As a Domainer, Will You Put a NameBlock Block on Your Names?

[bhartzer]

NameBlock is launching soon (expected in the next month or so). NameBlock will allow you to pay to place a block on a series of characters (such as your product name, brand, company name, etc.).

You'll be able to place that block so no one can register a domain that contains those characters, and a ton of common variations. For example, if PayPal would put a block on PayPal, then domains like PayPa1.com, PayPa1.net, etc. couldn't be registered. They'll show up as being not available to register.

You don't have to have a trademark to put a NameBlock on. But you'll pay annually for the block.

As a domainer, are you planning on putting block on your more valuable names?

 

[likemike]

Seems like something the powers at be will be watching closely and perhaps taking action on. I figure this has been vetted by attorneys all over the place. I like the concept but as a seasoned domainer have a lot of questions, including it's legality? Can you address that Bill?

 

[D Haynes]

Wasn't this meant to be launched a year ago? Or was it? Even after reading throught the site I'm not entirely sure how it works or even what it does.

Does it rely on registrars and registries to join in? Who decides what names are too close to the original brand name? How many names are blocked per purchase? Is the purchase price different for each name or standardised? Is it that the registrars block a names registration or does the fee pay for the infringing names to be registered?

 

[D Haynes]

I'm assuming you wouldn't be able to purchase this for your portfolio domains anyway. Surely you'd have to show that the name you wanted to protect was an established brand of some sort? Besides if you names are high value you can guarantee all the other variations have already been registered.

 

[bhartzer]

Seems like something the powers at be will be watching closely and perhaps taking action on. I figure this has been vetted by attorneys all over the place. I like the concept but as a seasoned domainer have a lot of questions, including it's legality? Can you address that Bill?

Yes, it has been vetted. and ICANN approved. And yes, it's "legal". There is an appeals process if you feel a domain is blocked that you should be able to register.

 

[bhartzer]

Wasn't this meant to be launched a year ago? Or was it? Even after reading throught the site I'm not entirely sure how it works or even what it does.

Does it rely on registrars and registries to join in? Who decides what names are too close to the original brand name? How many names are blocked per purchase? Is the purchase price different for each name or standardised? Is it that the registrars block a names registration or does the fee pay for the infringing names to be registered?

NameBlock has NOT been launched yet. Maybe you're thinking about Adult Block?

It does not rely on registrars to approve, like it, or join in. It's my understanding that Nameblock has a lot of registries that have signed on and agreed to block names per NameBlock.

It's not a certain number of names that are blocked. It's the variations, which are about 500 variations. But it's actually an unlimited number. So if I block "Hartzer", then Hartzer (plus 500 variations), but even Hartzer12345(.com), and anything that includes "Hartzer" would be blocked. So that could be thousands of domains or more.

The pricing is pretty standard. It's not 'per domain', it's per block.

You don't have to pay a registrar any fees or additional fees, registrars will be selling it as an 'upsell', but may require that you also register or renew a domain. There are resellers (like one of my companies) that you can buy from directly without having to involve a registrar.

Registrars don't block any names, the fee just blocks the names from being registered. The blocked names won't be registered, it's just that no one will be able to register the name. If they try to register a blocked name, it will show as unavailable.

 

[bhartzer]

I'm assuming you wouldn't be able to purchase this for your portfolio domains anyway. Surely you'd have to show that the name you wanted to protect was an established brand of some sort? Besides if you names are high value you can guarantee all the other variations have already been registered.

You can purchase it for your portfolio domains. You don't actually block the names--you're blocking the characters or keywords that appear in the domains. So an example would me owning Hartzer(.com) and me blocking 'Hartzer'. I don't block the name or names.

You don't have to show or prove that the words or characters you want to block are an established brand. You can block virtually anything.

 

[D Haynes]

Yes, it has been vetted. and ICANN approved. And yes, it's "legal". There is an appeals process if you feel a domain is blocked that you should be able to register.

How would someone be able to or know they can appeal if the name just shows as unavailable? There would need to be something to show it was unavailable as a result of NameBlock and here's how to appeal it.

 

[D Haynes]

You can purchase it for your portfolio domains. You don't actually block the names--you're blocking the characters or keywords that appear in the domains. So an example would me owning Hartzer(.com) and me blocking 'Hartzer'. I don't block the name or names.

You don't have to show or prove that the words or characters you want to block are an established brand. You can block virtually anything.

So what about all the other Hartzers in the world? They don't get to own their name without appealing?

I'm neither for or against this kind of thing yet as I don't really understand, hence the questions lol I'm not being argumentative.

 

[ksusha64]

NameBlock is launching soon (expected in the next month or so). NameBlock will allow you to pay to place a block on a series of characters (such as your product name, brand, company name, etc.).

You'll be able to place that block so no one can register a domain that contains those characters, and a ton of common variations. For example, if PayPal would put a block on PayPal, then domains like PayPa1.com, PayPa1.net, etc. couldn't be registered. They'll show up as being not available to register.

You don't have to have a trademark to put a NameBlock on. But you'll pay annually for the block.

As a domainer, are you planning on putting block on your more valuable names?

It's the dumbest idea I ever heard in my life. Blocking terrible names to be registered that would upgrade to domainers name. You can't make this up. Only idiots would buy name block to kill their own sales. Also as a software engineer it cant work for practical reasons. Please don't try it. It will be another epik like scandal.

 

[pb]

What a bizarre idea. Of course I wouldn't.

 

[bmugford]

I would have to see a full list of what is "blocked".

My first instinct is there is potential to abuse this service to block legitimate registrations.

The other option might be everything that is blocked is just crap.

Outside the largest brands, I doubt this service is going to used by many people.

