Author name: fairwindsp

By Gabe Bonifacio Operating in more than 100 countries generates a substantial digital footprint to manage. Recognizing this, the German automaker Audi fully embraced their .BRAND as a way to strategically and creatively leverage their domain names. From consumer facing marketing domains, to multiple internal and external organizational uses, .AUDI was launched to reduce domain

By Gabe Bonifacio In 2015, Barclays Bank, a leading multinational banking corporation, became one of the first financial institutions to utilize its .BRAND TLDs as its primary corporate domains. The switch from .COM and their native .CO.UK TLDs to .BARCLAYS and .BARCLAYCARD provided multiple utilities for the company, including unique brand name engagement, authenticity signaling,

By Steve Levy In a recent UDRP case against the domain name <fyrefestival.com>, the Panel denied a transfer request from LimeWR Fyre OÜ, the company that now claims ownership of the infamous FYRE FESTIVAL trademark. The Respondent, Liam Spencer, purchased the domain name <fyrefestival.com> when it dropped for non-renewal in August of 2017 after apparently being owned

By Gabe Bonifacio Amazon.com Inc., an active participant in the 2012 round of new gTLD applications, is currently leveraging the breadth of creative freedoms and marketability allowed by its .BRAND TLDs. As the company continues to innovate in shopping experiences, tech applications, and original programming and streaming services, its .BRANDs (specifically .AWS and .AMAZON) have

By Gabe Bonifacio After decades atop the technology industry, the software giant Microsoft recognized an issue within its domain name holdings: years of expansion led to inadvertent domain registration naming patterns and usage, primarily leveraging subdomains and keyword-rich domain names, such as “to-do.office.com” and “skypeforbusiness.com”. In 2024, the corporation decided to consolidate access to all

Com Laude, the internet domain name provider to many of the world’s largest companies, owned by PX3 Partners, the London-headquartered private equity firm, announces today that it has acquired domain name consultancy FairWinds Partners (“FairWinds”) as it prepares itself for what it calls “the biggest change to the internet since 2012.” Headquartered in London, United Kingdom, Com Laude

By Alex Zins Governments participating in ICANN, through the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC), have issued consensus advice that the new gTLDs approved during the next round of applications, currently scheduled to open in April 2026, should not be delegated until additional targeted policy work is completed to address DNS abuse – specifically malware, phishing, botnets,

By Tom Wells The Internet is preparing for another expansion of the domain name space. ICANN’s next round of new generic top-level domain (gTLD) applications is set for April 2026, marking the first opportunity since 2012 for organizations to apply for their own TLDs. While the core objective remains the same – enabling innovation and

By Steve Levy Let’s be honest – if you’re going to pick a fight over a domain name, maybe don’t choose one that includes the word “Disney.” That’s exactly what happened in a recent UDRP case where the Respondent registered the domain disneyyasisland.com. Spoiler alert: it didn’t end well for them. Disney, the entertainment juggernaut with a trademark

By Steve Levy If you believed that domain name disputes were boring legal squabbles, think again. The recent UDRP case between ANI Technologies Pvt. Ltd.—better known as Ola, India’s ride-hailing giant—and a U.S.-based individual named Jeffrey Knepper over the domain name ola.com had all the makings of a digital soap opera. The Players On one side,

By Steve Levy As you know, the UDRP has been the go-to system for resolving cybersquatting disputes since 1999. But after 25 years and over 125,000 cases, it seems like a good idea to take a deep dive and find out what’s working well and what parts of the UDRP process could use a few

By Steve Levy UDRP complaints are meant to be a streamlined way to resolve domain name disputes. But what happens when a complainant realizes—mid-proceedings—that their case is on shaky ground? Should they double down or bow out gracefully? Let’s talk about a recent decision involving the domain name dawsongroup.com. Dawsongroup Limited, a UK-based business-to-business asset hire and funding