***************************************************

The domain name news is supported by auDA

***************************************************


The Global Multistakeholder Meeting on the Future of Internet Governance, S?o Paulo - Conference Update
<http://www.cgi.br/brmeeting/announcement2.html>

New Year, New Momentum by Fadi Chehad?
<http://blog.icann.org/2014/01/new-year-new-momentum/>

ICANN Retreats on Opposition to Standard Contracts with UDRP Providers by Philip Corwin
<http://internetcommerce.org/ICANN_Response2BC_UDRP_Status_Report>

.au ranks high in world?s top domain name sales in 2013 by George Pongas
<http://www.ausregistry.com.au/news/au-ranks-high-in-world-s-top-domain-name-sales-in-2013>

CES 2014: More relevant domain names in 2014, says GoDaddy
<http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/talkingtech/2014/01/12/ces-2014-more-relevant-domain-names-in-2014-says-godaddy/4410959/>

New TLDs come out with a whimper
<http://domainnamewire.com/2014/01/10/new-tlds-come-out-with-a-whimper/>

You snooze, you lose new gTLD sunrise coming soon
<http://domainincite.com/15520-you-snooze-you-lose-new-gtld-sunrise-coming-soon>

.BERLIN Makes It 83!
<http://www.domainpulse.com/2014/01/09/berlin-makes-it-83/>

Registrars Can?t Hold ?Pirate? Domains Hostage Without Court Order
<http://torrentfreak.com/registrars-cant-hold-pirate-domains-hostage-without-court-order-140110/>


**********************
GOVERNANCE
**********************
Enhanced Cooperation in Governance by Samantha Dickinson, William H. Dutton, Marilia Maciel, Desiree Miloshevic & Vladimir Radunovic
Abstract: The concept of enhanced cooperation in Internet governance arose with the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society. In the years since the Tunis Agenda was written, ?enhanced cooperation? has remained subject to differing interpretations. To assist with ongoing discussions on how to further implement enhanced cooperation in international public policy issues pertaining to the Internet, this paper presents an overview of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) documents and provides of description of a selection of activities in the Internet governance space where governments work with other stakeholders on issues related to international public policy.
<http://ssrn.com/abstract=2376807>

The Global Multistakeholder Meeting on the Future of Internet Governance, S?o Paulo - Conference Update
The Global Multistakeholder Meeting on the Future of Internet Governance will take place in S?o Paulo, Brazil on April 23rd and 24th 2014. This meeting will focus on crafting Internet governance principles and proposing a roadmap for the further evolution of the Internet governance ecosystem.
<http://www.cgi.br/brmeeting/announcement2.html>
<http://www.icann.org/en/news/announcements/announcement-11jan14-en.htm>

Preparing the 2014 IGF
Request for public input: All stakeholders are encouraged to submit suggestions or ideas for issues to be discussed at the 2014 IGF.
<http://www.intgovforum.org/>

T&T to host regional Internet Governance school
Trinidad and Tobago will host the 2014 edition of the South School on Internet Governance (SSIG), an annual programme aimed at raising a generation of leaders from Latin America and the Caribbean to represent the region at international fora where the future of the Internet is shaped and debated.
<http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2014-01-09/tt-host-regional-internet-governance-school>

**********************
DOMAIN NAMES
**********************
**********************
 - ICANN
**********************
New Year, New Momentum by Fadi Chehad?
At ICANN, we begin 2014 with a management ?base camp? for executive staff to gather, take stock and get ready for the next phase of intense activities. It follows ICANN?s December holiday, during which the staff and I took time to step back from the frenzy of daily work and spend time with family and friends.
<http://blog.icann.org/2014/01/new-year-new-momentum/>

New Contracting Statistics Released
Below are the key Contracting statistics, as of 09 January 2014:
<http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/announcements-and-media/announcement-2-10jan14-en>

Second Accountability and Transparency Review Team (ATRT 2) Final Report & Recommendations
Section I: Description, Explanation, and Purpose: On 31 December 2013, the Second Accountability and Transparency Review Team (ATRT2) submitted its Final Report and Recommendations to the ICANN Board of Directors.
<http://www.icann.org/en/news/public-comment/atrt2-recommendations-09jan14-en.htm>

