domains India might ban .in domain investing

[silentg]

NIXI, the non-profit organization that manages India’s .in country code domain, is proposing a significant change to registration rules: no more domain investing.

https://domainnamewire.com/2023/07/11/india-might-ban-in-domain-investing/

https://twitter.com/x/status/1678793647322529796

https://www.internetcommerce.org/bl...authoritys-plan-to-prohibit-domain-investing/

Draft Amendments in Terms and Conditions for Registrants
NIXI, is a not for profit Organization under section 8 of the Companies Act 2013, and was registered on
19th June, 2003. Government of India has authorized NIXI as .IN Registry, since January 2005. Now .IN
domain names are available to anyone on first-come-first-served basis. For more details, please
visit www.registry.in
.IN is India's top-level domain on the Internet. Like .COM, .IN can be used for e-mail, Web sites, and other
applications. But unlike other domains, .IN is a unique symbol of India and its role in the world.
NIXI operates the .IN Registry under the policy framework of Government of India which can be accessible
at https://registry.in/public/uploads/files/inpolicy_0.pdf.
NIXI signs Registrar Accreditation Agreement at the time of accreditation of Registrars which can be
accessed at https://registry.in/system/files/RAA_28042022.pdf. Under the said agreement clause 6.1
highlighted states " The Registrars will desist, at all times, from involving themselves, or through their re-
sellers, in any way in the squatting, grabbing, hoarding, infringement, auctioning, drop catch or selling of
the .IN domain names at a exceptionally higher price than the published MRP, they are regularly charging
from the public. Any such involvement of the Registrar will lead to the termination of Accreditation, financial
penalty and legal action as per the provisions of the Laws applicable in India."
There is no clause mentioned in the Terms and Conditions for Registrants which states about the
protection of already registered domain names from auction or reselling the domain name at higher/ unjust
prices.
Since there is no restrictions placed on the Registrants, some Registrars are using registrants as proxy
and carry out illegal and unfair trade practices pertaining to sale/ purchase of delegated/registered .IN/
,BHARAT domain names which affect the market environment.
Accordingly, to curb the same, NIXI proposed that the word “Registrar” may be replace with “Registrar/
Registrant” to include both in the .IN Registrant Terms and Condition Policy and RAA.
NIXI invite feedback from the public on the above proposed draft amendment. The submissions will not
be disclosed and held in fiduciary capacity, to enable persons submitting feedback to provide the same
freely. No public disclosure of the submissions will be made.
The feedback on the draft amendments with proper clarification/ justification may be submitted at
[email protected] by 17th July 2023 by 16:00 Hrs.
After this feedback, in person consultation is also proposed.

 

[SixFigures.ltd]

Well, it was predictable after godaddy/dan last announcement about .in domains.

 

[MadAboutDomains]

Well, it was predictable after godaddy/dan last announcement about .in domains.

How are they connected?

I wonder what form it takes. How would one "qualify" to register a .in?

 

[mixing]

I wonder if they'd need to get approval from ICANN for this type of thing. NIXI might own the .IN extension, but they are still governed by ICANN and just like registrars/registrants must abide by both ICANN and NIXI rules, the registry (NIXI) must abide by certain ICANN rules as well. Maybe ICANN will let them do whatever they want, but the sentence below sounds to me like they're getting into things that ICANN might want to know more about..

Accordingly, to curb the same, NIXI proposed that the word “Registrar” may be replace with “Registrar/
Registrant” to include both in the .IN Registrant Terms and Condition Policy and RAA.

 

[silentg]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1679069560832507904

 

[SixFigures.ltd]

How are they connected?

I wonder what form it takes. How would one "qualify" to register a .in?

Well, godaddy/dan mentioned about 'limitation by the Registry', Nixi's required criteria, so here they are, obviously.

 

[MadAboutDomains]

Well, godaddy/dan mentioned about 'limitation by the Registry', Nixi's required criteria, so here they are, obviously.

So is it the registry that wants to stop investing in their domains? Is that why they stopped GoDaddy reselling them or is there another reason.

 

[silentg]

Ten reasons why NIXI’s proposal to prohibit reselling of .in domains at a premium is a bad idea​

Internet Commerce Association in a letter to NIXI has strongly criticized its proposal and has presented arguments as to how this move will kill “a vibrant secondary market”.

https://www.medianama.com/2023/07/223-nixi-domain-resale-policy-feedback-ica/

 

[Lox]

So is it the registry that wants to stop investing in their domains?

NiXI just follows directive defined by IN GOV

Ten reasons why NIXI’s proposal to prohibit reselling of .in domains at a premium is a bad idea​

https://www.medianama.com/2023/07/223-nixi-domain-resale-policy-feedback-ica/

ICA can do 0 about the ccTLD. Misuse of dot IN is a huge problem not only for India but for a whole world and it needs to end. (*Data and research papers are your friend). Shouting? Avalanches should be on ICA mind. How about .... ICA listed as a bad (blacklisted commerce) by IN gov?

imo


Regards

 

[jberryhill]

NIXI might own the .IN extension, but they are still governed by ICANN

That's not correct. Other than certain ccTLD operators which have entered into voluntary agreements with ICANN on some very basic technical standards, ICANN has nothing to do with how ccTLD managers run their ship.

https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/cctld-2012-02-25-en

ICANN does not have contract authority to take compliance action against ccTLD operators.