Brad

 

[bhartzer]

So what about all the other Hartzers in the world? They don't get to own their name without appealing?

I'm neither for or against this kind of thing yet as I don't really understand, hence the questions lol I'm not being argumentative.

That's a good question. If I choose to block "Hartzer", then they would need to appeal, yes.

 

[bhartzer]

It's the dumbest idea I ever heard in my life. Blocking terrible names to be registered that would upgrade to domainers name. You can't make this up. Only idiots would buy name block to kill their own sales. Also as a software engineer it cant work for practical reasons. Please don't try it. It will be another epik like scandal.

I actually don't think it would kill domain your own domain sales. It would potentially do the opposite.

Let's say you own Keyword1(.com) and you have a block on Keyword1. Then no one can register anything with 'keyword1' in it, so they'll end up seeing that keyword1(.com) is for sale, which is their only option.

I'm not sure what you mean that "as a software engineer it can't work for practical reasons". It's already in progress, it IS being launched, and as a domain owner you'll have to deal with it if you want to register domains. Some may be blocked by NameBlock.

By the way, it's NOT me, it's not my product or service. I'm just a reseller.

 

[ksusha64]

I actually don't think it would kill domain your own domain sales. It would potentially do the opposite.

Let's say you own Keyword1(.com) and you have a block on Keyword1. Then no one can register anything with 'keyword1' in it, so they'll end up seeing that keyword1(.com) is for sale, which is their only option.

That makes no sense. If your word is no narrow that you can block it then nobody would want it. If its big word then you can't block it.

 

[ksusha64]

You can give one specific example. Your own domain and what you would block.

 

[bhartzer]

I would have to see a full list of what is "blocked".

My first instinct is there is potential to abuse this service to block legitimate registrations.

The other option might be everything that is blocked is just crap.

Outside the largest brands, I doubt this service is going to used by many people.

Brad

I don't think you will be able to ever see a list of what's blocked. It won't work that way.
You will be able to search to see if what you want is blocked or not--but I don't think they will be releasing a list of what is blocked.

Is there a potential for abuse? Sure, probably. but they will have to pay for each block.

I actually think quite the opposite. It will be cheaper to add a block than to pay to register a trademark. Also, USPTO is now 11 months behind on filings. So it's quicker and cheaper to get a block on your new business name than it is to get a trademark.

If they're smart, small biz and even medium biz will jump at this.

 

[bhartzer]

That makes no sense. If your word is no narrow that you can block it then nobody would want it. If its big word then you can't block it.

You can block anything you want, though... even larger more popular words.

 

[branding]

Let's say you own Keyword1(.com) and you have a block on Keyword1. Then no one can register anything with 'keyword1' in it, so they'll end up seeing that keyword1(.com) is for sale, which is their only option.

You can't just block a keyword. Never going to happen. You can block brands. Like, Google could block any Google related domain.

You will not be able to block any variation on a generic keyword domain, trust me.

 

[bhartzer]

You can give one specific example. Your own domain and what you would block.

An example would be 'hartzer', my last name. I don't block the domain, I block those characters. So anyone trying to register any typos of 'hartzer' or 500 different versions won't be able to register a domain.

 

[branding]

You can block anything you want, though... even larger more popular words.

Right, let me request a block on anything that contains 'Branding ' never going to happen.

An example would be 'hartzer', my last name. I don't block the domain, I block those characters. So anyone trying to register any typos of 'hartzer' or 500 different versions won't be able to register a domain.

Not going to happen. Don't worry. It's just a gimmick. If it would work that way, that'd be the end of .com.

 

[ksusha64]

You can block anything you want, though... even larger more popular words.

You can theoretically block only trademarks.

An example would be 'hartzer', my last name. I don't block the domain, I block those characters. So anyone trying to register any typos of 'hartzer' or 500 different versions won't be able to register a domain.

You proved my point. Noone would want to register this keyword. You are paying to block your customers for most premium version they can upgrade to.

 

[bhartzer]

You can't just block a keyword. Never going to happen. You can block brands. Like, Google could block any Google related domain.

You will not be able to block any variation on a generic keyword domain, trust me.

But isn't EVERYTHING a keyword, and potential brand?
There are plenty of 'brands' that are actually keywords, like 'Target' (the store in the USA).

I am not familiar with what it going to be allowed to be blocked and what is not going to be allowed to be blocked. I could imagine NameBlock is going to have a list of words that can't be blocked. Just like there are reserved words at most registries.

 

[bmugford]

I don't think you will be able to ever see a list of what's blocked. It won't work that way.
You will be able to search to see if what you want is blocked or not--but I don't think they will be releasing a list of what is blocked.

Is there a potential for abuse? Sure, probably. but they will have to pay for each block.

I actually think quite the opposite. It will be cheaper to add a block than to pay to register a trademark. Also, USPTO is now 11 months behind on filings. So it's quicker and cheaper to get a block on your new business name than it is to get a trademark.

If they're smart, small biz and even medium biz will jump at this.

It is not even clear how it works.

If there is no list of what is blocked, then anyone paying for the service would not know what is blocked when they pay for it. So then what are they paying for exactly?

I don't really get it.

It seems like a service hardly anyone actually needs that could easily be abused.

An example would be 'hartzer', my last name. I don't block the domain, I block those characters. So anyone trying to register any typos of 'hartzer' or 500 different versions won't be able to register a domain.

So anyone can just block a surname from others registering it? That seems like nonsense.

So then, with not just block "Smith"?

Brad

 

[bhartzer]

You can theoretically block only trademarks.

You proved my point. Noone would want to register this keyword. You are paying to block your customers for most premium version they can upgrade to.

The point of the service is that you don't have to block trademarks.
It would not make sense to block a trademark, as you could just file a UDRP on the domain.