Mehdi Abbasnia, Chairman & Managing Director | Asia Green IT System, to Stephen D. Crocker
Letter from Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to ICANN Board Chair
<http://www.icann.org/en/news/correspondence/abbasnia-to-crocker-30dec13-en>

C?lia Boyer, Executive Director | Health On the Net Foundation, to Fadi Chehad?
Safeguards for Health Domains
<http://www.icann.org/en/news/correspondence/boyer-to-chehade-25dec13-en>

Basuki Yusuf Iskandar, Secretary General | Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, Republic of Indonesia, to Cherine Chalaby
Indonesia's Position Regarding New gTLD Applications for .islam and .halal 	 
<http://www.icann.org/en/news/correspondence/iskandar-to-chalaby-24dec13-en>

Fernando Rojas Samanez, Vice Minister | Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Peru, to Steve Crocker
New gTLD Application for .AMAZON
<http://www.icann.org/en/news/correspondence/samanez-to-crocker-24dec13-en>

ICANN Retreats on Opposition to Standard Contracts with UDRP Providers by Philip Corwin
While it took three months, ICANN recently responded to the Business Constituency?s fall 2013 letter raising questions about the UDRP Status Report issued the day after the conclusion of the July 2013 Durban ICANN meeting.
<http://internetcommerce.org/ICANN_Response2BC_UDRP_Status_Report>

**********************
 - ccTLD & gTLD NEWS
**********************
.au ranks high in world?s top domain name sales in 2013 by George Pongas
Last year was a memorable one for .au domain name sales with a number of significant auctions and aftermarket deals making headlines.
<http://www.ausregistry.com.au/news/au-ranks-high-in-world-s-top-domain-name-sales-in-2013>

.ir (Iran) tops CENTR member Highest Growth for 2013
According to the CENTR stat database, the ccTLD .ir (Iran) has experienced the highest growth among CENTR full members for 2013. The ccTLD saw a high growth of over 47% over the 12 month period. Other high growth members for the period include .pt - Portugal (16.4%), .ru Russia (15.5%) and .is Iceland (12.9%).
<http://centr.org/news/cctld/01-09-2014/3199/ir-iran-tops-centr-member-highest-growth-2013>

nl: EPP key relay nominated for the Internet Innovation Award 2014
EPP key relay has been nominated for ISOC's Internet Innovation Award 2014. The nomination is further recognition for the work that SIDN does. Information about the award, about EPP key relay and about ISOC is presented below.
<https://www.sidn.nl/en/news/news/article/epp-keyrelay-genomineerd-voor-de-internet-innovatie-award-2014-1/>

**********************
 - NEW TLDS
**********************
CES 2014: More relevant domain names in 2014, says GoDaddy
GoDaddy, the company that helps businesses and individuals with website domain names and hosting, sees the process becoming a whole lot easier in 2014.
<http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/talkingtech/2014/01/12/ces-2014-more-relevant-domain-names-in-2014-says-godaddy/4410959/>

New TLDs come out with a whimper
I?ve talked to a number of new TLD applicants who believe new TLDs need to come out with a ?big bang.? A bunch of great domain options backed by big marketing budgets need to come out early on to make a big splash and give the program momentum.
<http://domainnamewire.com/2014/01/10/new-tlds-come-out-with-a-whimper/>

You snooze, you lose new gTLD sunrise coming soon
Trademark attorneys and brand management executives take note: January 21 will see the launch of the first first-come, first-served sunrise period we?ve seen in a new TLD in a long time.
<http://domainincite.com/15520-you-snooze-you-lose-new-gtld-sunrise-coming-soon>

.BERLIN Makes It 83!
The number of gTLDs to be delegated reached 83 on 8 January with .berlin being entered into the root, and becoming only the second city gTLD after .wien (Vienna).
<http://www.domainpulse.com/2014/01/09/berlin-makes-it-83/>
<http://www.domainnews.com/berlin-makes-it-83.html>

