Domain Name Blog

Viacom sued Google and its online video subsidiary YouTube for $1 billion Tuesday, the first big lawsuit against the online video site and its parent for copyright infringement.Experts predict more lawsuits to come.

Wow, could this be the beginning of the end for Youtube.com? Other media firms, notably CBS, say they see promotional value in having snippets of their programs posted on YouTube, Viacom has led the charge against YouTube since it feels entitled to advertising revenues tied to viewing of its programming. YouTube typically serves more than 100 million video streams a day.

Are these the signs of a deal turned sour between Google and Viacom? Well, only time will tell.

Meanwhile the Share price of Google finished the day down by 1% following the announcement!

The mainstream media is beginning to take notice of the RegisterFly disaster. BusinessWeek reports that Kevin Medina has regained control of the company after he had been fired by his former partners several weeks ago:

In a legal decision that stunned even the lawyers for the victor, a U.S. District Court judge on Mar. 8 handed over the embattled Web registrar Registerfly.com to the executive who was running it when it began to founder. Judge Peter Sheridan ruled in favor of defendant Kevin Medina, who had been chief executive of the parent company, Unifiednames, before he was fired by two other board members on Feb. 12.

Medina’s partners, including John Naruszewicz, who temporarily took over as RegisterFly CEO, had accused him of embezzling company funds and of being the primary cause of all of the registrar’s problems.

Here are some questions to ask a potential broker:
1. What are some domains you recently brokered? (They may not be able to disclose this.)
2. What are your fees? Do I have to pay anything if you are unsuccessful selling my domain?
3. What are a few examples of companies or individuals you will approach about my domain?
4. Have you ever sold domains to these companies?
5. Have you ever sold domains in the same industry as mine?
6. Do you require an exclusive contract? In other words, if I sell my domain through a different venue while you are brokering it do I still have to pay you? (Don’t be alarmed if the answer is ‘yes’. It’s reasonable for a broker to require an exclusive sales agreement.)
7. What is the duration of our contract? (This is especially important for an exclusive contract).
8. What will you do to promote my domain? (You’re not looking for someone who will just post it for sale on various forums. You don’t need a broker to do that!)

I cannot recommend a particular domain broker, but you can find a number of them on DNForum. DNForum has a section for requesting a domain broker.