Domain Names

Question: How can sites like godaddy own domain names, and proceed to sell them?

(Posted by: iDuzHazProblemz on 2010-02-25 13:23:58)

How can domain names be "owned " ?

Posted by: Taimour on 2010-02-26, 04:20:33

ICANN is the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. ICANN’s tasks include responsibility for generic (gTLD) and country code (ccTLD) top-level domain names. VeriSign was granted the right to operate the names for .com, .net, and .org. VeriSign charge ICANN accredited registers 6$ for each domain, while ICANN charge them 0.25 cents for each domain. So the total cost of a .com domain is 6.25$ and the rest is revenue. Is it possible to go directly to ICANN and getting the domain names from? No! Is it possible to flat out buy a domain? No, registration fees are yearly. The most reliable cheap domain website I found was JordanSoft.com

Posted by: Scott on 2010-02-25, 13:26:52

Anyone can purchase a domain name. I own 2 myself. ICANN set up the system, we just abide by it.

Posted by: Charlie Tuna on 2010-02-25, 13:38:22

Technically - Godaddy does not own domain names. They are one of many authorized domain registration companies (I believe they are called registrars). They have a search engine to the central Internic database to see if the domain name you request from them is available. InterNIC maintains a central database that contains all the registered domain names and the associated IP addresses in the U.S. If you own a domain name and someone else also wants it, you have all the rights to negotiate the sale of the domain for as long as you are the owner.

Posted by: Lew on 2010-02-25, 13:47:07

Think of them more like estate agents (realtors). They handle telling you what land (domains) are available. You choose one and pay them a fee for handing the registration for you. Sometimes someone else already owns the plot and if you decide to buy it from the owner, they will take a handling fee in order to handle the paperwork for you, so to speak. The don't actually have ownership of the domains they handle, and they are not selling them, they are just selling the registration service. In answer to the second part of the question, domains aren't ever owned, only claimed for a set period of time. Rules are in place such that the previous registrant of a domain gets 'first refusal' when this period expires. The rules are futher complicated by the fact that if someone holds a trademark, then they may argue that someone else, e.g. a competitor, may not use that domain name, and through an arbitration process they can request that the domain registration be transferred to them.