Two new gTLD apps pass EE
While the industry?s attention may be focused ? rightly ? on new gTLD sunrise periods and launch plans, a handful of applicants are still slogging their way through ICANN evaluation.
<http://domainincite.com/15530-two-new-gtld-apps-pass-ee>

Domain name sought for Cork
There are calls for Cork to follow in the footsteps of London and New York City by creating its own unique Internet domain in order to help local businesses and strengthen online branding.
<http://thecorknews.ie/articles/domain-name-sought-cork-13294>

ICANN?s Dave Piscitello talks about Name Collisions [Audio]
Dave Piscitello, ICANNIn today?s podcast (31:52, 19MB, MP3), Conn is joined by Dave Piscitello, Vice President of Security and ICT coordination at ICANN. We talked a bit about new TLDs on yesterday?s show: about 1400 new gTLDs will be introduced as part of the current ICANN programme. 
<http://technology.ie/icanns-dave-piscitello-talks-about-name-collisions-audio/>

.Basketball community objection fails, .sport prevailed.
An International Chamber of Commerce panelist has determined that community objections filed against two applications for .basketball have failed. Comparing this decision to a recent one upholding a community objection to .sport, it appears we may have another case of inconsistent rulings.
<http://domainnamewire.com/2014/01/09/uh-oh-basketball-community-objection-fails-while-sport-prevailed/>

Domain Registrar Uses The 2nd Coming Of .Com ?Beer.com Sold For $7M? To Sell New gTLD?s
Domain Name Registrar, OnlyDomains.com has started to sell new gTLD?s chatting about the second coming of .Com domain aftermarket saying on the front page of its site: ?Remember when the domain name Beer.com sold for $7 million dollars? ?
<http://www.thedomains.com/2014/01/11/domain-registrar-uses-the-2nd-coming-of-com-beer-com-sold-for-7m-to-sell-new-gtlds/>

**********************
 - DNS SECURITY
**********************
DNS Security Should Be One of Your Priorities by Rick Rumbarger
Most people, even seasoned IT professionals, don't give the DNS the attention it deserves. As TCP/IP has become the dominant networking protocols, so has the use of DNS... Due to the reliability built into the fundamental RFC based design of DNS most IT professionals don't spend much time worrying about it, but this can be a huge mistake!
<http://www.circleid.com/posts/20140110_domain_name_system_dns_security_should_be_one_of_your_priorities/>

SWITCH DNS/DNSSEC Audit
SWITCH is regularly assessing parts of the registry infrastructure in technical audits. The goal of these audits is to find operational or software vulnerabilities before attackers do.
<http://securityblog.switch.ch/2014/01/01/dnssec-audit/>

New report with check list of recommendations to the electronic communications sector on how to withstand and act efficiently after power cuts, calling for increased exchange on situational awareness [news release]
The EU?s cyber security Agency ENISA has issued a new report studying network outages caused by power cuts in detail, resulting in key findings and recommendations to the electronic communications sector on how to withstand and act efficiently after power cuts, a key point being to establish better exchange of situational awareness and improved cooperation mechanisms within the sector and with the energy sector.
<http://www.enisa.europa.eu/media/press-releases/new-report-on-power-supply-dependencies>

Yahoo malvertising attack linked to larger malware scheme [IDG]
A deeper look by Cisco Systems into the cyberattack that infected Yahoo users with malware appears to show a link between the attack and a suspicious affiliate traffic-pushing scheme with roots in Ukraine.
<http://www.computerworld.co.nz/article/535623/yahoo_malvertising_attack_linked_larger_malware_scheme/>
<http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9245325/Yahoo_malvertising_attack_linked_to_larger_malware_scheme>

Cyber attack targeted 28 embassies in Tehran, report shows
Twenty-eight embassies in Tehran fell victim to a sophisticated cyber-attack in November, a report revealed Thursday.
<http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/.premium-1.567804>

Target data theft hit 70 million
US retail giant Target's investigation into December's major data theft reveals that up to 70 million people are affected, not 40 million as first thought.
<http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-25681013>

