell
their portfolios
for less than their full potential.
This creates a significant opportunity
for acquiring great domains this year
to be sold down the line for
potentially enormous profits. As the
old saying goes, “buy the rumor,
and sell the news.” In other
words, pick your niche carefully, spot
trends, and keep a general pulse on
the market by monitoring niche
domain discussions
within the community. Then,
methodically follow industry respected
blogs and resources like DN Journal,
DomainNameWire, and the NamePros
Blog
for news as it develops.
Year
after year, users of the community
provide constructive feedback, and
sometimes unabashed comments, on
NamePros in the hopes of evolving
platforms to suit their needs and
drive profits to their bottom line.
The topics vary, but judging from the
popular discussions of 2017, I
wouldn’t be surprised if the
increased difficulty placed on
marketplaces to police and catch, or
hopefully prevent, fraud continues. As
this industry continues to grow, the
community and market will self-correct
where necessary. By and large, if
there’s a single prediction I’d
endorse, it’s that freedom of speech
and the free market will continue in
2018.
Enrico Schaefer
Managing Partner,
Traverse
Legal PLC
Good
domain names are very valuable assets
and as such it is not uncommon for
disputes between registrants and
trademark holders to erupt over who
has rights to a particular name. If
you have the misfortune of being
caught in such a situation a
knowledgeable attorney may be the only
thing that will prevent someone from
taking a valuable asset from you that
they are not entitled to. Traverse
Legal's Enrico Traverse is one
of the elite attorneys specializing in
the domain and intellectual property
issues.
|
Enrico
Schaefer
Managing Partner
Traverse Legal PLC |
Things
have been relatively stable in
the domain and gTLD space in
2017. We represent domain
registrants and trademark
owners looking to protect
their marks in the online
space. For trademark and
cybersquatting matters, we
have seen an uptick in
litigation by trademark
owners. The number
of trademark owners willing to
spend hundreds of thousands of
dollars to pursue infringing
domains will always be
limited, compared to the
number of clearly infringing
domains registered and used as
parking pages, competing
online stores or for
counterfeiting. I
attribute the increase in
litigation we have been
retained to pursue to a higher
level of sophistication by
trademark owners about the
importance of their web
properties, and an awareness
of their rights under the UDRP
and ACPA.
As
trademark owners come to
understand thriller rights,
and the importance to their
own web marketing revenue, I
expect more trademark owners
will have a lower tolerance
for infringement and a higher
level of willingness to chase
cybersquatters in court. The
ROI on intangible asset value
will support this strategy. |
|
Looking
ahead to 2018...
I
think we are going to see a
move towards the use of
blockchain technology in the
domain space. We have
been lying blockchain for
things such as domain
registration, IP ownership and
other online activities.
The security and
certainly of ownership
surrounding blockchain lends
itself well to intangible, or
less-tangible assets such as
domain registration. We
expect to continue to work
with online players about the
incorporation of blockchain
into new business models,
including the domain and TLD
space. Imagine domain
WHOIS secured by blockchain,
as one example. We know
that the new GTLD application
round will include a number of
blockchain related gtlDs, but
more importantly business
models. This trend wills
tart to emerge in 2018 and
continue forward over the next
five or so years.
Zak Muscovitch
Principal,
The Muscovitch Law Firm, DNAttorney.com
Interim General Counsel, Internet
Commerce Association
Like
a good baseball team we needed
a clean up hitter to
conclude our annual State of
the Industry report - someone
who can clear the bases and
bring home the most important
message of all. That is
protecting our rights as
domain registrants. What good
is it to own great domains
when governing policies can be
changed that could strip away
your rights to own them in the
first place? Zak Muscovitch
is the right guy for that
critical role in our line up.
In addition to being an elite
domain/IP attorney he
currently serves as the
Interim General Counsel for
the Internet Commerce
Association, the
non-profit organization that
fights to protect domain
owner's rights.
|
Zak
Muscovitch
Principal, The
Muscovitch Law Firm
Interim General
Counsel,
Internet Commerce
Association |
In
2017, the
Internet Commerce
Association together
with domain name
lawyers, managed to
successfully fight off
a pernicious legal
theory that IP
interests were using
for years to unjustly
seize domain names via
the UDRP. This theory
was called
“Retroactive Bad
Faith”, and it was
originally conceived
in 2009 by a handful
of UDRP panelists.
