When a Denver-based technology company wanted to register its website name in France this year, it encountered problems.
To use the .fr web-address ending popular in France, NewsGator Technologies Inc. had to have a physical presence there. And the URL, www.newsgator.fr, simply a blank page, was owned by a French citizen.
NewsGator hired Name.com LLC, a digital brand management company also in Denver, as a third party to retrieve the address and register the domain name for NewsGator, which makes technology that allows individuals to access content on the Internet from websites and blogs.
“They were able to track the individual down and did all the negotiations,” said Mark Nass, vice president of finance for NewsGator.com. “If the individual knew my company name was NewsGator, he would realize the value and try to get more money out of me.”
In addition to registering domain names to individuals, the bulk of Name.com services involve helping companies protect their brand identities online. The company, founded in 2003, has 10 employees.
“It is important for companies to realize that a domain name is a piece of intellectual property and advertising,” Name.com founder and chief executive Bill Mushkin said. “A decent name gets typed in out of the blue. Domains get a lot of traffic.”
Every country has its own country code, or top-level domain, as authorized by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the nonprofit organization responsible for coordinating the technical elements of the Internet. Each country is free to manage its country code, and some countries, such as France, impose strict guidelines on who can use the .fr domain. Other countries, such as Tuvalu, a small island in the South Pacific with the .tv domain, let private companies manage registrations.
“With the country codes, it’s complicated and bureaucratic; you have to know the intricacies of how it works,” Mushkin said. “In Bangladesh, you have to mail in the documents; you need a lawyer to mingle with the company there (that registers the domain). The French have specialized rules.”
Name.com weeds through the regulations for companies looking to establish a foreign Web presence, or trying to protect against cybersquatters and copyright infringement. It also works with clients’ attorneys to resolve domain-name disputes but typically advises clients to purchase domain names related to its business as a protective defense and marketing maneuver.
Mushkin said his company is developing a niche in this market by offering specialized service and 24-hour customer service. Its main competitors are large providers such as Register.com and Verisign, both domain-name registrars with corporate divisions that provide these services.
In some instances, companies are capable of acquiring and policing their online presence without the help of a third party.
Staff writer Kimberly S. Johnson can be reached at 303-820-1088 or kjohnson@denverpost.com.