For Target, the Breach Numbers Grow
The retailer disclosed that the hackers stole a broader trove of data than originally reported, including mailing and email addresses, phone numbers and names.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/11/business/target-breach-affected-70-million-customers.html>

Target Reveals New Data Breach Details: 110 Possibly Million Affected
Target today revealed that hackers stole not only debit and credit card data, but also personal information such as names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses. It also said that the breach weakened fourth quarter sales.
<http://threatpost.com/target-reveals-new-data-breach-details-70-million-affected/103557>

Target: Names, Emails, Phone Numbers on Up To 70 Million Customers Stolen
Nationwide retail giant Target today disclosed that a data breach discovered last month exposed the names, mailing addresses, phone number and email addresses for up to 70 million individuals.
<http://krebsonsecurity.com/2014/01/target-names-emails-phone-numbers-on-up-to-70-million-customers-stolen/>

Neiman Marcus confirms customers affected by cyber-security breach
Upscale merchant Neiman Marcus becomes second retailer in weeks to reveal major cyber attack
<http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jan/11/neiman-marcus-cyber-security-breach>

Hackers Steal Card Data from Neiman Marcus
Responding to inquiries about a possible data breach involving customer credit and debit card information, upscale retailer Neiman Marcus acknowledged today that it is working with the U.S. Secret Service to investigate a hacker break-in that has exposed an unknown number of customer cards.
<http://krebsonsecurity.com/2014/01/hackers-steal-card-data-from-neiman-marcus/>

Programme announced for 2014 NDSS Security Symposium
The NDSS 2014 programme committee has selected 55 original research papers for presentation in San Diego, 23-26 February. Chaired by Lujo Bauer of Carnegie Mellon University, the committee selected papers spanning the broad range of current security challenges.
<http://www.internetsociety.org/news/programme-announced-2014-ndss-security-symposium>

**********************
 - DOMAIN DISPUTES
**********************
No Claim, No Pain (or Fears)
The latest example of why domain disputes should be handled by counsel who are specifically experienced in this esoteric area of the law is a case handled by a California firm called Payne & Fears (yes, that really is their name). Despite the fact that the firm?s website claims that it practices intellectual property law, it recently lost a UDRP case against the domain tripacific.com, filed on behalf of its client TriPacific Capital Advisors, LLC. The Respondent, an admitted domain investor, claims that its domain relates to triathlons, rather than the investments, loans, and mortgages offered by the Complainant.
<http://domainnamestrategy.com/2014/01/06/no-claim-no-pain-or-fears/>

au: mytheresa.com GmbH v. Vickey Parchani - Case No. DAU2013-0032
1. The Parties: The Complainant is mytheresa.com GmbH of Aschheim, Germany, represented by KLAKA Rechtsanw?lte, Germany. The Respondent is Vickey Parchani of Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia. 2. The Domain Name and Registrar: The disputed domain name <mytheresa.com.au> is registered with Crazy Domains (the ?Registrar?).
<http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/search/text.jsp?case=DAU2013-0032>

**********************
 - MISCELLANEOUS
**********************
Registrars Can?t Hold ?Pirate? Domains Hostage Without Court Order
As part of a collaboration between City of London Police and the entertainment industries, last year several file-sharing related sites had their domains seized by their registrar. Now, a prolonged process initiated by registrar EasyDNS has come to a conclusion, one which found that site domains cannot be seized on the simple say-so of the police or copyright holders.
<http://torrentfreak.com/registrars-cant-hold-pirate-domains-hostage-without-court-order-140110/>

Cops can?t block domain transfers without court order, NAF rules
Law enforcement and IP owners were dealt a setback last week when the National Arbitration Forum ruled that they cannot block domain transfers unless they have a court order.
<http://domainincite.com/15538-cops-cant-block-domain-transfers-without-court-order-naf-rules>

