According to ComputerWorld.com.au, on a conference call with media after reporting its financial results for 2012 resulting in revenue and profit declines, Melbourne IT CEO Theo Hnarakis said ICANN’s release of new gTLDs would generate a “huge dividend” for the company in 2013.
Mr. Hnarakins is quoting as saying:
“We have 3800 corporate customers, many of which are very defensively oriented in protecting their brand,”
“When these new extensions are launched, they naturally register that domain name to ensure nobody else can secure that name.”
“When the .xxx domain was launched in 2011, Melbourne IT had $2 million in sales in defensive registrations for the extension, the CEO said”.
“The year before, the company had almost $1.5 million in revenue from the launch of the .co extension”.
Not only does Melbourne IT hope to profit from defensive registrations of new gTLD’s but their clients also applied for new gTLD strings which the company says will generate a lot of money since Melbourne IT is also serving as the back end registry for many of the new gTLD;s
Mr. Hnarakins is quoting as saying:
“Of the 150 gTLDs Melbourne IT applied for on behalf of customers, 75 % of the brands have said they will use the domains, and 110 of them have committed to five-year registry contracts”
“Melbourne IT expects to charge $20,000 to $30,000 per name, he said. But some could generate “hundreds of thousands of dollars of revenue per brand” as they become live and start generating second-level registrations, he said.
In addition, Melbourne IT expects a “spike in infringements,” increasing the “amount of brand protection work we do,” he said.
Compared to full-year 2011 results, revenue fell 5% to $170.6 million, while earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) dropped 21 per cent to $15 million and net profit after tax (NPAT) sank 16 per cent to $11.4 million.
Hello MHB,
Although there will be countless windfalls out of this, I dare say none of it will come to the End Users.
Gratefully, Jeff Schneider (Contact Group) (Metal Tiger)
I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again. This is EXTORTION using the THREAT of DIGITAL RAPE. It is morally and ethically reprehensible.
I hope that everyone who participates in this scheme (including our host, Mr. Berkens, who is a founder of the club) ends up in a bankruptcy courtroom. And, I hope that all those who refused to participate as a matter of principle succeed and prosper wildly. And, at the risk of sounding like an optimist, I believe that it is a likely outcome.
“Huge Dividend”
In addition, Melbourne IT expects a “spike in infringements,” increasing the “amount of brand protection work we do,” he said.
Amen.
Rarely do we see such an unguarded comment like that, which reveals the true motivation behind new gTLDs, namely to force the registration of unwanted domain names, i.e. brand protection via defensive registrations.
Of course, Bruce Tonkin, the Vice Chair of ICANN’s board, is Melbourne IT’s Chief Strategy Officer.
When the MAFIA does this to your business, it’s called “protection money.” When ICANN does it to your business, it’s called “defensive registration fees.”
I wanted to call Bruce Tonkin comments : “Stupid” but I refrained myself…:)
Freudian slip or Foot in mouth ?
MelbourneIT just ramped up their brand management services last week.
Don’t forget about the .bit domains which are mined like Bitcoin and cannot be taken away by a central authority. I don’t think it is going anywhere but it is interesting. See dot-bit.org
So michellek –
I am down for the same – I am reminded of parking a car at a Cub’s game and also at a Dodger game – paying my $25-$30 for parking – and then the same guy says – “If you want insurance – that will be $15-$20 more”. It is all a shake down – but wouldn’t you rather pay the “insurance” now rather than a bunch of lawyers in ACPA or UDRP later even though you are right 🙂
Life is not about winning – it is all about mitigating (or paying off) your loses – and registrars (and some of the new registries) have become nothing more than Mob Boses as michellek articulates.