RSSNew Google policy will combat 'domain name tasting'
By Scott M. Fulton, III | Published January 28, 2008, 11:43 AM
A controversial practice enables some domain name registrars to make short-term gains from registering domains that others might want. Now Google -- the vehicle for their revenue -- says it wants to do something about that.
The problem is somewhat serious, though Google is far from the first to point it out: Domain name registrars have displayed a tendency to register DNS names for themselves, based on recent searches conducted by users of their public WHOIS databases. They don't have any intention of keeping these DNS names longer than the typical five-day grace period, but during that time, they can deploy those fake pages that pretend to be search portals.
Those fake search portals rack up millions in advertising revenue for DNS registrars who partake in "domain name tasting." Over the weekend, the Associated Press confirmed a report from noted Google watcher Jay Westerdal stating Google is planning to implement policies that disable DNS registrars' ability to use AdSense advertising in "tasting" operations.
Bob Parsons, the CEO of the largest DNS registrar, GoDaddy, wrote a lengthy missive against the practice in April 2006. "Millions of good .COM domain names - on any given day over 3.5 million and climbing - are unfairly made unavailable to small businesses and others who would actually register and use them in ways for which the names were intended," Parsons wrote. "Many times businesses accidentally let their domain names expire. When they go to renew them, they find they have been snapped up - and taken away with a huge expensive hassle to follow - by an add/drop registrar."
Registrars such as GoDaddy perform services on behalf of their clients which include periodic checks of specified domain names to see when they are about to expire. But oftentimes, other registrars make use of those periodic checks to determine which DNS names others out there are waiting for. In some cases, these may include look-alike or sound-alike DNS names.
"I think this is a return of the 'Be Good' motto Google had a few years ago. Google has been quietly enabling this practice for years now," Westerdal wrote last Friday. "This is a smart policy move on Google's part to ward off impending litigation that might have hit them in the coming months."
While Google says its new policy will take effect next month, Westerdal wonders exactly how this will be enforced. For instance, will the company simply refuse to supply advertising to domains that are five days old or less -- the length of the typical grace period? Or will the company actually "sample the tasting," somehow, to algorithmically determine which DNS names are being tasted and by whom, and more selectively exclude them from being served by AdSense.
If it's the latter, we might not hear the last of this, as some registrars may call into question Google's right, if you will, to refuse service to anyone.
Google is not selling anything thus normal laws would not apply.
Google is allows for a Company A to make money from display ads on said website. Google can deney Company A from being allowed to do this.
Read the policy on AdSense, not exactly rocket science.
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|"If it's the latter, we might not hear the last of this, as some registrars may call into question Google's right, if you will, to refuse service to anyone."
I've always struggled with this.
Why should a company be denied the right to say who can and who can't use their product? They created it after all.
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|With physical sales there are various laws that apply so that company's do not have a right to say who can and who can't use the product - the law does. That doesn't mean they can't refuse to sell the product to the person - they can; but the person might sue them in return for prejudice/illegal discrimination.
That said, IANAL, but if they have a given policy that is reasonable and within the law - such as that being discussed in the article - they should not have an issue, though they might have to have it tried in court once or twice before people back off. Hopefully, Google is willing to stand up for it in court too.
That said, there is no such equivalent in non-physical goods, though there are still some laws (e.g. laws related to minors, etc.) that still apply (e.g. adult material). So Google should be well within their rights to do so.
Personally, I think their best bet would be to deny use of AdSense during the grace period followed up by a guarantee that the average AdSense money paid over X days after the grace period would be paid to them if and only if they continue to have the domain after a given time period - say 30 or 60 days. This would force them to have to register the domains to get the money, not deprive valid domain seekers of revenue, and only cost Google a little bit of money. It would be hard for a company to stand before a court and try to win for the disputed practice with such a policy as they could hardly claim that Google is discriminating against them specifically versus discriminating against the practice they are involved in, which probably would not be looked well upon by a court.
Again, IANAL. This is just my thinking. See a real attorney to get a real answer.
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