Since then, certain
panelists had
repeatedly tried to
use this theory to
take away domain names
which were
unquestionably
registered in good
faith. For example,
when the domain name
was registered long
before a corresponding
brand was a twinkle in
the eye of a company.
To these panelists, a
good faith
registration could me
miraculously converted
into a bad faith
registration based
upon subsequent use.
The “RBF” theory
festered and was even
incorporated into the
WIPO’s 2011
Consensus View which
provides guidance to
panelists on how to
rule on cases.
Thankfully,
in 2017, we finally
brought an end to RBF.
WIPO removed it from
its Consensus View,
and panelists are now
treated it as an
errant and thoroughly
discredited approach
not to be followed. By
finally putting a
stake into the heart
of RBF in 2017, the
Domain Name investors
are a lot safer, and
the ICA will continue
to advocate vigorously
for domain name
investor rights. |
|
Looking
ahead to 2018...
In
2018, the domain name
investment community
is facing the start of
one of the largest and
longest battles which
it will fight. ICANN
has struck a Working
Group to examine and
review the URS and the
UDRP. Strong trademark
owner interests are
strongly agitating for
unfair changes to the
UDRP which threaten
the very existence of
the domain name
investment community.
If they have their
way, investment in
domain names could be
a thing of the past.
For example, some IP
interests believe that
common three-letter
acronym domain names
belong only to
trademark owners.
Others believe that
bringing a UDRP case
20+ years after a
domain was registered
and a business built,
is fair game. Others
believe that parking
domain names is
illegitimate and that
selling domain names
for more than you
paid, is “cybersquatting”.
The Internet Commerce
Association is
standing firm against
such unjust attempts
to deprive domain name
investors of their
rights and advocating
forcefully against
unfair changes. So I
expect that 2018 will
see this ICANN battle
become a pivotal
moment in domain name
investment history.
|
Editor's
Note:
At the same
time we were
finishing
preparation of
this State of
the Industry
report, Zak
Muscovitch
sent an
important
letter (dated
January 23,
20i8) to ICA
members
that we want
to share with
the entire
community as
it is highly
relevant to
all domain
owners:
Today
marks the
start of a new
approach to
UDRP Reform.
We are no
longer just
complaining
about the UDRP
(although we
will certainly
continue to do
that
too). |
|
| Starting
now, we are
proactively
advocating for
UDRP Reform
through
concrete and
specific
policy
proposals.
Today we are
publishing the
ICA’s 2018
UDRP Reform
Policy
Platform. A
copy of it is
available on
our website
at:
https://www.internetcommerce.org/icas-udrp-reform-policy-platform-2018/.
The
ICA’s 2018
UDRP Reform
Policy
Platform is
the product of
extensive
experience,
examination,
consultations,
and drafting.
It proposes
reasonable and
important
changes to the
way the UDRP
operates. By
publishing the
2018 UDRP
Reform Policy
Platform, the
ICA intends to
start a
vigorous and
constructive
discussion on
concrete
changes that
will make the
UDRP fairer
for domain
name
investors. The
ICA intends to
seek broad
support for
these
constructive
reforms and to
advocate for
them both
inside and
outside the
ICANN Rights
Protection
Mechanisms
Working Group
(the
“Working
Group”).
That
means that we
do not stop
with
publishing the
Policy
Platform. We
will be
contacting
UDRP panelists
directly to
provide them
with a copy of
our Policy
Platform and
to inform them
of our
concerns.
Likewise, we
will be
contacting
Working Group
Members and
other ICANN
stakeholders
to inform them
of our
proposals and
to provide
them with
copies of our
published
policy
articles on
important UDRP
issues, such
as our
recently
published
article on the
defense of
delay (Laches).
This
is part of a
new push to
get our
message right
into the hands
of decision
makers. To
that end, we
have already
been in touch
with officials
at both WIPO
and NAF and
have scheduled
meetings with
them both at
Namescon
(January
28-31, 2018)
and at the
next ICANN
meeting, to
explain our
proposals and
seek their
input and
support. By
taking this
proactive and
well-prepared
approach, we
intend to
influence the
Working
Group’s
agenda. We
intend for our
analysis and
policy
proposals to
be front and
center when
the UDRP is
discussed.
This
is Version 1.0
of the Policy
Platform. The
ICA will
continue to
study the
issues covered
in this
version and
will follow up
with Version
2.0, which
will cover
additional
important
issues.
If
you are
attending
Namescon, we
look forward
to hearing
your thoughts
and input on
the Policy
Platform and
any next steps
which you
would like the
ICA to take. |
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