City Of London Police Cannot Seize Domains Just Because Hollywood Says The Websites Are Infringers
Last fall, we noted that the City of London Police, who had just set up a special "intellectual property crime unit" which appeared to be taking orders directly from Hollywood, had issued bizarre orders to registrars, based on no court order or ruling, that they hand over domain names to the police, point them to a splash page that advertised Hollywood-approved businesses, and block the transfer of those domains to anyone else. A bunch of registrars actually did this, despite the lack of a court order or ruling of any kind. Just because the City of London Police said so.
<http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140109/09444625820/turns-out-city-london-police-cannot-force-domain-registrars-to-block-transfers-sites-just-because-it-says-so.shtml>

Domains Locked in London Police Takedown Ordered to Be Transferred by Mark Jeftovic
The National Arbitration Forum has just handed down its decision in respect to the three domain names locked down at Public Domain Registry in response to the City of London Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit takedown requests. The decision is in favour of easyDNS and orders the three names to be transferred to us.
<http://www.circleid.com/posts/20140109_domains_locked_in_london_police_takedown_ordered_to_be_transferred/>

CentralNic to manage .co.com?s back-end
CentralNic is going to run .co.com after all, kinda. The two companies have signed a deal whereby CentralNic will manage the back-end registry for the forthcoming subdomain service, which domain owner Paul Goldstone launched a few months ago.
<http://domainincite.com/15516-centralnic-to-manage-co-coms-back-end>

Another day, another domain name escrow service launches: EscrowHill.com
Fast forward a couple days, and another domain name escrow service is officially opening its doors. But there?s a small caveat.
<http://domainnamewire.com/2014/01/09/another-day-another-domain-name-escrow-service-launches-escrowhill-com/>

Domain Pulse 2014 Heads To Salzburg
Domain Pulse 2014 is coming soon, with the next one to be held in Salzburg, Austria on 20 and 21 February. The conference is the largest annual German language domain name conference and is set to cover a range of topical issues such as new gTLDs with a German focus, internet governance, ICANN?s internationalisation, surveillance, online privacy and more.
<http://brandshelter.com/english/News/Current News.html>

Hirofumi Hotta of JPRS Re-Appointed as the ccNSO Council Member
Hirofumi Hotta, Director of JPRS, was re-appointed as the Council Member of ICANN ccNSO (Country Code Names Supporting Organisation).
<http://jprs.co.jp/en/topics/2013/131224.html>

Hartmut Glaser Reappointed to NRO Number Council
The LACNIC Board reappointed Hartmut Glaser as member of the NRO Number Council. His new term will expire on Dec. 31st, 2014.
<https://www.nro.net/news/hartmut-glaser-reappointed-to-nro-number-council>

**********************
 - DOMAINING & AFTERMARKET
**********************
GoDaddy Seeks to Recuse Judge in 'Parked Pages' Suit
Accused of trafficking in unauthorized trademarks by allowing customers to buy parked pages and collect a portion of revenue from advertising partners on a pay-per-click basis, GoDaddy faces an uphill legal battle brought on by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that could potentially mean millions in damages if it loses.
<http://newswire.xbiz.com/view.php?id=173352>

Direct nav company files patent application for bidding on domain parking traffic
Adrenalads, a direct navigation company based in Santa Monica, has filed a patent application for analyzing and bidding on zero click traffic.
<http://domainnamewire.com/2014/01/09/zero-click-patent/>

**********************
INTERNET USE
**********************
Australia leads OECD on wireless broadband, but tied with Austria for 18th on wired broadband
Australia has moved into first place among the 34 OECD countries for wireless broadband penetration, with 114 subscriptions per 100 people, the OECD has announced.
<http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/535609/australia_leads_oecd_wireless_broadband/>

OECD broadband statistics update [news release]
Wireless broadband penetration has grown to 68.4% in the OECD area, according to June 2013 data, meaning there are now more than two wireless subscriptions for every three inhabitants.
<http://www.oecd.org/sti/broadband/broadband-statistics-update.htm>

Report: OECD wireless broadband penetration rises above two-thirds of population
<http://www.oecd.org/internet/oecdbroadbandportal.htm>