Although ICANN has signed over 50 Accountability Frameworks and Exchange of Letters and a limited number of sponsorship agreements and MoUs with ccTLDs, the scope of these arrangements is limited to documenting a small set of roles and areas of responsibilities between the ccTLD manager and ICANN.

For ccTLDs, this includes commitments to adhere to relevant technical standards. ICANN works cooperatively with ccTLD operators to resolve technical issues of the common interest to ensure the security, stability and operability of the Internet.

The ccTLD policies regarding registration, accreditation of registrars and Whois are managed according to the relevant oversight and governance mechanisms within the country, with no role for ICANN's Compliance department in these areas.

 

[purohit]

phoenixwebsoft.com (Registrar IANA ID: 889993) a proxy registrar who is also involved in drop catching premium names
( recipes.in workout.in honey.in all.in ) and selling it in the auction for the high price, these listed one have been sold for more than 3000 USD to 5000 USD each. Such illegal activities are done via inbackorder auction platform which needs to be taken strict action, phoenixwebsoft who seems to be the proxy of inbackorder

 

[silentg]

Drop catching and selling domains for profit isn't illegal. That's the whole point of this post @purohit

 

[Samer]

How are they connected?

I wonder what form it takes. How would one "qualify" to register a .in?

How did they qualify to run “.in”?
Worst ccTLD operator in history.

 

[purohit]

Drop catching and selling domains for profit isn't illegal. That's the whole point of this post @purohit

Since there is no restrictions placed on the Registrants, some Registrars are using registrants as proxy
and carry out illegal and unfair trade practices pertaining to sale/ purchase of delegated/registered .IN/
,BHARAT domain names which affect the market environment.


phoenixwebsoft who seems to be the proxy of inbackorder

As per the clause 6.1 of the .in registrar accreditation agreement by Nixi, registrars are prohibited to squatting, grabbing, or hoarding of .in domains themselves. Any such involvement of the Registrar will lead to the termination of Accreditation, financial penalty and any other legal actions.

 

[dnk]

More than 70% of the domains registered are parked, mainly for resale , so this decision will greatly reduce .in domain registrations

 

[marijuanadomain]

It will be good for dot com...

 

[GNP]

It will be good for dot com...

Don't count on it.
After holding rates steady for years, why do you think .com / .net is raising its prices the maximum allowed amount EVERY year??? (They already are by far the largest registry, so it certainly isn't because they "need" the money.) The higher the renewal fee the fewer domains resellers can keep, which means more available domains for end users at registration cost (instead of reseller prices).

Since it is a ccTLD, they can pretty much do whatever they want. HOWEVER, I would hope .in would grandfather in those that legally obtained domains prior to the change (although i wouldn't hold my breath on that, my gut feeling is the proposed change in ToS would be enforced at the next domain renewal at the latest).

(For the record it wouldn't affect me either way, since I only have one .in domain name which I plan to keep.)

 

[marijuanadomain]

Don't count on it.
After holding rates steady for years, why do you think .com / .net is raising its prices the maximum allowed amount EVERY year??? (They already are by far the largest registry, so it certainly isn't because they "need" the money.) The higher the renewal fee the fewer domains resellers can keep, which means more available domains for end users at registration cost (instead of reseller prices).

Since it is a ccTLD, they can pretty much do whatever they want. HOWEVER, I would hope .in would grandfather in those that legally obtained domains prior to the change (although i wouldn't hold my breath on that, my gut feeling is the proposed change in ToS would be enforced at the next domain renewal at the latest).

(For the record it wouldn't affect me either way, since I only have one .in domain name which I plan to keep.)

If you ban those dot whatever or make it difficult to get, then dot com is very available and will be in demand.

 

[carob]

Another issue here would be the position of a business using a prime .in domain with many links to it - if the business ceases trading or changes their name/domain, are they forbidden to sell on their valuable domain asset that they no longer need?

A possible scenario here would be mass cancellations of all .in domains that are seen to be for sale - how do you check it is really the registrant offering it for sale not a scammer? - and then the registry makes all the recovered top names into registry premiums, sold or leased at very high prices - making up for the revenue lost from the mass cancellations.

Or else after mass cancellations they then change the rules again to allow re-selling but first restrict ownership to a defined group, such as India residents or citizens, or licensed domain traders, most likely connected insiders.

 

[LeDomain]

My comments on the NIXI Proposal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYpqjsv7WAI

 

[marijuanadomain]

Ban those dot whatever and this will make dot com very available and easily to register with no restrictions thus making dot com more in demand
Easy analogy.
Dot com will always be King

 

[HostGeeks.com]

They should ban every TLD in India so I can stop getting calls from scam call centers.

 

[marijuanadomain]

They should ban every TLD in India so I can stop getting calls from scam call centers.

All my spam calls and employment agencies calls come from India with masking numbers from New Jersey.

 

[Sam1234]

Does this mean they are going to steal my .in domain??

 

[silentg]

https://www.hindustantimes.com/citi...omain-name-found-on-sale-101689706848296.html