Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Mass. Republicans Launch Pre-Emptive Web Strike
By Greg Frost
Mon Jan 10, 2005 04:17 PM ET
Reuters
BOSTON (Reuters) - Massachusetts Republicans have launched a pre-emptive strike against Democratic Attorney General Tom Reilly by snapping up online Internet addresses that would have been obvious picks for him if he decides to run for governor in 2006.
Reilly has not yet said whether he will challenge Republican Governor Mitt Romney in 2006. But if Reilly does run, it will be hard for him to use the Web sites reillyforgovernor.com, tomreillyforgovernor.com, reillyforgovernor2006.com and reillyforgovernor06.com.
That's because the state Republican Party registered those domain names last week, the Boston Herald newspaper reported on Monday.
"It was bought with the intention to have some fun if he is indeed the nominee," Tim O'Brien, executive director of the state party, told the Herald.
Reilly advisers said the Republicans' Internet maneuvering appeared premature, given that the Democratic attorney general has not yet announced his candidacy.
Susan Crawford, an expert in Internet law at New York's Cardozo Law School, said the Republicans' move seemed to be a new twist on the practice of cybersquatting.
A term that originated in the 1990s, when the Internet was catching on, cybersquatting refers to the act of reserving a particular domain name for the purpose of selling it at a higher price. Celebrities and corporations have typically been victims of cybersquatting schemes.
Crawford said she could not recall another instance of one political party registering domain names for a potential rival, although she noted that before he ran for president in 2000, then-Gov. George W. Bush of Texas complained of a parody site that used his name.
Crawford said Reilly still has several options available should he decide to run for governor.
She noted the number of possible domains has expanded in recent years with the advent of new Web suffixes like .info, .biz and .us.
Reilly also could dispute the Republicans' move through arbitration, Crawford said. However, the cost of doing so is likely to be far greater than the $6 to $9 fee for registering a new domain name.
"He definitely has options, but he may not want to waste his money," she told Reuters.
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=7284633
Mon Jan 10, 2005 04:17 PM ET
Reuters
BOSTON (Reuters) - Massachusetts Republicans have launched a pre-emptive strike against Democratic Attorney General Tom Reilly by snapping up online Internet addresses that would have been obvious picks for him if he decides to run for governor in 2006.
Reilly has not yet said whether he will challenge Republican Governor Mitt Romney in 2006. But if Reilly does run, it will be hard for him to use the Web sites reillyforgovernor.com, tomreillyforgovernor.com, reillyforgovernor2006.com and reillyforgovernor06.com.
That's because the state Republican Party registered those domain names last week, the Boston Herald newspaper reported on Monday.
"It was bought with the intention to have some fun if he is indeed the nominee," Tim O'Brien, executive director of the state party, told the Herald.
Reilly advisers said the Republicans' Internet maneuvering appeared premature, given that the Democratic attorney general has not yet announced his candidacy.
Susan Crawford, an expert in Internet law at New York's Cardozo Law School, said the Republicans' move seemed to be a new twist on the practice of cybersquatting.
A term that originated in the 1990s, when the Internet was catching on, cybersquatting refers to the act of reserving a particular domain name for the purpose of selling it at a higher price. Celebrities and corporations have typically been victims of cybersquatting schemes.
Crawford said she could not recall another instance of one political party registering domain names for a potential rival, although she noted that before he ran for president in 2000, then-Gov. George W. Bush of Texas complained of a parody site that used his name.
Crawford said Reilly still has several options available should he decide to run for governor.
She noted the number of possible domains has expanded in recent years with the advent of new Web suffixes like .info, .biz and .us.
Reilly also could dispute the Republicans' move through arbitration, Crawford said. However, the cost of doing so is likely to be far greater than the $6 to $9 fee for registering a new domain name.
"He definitely has options, but he may not want to waste his money," she told Reuters.
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=7284633
Friday, December 31, 2004
Bull Market For Political Domains
This story is six months old, but I wanted to publish it here because it highlights the value of owning political domains. Now is a great time to be scooping them up and then hold on for a couple years when the 2008 presidential race starts heating up.
Bull Market For Political Domains
June 22, 2004
Despite offers of as much as $135,000, the Internet domain name Bush2004.com is not for sale, Wired reports. The domain was snapped up by Brian Rodgers and he isn't selling it to the Bush-Cheney campaign.
Said Rodgers: "He's a sorry son of a bitch and I'll do anything I can to bring him down."
"The fate of Bush2004.com is an oft-repeated example of what happens when politicians neglect to snap up websites containing common variants of their name and election year. While the Bush campaign controls many of the obvious sites, including BushCheney2004.com, GeorgeBush.com, BushforPresident and GeorgeWBush.com -- the official campaign website -- other domains, including GWBush.com and Bush2004, remain in the hands of speculators and satirists."
"These days, with campaign season in full swing, speculation in political websites has spawned its own mini industry. Banking on candidates' fears that desirable domains will wind up in the wrong hands, speculators in some cases are buying up domains containing names of prominent politicians even before their electoral intentions are made public."
Bull Market For Political Domains
June 22, 2004
Despite offers of as much as $135,000, the Internet domain name Bush2004.com is not for sale, Wired reports. The domain was snapped up by Brian Rodgers and he isn't selling it to the Bush-Cheney campaign.
Said Rodgers: "He's a sorry son of a bitch and I'll do anything I can to bring him down."
"The fate of Bush2004.com is an oft-repeated example of what happens when politicians neglect to snap up websites containing common variants of their name and election year. While the Bush campaign controls many of the obvious sites, including BushCheney2004.com, GeorgeBush.com, BushforPresident and GeorgeWBush.com -- the official campaign website -- other domains, including GWBush.com and Bush2004, remain in the hands of speculators and satirists."
"These days, with campaign season in full swing, speculation in political websites has spawned its own mini industry. Banking on candidates' fears that desirable domains will wind up in the wrong hands, speculators in some cases are buying up domains containing names of prominent politicians even before their electoral intentions are made public."
Thursday, December 30, 2004
Welcome!
Welcome to the new Political Domains blog! With politics so heated these days, and web sites popping up on the left, the right and everywhere in between, people with ideas for sites often find themselves scrambling for domain names that reflect thiner site's mission. But, it seems most anything one comes up with is taken already
The whole concept of politically-oriented domain names is so interesting to me I ended up buying a few for fun and (hopefully) profit. I know there are thousands of others doing the same thing.
So, I thought I'd start this blog where I could tell others about interesting political domain names that are available. If you have any that you think I'd find interesting, email the names to me and if I think they are important enough I'll post them on this page with your contact information. I might send you an offer as well.
In the near future, I'll be looking for interesting stories and details transactions that will be of interest to you.
Here are the domain names I own. If anyone is interested, please email me.
The whole concept of politically-oriented domain names is so interesting to me I ended up buying a few for fun and (hopefully) profit. I know there are thousands of others doing the same thing.
So, I thought I'd start this blog where I could tell others about interesting political domain names that are available. If you have any that you think I'd find interesting, email the names to me and if I think they are important enough I'll post them on this page with your contact information. I might send you an offer as well.
In the near future, I'll be looking for interesting stories and details transactions that will be of interest to you.
Here are the domain names I own. If anyone is interested, please email me.