**********************
NEW TECHNOLOGIES
**********************
Designing the Next Wave of Computer Chips
Not long after Gordon E. Moore proposed in 1965 that the number of transistors that could be etched on a silicon chip would continue to double approximately every 18 months, critics began predicting that the era of ?Moore?s Law? would draw to a close.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/10/science/designing-the-next-wave-of-computer-chips.html>

Are iPads and tablets bad for young children?
Tablet ownership has more than doubled in the past few years ? and as many parents are finding, children are highly proficient at using them. But are these devices harmful to their development? Or do they encourage 'technological intelligence'?
<http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jan/08/are-tablet-computers-bad-young-children>

**********************
ONLINE TV, MUSIC & PIRACY
**********************
Registrars Can?t Hold ?Pirate? Domains Hostage Without Court Order
As part of a collaboration between City of London Police and the entertainment industries, last year several file-sharing related sites had their domains seized by their registrar. Now, a prolonged process initiated by registrar EasyDNS has come to a conclusion, one which found that site domains cannot be seized on the simple say-so of the police or copyright holders.
<http://torrentfreak.com/registrars-cant-hold-pirate-domains-hostage-without-court-order-140110/>

**********************
PRIVACY & SURVEILLANCE
**********************
Online Privacy Could Spark U.S.-EU Trade Rift: French, Spanish Fines Against Google Are Latest Flare-Ups in Trans-Atlantic Disagreement
Knowing what Europeans like R?mi Boulle bought for Christmas could spark the next trans-Atlantic trade battle.
<http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304361604579291041878017398>

Obama Seeks Balance in Plan for Spy Programs
As he assembles a plan to overhaul the nation?s surveillance programs, President Obama is trying to navigate what advisers call a middle course that will satisfy protesting national security agencies while tamping down criticism by civil liberties advocates.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/10/us/obama-seeks-balance-in-plan-for-spy-programs.html>

NSA and GCHQ activities appear illegal, says EU parliamentary inquiry
Mass surveillance programmes used by the US and Britain to spy on people in Europe have been condemned in the "strongest possible terms" by the first parliamentary inquiry into the disclosures, which has demanded an end to the vast, systematic and indiscriminate collection of personal data by intelligence agencies.
<http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/09/nsa-gchq-illegal-european-parliamentary-inquiry>

E.U. Panel Invites Snowden to Testify on Privacy Breaches
A European Parliament committee has invited Edward J. Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who has leaked classified government documents and is now in hiding in Russia, to testify via video link as part of an investigation into how to protect the privacy of European citizens.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/10/world/europe/eu-panel-invites-snowden.html>

**************************
GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY
**************************
Stopping Fast-Track is One Way We Can Block TPP
Congress members introduced a bill yesterday to ?fast-track? trade agreements, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) through Congress. If passed, lawmakers would only have a small window of time to conduct hearings over binding trade provisions and give an up-or-down vote on ratification without any ability to amend the terms before they bind the U.S. government. 
<https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/01/stopping-fast-track-one-way-we-can-block-tpp>

**********************
MISCELLANEOUS
**********************
How the 'value trap' squeezes Windows PC makers' revenues and profits
Analysis of the revenues and profits for the 'big five' PC manufacturers - HP, Lenovo, Dell, Asus and Acer - which make more than 60% of the Windows PC - shows a multi-year squeeze on prices and profits. What next?
<http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jan/09/pc-value-trap-windows-chrome-hp-dell-lenovo-asus-acer>

For PC Makers, the Good News on 2013 Is That It Is Over
The two leading analysis companies tracking the PC industry just delivered their reports on the fourth quarter of 2013, and it was bad.
<http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/09/for-pc-makers-the-good-news-on-2013-is-that-it-is-over/>

------
David Goldstein

 email: david at goldsteinreport.com

 web:   http://goldsteinreport.com/ / http://davidgoldstein.tel/
 phone: +61 418 228 605 - mobile; +61 2 9663 3430 - office/home

"Every time you use fossil fuels, you're adding to the problem. Every time you forgo fossil fuels, you're being part of the solution" - Dr Tim Flannery