Comments (14)

1. Danny says:

   June 13, 2013 at 2:40 pm

   It is interesting, but that was expected, thanks for the article, cheers!

   Reply
2. zack says:

   June 13, 2013 at 10:27 pm

   it’s interesting that the winner of .red wouldn’t have taken over the Donuts application, given the priority number. This is not disallowed by ICANN and presumably it wouldn’t have to go through a full evaluation since the winning company is already in the program.

   Reply
3. Donuts Inc. says:

   June 13, 2013 at 10:32 pm

   Donuts won the bidding for .PHOTOGRAPHY. According to the auction agreement terms, we’ll be the sole remaining applicant for that TLD. Final bids are confidential.
   Some are speculating that we or other bidders are intentionally losing auctions merely to collect from winning bidders. Speaking for Donuts, our strategy is to acquire gTLDs. We were very active in the auctions — we placed bids totaling more than $8 million over the course of this round.
   Each TLD, however, has its own unique circumstances. We’re resourced to win all auctions, private or ICANN, but at the same time have made careful judgments about values of contested strings. We’ll avoid getting carried away and bidding beyond reasonable valuation assessments.
   For the record, we’re still standing behind the applicant auction as the best means of resolving contention. They are a fair and efficient method to solve competition for resources.

   Reply
4. Avri Doria says:

   June 14, 2013 at 9:49 pm

   I am glad to read that it is working out as expected. Always relatively happy when my friends do well.
   I still think it is the wrong way to go in the global public interest. Though I understand the imperatives many businesses live under, I see such an opportunity lost to fund some real capacity building in developing economies.
   My view still runs to the notion that auctions that don’t serve the global public interest are a poor option:
   http://avri.doria.org/post/52245688637/private-auctions-the-latest-game-for-getting-rich-off

   Reply
   • Ray Marshall says:

     June 15, 2013 at 4:40 am

     To your point Avri, the losers in the private auctions are effectively selling public spectrum that never belonged to them in the first place simply by having submitted an application. If the auctions were handled by ICANN, at least the money could be put to use for the benefit of the public.

     Reply
5. Paul Stahura says:

   June 15, 2013 at 6:06 pm

   The community already granted .org to PIR which has already made close to a billion dollars and continues to make more than $70M *per year*, every year, for the non-profit ISOC exactly for such purposes, Avri. ICANN wisely decided for resources to stay within the applicant community so that they can better innovate and compete with each other and the legacy operators which is where the real public benefits are generated – through innovation and competition.

   Reply
6. Colin Campbell says:

   June 16, 2013 at 8:23 pm

   As a .club applicant I made the decision to enter a private auction for the following reasons:
   1. It was a well thought out efficient method developed by Cramton. Trust me I tested everything.
   2. Under a loss scenario, I would be rewarded for the substantial time and financial investment made over the last 18 months.
   3. Under a win scenario, I am happy to know that the funds I paid will be used by other entrepreneurs to continue to support the development of the new gTLD industry.
   I believe under an ICANN auction scenario there will simply be too many losers. Under a private auction scenario everyone is either compensated for their efforts or get the chance to launch a name.
   Colin

   Reply
7. Ray Marshall says:

   June 17, 2013 at 7:19 am

   In general, when an asset is put up for auction, the losers don’t get a penny of the proceeds. Why? Because they never had title to the asset. When you look at the tax code, you tend to come across the term “consideration”. What consideration are the losers giving in exchange for the proceeds of the private auctions? Clearly, they are not handing over title to the generic domain names. Since the private auctions involve the winners obtaining title of the generic domain names from ICANN, it stands to reason that the proceeds from such auctions should go to ICANN and not to the losers.

   Reply
   • zack says:

     June 17, 2013 at 6:34 pm

     if you use that argument then as an auction loser I am just getting a “gift” or non-taxable cash from other contenders to walk away from the potential to secure the rights to manage a TLD. Cool, then whatever I get via a private auction should have no tax consequences to me, right?
     Yea, good luck with that..I don’t think the IRS is going to see it that way.

     Reply
     • Ray Marshall says:

       June 18, 2013 at 12:39 am

       The illusion of giving title to the winners for something that is coming from ICANN is probably of no concern to the IRS so long as it gets its cut. Feel free to ask the IRS if that’s keeping you up at night.

       Reply
       • zack says:

         June 18, 2013 at 7:46 pm

         Not keeping me up. I actually understand the IRS rules, was just pointing out that your argument doesn’t stand up.

         Reply
         • Ray Marshall says:

           June 18, 2013 at 9:25 pm

           Zack, you don’t understand my argument since you are talking about taxes. If you believe the emporer has clothes, then who am I to stop you from buying and wearing a pair of non-sense.

   • zack says:

     June 19, 2013 at 9:01 pm

     Fair point…I guess not many of us ordinary folk understand your analogies

     Reply
8. Ray Marshall says:

   June 20, 2013 at 4:33 am

   Perhaps you should think before attacking one’s perspective!

   Reply