Google Combats Domain Name Loophole

By ANICK JESDANUN

The online advertising leader Google Inc. said it
would help make it less lucrative to tie up millions
of Internet addresses using a loophole and keep
those domain names from legitimate individuals and
businesses.

Over the next few weeks, Google will start looking
for names that are repeatedly registered and dropped
within a five-day grace period for full refunds.

Google's AdSense program would exclude those names
so no one can generate advertising revenue from
claiming them temporarily, a practice known as domain
name tasting - the online equivalent of buying
expensive clothes on a charge card only to return
them for a full refund after wearing them to a party.

"We believe that this policy will have a positive
impact for users and domain purchasers across the
Web," Google spokesman Brandon McCormick said.

The company said it notified participants via e-mail.

Name tasting exploits a grace period originally
designed to rectify legitimate mistakes, such as
registrants mistyping the domain name they are about
to buy. But with automation and a burgeoning online
advertising market, entrepreneurs have generated big
bucks exploiting the policy to test hoards of names,
keeping just the ones that turn out to generate the
most revenue.

The practice ties up millions of domain names at any
given time, making it more difficult for legitimate
individuals and businesses to get a desirable name.

Jay Westerdal, who earlier wrote about Google's
change on his DomainTools blog, said in an interview
that the ban should make domain name tasting far
less lucrative. He noted that Google's chief rival,
Yahoo Inc., already tries to ban tasted addresses
that infringe on trademarks and account for much of
the problem.

"If Google and Yahoo are not monetizing these types
of sites, I think domain tasting as we know it will
come to a screeching halt," Westerdal said. "The
alternative advertising is just not as effective."

In October, Yahoo sued several domain name
registration companies over tasting, accusing them
of targeting trademarks owned by Yahoo and other
leading brands. The lawsuit is pending in U.S.
District Court in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Dell Inc.
and BMW have filed similar federal lawsuits
in Florida.

The Internet's key oversight agency, the Internet
Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, already
is looking into name tasting and will soon ask a
committee to review the issue and craft
recommendations. A public comment period on draft
procedures has closed.

The operators of the ".org" suffix already won
approval to charge companies that make too many
returns. The number of deletions dropped to 152,700
in June, compared with 2.4 million in May, after
the new fee took effect.